How to get stuck buckets apart?

Other than brute force, of which I have very little? Anyone have a trick?

 

I stick the tapered nozzle I use when blowing up snow tubes, pool floats, etc and I stick it between the sides and give it a blast of air.

Just to add ; I do this dozens of times each spring when I start tapping maple trees and need to get my buckets apart.

 

Put them in hot water for a few minutes.

 

Wow, thanks! We have an air compressor, so we'll try that first. If that fails, into the bathtub!

 

if you get a gap squirting some wd40 with air might help

 

Put a piece of baling twine in the bucket before stacking I usually have to pull several apart each year. Also putting ratchet strap around bottom bucket holding it to post or something similar allows you to pull harder- also a pair of vise grips or pliers on top handle help you to pull apart.

Or you can run hot water over bottom bucket to expand bucket and air pocket, allowing top bucket to slip out.

Charles

 

Hold the buckets upside down and take a hammer and tap the rides on the lowest bucket. Pops right off

 

So many different methods! Tomorrow I'll try them all. At least one or two should work! Thank you!

 

Success! I told my husband about all the various suggested methods, and here's his: put them near the wood stove for a little while to warm them up. It worked for the three, but the yellow & white ones were still stuck. So I banged on those with a hammer, and that did the trick. Now I can clean 'em up and use them for branch nubs and kindling scraps.

 

Dynamite ....ah, too late.

 

Sawzall!

 

Which method do I use on two stray dogs?

 

A bucket of cold water....before they get stuck!

 

Garden hose...

 

I'm not doing that with those stray dogs in the yard!