water hose fittings

[Jeff Thies]

It's spring and time to get the water hoses set up. My goal is not to have to replace everything every year.

I've had good luck so far with the Vigoro manifolds with the individual shutoff valves. So I bought a Vigoro solid brass nozzle (the kind you twist that goes from off, to wide to narrow). No control over amount, but I think dependable. All the other nozzles I've had develop some kind of a problem.

I've wanted to put in the quick connects so I bought a package from HF. They leak, a lot. I also note that there are quick disconnects that also shut off, these don't.

I'm trying a Flexon licensed (made in US) water hose. It's only a 25 footer 1/2", but I like it a lot so far. $13 from the Borg. Guaranteed for life and drinking water safe.

One of the HD hoses from last year is swelling at all the old kinks and has hit the trash. The ancient rubber is still good.

What isn't junk and where do you buy it?

Jeff

[DD_BobK]

Where do oyu live? My hoses in SoCal last for years (more than 10 easily)

If you a garden hose mini ball valve ahead of your nozzle, that will give you flow control.

Ditto on Bob F's comment..... I used Nelson's, Mennor's and Gilmour

all worked great, lasted a LONG time...... I just point Ace knockoff replacement rubber seals ~$1 ea (pks of three!?).

The major suppliers (with shipping) the seals were like $3 ea.

The stuff at HF mostly sucks (HD is barely better)...... why waste your time with HF?

OT HomeDepot sells some really cool looking solidly machined hose repair fittings (Vigoro for HD), they even come with a nice SS hose clamp. The look great until you look closer..... they are NOT brass but gold anodized aluminum. :(

They are sold a mid-range / premium price and are clearly meant to deceive the buyer.

cheers Bob

[Jeff Thies]

I'll hunt them.

Atlanta.

It's popular in this group! I was there picking up paint stripping discs. $7. As good if not a little thicker than the name brands elsewhere for $10 and up.

The HF connectors are beautifully machined brass. It looks like it seals on the rubber hose gasket, or rather doesn't.

Figures. I'll have to look closer. My problem, which is common particularly in HDs home town, is that there is always one close. Close enough I can drive home with stuff that shouldn't be loaded in a car.

Everything there seems to be sold on profit margin and not quality. Not that there isn't good stuff there, but you have to wade through the junk. And you may not get there.

Jeff

[Erik]

Brass is Brass, and Pot Metal is Pot Metal.

Real well machined Brass hose fittings are durable, work well, and last for generations, as opposed to maybe a leaky season or two for the rest.

[bob haller]

Quick disconnects reduce flow dramatically I dont like them

[DD_BobK]

esoteric about it. It's just cheap pot metal.

[DD_BobK]

[DD_BobK]

[RicodJour]

From that last statement it is clear that you have never owned a boat, never owned a really old home and are simply making an ass-ertion out of yourself.

Remember the days when you could disparage any polymer by simply saying, "Yabbut, it's plastic!" and that'd be the death knell for that item in most people's minds. That's what you're attempting to do with the pot metal jibe. Unfortunately for your ass-ertion, brass, and it's at times indistinguishable cousin bronze, are simply wonder materials.

I find it curious that you have so little faith in the war machines of every fecking country on Earth. When war time hits, brass is what's needed. That held in the 16th century and it still holds true today. Pretty amazing for pot metal, eh?

While we're on the historical/hysterical version of metallurgy let's take a little quiz. Remember the Bronze Age and how the Iron Age came after it? Why do you think that was? Was iron superior to bronze for metallurgical reasons?

R

[Jeff Thies]

Yes. It is stronger, much stronger and harder. Iron, in it's steel form that is, cuts through brass. The civilizations that had "iron" weapons defeated those with brass.

Iron smelting came late, and then the hardening to near steel required technical advances and innovations.

Something here:

I disagree not one bit about the usefulness of brass in warfare and elsewhere.

Jeff

[RicodJour]

That is simply not so. Addressing the hardness issue:

that, about the hardness of hammered bronze. It's safe to assume that the Bronze Age people had hammers, right?

Addressing the availability and reason for the switchover: This thread gives a reasonable overview with most points of view represented, and it settles down to what is generally accepted.

Difficulties and expense in obtaining raw materials was the main reason for the transition from bronze to iron, not the inherent superiority of a slightly harder metal that was much more problematic to work, albeit more abundant.

Which means that the iron they did use was not clearly superior, only marginally so in certain attributes. The ability to rapidly produce weapons has always been a crucial capability in the time of war. Casting and hammering bronze was far easier and quicker than dealing with iron until the later technological advances you mention were discovered.

The Iron Age was not called the Steel Age because they didn't have steel. What you're suggesting is that since a culture had charcoal (carbon) they had carbon fiber.

R

[Erik]

Hmmm... ok.

Would you be interested buying a deed to the Pacific Ocean? I only have a few left now, and they always go quick. Better hurry!

Erik

PS, Might I suggest you you actually read both the brass and pot metal articles in their entirety?

Compared to brass, pot metal is little more than a dried up, metallic like Play-Doh substance.

While we're at it, here's one for bonus points:

[tnom]

Pot metal certainly isn't brass and certainly isn't as durable as brass.

[DD_BobK]

over & out?

I guess that means you're done with the shovel.

"In 25 years, the only thing I remember that anyone ever asked us to machine out of brass, were triple beam balance weights. "

I guess that's all the data we need....brass is crap, just like "pot metal"

Don't confuse yourself with the facts...... we can tell you've made up your mind.

btw you're confusing minor surface oxidation with destructive levels of corrosion.

It's not a matter of "ruffling feathers", it's about disseminating wrong & misleading information.

Sad to imagine but there are probably people in your offline world who actually think you know of what you speak...... :(

cheers Bob

[dilbert firestorm]

speaking of hose fittings, i have some of those quick connect plugs that I got at home depot.

one of the hose connections started leaking and I found that one of the qc plug was pitted and had white deposit embeded near the entrance. can anything be done about that?

from what I can tell of the comments, the plugs I have isn't brass, is that right?