Bulkhead nut stuck

[spitz006]

I had a leak in my new tank, coming from return under the tank. I probably should have just tightened it a bit, but instead I tried to loosen the nut so I could take it apart. But half way down, the nut won’t go any further. Maybe there was too much junk in the leaking water, or maybe I messed up the threads somehow. But I’m completely stuck and stumped. I can’t even fit a saw above it if I wanted to saw if off and start over. What should I do?

 

[wednesday13]

Id first try to get a channel lock on there to give er a good crank back “up” for another shot at making a proper seal with the bulkhead. If not, looks like plenty room to get a hack saw blade in there to get it out. Just the blade is all u need by hand. Can also just break the nut right off for more room to cut. Ive cut plenty plumbing parts with just a hack saw blade tho, will go right through with pretty minimal effort. May have to bend the blade a bit, no biggie tho they bend right back lol…

 

[spitz006]

Id first try to get a channel lock on there to give er a good crank back “up” for another shot at making a proper seal with the bulkhead. If not, looks like plenty room to get a hack saw blade in there to get it out. Just the blade is all u need by hand. Can also just break the nut right off for more room to cut. Ive cut plenty plumbing parts with just a hack saw blade tho, will go right through with pretty minimal effort. May have to bend the blade a bit, no biggie tho they bend right back lol…

I do own channel locks. It's so hard to get them right on the flat parts of the nut though, I'm gonna just have to give it my best grab and start forcing up.

Then if I get it stuck when it's even higher... the saw blade really wont work then. Then I'm really in trouble. I'll have to melt the plastic off with a torch or something crazy.

 

[kendragon]

Couldn't you just lift the tank up to get access to the bottom?

 

[spitz006]

Couldn't you just lift the tank up to get access to the bottom?

It’s a 90 gallon tank, pretty heavy. But yeah I guess I could do that to make it easier to saw or whatever I gotta do.

 

[Midwater]

Having dealt with stuck nuts and bolts in different situations, one think that helps is a sharp tap. Try getting a hammer (or even a spanner if the hammer is too big or heavy), and tapping the side of the bulkhead, tapping all four sides, going around in a circle two or three times.

It may be stuck because it has been unwound, but it is not straight. Unwinding it more might not help, unless - counterintuitively - you tighten it up a bit first.

Doing both of the above alternately, and a few times should shift it.

 

[yellowfinfmb]

get a string and cut it that way

 

[jjohnwm]

You have so much unnecessary thread on that thing that I would just spin the nut back up, cut off the excess including the messed up portion of thread, and then reattach the plumbing to the newly cut end.

The fact that it has spun that far down without issue, and then encounters a problem, indicates that it's not the nut that is messed up; it's the male thread. If this were a metal piece, you could likely force it down further and "clean-up" the bad thread. On plastic, that never seems to work for me.

In terms of how to cut it, if you can't get a handheld hacksaw blade into that space, you can buy a portable survival saw for a couple dollars in camping or outdoor stores. It's just a length of jagged metal cable with a ring at each end; designed to pack away into survival gear and to be used for cutting firewood in an emergency. I would cut through that thing in 30 seconds without any effort, and without straining or squeezing to get your hands in there.

It's like using a string, except that it actually works well.

 

[kendragon]

Is it possible that the white male adapter on the bottom of the bulkhead fitting expanded the outside diameter of the bulkhead preventing the nut to go pass that section? Try unthreading the male adapter to see if it makes a difference.

 

[spitz006]

I forced it down with an oil filter wrench, washed and cleaned the debris from the threads with a pick, screwed it back in and we’re good. Thanks for suggestions y’all.