Hose fittings that don't work

[Matty F]

I'm using a garden hose to supply water for my water blaster. Unfortunately I cannot buy suitable hose fittings for that purpose. The hose simply comes out of the fitting, usually when I am up high on scaffolding and have to climb down rapidly so the water blaster is not ruined by having no water. As an aside, why can't the water blaster just turn off if there is no water? My Karcher would rather just ruin itself.

I bought the most expensive brass hose fittings available. They are Neta brand.

's a knurled ring that clamps a plastic wedge on to the hose. It is impossible to tighten the ring enough to stop the hose popping out. I can't hold the hose firmly enough, and the other end of the fitting will break if too much force is applied. I know this from experience.

There is another type of fitting called a barbed-tail hose fitting. It has a hose clamp supplied that looks like a Jubillee clip. That is better, but still not good enough. The hose will still come off the fitting. When the Jubilee clip is tightened it twists sideways and cannot be kept straight.

What is needed is a long tail which is narrower where the clamp goes. And I am thinking of making a decent clamp, the likes of which I have never seen anywhere. It will have two bolts that can be tightened as much as I want. I can clamp that on the fitting and discard the useless knurled ring.

Why do I have to redesign ordinary products all the time to get them to work properly? I would phone Neta but they seem to be in Australia, and nobody in my country seems to make anything that might have a slight chance of working.

I will admit that the water pressure around here is rather incredibly high, and most of you are probably not used to that, if you say that you don't have problems with hose fittings.

[Tim Downie]

Just a thought, but you might save yourself a lot of aggro by fitting a pressure reducing device to just that outlet. I don't think having a high inlet pressure makes any difference to the outlet pressure of a pressure washer.

Tim

[Tim Lamb]

We have 5+bar (bottom of a hill).

Conventional plastic connectors (Hozelock) with the wound metal *O* ring seem OK.

regards

[grimly4]

That's the cause of your problem, then. I too, have mega-high supply pressure overnight, enough so that it blows hose fittings off if left connected. I put up with that because I like the high pressure for outside use. For domestic use, the supply is taken through a pressure reduction valve and it wouldn't be difficult for you to arrange a portable PRV that hooks into your supply. For long-tailed barbed connectors look at fuel supply fittings.

[Jules Richardson]

My dad had one - I think that may have been a Karcher too - which was supposed to shut off if the inlet pressure fell too much. The problem was, it was a bit over-sensitive and would randomly shut down even when pressure was OK. I think I'd much rather eyeball it do be honest - have a dumb pump that runs when the trigger is pressed, and rely on the operator not to keep using it if there's no water coming out.

One of our hoses has inch-long flared metal pieces crimped onto the ends, with the threaded connector portion held in place by the flare. That one lasted well; the only problem was that the kids would pull the hose too tight, putting a lot of strain on the fitting, and the flare eventually proved to be the weak point. I've bashed it back into something resembling the original shape, and it's still servicable, although it no longer forms a watertight seal.

Anyway, I suspect that your best bet might be to buy hoses like that, which have the ends permanently installed at the factory - unlike a lot of hoses which use plastic friction-fit connectors that like to fall off.

cheers

Jules

[Matty F]

I like the high pressure for outdoor use. In fact the water won't reach the top of my hill otherwise, and I need the pressure for watering plants. I have a PRV for inside the house. The pressure is about 8 bar. At work it certainly is nearly 8 bar becuase we have a certified gauge on the steam engine boiler that says so. We use tap water to check for leaks before the inspector arrives with his pressure tester.

[Matty F]

I could buy a pressure reducing valve and some connectors for $100, or make a couple of clamps for almost nothing. I need to use that hose for other reasons anyway and it's nice to have the high pressure and be able to turn it off at the end of the hose.

[thirty-six]

BS standard worm drive hose clips (with the raised worm) should do the job, but you must pick the smallest appropriate size. Clean the metal tail with sandpaper and dip it in boiled linseed oil. Hang it somewhere warm until the oil dries and is stuck with just some tack detectable. Cut back your freshly cut hose, slip on the BS hose clip (Terry are an excellent manufacturer), spit on the tail of the fitting (should the hose not want to go, also dip the hose in hot water for a coupla minutes) and assemble. Use as much elbow as you feel fit on the clip.

[fred]

In article , Matty F writes

If you don't mind a change in design, these are a bit more industrial and reliable, used for larger irrigation systems I think. They still use barbed tails to connect to the hose but they are a bit longer and would at least allow the use of 2 jubilee clips or better, those 2 wire hose clamps[1] which would actually clamp into the troughs between the barbs:

't know if they are available in your area.

[1] Like this but smaller:

[F Murtz]