A retired guy in a Wyoming parts yard taught me the best trick for a stuck union nut

I was working on a feedwater heater in Casper last month and the union nut was seized solid. An old timer named Ray saw me struggling and walked over. He told me, 'Kid, heat it with your torch, then tap it with a hammer, but hit the flat, not the corners.' He said he learned that in 1972 on a Navy boiler. Has anyone else got a good trick for frozen fittings?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_patel22d agoMost Upvoted

Try a little penetrating oil first next time.

felix_black21d ago

My last attempt with a stuck gas cap involved a full can of WD-40, a pair of pliers, and a piece that finally came off in three chunks. The oil just made everything slippery. I spent twenty minutes cleaning the mess off my hands and the driveway. Heat would have been smarter, but I'm committed to trying every wrong method first.

the_henry22d ago

Penetrating oil's for rusted stuff. This is just a stuck plastic cap. Heat gun works better.