Socket wrench for toilet oval water shutoff valve

[Don42]

The fill valve on my toilet has a slow leak. That’s the one that a float is supposed to shut off when the tank refills. Mine doesn’t quite shut off. It dribbles a little.

In order to replace it, I need to shut off the water feed to the toilet. That’s one of those little valves with the oval handles.



Like most plumbing opportunities, It’s in a place that’s awkward to get at – and like most older things (including me) it is very stiff. I can’t turn it with my bare hand and I can’t quite get a pliers or wrench on it. So today, rather than fixing the toilet as was my plan for today, I made a tool. It’s an oval socket wrench to fit the handle of an oval-handled toilet valve.



I cut a slightly oversized oval out of 1/8” steel and shaped it with the belt sander. Then I cut a 6” piece of 1/8 x 3/4 steel, welded one corner of it to the side of the steel ellipse. Then, while heating it to orange heat with an oxy-acetylene torch I bent it around the oval until it enclosed the oval. Then I welded it all round to the ellipse and welded the ends together. Then I cut off a piece of ¾” hex stock and welded that to the ellipse from the inside. I'd turned a 1/2" boss on it that goes thru a 1/2" hole in the oval. The hex will fit a 3/4" socket on the end of a long extension and driven by a 1/2" ratchet wrench.