Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Anyone in Perth Metro have a box spanner (tube spanner) capable of allowing me to get a a 60 mm octaagonal plastic nut located inside a skimmer box on a swimming pool? Can't really get to it with normal spanners and wrenches.

I would only need to borrow it for a day! I reckon 1/4 or even 1/8 of a turn would stop my pump sucking air (I have done everything else I can think of on the suction side).

Sockets this size are expensive .. and being as it is a plastic nut would most likely damage the edges of it in any case. A full Hexagon shape tube spanner would be a safer and cheaper option if I could buy one in WA! (But I can't find a place that sells them in WA)!.

Difficult to get a box spanner this size .... similar to the one at the bottom of the chart but octagon shape.


http://www.stahlwille-online.de/index.p ... 1&pid=2510



Thanks guys and gals.

I got out of a similar problem situation once by cutting 6 pieces of 50 mm x 4mm flat, each a little over the length of one side of the nut and welding them together in the form of a box spanner - this box can be welded to any near-suitable sized chunk of steel tube with a bar welded across the top to act as your handle/lever. A bit of rooting around, I'll admit, but it did the job, saved me around $80 at the time, and has come in handy a couple of times since. Tip - make it loose, the welding process will tighten the dimensions a little.

j7au,from memory your a teacher(I think )if so this could be a good idea that big mick is suggesting.You could take it to the metal work dept at school for a project for someone and get it built cheap?

Have any resins lying around, make a cast of the head of one of the nuts, attach or mould a shaft and bob's your uncle, a makeshift box spanner. Assuming how tight it needs to be tightend of course, and assuming it is not under water...

Ummm, can you drill into the head of the nut and macguyver it a bit somehow?

Need to ask steve on that one, I think he knows the guy personally

I am guessing ... but if the nut is octagonal ............

Then I should be able to use a bit of precision square section tube with an internal measurement 60 mm x 60 mm. (Sounds easy!)

That being the case, I bet it isn't a standard size in mild steel, stainless or aluminium. Anyone enlighten me on that one?

Internal Measurement @ 60x60 might be a tad hard to find... Go to a salvage yard and look around for some off cuts of RHS, you might find something... I might have a quick look here at work for you. Problem is buying specific steel new, usually by the metre you would be looking at $30+ unless you can buy off cuts...

Don`t know if this will help but I made this out of scrap to undo big nut on the crank of my bike.If you look close it`s drilled in the corners to let jigsaw in to cut out what wasn`t wanted.

Thanks gnash (and everyone)

I am still finding it impossible to find something "off the shelf".

The spanner has to be tube shaped .. (like a spark plug spanner) and 60 mm octagonal ... so I think I am going to have to get one made
somehow.