The LP being backwards mightily frustrated me when I was trying to unhook an old rusty tank from a grill and nothing I seemed to do would loosen it.
I recall reading a claim that some WWI I or II German equipment had unmarked left handed bolts that if they were turned the wrong way so they’d tighten instead of loosen, it would set off a booby trap.
It seems weird to me that they’d do this – aren’t the flow rates and pressures and fluids different enough that they’d want different sized fittings, anyway? Are both systems actually identical except for the threading direction?
Seems unlikely as the connectors are so different. Water comes in on an FHT (Female Hose Thread) garden hose fitting, and the propane is either the classic left-hand thread POL (Prest-O-Lite) fittings that roamed the earth in Grandpa’s time, or the newer right-hand QCC fitting with the big chunky squarish threads. Pretty clever work to make the fittings on propane tanks accept either type.
As for the “clockwise” but earth-referenced rotation, the spelling I’m familiar with is deosil.
Just to note, my grandfather also taught me that the Japanese renamed a city to Usa so they could sell their products as MADE IN USA so the feedback of “That don’t make no sense” may be justified.
Shit. Now I’ve poured imaginary Coke all over everything.
Not to worry. It dries clear. I just tested it by imagining that I poured it all over my keyboard yesterday, and now it’s fine.
That may not work much longer. Some of my younger relatives hardly understand them already – they pretty much only know digital clocks.
No, you’re not overthinking it because it can be confusing. Imagine if the faucet faced up instead of down and in that case to loosen the aerator, you would turn counterclockwise. In your case, the aerator faces down but since you are above it looking down, this reverses the ‘clock’, and you turn clockwise to loosen.
Another vote for clockwise (in) and counterclockwise (out). Righty tightey and lefty loosey don’t mean anything to me when it comes to bolts as when one part of it moved righty the other part moves lefty at the same time. Yes I can translate it, but think in terms of circular direction and in and out movement (not tight/loose).
Most everything is uniform in this, but most everything is not everything.
Just to be clear so that no one breaks off their lug nuts/bolts on the “old” cars, the left side lugs can be left hand thread. The right side lugs are always right hand thread.
Unless of course, some nitwit pulled the hub off of the left side of the rig & installed it on the right side of the rig. It has been done, I have corrected it at least three times. Every time I found this, unbeknownst to me, the wheels on the rig had a tendency to loosen up for no reason. Each time I was in there to fix a different problem. For the customer, my fixing of the loosening lug nut issue was a bonus. No charge.
Also note that almost all left hand bolts have a “L” stamped on the head of them. The nuts are also almost all marked with notches cut across the flats to indicate left hand thread. This is an industry standard. So if you see notches on a nut that just will not come off, try turning the nut the other way. It sure beats breaking it off.
Probably not.
I think I would enjoy spending an afternoon in your imagination