Backflow Seat Removal Tools

Video Transcript:
Hello once again this is Sean with
 
Backfill Supply out of Salt Lake City
 
Utah the last time I did a video I
 
showed you how to troubleshoot and work
 
on a particular 975 XL that was brought
 
in by a customer that was having
 
problems with the backflow assembly and
 
didn't want to do anything about it just
 
wanted a new one and as I was doing that
 
I told you I wanted to show you a video
 
on some seat removal tools and so that's
 
what the main purpose of this particular
 
one is tonight but I want to show you a
 
few other accessories as well the backflow seat
 
removal tools are made by different
 
companies. I'm not sure who started at
 
first if it was an aftermarket person or
 
if it was the manufacturers themselves
 
but the two seats that are the most
 
common that need to be removed are the
 
Wilkins and the Conbraco
 
or Apollo remember Conbraco and Apollo
 
are the same company and they just have
 
played around with their name a little
 
bit and the seats are very similar these
 
are both out of the three quarter one
 
inch sizes the Conbraco or Apollo are
 
gray.
 
The one on the way right hand and the
 
Wilkins are the black ones that are used
 
in the 975 xl's 95 XL and the 95 XL
 
T's just a quick note about that the 95
 
XL T seats are different than the ones
 
that are used in the 95 XL in the 975
 
XL but they both have just four little
 
stubs that point into the center of the
 
seats and they look very similar both
 
the camber echo and the Wilkins similar
 
setup similar design as far as those go
 
they just thread into the body but they
 
can be difficult to get out and
 
sometimes people will try and ship them
 
out with a screwdriver or they'll try
 
and cut them out. I just had a person
 
last week tell me that somebody had
 
taken a saw blade and cut down into it
 
and they went through it and into the
 
threads and ruined the whole assembly so
 
the rock the proper tool can be an
 
important asset to any tester or person
 
doing a repair out there. Now I'll start
 
with the ones that are made by the
 
manufacturers
 
it's just a flat piece of metal it's
 
really not special it just goes in and
 
it makes contact on two of those those
 
stubs that point into the center and you
 
throw them in and out
 
you just put a wrench at the top of this
 
and I'll show you here in a second -
 
twist twist them in and out. The other
 
one is made by a guy out of Oregon and
 
he's the one that originally made the
 
quick-connect test fittings at which
 
we'll talk about here in a minute
 
and he's gone through different designs
 
through the years but this is the one
 
that he's settled on and it just uses a
 
ratchet that you'll put the extension
 
down in there and it locks into place
 
and you attach your ratchet to the other
 
end and you thread am in and out. Nice
 
compact strong tool and you'll notice
 
that there's a different and I'm not
 
sure I think that's a quarter inch size
 
for the three-quarter one inch seat
 
removal tool that you'll need it for as
 
well as the relief valve seat tool on
 
the inch and 1/4 to two inch and it's
 
the same thing with the Wilkins again
 
they look very similar very similar
 
design and they are definitely worth the
 
money.
 
His run about ninety five dollars for a
 
set these other ones that are made out
 
of aluminum are made by a local guy and
 
they're about $9 a set as I recall and
 
it also same principle it has four
 
little notches to make contact down on
 
to the four stubs in the seat and you'll
 
just hook your rent your extension into
 
it and connect your ratchet and you just
 
put it down inside the assembly line it
 
up and this one's a little bit easier
 
because I've done this several times
 
tonight as I've been trying to do this
 
video and once you have that loosen you
 
can remove the socket
 
and then it comes out so it's fairly
 
simple. These are not as good putting
 
them back in because they're not a tight
 
fit but they can help if once you get it
 
started but I have found that the this
 
Wilkins tool tonight and I haven't
 
noticed this on the one that I use here
 
in the office for customers when they
 
come in that it's holding fairly tight
 
and so that does help you to get it down
 
in there and get it started just make
 
sure that you have it started equally
 
all the way around so you don't cross
 
thread it and I never use a wrench when
 
I'm putting this back in I just snug it
 
with my hand and that's all that's
 
needed. Now just to show you taking it
 
out again you just put it down in the
 
center make contact on two of those
 
points and I just use a crescent wrench
 
across the top and use that to loosen it
 
it takes a few turns this tool to get it
 
started so it's loose enough so that you
 
can just unthread it the rest of the way
 
simple as that now I say simple as that
 
but I was struggling with this the very
 
first time tonight and actually bent the
 
tool a little bit so these Wilkins and
 
Conbraco tools from them can
 
bend and you just pound them flat again
 
and these are about I think the Apollo
 
ones are about thirty dollars and the
 
Wilkins ones are almost fifty. Now the
 
other thing I wanted to show you were
 
these Quick Connect adapters and they've
 
gone through a change when Tom the guy
 
out of Oregon originally designed these
 
they have an o-ring at the base of the
 
top and it just seals down at the top of
 
the test cock as you thread it in nice
 
and snug and it's tight against the top
 
and you'll want to lube those from time
 
to time so that the o-ring stays soft
 
and supple and that it lasts longer this
 
other design that he just fairly
 
recently came out with has a gasket or
 
an o-ring on the other sizes the half
 
inch and 3/4 that seals down at the base
 
and so you just thread that in until you
 
have a little bit of resistance and snug
 
it and hopefully you can see
 
how that there's a quite a gap between
 
the top of the test and the base.
 
Now his other one like I said has an
 
o-ring and the way that the ball valves
 
are designed these o-rings fit down in
 
there very nicely and you just snug it
 
down in there it's as easy as that
 
the brass ones again you still have the
 
o-ring at the base of the top or the
 
bottom of the O ring at the base of the
 
top of the fitting and you just snug it
 
down there and they're both quick and
 
easy quick turn them in turn them out
 
just don't forget to leave them and
 
that's the nice thing about these
 
colored ones they stand out a little bit
 
more and it makes it a little bit more
 
difficult to walk away and leave them at
 
three-quarter same thing and I didn't
 
bring the brass three-quarter ones out
 
because they're just like the others and
 
you can see the difference and how much
 
time that can save you. The frustration
 
is when you do leave them and hopefully
 
they're there when you come back the
 
next year but I do sell quite a few of
 
these because people will leave them or
 
they'll drop one down a drain, I'm amazed
 
time we go down a drain somewhere. Now
 
the other tools that I want to show you
 
is for the ball valves and I showed you
 
on that video last time using this
ball valve handle wrench and maybe I'll just
 
use it on the same assembly again and
 
you just put it on the handle of the
 
ball valve attach your socket and it
 
allows you to turn that really easy and
 
this is really beneficial when you've
 
got something that's down in a box
 
hopefully that's only on a double check
 
but it'll save your knuckles a lot of
 
times you try and use a wrench and it
 
slips off and you can do more harm than
 
good and so this is a beneficial tool
 
now that's for the 3/4 one inch
 
and possibly even 1/2 inch and a little
 
bit smaller that'll work on but he's
 
also got one that's made for the inch
 
and 1/4 inch and a half and two inch
 
size that also just sits around the
 
handle and you put your socket onto it
 
and turn it
 
not going to try and do that with this
 
one because it's very hard to do that
 
when they're not installed in line those
 
are a little bit more difficult to turn
 
but the other thing that I want to show
 
you is a bit a missing ball valve handle
 
wrench so this is designed to go onto
 
the stem if the handle is missing and
 
this particular tool has different array
 
civ of holes on both ends so it'll do
 
probably anything from the / inch up
 
to  inch and you just find the hole
 
that fits closest to the stem that you
 
have. He also makes this where it's just
 
basically like that and it's just for
 
the one-inch and smaller assembly so it
 
doesn't have the other end and so you
 
just you need to remove the handle which
 
should be already done that's why you
 
have the tool in the first place you
 
find the spot that fits the best. Now
 
I've got the advantage of being able to
 
rotate the ball itself but in a box you
 
can't do that and sometimes you can only
 
get it so far so then you can pick it up
 
and then there's one that's a little bit
 
offset and you can finish turning it
 
very convenient and again it's the same
 
principle with the  inch. So those are
 
the things that I wanted to go through
 
tonight with you I want to thank you for
 
your time I hope that you find this
 
helpful please post any questions or
 
comments down below and I'll respond
 
back to them and please click on
 
subscribe and click the bell so you're
 
notified of another video I will try and
 
do those once or once a week or once
 
every two weeks depending on how busy
 
things get and the availability of the
 
things that I need to make the video I
 
want to thank you again and appreciate
 
your time have a good evening.

 

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