Removing Blanco waste from sink

[MadAlicesDad]

Again our (expensive) Blanco sink is leaking from its (expensive) waste fittings. Unfortunately this time I cannot shift the threaded bush that holds it all together. What's the best tool to use as even my biggest flat bladed screwdriver is too small to span the hole.

This is the second genuine Blanco waste kit to fail in less than 5 years so if/when I do get it out I would like to replace it with another manufacturer's design that hopefully performs and lasts as well as the £5 kit I fitted to the sink in the utility room many years ago.
I guess it will mean replumbing under the sink because IIRC the Blanco waste pipes are a different size to UK standard, but are waste systems basically interchangeable, or am I stuck with Blanco?

TIA
Mike

 

[HERTS P&D]

5p and a pair of grips.

Andy

 

[MadAlicesDad]

I'll give it a go tomorrow but I think the inner edges of the 'slot' have been worn by attempts to move it so a round coin may slip. However a washer with a flat filed on it may be the answer. Whatever I try, I hadn't thought of using grips to hold something; many thanks for the hint.

Mike

 

[dilalio]

You could also try some boiling water down it first. Or some Wd.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

A 5p piece was too small and kept slipping but a 25mm penny washer with a flat filed on it fitted perfectly (and cheaper too). Tried boiling water, pipe freezer and WD40 in various combinations but it was still too tight to remove. I even cut a slot down the inside of the threaded bush with a junior hacksaw blade until I could see the grooves of the thread from the inside but it still would not come free. I finally squeezed the top of the bush with mole grips until the brass snapped.

Failure mode was exactly the same as before: metal insert in plastic 'bowl' seizes onto threaded bush and with a couple of knocks the plastic cracks, the bush moves and the seals leak.

£6.99 in Screwfix gets a cheap replacement without a metal insert, and with liberal use of silicone sealant I refitted the original Blanco stainless waste to it. It also fitted the waste pipes without any adaption necessary.

Let's see if this lasts more than 18 months...

Mike