Crimping tools (hose/wire)

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SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#259867 27-Oct-2019 09:27

I am looking at hydraulic crimping tools to build and repair air and water hoses (1" or less). I would also like to be able to crimp wire rope connectors in the future, but I suspect a separate tool may be required for that.

What should I be looking for for basic air/water hose work?

There appear to be two different kinds of tools and numerous variations on the theme. One style creates small hex crimps, the other circular 'pipe' crimps. They also appear to be measured differently, with the larger circular tools having 'smaller' numbers (diameter vs area?).

Gordy7

1906 posts

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#2344007 27-Oct-2019 09:43

I have used the whipping method for hose repair around home...

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

traderstu

332 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2344070 27-Oct-2019 11:24

My personal preference for a neat, lowcost solution for basic air/water hoses would be an Oetiker clamp

Bung

6480 posts

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#2344079 27-Oct-2019 12:02

traderstu:
My personal preference for a neat, lowcost solution for basic air/water hoses would be an Oetiker clamp

Good suggestion. Whipping is when an air hose separates and lashes about not really a valid method of clamping the hose.

Gordy7

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#2344094 27-Oct-2019 12:29

Bung:
traderstu:

My personal preference for a neat, lowcost solution for basic air/water hoses would be an Oetiker clamp

Good suggestion. Whipping is when an air hose separates and lashes about not really a valid method of clamping the hose.

I have used a whipping knot for many years (25+) on air and garden water hoses... a very useful knot...

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#2344099 27-Oct-2019 13:00

I think I can safely rule out whipping on the basis that I'm rubbish at tying knots. The Oetiker Clamp is certainly a cheap option, although it would appear to be less robust than a crimped solution. I use hose clamps in a few places, such as on the sandblaster, but I don't particularly like the protrusions. These would be less with the Oetiker, but I'm still concerned about it catching on things or things catching on it.

gumboot19

52 posts

Master Geek

#2344143 27-Oct-2019 19:02

in the past I have borrowed a crimper for crimping the brass tails on flexible gas lines, (the brown coloured hose). Our local marine chandlery has a set.

It sits on the bench, or floor and you pull a large lever which moves six jaws together. the tightness and end size depend on the person pulling the lever.

We then got a long length of thinwall aluminium tube that just fitted over our flexible hose and cut it into approx 20mm lengths.

Crimped a few hundred air lines like that over the years, no sharp edges. Can easily cover the alloy with heat-shrink for a tidy look.

With a few different sixes of alloy tube you can cover a range of hoses.

I have also used my large electrical lug crimpers to do the same.

If you wanted to go the crimper route, maybe have a look at the sets of hydraulic electrical crimpers on auction websites. I think these will work as well.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#2344249 27-Oct-2019 20:54

After much consideration, the Oetiker clamp route is probably the best way to go. Crimping has a great deal of appeal, but would require more expensive equipment and a range of tubing (@gumboot19, I like your simple solution).

I stumbled across a tool called the ClampTite as well. It's a simple (over-priced) gadget which uses wire to clamp hose... sort of a compromise between the whipping and clamp solutions. I like the idea of not having to remove connectors to install a clamp, but wire has a small surface area which may damage the hose.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#2364950 2-Dec-2019 16:30

I decided to try out the Clamptite tool. I finally got my hands on one this morning after the first one went missing in the post (Thanks NZ Post!).

Below are ends of the first two hoses I reclamped using the tool. These had worm clamps on previously. These particular hoses are used in my sandblaster to carry air and media to the gun, they aren't hoses which need to hold pressure, so I didn't remove the hose and tidy them up, I just clamped over the top. I'm fairly happy with how they came out.

I also replaced the fitting on another air hose and pressurised it. No leaks while I used the hose to check my tyre pressure. Tomorrow, fittings on all the garden hoses are being replaced.