Broken drain plug help

Rob621 · Mar 20, 2012

Anyone have any tricks fro removing a plastic threaded drain plug that the head broke off of? The plug on my Hayward chlorinator broke off at closing in the fall. :grrrr: Now I need to get the remaining portion of the plug out to install a new one. I tried drilling a hole in it and then tapping with a screw driver with no luck. Also tried sticking a pair of needle nose in the hole, opening and twisting. No luck either. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

jblizzle · Mar 20, 2012

Did you just use a normal screw or a left handed one?

I would think it would come out fairly easy with an Easy Out which is threaded "backward" so that as you turn CCW, the bit tightens/grabs the stuck bolt/plug and hopefully breaks it loose. Since you already drilled a hole, you will want to use a similar sized Easy Out.

EDIT: Note sure how big it is but could you put 2 screws offset into the plug and then an adjustable wrench on both screws to get torque?

JohnT · Mar 20, 2012

Left-handed drill bits are one of my favorite tricks if there is enough room to drill a larger hole.

gcalahan · Mar 20, 2012

Rob621 said:
Anyone have any tricks fro removing a plastic threaded drain plug that the head broke off of? The plug on my Hayward chlorinator broke off at closing in the fall. :grrrr: Now I need to get the remaining portion of the plug out to install a new one. I tried drilling a hole in it and then tapping with a screw driver with no luck. Also tried sticking a pair of needle nose in the hole, opening and twisting. No luck either. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Maybe drill a series of holes on both sides of the hole you currently have. Drill the holes so they overlap the original hole so you sort of make a slot out of the holes. Place a flat blade screwdriver in the slot and turn.

Melt In The Sun · Mar 20, 2012

Sort of the same trick as gcalahan posted, but if you have room you can use something like a Dremel to cut a slot, then use a normal slotted screwdriver to get it out.

JamesW · Mar 20, 2012

Heat up the end of a flat blade screwdriver and push it into the plastic. Not so hot that it burns the plastic, but just hot enough to melt it enough to get the screwdriver in enough to get a good bite. Hold it there for about 60 seconds to allow it to cool down and then unscrew the plug.

Melt In The Sun · Mar 20, 2012

JamesW said:
Heat up the end of a flat blade screwdriver and push it into the plastic. Not so hot that it burns the plastic, but just hot enough to melt it enough to get the screwdriver in enough to get a good bite. Hold it there for about 60 seconds to allow it to cool down and then unscrew the plug.

That's a slick idea...thanks for sharing it.

Rob621 · Mar 21, 2012

Some good ideas here. I'll give them a shot. Thanks guys!

JamesW · Mar 21, 2012

Also, if you do use the hot screwdriver technique, be careful not to get near the threads. Don't use a screwdriver that's too wide, and keep the blade in the center of the plug.