Suburban water heater - tap die thread tool?

I imagine a little clr and a brush, or maybe vinegar.


or we use these here at work

Know what there are many 3/4" 14NPT on Ebay. Their price is pretty reasonable. Tmw I will check at TSC (Tractor Supply Farm store). I am sure they have.

PRodacy wrote:
You can buy nearly anything on earth at McMasterCarr. Com

Ouch! the price is way too much. It is more for serious job. Glad you brought it up. They sure do have about everything you need. Thanks!

I bot my tap off of ebay. works great and was the econo model. :C

just calcium or light gunge - I sawed the handle off of a 3/4 copper pipe brush, put that puppy on the hand drill and do an easy in and out, don't go nutso with it.

Thanks for mentioning them PRodacy, I couldn't think of the name. And you're right: they have about anything you can think of, and lots of things you'll never think of.

You can buy nearly anything on earth at McMasterCarr. Com

I just replaced the anode on mine. There was LOTS of crud in the tank and I figured some of it had to get lodged in the threads even after flushing. So I got the 'firmest' toothbrush I could find and spun it around the threads several times. I know this won't fix buggered up threads, but it will get any sand or grit out of them if that's all you're worried about.

* And FWIW I stumbled across a youtube video that shows why you don't want to replace the anode with the aftermarket anode that has a drain spigot on it. This anode showed basically no deterioration in 2 years so it was replaced with an OEM magnesium anode. The magnesium anode was 50% gone when it was pulled after 16 months. The video is by RVGeeks. As the video points out, it's a Good Thing when the anode deteriorates instead of the water heater itself.

Tim

Rock2 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Yeah, it's a 3/4" NPT. I bought one for my water heater. The tap works great as long as you don't get carried away and go too far. Just use it to clean up the threads and it works the champ. I've tried using the nipples, and the nipples with grooves cut across the threads, but nothing works as well as a tap. You don't have to create new threads, just clean up the ones that are there. The right tool for the job.

Where did you buy? ACE hardware store doesnt have size. That is what I need to clean up the thread.

Picked it up off Amazon. Most big box hardware stores won't have a tap that size. If you have an industrial supply place like Graingers, they will have it.

The last time I went through this, I bought a wire brush, due to a members suggestion. I believe it was a 3/4 wire brush, that fits in my drill. That cleaned my threads up like new.

I flushed the tank, put the new anode in, and done.

Jerry

Amazon

Amazon has them