Smart Dumbell
Smart Dumbell, drain and spud wrench.
The Smart Dumbell is one of my favorite Pasco products. It is the first tool I reach for when I want to turn a tub drain. It drops into place easily and grips well. You can turn it with your hand, an adjustable wrench, or a Phillips screwdriver. Because there is no attached handle it may be turned without lifting and resetting it. Here is an interesting tip, many of the modern tub drain assemblies are made of ABS plastic. Two factors need to be kept in mind when working with ABS threads. ABS is a weak material, and it’s threads don’t slide easily together. Because of this it is all too easy to cross thread and damage ABS threads. There are two things you can do to help prevent cross threading a tub drain body into an ABS drain boot. Apply some clean toilet wax onto the male and female threads of the drain parts to cut the friction, and start the thread by turning backwards till the two thread ramps drop together. This is where this Pasco tool helps you. With no lateral handle in the way it acts like a nut driver when you wrap your hand around it, giving you a very good tactile understanding of how the parts are coming together. It helps you see that the drain body is straight, and allows you to turn it with no lateral force. Another note on that tub drain, I like to start the threads once after I wax them to see and feel them come together before I put the parts in their final positions. This gives me an idea of how much friction to expect on assembly. Don’t forget your Smart Dumbell will also back hold kitchen, bar, and laundry sink strainers. You should be turning only the nuts, not the drain bodies when you install them so a back hold is important. It will work on some lav drains, and on most spuds. It is non marring, inexpensive, versatile, and one of the lightest of the plumbing tools in your toolbox.