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Saw a guy using a 4-foot cheater bar on a 12-inch valve flange today
He torqued it down so hard we had to cut the bolts off during the morning bell. Why do people think brute force is better than using a proper torque wrench on underwater fittings?
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nora_dixon28d ago
Had a similar thing happen to me on a water main valve last year. Bought a heavy duty torque wrench after that and never looked back. The trick is to use the right tool for the job and actually follow the manufacturer's specs for those underwater fittings. We stopped leaving the cheater bars on site so the guys would have to think twice before just reefing on things. If you gotta crank that hard something is already wrong with your setup.
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joelwells28d ago
Gotta push back a little @nora_dixon on the water main valve part, most of those are designed to be hand tightened and then a quarter turn with a normal wrench, not torqued to spec like a flange bolt.
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matthewkim28d ago
Man... did y'all ever figure out WHY the guy grabbed that 4-foot bar in the first place? Like was the valve leaking already and he panicked, or was it just some old school "tighten it till it strips" mentality? I've seen guys do this on fresh installs too, no corrosion or nothing, just whip out a cheater bar and crank on a 6-inch bolt like they're trying to break the water main. Always wondered if it's a pride thing or just not knowing better.
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