Had a customer's damper handle snap clean off in my hand yesterday.

It was a cast iron unit in a 1920s house, just gave way when I went to close it. Had to improvise with a pair of locking pliers to get the flue shut for the sweep. Anyone run into this on the really old ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_butler1mo ago

What, did it just decide it was finally time to retire? That old iron was probably tired of holding back a century of soot. At least you had the vise grips handy.

emerycarr1mo ago

Hang on @morgan_butler, i gotta push back a little. Vise grips are for holding stuff, not turning it. You need a big pipe wrench or a spud wrench for that old cast iron stack. My neighbor tried vise grips on his 5-inch hub and just tore the metal up. Saved the day with a 24-inch pipe wrench and a lot of cussing.

grantt111mo ago

Yeah @morgan_butler, my 80-year-old main stack gave up last winter. A pipe wrench and some plumber's tape got me through the weekend.