Talk about rip-off Britain. Just take a guess as to how much this light weight plastic replacement spanner for a boiler water filter will cost me, if I order one rather than make my own. The original disappeared after a gas fitter came in to check the boiler after a road leak early this year.
It’s a Fernox TF1 filter.
About a tenner I suppose LD
Higher …good try, but higher!
more than a tenner for a bit of plastic…you must be joking 
£13.99? Complete guess
£25… I know spanner’s like that are expensive, because they are supposed to be made to last.
you can get one for £4-79 on Amazon LD
Yeah, I had found that one too, but it does not fit the Fernox TF1. Most of the others, yes, but not the TF1. The regular price is … . .wait for it … … £40 but some 2nd hand can be found for £25. I’ll be making my own from some 10mm sheet plexiglass at the weekend for summat to do 
£40 eh …what an absolute rip-off.
that way over the top is there anything special about these filters?
Make one yourself if you can…that is FAR too much money 
Can’t stop now as orders have been given lol…
That is bad, but when we first got our White Rover 3500 and had the first invoice we framed it… 
The price of the filter unit with valves and spanner etc is around the £95 to £125 mark depending on the supplier, but they are a very good heating system filter and they keep the circulating water clean and pump friendly 
From the sales blurb:-
Operating Principle – Contaminated water enters the filter via the manifold, carrying a variety of system debris and particulate matter held in suspension. This debris, including ferrous impurities such as Magnetite (iron), move through the manifold and into the main body of the filter.
The TF1 Total Filter utilises Hydrocyclonic filtration. A Hydrocyclone is a static device that applies centrifugal force to a liquid mixture to promote the separation of particles (it swirls the water).
The Hydrocyclonic action has been designed to convert incoming liquid velocity into rotary motion (yeah, as I said, it swirls it). As water enters the filter, it spins around and down the outside of the filter, carrying particles with it (all the crap). The shape of the filter has been designed to create a dead zone at the bottom where heavier particles are deposited.
The Hydrocyclone in the TF1 Total Filter has been optimised in order to allow for the maximum filtration ability of both magnetic and non-magnetic material.
Once the flow of water has reached the bottom of the filter, water moves back up through the centre of the TF1 Total Filter, carrying particles over the magnet sheath, promoting further magnetic filtration and enhancing the collection capabilities of the filter.
Any dirt collected within the filter can then be discharged by removing the magnet from the sheath and opening the drain valve. This procedure is shown in the cleaning guide and does not require system shutdown, or the filter to be disassembled. . . this is true.
well i found out to my cost this year , last year my Boiler serviceman hadn’t got the Spanner to do the Water Filter , said we should have it .!!
Lucky for me my Husband had booked marked it , so when he died I ordered it, but found out there was two sizes and i had ordered the wrong size , so sent it back and got the other size .
When I booked a local Gas man to come service my boiler last month I offered up the Spanner and asked him if he would do the filter for me .,
He said he didn’t need the Spanner as he always carried his own tools and he always did the Filter in with the Service .
So I wasted my money buying one …
I was talking with a plumber the other day, we got onto the subject of heat pumps, he had to go to one recently where both circuit boards had failed…£1200 EACH…good job it was under warranty
It is possible to buy giant adjustable spanners, also those grips you use on oil filers should work on the top of a water filter. I have a soft grip in my tool kit that would open your filter easily, if you have the space available around it. Mine is similar to the one below, but other designs are available.
my old oil filter removal was something like that but used a bicycle chain type of things
I have found that there is not much one of these won’t get off
Good luck with the manufacture LongDriver…
It has been my experience that all the tools mentioned above either destroy the casing of the filter on removal, or space does not permit the use of bulky tools.
I would do exactly the same as you and make my own, in fact in the past I made a spanner out of stainless steel plate for the removal of an oil filter on my van. I was sick of trying to position the chain removal tool (as in realspeeds picture) to prevent further damage to my knuckles…
They are also excellent at shattering plastic and the body of my TF1 is plastic inc the top which has to be unscrewed.
