On 27 August 2021 at 09:32 Mark McGovern <mfmcgovern@...> wrote:

Ian,

Brilliant idea!  I struggled for a few minutes trying to remove one end cap using an oil filter wrench and a large pair of Channellocks and while I could spin the cap in circles I was barely able to move the cap outward even just a little.  I searched "watermaker end cap" on the forum and found your post from over 14 years ago.  I did pretty much exactly as you described and the first end cap popped right out on the 3rd "slightly" forceful pull.  Below are some pics of the setup:



The hose clamp technique woulding work for the end caps with the hardware screwed into them and I didn't want to risk removing the hardware.  Given how easy the other end caps came off,  I just grabbed a screwdriver and a soft faced mallet and was able to knock them out with a few gentle wraps of the mallet on the screwdriver handle with blade of the screwdriver on the stainless steel hardware bracket as shown in the picture below:



I had all four end caps off in a matter of minutes.

And yes, for those of you who read my earlier post about my transmission oil cooler failure the other day, at least one of our saltwater membranes just failed yesterday.  TDS has been creeping up steadily the last few times I've run it and this time we were making product water with a TDS of around 1000.  When it rains it pours!

--
Mark McGovern
SM #440 Cara
Belfast, ME USA