Hose clamps

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timjet

timjet

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Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
1,920
It time to replace all the hose clamps on my twin Cummins. There are a godzillion of them. Anyone have a good source?
 
AWB works and is not as pricy as others.

You need an accurate estimate of the size required.

The clamptite is in our toolbox as an EMERGENCY system , as once used there cut off and need to be remade.
 
Tim, why are you replacing all your hose clamps - are they looking nasty, or is this part of scheduled maintenance?
 
I'm also a firm believer in the AWAB clamps that RC at Compass Marine advocates for (RC is a great guy with a ton of knowledge). We replaced just about all the old clamps with AWAB on our sailboat. At that time, Defender had the best prices. Another good source is the store at sailboatowners.com Awab Clamps: Hose Clamps

The are expensive, but worth it in our opinion. We are just starting the process of replacing the clamps on the Tug. Some of the factory clamps are showing signs of rust, something I've never seen with AWAB. Also, the AWAB do not have cut holes for the wormdrive, so are better for the hoses. If you go that route, it is worth getting their clamp tool - it is a flexible shaft driver that fits the nuts, which I think are metric.

Finally, Practical Sailor is going to have a clamp comparison in the upcoming issue, which should be in my mailbox any day. I'll be interested to see what they recommend.
 
NAPA. They have a number of different stainless steel hose clamps, to include "constant torque"..... I've had good results with their clamps.
 
If I'm planning a project, I get them from defender.com. I buy the best quality they offer. If I need a few right away, I just ride down to West Marine. Again, I buy the best quality they offer.

No auto parts store clamps for me.
 
With many of these products a better source might be the marine supply that services the local boat yards.

Purchasing in box rather than single quantities can reduce many prices by 50%.

A Dozen hose clamps of the same size get used quickly.
 
I have used lots of clamps bought at ACE Hardware. They hold up well for me.
 
Good clamps are one of the best investments you can make on a boat. Mine was full of auto store type clamps, and there are a few fittings below the waterline that have insufficient length for twin clamps, so they gotta be good. I've been buying mine from Hopcar these last couple of years and selling the cheap take-offs at automotive swap meets.
 
Healhustler, Thanks for the plug! I guess I owe you a lunch for that.
 
If you're not buying "marine" hose clamps, the screw part may not be actual stainless steel. Also, the best clamps are the one that are smooth on the inside with no perforations.

Considering that in some cases a failed hose clamp could sink your boat, this is not the place to go cheap.
 
rwidman said:
If you're not buying "marine" hose clamps, the screw part may not be actual stainless steel. Also, the best clamps are the one that are smooth on the inside with no perforations.
Click to expand...

Avoid cheap or non-marine clamps - the screw part can rust and fall off some of the cheaper clamps, I've seen some... Basically you then have no clamping at all.
 
Thanks guys, I want to take a good look at all your suggestions when I have time in the next couple of days.

Shoalwaters said:
Tim, why are you replacing all your hose clamps - are they looking nasty, or is this part of scheduled maintenance?
Click to expand...

Good question Shoalwaters. I recently cleaned and refurbed my after coolers using the same hose clamps. I ran the engine for about 30 minutes and noticed a small leak at the hose that connects the aftercooler raw water output to the tranny cooler. I tighten the clamp and stopped the leak. The next week I ran the engine about an hour and after we anchored I did my normal post flight inspection and found that same clamp broken and just hanging on the hose. I also noticed some salt encrusted on the air intake filter located just below the hose. I replaced all the clamps from the aftercooler raw water output to the heat exchanger input. I had some trouble starting the engine but when I did it ran fine and up to the same rpm as before. The next day I ran it at cruise rpm and noted no problems. I believe I got some water intrusion into the engine due to the failed clamped but not much. I hope I blew most of it out running it the next day for an hour, I least I hope so. I will probably change the oil.

This experience is the best reason I can think of to use good quality clamps and change them every so often.
 
It has to say, "All Stainless" on the clamp for me to use it on my boat.

A little about Clamptite here:
One More Time Around: Water We Doing About Winter?
They're great overall, but don't count on doing one in a confined space or on a moving boat unless you've got it mastered.

As far as perf vs. non-perf -- non-perf preferred, but by the time the perfs would cause me any problems, I'd have already replaced the hose.

Lastly, it's nice to have a single wrench for hose clamps so the tightening hexes should all be the same size.
 
It has to say, "All Stainless" on the clamp for me to use it on my boat.

"ALL" stainless is like "Hi Fi" in days of yore.

Meaningless as there are probably 100 grades of SS.

Not all are suitable for sea water.
 
Then how can you tell the difference, Fred?
 
FF said:
It has to say, "All Stainless" on the clamp for me to use it on my boat.

"ALL" stainless is like "Hi Fi" in days of yore.

Meaningless as there are probably 100 grades of SS.

Not all are suitable for sea water.
Click to expand...

OK, let me elaborate.
If you use a plain clamp, the whole thing will rust.
If you use a stainless clamp, the band will likely hold up but the bolt will rust.
If you use an "All Stainless" clamp, neither will rust.

I'm only speaking from personal experience, but all the "All Stainless" clamps I have used from many different sources have held up fine.

Not suitable for sea water, or not suitable for my boat? There's jewelry and there's utility...absolute perfection or good enough. I favor the good enough route preferring to spend the money on dynamic adventure.
 
316 is preferable to 304 in salt water environments as it has a higher resistance to chloride corrosion. If it doesn't say all 316, then it is probably 304. I use AWAB.
 
AWAB's are great for any application that does not require a constant torque or T Clamp, such as most sea water, fresh water low temp and low pressure fittings. Get rid of all those through-perforated things you can.. starting in the bilge where they will eventually corrode and break, regardless of stainless quality, and there and anywhere else will shorten the life of the hose. The NAPA stainless constant torques and T clamps are very good, or you can go to West and buy exactly the very same thing for 3X. But those linked NAPA perforated clamps, uh uh anywhere near salt water.
 
It cracks me up about the "must have this" concept....

There are all kind of applications even in the bilge where clamps never seem to rust and others where even good clamps take a beating....usually salt water side of things or in the splash zone and then others...

The are plenty of applications where a wire tie or two would be perfectly adequate....low pressure or vacuum side of systems.

Seems to me that when a hose survives long enough that even a 304 clamp has rusted away...I need to cut the hose off the nipple and the clamp wasn't doing much since it welded the hose to the nipple in the first couple of months of application.:D
 
In the grand scheme of things, the price difference between hose clamps compared to the cost of your boat is pretty insignificant. I'm not going to go through the boat and say to myself "I need the best quality clamp here." or "I can get by with a cheaper, lower quality clamp here."

I just buy the best quality all stainless steel marine clamps I can find and use them even where I could save a dollar on a cheaper clamp.
 
Some people don't always have the luxury of either the money the time the ability to obtain or a million other reasons to use a higher quality clamp....and then they learn what really works or not and what's really necessary or not...:rolleyes:

My point wasn't necessarily to point ot how to save a buck as much as it was to show that some people throw money at boats in places they don't have to....

If you are scared of losing a boat because of the quality of hose clamps..and where they are necessary or not...well then use whatever you want...:dance:
 
jeffnick said:
Lastly, it's nice to have a single wrench for hose clamps so the tightening hexes should all be the same size.
Click to expand...

This is a great point. It really robs one of maintenance motivation to crawl down in some tight space with a box of tools to just tighten hose clamps. My plan since I've owned the boat is to replace all clamps with the same quality type. I've now got one "hose clamp driver) in each of my engine compartments. Whenever I'm down there for whatever reason, the driver is there for me to check clamps. Sometime before we go full time cruising in July, all those clamps will be the same. Some may be difficult to get to, but it sure is reassuring that when I get into that cramped spot, I'll no longer be cussing up a storm because I need another fricken tool. The angles of access to the clamp screw also takes forethought. At the risk of sounding anal about it, I can tell when someone else has been moving my hose clamps. Ultimately, they end up at some angle that is nearly impossible to get at. How often have you spent marathon time down in your hot engine room and got beat-up or burnt while reciting every expletive you could think of just because you kept slipping off a hose clamp with a screwdriver? Those of you with stand-up engine rooms, disregard this post.
 
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