The first step to extracting
the hose, expansion ring, and tail gasket from a used coupling is to firmly
clamp it in a vise as shown to the right. As you can see there is a
block of wood between the coupling and the vise. This will protect the
end of the coupling when the extraction tool is driven into it with a
hammer. Additionally, some pieces of old hose can be wrapped around
the bowl to protect it from the serrations in the vise jaws.
Once the coupling is firmly gripped the next step is to
trim the hose flush to the edge of the coupling bowl.
The next picture shows the
hose cut flush and gives a peek inside the bowl. If you click on the
picture it will enlarge so you can see the detail. The ridges in the
brass expansion ring were caused by the tooling of the hose expander.
Note that they are deep and distinct which shows that the ring is deeply set
into the bowl. If you look at the forward edge of the expansion ring
you will see bulges of the tail gasket where it has squeezed through the gap
between the ring and the coupling. Bulges this big are readily
acceptable and provide a way to feel the finished job and assure yourself
that the gasket is in the coupling and seated. That said, the bigger
the bulges the more they can affect flow. It is preferable to keep
these bulges as small as possible.
This picture shows an
expansion ring remover being used however, my favorite tool is a long, heavy
duty flat screwdriver that has had the end rounded and blunted. First
the tool is set at an angle as pictured. This will allow the tool to
get behind the ring. Give it a few blows and make sure the tool is
behind the ring. Next, stand the tool straight up and drive it until
it is fully seated.
If you cannot get your
tool of choice between the ring and the hose or coupling, use a center punch
and a hammer to open up an area for the tool.
Here the tool is fully
inserted into the bowl of the coupling.
Be
careful not to drive the tool too deep, especially on smaller couplings.
The prongs on the extraction tool are sharp enough to actually puncture the
bottom of smaller couplings. The prong has to be driven a minimum of
2/3's of the way down or it will simply slip out of the coupling.
Now the tool is tilted to push
the very bottom of the ring to the center of the coupling. When using
the blunted screwdriver you can just keep levering until the expansion ring
pops out and the next step can be ignored.
When using the expansion ring
remover it is given a 180 degree turn which collapses the expansion ring and
makes it easy to pull out.
Regardless of which tool is
used you will get a clump out of the coupling that looks like this.
Cut the hose away from the old expansion ring and discard it. Save the
old expansion ring in your brass pile because it doesn't take long to
collect enough brass to help out the soda kitty.
Now get a flat blade
screwdriver and remove the old tail gasket and the coupling will be ready
for reuse.
Don't worry too much about the
tooling marks in the coupling bowl. If they are no deeper than those
shown here it will not be a problem. The gasket will expand into any
small defects like those shown.
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