How to remove plumbing olives from 15mm pipe

This technique is not mine - I found it described in a plumbing forum posting by "ChrisR", so I tried it then photographed the final "tool" With thanks to ChrisR and DIYNOT forum.

The problem is how do you remove an olive from water pipe (in this case 15mm pipe) without buying a special tool for £25 or £50.

What you do is to cut with a pipe cutter three pieces of pipe in lengths of 3mm, 5mm and 8mm. If you have an old valve or fitting such as in the picture it saves harming the existing fitting. The short pipe is a handle.

Starting with the smallest pipe ring, insert it in the "tool" and apply to the pipe with the olive you want to remove. Carefully tighten and you should "feel" the olive slide up the pipe then the joint fill finally tighten - Stop there and remove the "tool".

Replace the small ring with the middle sized one and repeat.

Finally use the 8mm long ring and with luck the olive will slip off the pipe and onto the ring where you can remove it on the bench.

Any distortion in the pipe will also be smoothed out.

Use Boss White or similar when remaking the joint with a new olive.