rust in the eye
Well-known member
I find them useful for lots of things but have never employed them for anything resembling a water pump of any sort.
"Water Pump" pliers where does the name come from?
- Thread starter rust in the eye
- Start date
A left-over name from the 30s and 40s when they were used for that purpose I would guess.
byoungblood
Well-known member
I always grew up calling them Channel Locks, even though I don't think I owned an actual set of Channel Locks until I was in my mid-20s.
Firebrick43
Well-known member
But many of us have used them for water pumps. Many industrial water pumps, industrial valves and old cars water pumps used rope seal packings to keep them from leaking. Over time the rope packings wear or take set and they start to leak. Most have some meathod of adding additional pressure to the rope packings to swell them and stop the leak. The most common at one time was a gland nut, Still used some places, that a mechanic would take his trusty water pump pliers and add a 1/8 turn or so to stop or slow the leak. If it still leaked it was time to shut things down and install new rope packings. Rope packings are still used on many industrial pumps even new. I worked on a 200 hp 10,000 psi pump, and the plungers all had rope packings that required tighening every month or so and replacement every year. The majority of low pressure pumps(under 100 psi) use mechanical carbon face seals so they are not nearly as prevelent as they used to be. The majority of large valves still have adjustable packing glands on the stems, but many are not rope but a polymer of some kind.
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OP
rust in the eye
Well-known member
Isn't that a valve^^?
rmack898
Well-known member
Looks like half of a centrifugal pump to me.
The pliers were originally designed to tighten gland nuts on pumps as already mentioned.
The pliers were originally designed to tighten gland nuts on pumps as already mentioned.
Blueshound_GJ
Well-known member
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That's what I've always called them too and I have several. I never heard them called water pump pliers except here on GJ.
larry4406
Well-known member
I have a pair of Craftsman "water pump pliers" or that is what I was always told what they were for.
The jaws are totally unique and are for grabbing wire type hose clamps. Work well. Otherwise useless as normal pliers.
The jaws are totally unique and are for grabbing wire type hose clamps. Work well. Otherwise useless as normal pliers.
RTM
Well-known member
My dad always called them water pump pliers when I was a kid (he was born in the 30s), so I assumed, once he got a piece of yard art that looked like this, that is where the name came from, since they look a lot alike.
negarden.com
When I started working on car water pumps, I never saw how they could be useful.
Never installed a packing gland on a pump til now, including 50+ years hanging around tools. wasn't til I got here a few years back that using them for packing glands for pumps entered the vocabulary.
And larry's look like hose clamp pliers from here, just bought a Wilde pair from HJE a year or two back
Antique Water Pumps - New England Garden Company
Assortment of antique English, cast iron water pumps. An old hand pump makes a great fountain when paired with an antique stone trough to create a simple and rustic fountain feature. Imported from England.
When I started working on car water pumps, I never saw how they could be useful.
Never installed a packing gland on a pump til now, including 50+ years hanging around tools. wasn't til I got here a few years back that using them for packing glands for pumps entered the vocabulary.
And larry's look like hose clamp pliers from here, just bought a Wilde pair from HJE a year or two back
I thought I knew everything and never heard of them. 
I even worked for pumber, don't remember him having any.
Ironically Harbor Freight now sells 3 different sizes of them.
www.harborfreight.com
I even worked for pumber, don't remember him having any.Ironically Harbor Freight now sells 3 different sizes of them.
12 in. Fast Adjust Water Pump Pliers
Amazing deals on this 12In Fast Adjust Water Pump Pliers at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
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I remember for years fighting those type of hose clamps, a friend handed me a pair of those type to use one day, I've never been without a pair again.I have a pair of Craftsman "water pump pliers" or that is what I was always told what they were for.
The jaws are totally unique and are for grabbing wire type hose clamps. Work well. Otherwise useless as normal pliers.
Packard V8
Well-known member
Those are spring clamp pliers. Whoever called them water pump pliers was misinformed.
The water pump pliers terminology seems to be both generational and regional. I hear it more from older guys and southerners. Slip-joint pliers and channelocks seem to be younger and northeastern. YMMV
jack vines
nadogail
Well-known member
Channelock is a brand name that has become commonly used to describe products by other companies that are similar in use or purpose. Sort of like referring to all facial tissues as Kleenex. When I was a young kid I think every refrigerator was commonly called a Frigidaire. Many people confuse copiers and Xerox.
whateg01
Well-known member
I've always called pliers with the tongue and groove channel locks, obviously because of the brand. The ones with the cylindrical lobes (not sure what else to call them other than slip joint) I've called water pumps. I don't know why I consider them to be different.
Stupid question, but why wouldn't they just use a wrench on it?I believe that the name comes from early car engine water pumps rather than yard pumps. Most likely cars like the Model T. The nut for the packing is too large for regular slip-joint pliers. Hence "water pump" pliers.
nadogail
Well-known member
Farmers and Ranchers with windmill driven water pumps usually did not have very complete sets of tools, but those pliers fixed a lot of water pumps and earned their own name.
Then just another name for tongue and groove pliers.
Lucid Moments
Well-known member
Which strikes me as funny because while I am not old, I am not young and have lived in Georgia for all but a few of my years. And in all that time I have always called them channel locks or slip joint pliers. Guess it just goes to show that regional peculiarities are by no means universal.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ the term "water pump pliers" goes back quite a ways.
"Water pump pliers" are not, by design, "tongue-in-groove" pliers:
Indestro 3400 water pump pliers 1937 Indestro catalog pp 62
It appears Mr. Howard Manning applied for his patent 1950362 for his tongue-in-groove pliers Feb 8 1932, so the design would pre-date that catalog above, although the term "water pump pliers" goes back a bit farther, if I am not mistaken.
"Water pump pliers" are not, by design, "tongue-in-groove" pliers:
Indestro 3400 water pump pliers 1937 Indestro catalog pp 62
It appears Mr. Howard Manning applied for his patent 1950362 for his tongue-in-groove pliers Feb 8 1932, so the design would pre-date that catalog above, although the term "water pump pliers" goes back a bit farther, if I am not mistaken.
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If you ask for a pair of channel locks this is what most people would hand you. It's like asking for a crescent wrench, vise grips, or an allen wrench.
Firebrick43
Well-known member
Except that tongue and groove pliers were had the patent applied for in 1932, long after the rotary water pump was introduced, and nearly every car and most tractors had a water pump by this time, as the thermosiphon systems couldn't handle the heat from the higher horsepower engines being introduced.
And the hand pump/windmill were on their way out with the rural electrification act in 1936. There was little in the way of a hand pump packing as it was right on top, nor was it very large. More than likely a monkey wrench would have been used instead of the new fangled water pump pliers.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/8d/9f/74/109409aee179be/US1950362.pdf
And As we know the channel locks today were a little later in 1947.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6d/1c/54/a4c24f450f0f00/US2592927.pdf
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Looks like Channellock tongue and groove came out in 1933.
channellock.com
History - Channellock, Inc.
Find out who invented the first CHANNELLOCK® plier and how we’ve earned our reputation for being the best pliers brand since our humble start in 1886.
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Death Row Dave
Well-known member
Packing gland nut pliers ! How’s that description
Them there pliers.
Big Bad Dad
Well-known member
I grew up in a family that restored and worked on Model T and Model A Fords. Dad and his cousin restored many cars, and always called them water pump pliers. I saw them used on old Fords many times...
dnschmidt
Well-known member
No, those are Corbin hose clamp pliers and were the rage about 40 years ago before constant pressure clamps became the automotive norm.I have a pair of Craftsman "water pump pliers" or that is what I was always told what they were for.
The jaws are totally unique and are for grabbing wire type hose clamps. Work well. Otherwise useless as normal pliers.
To many youngsters around this forum that only think of vehicles and the tools to support them. There are a lot of water pumps in the world both rotary and piston that use a packing nut as described above. Many maintenance men were responsible for making sure that the packing nuts were kept adjusted on pumps, valves, and steam engines. Those men carried water pump pliers in the leg pocket of their overalls.
lg
no neat sig line
lg
no neat sig line
AE2
Well-known member
I've always thought they were called pump pliers because the movement it takes to adjust them is similar to the movement it takes to operate a hand pump.
cavalry
Well-known member
This is where its at, will do both round and flat clamps
Slip joint pliers are different. Those are groove joint pliers.
1930 Model A Ford
New member
My 1930 Model A Ford, and all Model A's have a water pump with a packing nut. Behind the nut is a rope packing. The nut has to be tightened periodically to prevent it from leaking. The nut is not hexagon but rather a round cylender with groves in it so water pump pliers are the ideal tool to tighten the nut.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
The classic “I can’t see this tool being used on a passenger car, therefore I don’t understand why it exists” mantra.
I see this all the time here with SAE tools, large drive size tools, and industry specific tools.
There’s so, so many more uses for tools than fixing cars.
At work I've used Channellock's lots of times when I should have used a better tool. It's easier to carry a pair in your back pocket and use them and not have to walk back to the shop and sometimes something needed tighten right away.
Junkdrawer Dog
Well-known member
One of my maintenance duties, when I worked at the mill, was to check and maintain the lube levels on dozens of gearboxes driving the various roll lines around the reheat furnace and roughing stands. Lots of different kinds of boxes, with different configurations of fill plugs. Fortunately, a pair of Channellocks fits ALL of them!
JAYoung
Well-known member
From my brief stint as a plumber's helper in the early 1970s, Channelocks were simply called "pump pliers" and were used for tightening valve packing and for breaking unions that isolated water pumps, for servicing or replacement.
Umm, ok. Sort of a broad statement.
While I don't believe that we will ever have definitive proof of how "groove lock" or "tongue and groove" pliers obtained the moniker of "water-pump pliers", I do know that it is ubiquitous term. As such, it is my belief that it derives from the collective experiences of common people and not just maintenance men. I am well aware that other pumps beyond automotive use packing nuts or glands. But, most people don't or didn't work on them.
Almost 125 million automobiles were registered on U.S. roads in 1932, 5 million of which were Model T's. The U.S. population was 124 million, so more than 1 vehicle for every living person - many of which used water pumps with gland type seals that required frequent adjustment or maintenance.
So, that's my reasoning.
Could be wrong though.
Yes, the picture that I posted shows a hex nut but I know that I've seen a different 'toothed' version that there was a special tool for - that nobody had. They look like this:
And the special wrench looks like this:
But, what works just the same and is much more useful over all are these:
STOP THE PRESSES!
Someone has already researched this. If you google "Why do they call them water pump pliers?", the first thing that pops up is an article in The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc; Delmar Vol. 66, Iss. 2, (Jun 2013): 56-79. I can't access the whole article but the opening paragraph states:
"They soon proved to be perfect for access to hard-to-reach nuts and bolts, and were invaluable to auto mechanics working on engine water pumps-hence their name. From invention and manufacture in Illinois, these tools found widespread acceptance."
Emphasis mine.
Now I need to look into this The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association. Sounds interesting.
eaiainfo.org
Someone has already researched this. If you google "Why do they call them water pump pliers?", the first thing that pops up is an article in The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc; Delmar Vol. 66, Iss. 2, (Jun 2013): 56-79. I can't access the whole article but the opening paragraph states:
"They soon proved to be perfect for access to hard-to-reach nuts and bolts, and were invaluable to auto mechanics working on engine water pumps-hence their name. From invention and manufacture in Illinois, these tools found widespread acceptance."
Emphasis mine.
Now I need to look into this The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association. Sounds interesting.
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