Socket wrench for toilet oval water shutoff valve

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.
Attachment 34848


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.

Attachment 34849 Attachment 34850

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.

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Thanks Don42! We've added your Toilet Valve Socket to our Miscellaneous category,
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<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-toilet-valve-socket"> <img src="/uploads/233004/homemade-toilet-valve-socket.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-toilet-valve-socket">Toilet Valve Socket</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Don42">Don42</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/specialty-socket'>specialty socket</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Nice solution to your problem. I hope it does the trick!

As a maintenance guy in an apartment community I’ve been on the wrong side of those valves plenty of times - things like bad washers and seats or the handle snapping off in my hand. I always take replacements with me when I go to work on an old faucet or toilet. The quickest adjustment can turn into a major project in the blink of an eye.

Did you try loosening off the packing nut when trying to turn the handle? That usually loosens them up.

I hate those handles!

While musing on alternate designs for such a tool, it occurred to me that a beefier variant of this style of gripper...

https://www.amazon.com/Squadron-Prod...784647&sr=8-14

would accommodate many odd-shaped handle (OSH) designs.

Imagine a 1/8" steel plate with an array of holes drilled through it. The back side of this plate has a chunk of 3/8" hex steel welded in the middle.

In use bolts would be passed through the holes in a pattern that trapped the OSH. The bolts would be secured in place with nuts. Then a socket wrench would be used on the 3/8" hex steel to torque the OSH.

I also detest those handles, designed by someone who never had to use one in the field like so many things these days. I once installed a shower enclosure for a customer which leaked in use, after several attempts to fix it I gave up and called the suppliers service engineer who on arrival said I told them they would have trouble marketing this but they would not listen to me saying it works fine in computer design

I have only encountered the plastic bodied variety but has the same handle, I would remove the central screw and handle and use an extended radiator key to work on the exposed square shaft. We all find our own ways to get through the days problems.

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Originally Posted by olderdan

I also detest those handles, designed by someone who never had to use one in the field like so many things these days. I once installed a shower enclosure for a customer which leaked in use, after several attempts to fix it I gave up and called the suppliers service engineer who on arrival said I told them they would have trouble marketing this but they would not listen to me saying it works fine in computer design

I have only encountered the plastic bodied variety but has the same handle, I would remove the central screw and handle and use an extended radiator key to work on the exposed square shaft. We all find our own ways to get through the days problems.

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One of the things we do is design PC boards. Some of the very dense parts can be close to impossible to connect to. I wound up being a speaker at an electronics trade show regarding how the part designers never actually had to USE their parts.

A processor in a ball grid array specified a certain number and sizes of capacitors to be placed on the back of the PC board directly beneath the power pins. We couldn't get them to fit so I contacted the engineers there (I used to have a direct line to them as an expert user). They said on their test boards they only used half the capacitors...because they couldn't get them to fit. But they didn't change the specification before publishing it.

A ball grid array with rows and rows of pins would require many may layers of PC board to connect. The engineers said there was no need for all those layers. This escalated until we got them to send an engineer to our office. We sat him in front of the CAD system and said SHOW US. He couldn't do it without adding MORE layers than we had proposed. The board wound up being 14 layers.

A high speed chip specified all the fast lines had to be 0.025" wide and on the same side of the board, but the pins they came off of were on 0.015" centers. I need a space squeezer to make that work!

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Imagine a 1/8" steel plate with an array of holes drilled through it. The back side of this plate has a chunk of 3/8" hex steel welded in the middle.

In use bolts would be passed through the holes in a pattern that trapped the OSH. The bolts would be secured in place with nuts. Then a socket wrench would be used on the 3/8" hex steel to torque the OSH.

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If'n one used 3/16" or 1/4" plate and threaded the holes, nuts wouldn't be needed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jdurand

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A high speed chip specified all the fast lines had to be 0.025" wide and on the same side of the board, but the https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...lleyes.pngpins they came off of were on 0.015" centers. I need a space squeezer to make that work!

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Did your autorouter jump out of the computer and roll on the floor laughing? :rolleyes:

She did have some unkind comments about whoever wrote that spec.

I happen to be married to my autorouter, "Sharon, here's a board to do" and presto, a beautiful PC board appears in the CAD system. She also cooks for me (except when I do some of the cooking).

Sounds like a keeper:thumbsup:

First thing I do when I move into a house (and installed my own in the house we built) is shut off the water and replace all the gate type supply valves with actual 1/4 turn ball valves. First house I did it on I needed to replace a toilet 20 years after I replaced the valve. I just gave it a quick turn and it worked smoothly and easily. Replaced toilet flush valves and faucet sets multiple times and never had a leak or any other issue. I never went back and the extra cost is worth it since you only have to pay it once. I put them in my parents house too when I replaced their kitchen sink and faucet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hoosiersmoker

First thing I do when I move into a house (and installed my own in the house we built) is shut off the water and replace all the gate type supply valves with actual 1/4 turn ball valves. First house I did it on I needed to replace a toilet 20 years after I replaced the valve. I just gave it a quick turn and it worked smoothly and easily. Replaced toilet flush valves and faucet sets multiple times and never had a leak or any other issue. I never went back and the extra cost is worth it since you only have to pay it once. I put them in my parents house too when I replaced their kitchen sink and faucet.

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we specified ALL ball valves in our new house. The plumber did one better, all stainless steel ball valves.

Then he went and ran a screw into the hot wire of a power cable buried in the wall. The electrician had warned him there were wires there.

So then the electrician fixed it by disconnecting the hot wire and then using the yellow green for the new hot wire. :brickwall:

I work as a maintenance mechanic at a hospital. When ever possible we replace this type of valve with a 1/4 turn valve. No more leak by or restricted flow when the rubber seat fails.

Roger that! Ditto here.

I've had similar issues with older plumbing fixtures around the house. Sometimes, improvising with a custom tool is the best way to get the job done without damaging anything. Good job on welding and shaping it yourself.

Any time I need to replace a toilet or faucet, it also gets a new shut-off valve. (valves).

Most I've used will balk if they are any good. The bad ones will ignore the rule until they run error check stage.