What a swizz!

[AdamW]

I bought a pair of 10" adjustable spanners at Wickes a month or two back. Was planning to do some plumbing this afternoon with 22mm pipes. Went to do up the first nut... Spanner not big enough. Thought to myself "that's strange, it was big enough for all the other 22mm compression nuts I have used".

Tried my 22mm compression nut spanner, still not big enough. Then I realised what it was: Wickes compression fittings use a slightly larger than standard nut. Thus forcing me to go down there and buy a larger spanner, which I don't really need, as every other brand of nut I have found is the right size. I could register my displeasure by just buying new joints from a different supplier I suppose, but I can't be bothered.

Who bets when I get down there that there is a special Wickes-compression nut spanner?

 

[wilhelm]

whats wrong with mollies or swan necks?
be more positive

 

[ChrisR]

Yes that's a problem! I'm guessing, but I think the original nuts for 1/2 inch pipe were 1 inch; and those for 3/4" were 1 1/4"; those for 1" were 1 3/4" and so on. But that's all gone to pot and everything's approximate.

The fittings which Wickes sell, the ones with 6 bars on the nut instead of a hexagon, are made by Conex and the best you will find bar none. There is a Conex spanner which fits all their 15mm and 22mm nuts, very handy and only about 7"/180mm long. Best really is to buy Bahco adjustables, either the wide-jaw variety, or the reversible jaw ones, which al go much wider than average.

 

[AdamW]

Well, when I got to Wickes I had a look at the tools, I already own their biggest adjustable spanner and they had no specific ones. Went to the info desk and asked about it, but let's face it, the 16 year old behind the desk isn't a key member of the conspiracy so I just asked if they could look up the spanners on their database just in case I had missed them.

In the end, I had to get a plumbing wrench. This might be what you term a "swan neck". I was tempted by one of those big adjustable pipe wrenches, but it looked like it might chew the compression nuts more than tighten them (hard to steer clear of metaphors and innuendo there!). I reckon it would make a great weapon though, a length of lead piping looks positively girly compared to one of those big knarly bu**ers!

Anyway, me nuts are tightening nicely/

 

[AdamW]

The fittings which Wickes sell, the ones with 6 bars on the nut instead of a hexagon, are made by Conex and the best you will find bar none.

Those are the ones I have. Glad to know they are good, the fuss I have had getting them on there! Seems they are behind the Wickes nut/spanner conspiracy (as Wickes don't sell the Conex spanner).

Still, they come with brass olives which I have heard aren't as good as copper ones...