Plumbing Wrenches, Nipple Extractors, and PEX Crimpers

The single rule that saves the most rounded fittings and leaky joints: match the tool to the pipe material and the shape of what you’re gripping. To choose plumbing tools effectively, you have to match the tool to the material and fitting shape. Grab the wrong wrench and you’ll round off a fitting, mar a threaded connection, or scratch a finished surface. The tool category here covers three jobs: gripping and turning pipe, pulling broken threaded pieces out of fittings, and joining PEX.

Here’s the short version. Pipe wrenches have serrated jaws that grip round surfaces, with different sizes accommodating various pipe diameters — essential for almost all pipe work. Adjustable wrenches tighten and loosen hexagonal nuts and fittings on pipes, and plumbers most often keep the 6- and 10-inch versions on hand. Use the wrong one of those two and you’ve already made a mistake.

The Wrench Types and What Each Actually Does

No single wrench does everything. There’s no single all-purpose wrench, so well-prepared plumbers usually bring several to a job site. Here’s how the main types break down.

Pipe wrench. The workhorse. The pipe wrench is a plumber’s largest wrench, used to tighten and loosen nuts and fittings on pipework. Plumbers typically use two together — one to hold a pipe in place and the other to rotate the nut or fitting. The serrated jaws are the whole point — they bite harder under load, which is exactly what you want on round, threaded, or corroded metal. That same bite is why you never put one on a finished or hex fitting.

Adjustable (Crescent) wrench. Flat-sided and hexagonal fittings only. Versatile for nuts and bolts of different sizes where a pipe wrench isn’t suitable, it adjusts to fit hexagonal and square nuts/bolts on fixtures, supply lines, and fittings.

Basin wrench. The one that saves your knuckles under a sink. Specifically designed for reaching and turning nuts in tight spaces like faucet mounts under sinks — the long shaft and swiveling jaw allow access to hard-to-reach nuts securing faucets and fixtures. A telescoping handle provides longer reach where needed.

Strap wrench. For anything you can’t afford to scratch. For gripping and turning polished or plastic pipes and fittings without scratching or marring them — a strap wraps around the pipe, providing grip without damaging the surface. Ideal for chrome, PVC, and other delicate materials.

A couple of specialty grips fill the gaps. The offset hex wrench is common in plumbing — its hex-shaped clamp and offset design allow a secure grip on hex nuts, square nuts, unions, valve packing nuts and more. And for oversized work, a chain wrench handles very large diameter pipes or awkwardly shaped fittings where standard pipe wrenches won’t fit — a chain wraps around the pipe providing immense gripping power.

Wrench type	Use it on	Sizes
Pipe wrench	Round, threaded, corroded metal pipe	6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 14”, 18”, 24”
Adjustable (Crescent)	Flat-sided/hex fittings only	6” and 10” most common
Basin wrench	Mounting nuts behind sinks	11” telescoping; adjustable models
Strap wrench	Chrome, PVC, polished pipe	Rubber and metal

Western Building Center’s wrench listings run toward the under-sink and fixture end of that table — basin wrenches in 11-inch and 16-inch, an adjustable 9-to-16-inch basin model, lock nut wrenches, a bath/sink drain wrench, and even a cartridge housing wrench and water heater element wrench for specific repairs.

Nipple Extractors: Pulling Broken Threaded Pipe

This is the tool most buyers don’t understand until they’re staring at a snapped-off nipple stuck in a fitting. Montana’s freeze-thaw cycling is hard on older threaded connections, so this one earns its place in a repair kit here.

An internal pipe wrench, or nipple extractor, removes broken pipe threads or nipples from fittings — it inserts into the broken pipe end, expands to grip, and allows removal. The advantage over hacking it out: it removes old or broken pipe nipples from the fitting without damaging the components.

These come as sets sized to the pipe. A typical three-piece set covers 3/8-inch, 1/2-inch, and 3/4-inch capacities, with each internal nipple wrench 3.7 inches long. Size matters more than people expect — these extractors fit pipes with the same diameter, so you need to make sure your pipe inner diameter matches the tool before use.

How it works: a machined, heat-treated cam forms a strong internal grip on the broken pipe, making it easy to catch pipe fragments. Then you use a fixed or adjustable wrench to turn the hex body for increased torque — counterclockwise to loosen, clockwise to tighten. Two limits worth knowing. Operate slowly and smoothly to avoid wrench slippage. And material matters — the set works for plumbing and HVAC connections but is not suitable for PVC or bronze pipes.

PEX Crimp and Cinch Tools vs. Expansion Tools

For modern water lines, this is the decision that determines which tool — and which fittings — you buy. PEX is widely chosen for cold-climate water lines, and the connection method splits two ways.

Crimp/cinch. A crimping tool creates watertight seals in copper and PEX systems — a set of jaws applies pressure on crimp rings to create connections between the pipe and a fitting. The connections are secure, the work is quick and efficient, and it doesn’t involve open flame. That flame-free part matters when you’re working inside finished walls. Cinch tools handle a standard range of clamp sizes — 3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8”, 3/4”, and 1”. Designed to meet the ASTM F2098 standard, these crimpers work with 3/8” through 1” stainless steel PEX clamp rings for most common plumbing applications.

Pick your rings carefully. Stainless and NSF-certified is the standard — corrosion-resistant clamp rings finished for long-lasting strength, for use with brass or poly PEX crimp fittings, NSF certified. Corrosion resistance is what buys you long-term reliability on lines that sit in cold, sometimes damp Montana spaces.

The tools themselves come in three flavors, and you choose by how much you’ll run and how hard it is on your hands:

• Two-handed manual — basic, lowest strain per unit but needs both hands. Some kits require two hands to operate.
• One-handed ratcheting — a patented ratcheting design enables single-hand use, ideal for tight spaces such as under sinks, ladders, and rooftops. A useful safeguard: the tool only releases when the crimp is fully secured, and it’s factory-calibrated for leak-free performance right out of the box.
• Battery-powered — for volume work. The PEX crimp ring tool is available in manual or battery-powered design for a tight, secure fit.

Expansion. A different system entirely. A PEX pipe expander is for installing and repairing PEX-A tubing specifically — it enlarges the end of the tubing to insert a fitting, an alternative to crimping, and a faster way of making connections. This follows the ASTM F1960 standard and requires its own tool and fitting system. Expanders come electric or hand-operated. The takeaway: crimp fittings and expansion fittings are not interchangeable, so settle on a method before you buy.

Some crimp kits bundle extras. A cutter is common — an all-in-one PEX-B installation set can include a tubing cutter that cuts up to 1 inch, plus clamps and the cinch tool. And a few add a removal mode: a patented tool that cinches and removes clamp rings in one unit, allowing fittings to be re-used.

Western Building Center carries PEX crimp ring tooling in the 3/8”-to-1” range and a dedicated 1/2”-by-3/4” model — the two sizes that cover most residential water lines.

Building a Kit by Experience Level

Don’t overspend on tools you won’t touch. A sensible apprentice or DIY core runs to pipe wrenches, channel locks, a basin wrench, tubing cutters, and a basic auger. In practical terms, start with 10-inch and 14-inch pipe wrenches, an adjustable wrench set, a basin wrench, and tubing cutters. That covers most household repairs.

The pro upgrade tier adds reach and joining capability. A full pipe wrench set in 10”, 14”, 18”, and 24” plus a 6” offset, along with a PEX crimp tool set covering 3/8” to 1”, rounds out the kit. For expansion PEX, you’ll also want a separate PEX expander tool, required for ASTM F1960 expansion fittings.

One sizing rule keeps you honest: match your crimp tool capacity to the diameters you actually run. Most residential work lives at 1/2” and 3/4”, so a tool spanning that range — or a dedicated 1/2”/3/4” crimper — handles the bulk of the job without paying for capacity you’ll rarely use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t I just use an adjustable wrench on a pipe? An adjustable wrench is built for flat-sided and hexagonal fittings. It adjusts to fit hexagonal and square nuts and bolts on fixtures, supply lines, and fittings. Round pipe needs a pipe wrench, whose serrated jaws grip round surfaces. Put an adjustable on round pipe and it slips or rounds the surface.

How do I get a broken threaded nipple out without wrecking the fitting? Use an internal pipe wrench, or nipple extractor. It removes old or broken pipe nipples from the fitting without damaging the components. A heat-treated cam grips inside the broken pipe; turn the hex body with a fixed or adjustable wrench, counterclockwise to loosen. Match the extractor size to the pipe’s inner diameter, and don’t use it on PVC or bronze.

What’s the difference between PEX crimp and PEX expansion? Crimp/cinch tools apply pressure on crimp rings to create connections between the pipe and a fitting. Expansion tools enlarge the end of PEX tubing to insert fittings, as an alternative to crimping. They use different fittings and different standards — crimp follows ASTM F2098, expansion follows ASTM F1960 — so the systems aren’t interchangeable.

Should I get a one-handed or two-handed crimp tool? Depends on job volume and how tight your spaces are. A one-handed ratcheting design is ideal for tight spaces such as under sinks, ladders, and rooftops, and only releases when the crimp is fully secured. Two-handed manual tools cost less and work fine for occasional use, but they require both hands to operate. Battery-powered makes sense for high-volume installs.

What size PEX crimper covers most home plumbing? Most residential water lines are 1/2” and 3/4”. A tool spanning 3/8” to 1” covers those plus the outliers, and crimpers in that range work with 3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8”, 3/4”, and 1” stainless steel clamp rings for most common plumbing applications.

Do I need a strap wrench if I already own pipe and adjustable wrenches? For chrome and polished fixtures, yes. A strap wrench grips and turns polished or plastic pipes and fittings without scratching or marring them — ideal for chrome, PVC, and other delicate materials. A serrated pipe wrench will chew up those finishes.