How to remove plastic sleeve from rotary line ground spike

Lulu58

Dear all, I hope this is the correct forum to post this question to.

I've got a metal washing line 'spike' which is cemented into the ground.

Within the spike there are two plastic tubes/sleeves which sit inside one another.  The tubes have dropped approx 8 inches below the top of the spike. They've been there for a few years and work ok with our existing rotary washing line but this has now broken.

We have a new rotary washing line and it doesn't fit into the spike with the tubes/sleeves, but we are struggling to reach them and they appear to be very stuck!

Can anyone suggest a way to loosen the sleeves and remove them?

Thank you  

CliveOfIndia

The plastic sleeves should be "loose" (i.e. not fixed in) but it's highly likely they've got gunged up/a bit deformed over the years and are just stuck.  The simplest thing to try first is to see if you can work a flat-bladed screwdriver in between the sleeve and the metal tube, give it a wiggle around and hopefully that will loosed it off.  Then grab it with a pair of pliers and you should be able to pull it out.  Or even just use the screwdriver to manoeuvrer it up and out if it's too deep to get hold of with pliers.

If you're not wanting to reuse the sleeves and you've got an old screwdriver that doesn't matter if its blade takes a bit of abuse, then do the same thing with a bit more force if necessary.  Odds on that'll just break the sleeve if it doesn't want to come free, then you'll just need to fiddle around with some long-nosed pliers or a bit of wire to fish the broken bits out.

But I reckon a bit of gentle persuasion, working around the circumference, should loosen it enough for you to be able to grab it and pull it out in one piece.

If all else fails, you can buy a new (basic, no-frills) spike for a fiver or so, if you get really stuck.  I only know this because I bought one just last week

Lulu58

Thanks for the suggestions, CliveOfIndia. I'll dig out my old screwdrivers and see if I can find one long enough!

twopenny

Pour boiling hot water in to soften them?
Then pick, dig and pull.

GDB2222

There are lots of ways to get this done. Why not start with a list of the tools that you have available?

ThisIsWeird

Do you have stiff wire like fence wire? If so, get (a couple, if possible) a short length and bend a wee hook at the end of each. Insert into t'hole and slide the hook tips down the inside of the plastic sleeve until you feel them click over the sleeve end. One on each side will help pull the sleeve out straight with less binding, but possibly one will do.

Lulu58

twopenny said:

Pour boiling hot water in to soften them?
Then pick, dig and pull.

Thank you, twopenny. I may give that a go in conjunction with some of the other suggestions.

Lulu58

GDB2222 said:

There are lots of ways to get this done. Why not start with a list of the tools that you have available?

I don't really have much in the way of tools, GDB2222. I could probably rustle up one or two screwdrivers and a pair of pliers.  Beyond that I may have to buy something.  

Lulu58

ThisIsWeird said:

Do you have stiff wire like fence wire? If so, get (a couple, if possible) a short length and bend a wee hook at the end of each. Insert into t'hole and slide the hook tips down the inside of the plastic sleeve until you feel them click over the sleeve end. One on each side will help pull the sleeve out straight with less binding, but possibly one will do.

I don't have any fence wire, ThisIsWeird, but I'll see if I can get hold of an old coat hanger.  Thank you.

ThisIsWeird

Coat hanger! Of course. D'oh! Perfect

What do you have to cut and bend the hanger? If a wire-cutter or the snippy part of pliers, or a hacksaw, perhaps try and cut at an angle so as to leave a sharp 'barb' on the outside of the hook. Insert the hook to the bottom, and if it won't go under the sleeve, try sliding it up the wall slowly whilst pressing it into the wall. There's a small chance the barb will bite enough to extract, but only if the sleeve is loose. If you can get the sleeve to move even a small amount, then you should be able to get the hook under its bottom - and out.

Does the inside of the metal sleeve looky rusty at all? If so, then I fear the chances of a straight extraction will be slight, so summat more butchery will be needed.

ThisIsWeird

More butchery.

Do you know how thick the walls are of the plastic sleeves?

If thin enough - and flexible enough - then another method (tho' tricky at 8" depth) could be to insert a flat blade screwdriver tip down between the steel and plastic walls (or between the two plastic walls if one is inside t'other) and turn the 'driver thro 90o to bulge inwards the inner sleeve. Replace with a larger driver if needed, and repeat, also levering the side inwards. The idea is to try and buckle one side (only do this in one place) of the plastic wall inwards so it sits inside the plastic tube. This will reduce the sleeve's overall diameter, and should make it more loose and easier to pull out.

Probably worth making sure you have the tools for this before starting - ie large enough flat-bladed tools and levers to do this.

If only partly successful, if only the top part gets bent inwards, it might then be possible to use a small flat-blade driver to 'drill' a hole through the folded part of the sleeve top. Then you'll have a more secure way of hooking the sleeve.