Getting a stuck attachment out of a return pipe

[DocEric]

Hi all - dumb question here, but I’m at a loss and don’t want to break anything. I was trying to raise my pH after adding Muriatic acid and found a new fountain attachment that the previous owners had never used. I unscrewed the eyeball from one of my returns and screwed in this piece to connect to the fountain.

pH adjusted just fine, but now I can’t get the Dang piece out, and it’s built such that I can’t get a pair of pliers in to unscrew it either. Any tips on how to remove a stick eyeball or other connector? Any tricks to prevent them from getting stuck in the first place? (Should I lube them somehow?)

Thanks in advance. I’ve tried for several weeks to get this Dang attachment out without luck.

 

[DocEric]

This is almost the identical piece I used. The ring on the right screws into the water outlet and the elbow pipe is loose. On of the small tabs broke off when I attempted to unscrew it, and with the Elbow pipe through the ring, its very hard to grasp the ring to twist or break it. I’m fine with destroying this cheap part, but I don’t want to damage my PVC inlet.

 

[jtpipkin]

can you grab the elbow piece and try to turn it while wiggling it a little? those underwater fittings can get jammed quite easily at times but they always seems to come undone with a little play (hope that makes sense...)

 

[ajw22]

Try one of these removal tools.

Hayward Inlet Eyeball Removal - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

A hacksaw blade may be best. Make shallow cuts around until you can peel pieces out. Don’t cut deep to damage the return threads.

 

[DocEric]

The elbow piece is loose which is the biggest challenge. I may try breaking that part off and using the hacksaw trick. Has anyone ever used silicone pool lube (for the o-rings) before screwing something into the eyeball outlets? I’m now a little gun shy.