eyeball removal tool?

[ethany]

I finally found one but it did not work. The way my return eyeball is designed,the eyeball does not screw out, it is held in by the ring that screws into the port. So you cannot use the tool with eyeball in place,so what i bought is useless.

Is there a tool that would work for this situation,or can I retrofit my returns with new eyeballs?The only way I could get them out is to use a hammer and pound a screwdriver to the rings,some of the plastic around the ring gets damaged and sooner or later I will need new ones.

 

[waste]

Try using needle nose pliers to lock onto the ring :idea:

 

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i don't know if i understand what you're asking or not, but i asked a pool-friend the same question, about how to get ours out, and he said to unscrew the outer part (that sticks out into the pool, that you can sometimes unscrew just by hand) and then to use a wooden paint stirring stick, like from Home Depot, to wedge inside the larger opening to use as a lever to unscrew it. it worked for us!

if that's not what you needed to know, i'm sure someone else around here will give you a better answer

 

[joenj]

I had to use channel lock pliers before.

If you wrap the threads with teflon tape, this will make removing the eyeballs easier. I forgot to wrap the pressure cleaner adapter in the spring. Needed the pliers and already wrapped the threads for next year.

 

[MikeInTN]

The biggest problem I had was I couldn't get a good enough grip to turn mine by hand until I put a rubber/nitrile glove on. After that, I had no problem whatsoever getting a grip and getting them to turn.

 

[DaveNJ]

I use a Quickgrip small rubber strap wrench. I use it on stubborn pvc couplers also.

 

[gkruske]

I butchered one up pretty bad not long ago. Unusable, ended up replacing it. What worked?

Shoving in a rubber winterized plug, and unscrewing. Plan on using one again if I have any trouble closing this weekend.

Greg

 

[ethany]

I wonder if there is a lube you can use that might help. At this rate I will have to replace every couple of years. I don't know why they are so tight.

 

[waste]

A couple wraps of Teflon tape will help prevent 'sticky eyeballs' (as per Joe )

 

[zimm27]

Sorry to dig up such an old thread, but had a similar question and thought I would add some relevant information to the one post I could find that seemed to directly address it. I have a few eyelets that I have some stubborn rings I can't get to budge (partially because they are at the edge of reach in cold water), so have been searching for the same. Looks like something like this would work, but I have an old cheap set of needle nose pliers I might sacrifice to potential rusting first:

Eyeball Return Jet Removal Wrench Discounter's Pool and Spa

Feherguard Eyeball Wrench Our Pool Store- FREE SHIPPING

For removal of the inner eyeball seat area (which I do not need to do but seems to be the only thing that comes up in any search I do for removing the ring) - I happened across this site that has some overkill but nifty specific tools for this:
http://www.toolsforpools.com/lassenterprises/EyeBall_Seat_Wrench.html

The solid aluminum ones seem to be great if over-engineered solution for these simple issues and the ESW-2 looks like the back end of it would also remove rings as well.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

Those are all nice tools.. I have owned them all,
the metal tools have gone MIA on me.