Hello reader! It’s nice to have your attention on this kitchen faucet guide continuation. Today, I am going to be showing you how to remove kitchen faucet without a basin wrench, which is also known as a faucet wrench.
For those who don’t know what a faucet wrench or basin wrench is, this is a special tool for plumbing that helps in unfastening nuts, bolts and other fasteners that have become too tight to remove. Note: Fasteners and/or tighteners can tighten further due to the effects of corrosion.
Apart from unfastening the fasteners that have become too tight to loosen with other tools, a faucet wrench can also be used in unfastening nuts and bolts that are located in confined or hard-to-reach spaces within a faucet installation.
Step By Step How to Remove Kitchen Faucet without Basin Wrench
It goes without saying that some faucets can be pretty challenging to detach from the sink due to the fact that their fasteners have become extremely tight. So, how do you remove a faucet like devices successfully without the tool?
Do you simply use a metal cutting tool to casually cut the faucet off the installation? Or do you just hammer the fixture hard until it breaks away from the water line to which it is attached?
I bet none of the above is a good way to remove a kitchen faucet without a basin wrench. Here’s how to detach the fixture from the sink without the tool, especially if the fastener for it is in a hard-to-reach location:
What You Will Need
- A nut and bolt or fastener lubricant.
- A pair of adjustable pliers.
- A propane torch.
- A hammer.
Directions
Before I let you in on the easy faucet removal steps without a basin wrench, I would like to point out that this method relies on the concept of expansion of metals when heated up. That said, let’s get right to the steps:
- First, locate your kitchen faucet fastener. You will most likely find it underneath your sink.
- Next, open the nut, bolt and fastener lubricant.
- Then apply the lubricant evenly around the point of contact between nut or bolt and the faucet. By the way, most lubricants come with a dropper-like head to make applying their contents on surfaces easier.
- After that, let the lubricant loosen the fastener. You can wait for around 10-15 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
- Next, grab your propane torch and light it up before heating up your fastener with it while gently hammering the bolt or nut until it starts showing signs of loosening.
- Then, grab your pliers tool and adjust its head until it properly locks around the fastener you want to unscrew or unbolt.
- Now, start twisting the fastener in an anti-clockwise direction until it comes off.
- Finally, separate your faucet from the water line and gently remove it from the sink.
Note: When heating up the nut or bolt that holds your faucet in place so that it expands and loosens a little bit for easier unfastening, watch out not to burn your water line.
Unlike the nut or bolt and the faucet itself, the tailpiece of your faucet is not made of metal(at least for many standard tailpieces out there), a material that does not easily get damaged by heat.
Instead, most such facet tailpieces are made of plastic, which is very susceptible to heat damage. Keeping that in mind, avoid directing the flame anywhere else on your faucet’s tailpiece other than on the fastener you hope to unfasten.
Final Verdict
While very useful, a basin wrench is not an essential tool in removing a kitchen faucet. With a little basic science and thinking out of the box, you can easily remove your kitchen faucet from your sink without using the wrench.
All it takes to do so is taking advantage of the expansion characteristic of metals when exposed to heat and a few basic plumbing tools and a product. These include; a pair of adjustable pliers, a hammer, a propane torch, and a nut and/or bolt unfastener lubricant. With that said, good luck with your faucet removal project without a basin wrench.