plumbers tools Archives - BobsPlumbingVideos.com

In today’s blog post and video I’m going to show your the plumbing tools that I have in my plumbers toolbox.

Bob's Original Tool Bucket! — Bob’s Original Tool Bucket!

Everyone’s asking me, Bob what kind of tool bag is that your using? So to answer some of these questions I thought I’d put together this video showing you exactly what I use on a daily basis in my plumbing practice. Back in the day when I was a helper, the plumbing mechanic carried his tools in a home made wooden box. Bulky? Yes but it served it’s purpose. As time evolved we eventually graduated to a metal tool bucket which was more convenient, but most times the item you were looking for ended up in the bottom. We’d dump it out to find what we were looking for and threw everything back in the bucket and repeated the process. Eventually the five gallon plastic buckets replaced the metal ones and you could buy one of those liners with the individual pockets to organize your tools. I used these for quite a while, but inevitably would be looking for a small tool which caused me to dump the whole bucket. Enough!

Enter the Veto-ProPac line of tools bags. I found these online years ago and bought one for my personal use. At the time they only made a closed top version, but they were so well made that I thought how could I adapt these to use as my primary plumbing tool bag. Well lucky for me (and a whole group of professional tradesman) the company introduced their O.T. (open top) version of their original tool bags.The bag in this video was actually given to me years ago as a Christmas gift and I thought this could work as my primary tool bag. This is their O.T. (open top) X.L. (extra large) bag which I use as my primary everyday tools bag. These bags are so well made that these are the only tool bags I will use and I own approx nine different versions. Pricey? yes, but well worth the investment. I’ll leave a link at the end of this post.

As you can see in the video I manage to pack a lot of stuff into this bag, with the exception of myhacksaw which is clamped to the side of the bag. I’ve reached out to the company to possibly produce a bag specifically for plumbers and they’ve been very receptive to the idea. They do currently make a O.T. (open Top) X.X.L. (extra large) bag, but I can tell you these get very heavy to lug around, so make sure you really need all that stuff before you commit to purchasing one of these. As you can see on the bench, I fit quite a bit more that you can see initially when the bag is upright. This is my everyday plumbing service bag, and for me it works. Do you as a homeowner need all these tools to perform base home plumbing repair? Absolutely not!

I’ve laid out for you what I consider to be a bare basic list of tools you’ll need if you want to tackle basic home plumbing repairs. I like to call it Bob’s Basic Tools (BBT) for home plumbing repair. Now some may say it ‘s not enough while others say it’s to much, but after 35 plus years in the game of plumbing service and repair, I feel these are the basic tools you’re going to need to get the job done.Check out the entire video and tell me what you think! If you think I missed something or need to add something, I’d love to hear from you. You can always reach me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com. I look forward to seeing you in my next video, until next time HAPPY PLUMBING!

Here’s the link to my Veto ProPac O.T.X.L. – http://amzn.to/1Dm1K99

In this video i show you different types of tubular nuts, tubular pipes and washers and explain when you use them. From connecting your kitchen sink strainer, sink trap or even toilet popup assembly, you’ll learn the best parts to use to get the job done right.

The method used for connecting a kitchen sink strainer or a lavatory pop-up assembly to a sink trap can be accomplished by using a variety of light weight tubular pipe. I’ve seen it made of plastic in other parts of the country but here In N.Y.City the most popular material is light weight brass tubing which can be anywhere from 20 to 22 gauge in weight.

The nuts and washers used to assemble them come in a variety of materials and depending on the application you may decide to use one over the other.

When you purchase these tubular fittings they come with brass plated zinc coupling nuts which are not the best choice because in as little as six months time they then tend to bond to the threads of the tubing and the only way to remove them is by cutting them off.

The alternative would be to purchase premium fittings which are a heavy 17 gauge weight and come with solid brass coupling nuts. The only down side of course is that they’re super expensive and honestly they’re not easy to find. So with this in mind I’d like you to check out my video on how I go about putting the tubing together.

I personally like to use the beveled nylon washers over the rubber ones, but the truth is either will work. The key here is to lubricate the threads of the fittings with plumbers water proof silicone grease so the nuts will glide right onto the threads. Do this in conjunction with the beveled nylon washer or rubber and you’ll get a leak proof joint 99% of the time.

If you can’t find or don’t have silicone grease, use pipe joint compound it’ll get the job done. If you get stuck or are unsure about something in this video, drop me a line at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!