Hose Clamps Are Not All The Same

psneeld said:

What determines a junk clamp? Just perferations?


Nice clamps are great.....but good installation of decent (not top of the line).clamps and checking critical ones is way more important.

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Well said in my opinion. I have had hoses but not clamps fail. The only thing I would add to this discussion is that on critical hoses, I double and reverse clamp the hose.

Nomad Willy said:

Poker,
You must be the local fact checker.
On forums opinions rule.
Re common sense if you have any between checking standards in books it should be fairly obvious double clamping would be ineffective on a short nipple.

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What an unwarranted cheap shot and curious thing to say since I offered no opinion whatsoever on any clamps or methods. I merely provided information as to what the ABYC Standards say since another poster had stated incorrect information.

And yes I do have some common sense and there are several areas on my website where I point out the potential folly of a second clamp .... with photos of examples such as shown in my Marine Survey 101 article. This article with photos by the way was first posted on this forum in May of 2012.

Apology accepted.

Poach said:

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Well said in my opinion. I have had hoses but not clamps fail. The only thing I would add to this discussion is that on critical hoses, I double and reverse clamp the hose.

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I forgot where...maybe BoatUS...checked with clamp manufactures and ran tests...didn't note a significant difference in reverse clamping and the manufacturers of at least some said not necessary.

Have to look that back up...both did say size is more important for a good circular clamping force IIRC.

Some folks seem to be in a preaching mode today.

Your boat may be worth $50K, it may be worth $500K. Your life is worth what you think it's worth.

West Marine sells two different kinds of clamps. One is about $2 and one is about $5. That $3 difference is pretty small compared to the value of your boat. Or your life.

I spend the $3. Not that I have to, because I can and the better clamp gives me peace of mind.

And yes, I use two clamps in critical applications.

I double clamp all that will take 2 properly. Use T bolt clamps on exhaust and fuel fill hose. If the hose has wire in it to keep from collapsing, I use a T bolt as it often takes a little more pressure to make them seal tight. With the exception of T bolt clamps, I only buy in boxes of 10 which significantly reduces the price and gives me spares. Hose clamps are like zip ties. One hundred 8" zip ties are $7. One thousand, same brand and same store, are $20. From my refit bill, I was paying $10 to $16 per box for clamps. Biggest was for 1.5" id hose.

Ted

Another type of clamp I'm seeing more and more is the constant torque clamp.
They are spring loaded so as the hose expands or shrinks with temperature the compression remains constant. Following is a link to my website. Please forgive me for breaking the rules. I couldn't find the manufacturer's website.
Stainless Steel Constant Torque Exhaust Clamps Mfg# 730

These can keep blood from leaking out of you when working in tight places.
Clamp-Aid® Hose clamp end guards marine parts auto parts

HopCar said:

These can keep blood from leaking out of you when working in tight places.
Clamp-Aid® Hose clamp end guards marine parts auto parts

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Bugger me they take the fun out of everything these days

gaston said:

Déjà vu Hose Clamps



In my humble opinion both of those hose clamps in that photo are junk



T bolt clamps will never let you down

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Well not exactly.

I've seen plenty of T bolt clamps fail. They seem to fail for the most part where the bolt meets the T. The bolt snaps at that point from what I'd call crevice corrosion. I've also seen the nut seize up on the bolt.

In fact I think I've seen as many or more T bolt clamp failures than I've seen AWBA clamps fail.
But YMMV.

And the T bolt clamps in the picture appear not to have SS T bolts but cadmium plated ones.

HopCar said:

Another type of clamp I'm seeing more and more is the constant torque clamp.

They are spring loaded so as the hose expands or shrinks with temperature the compression remains constant. Following is a link to my website. Please forgive me for breaking the rules. I couldn't find the manufacturer's website.

Stainless Steel Constant Torque Exhaust Clamps Mfg# 730

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I've used these and so far I like them. Haven't seen rust issues, they won't cut you, and so far they haven't seized up after being on for a while.

One is about $2 and one is about $5.

Every style of clamp is cheaper if you get them by the box , not the each.

Since spares are nice,,,,,

my 2c.
any type of clamp can fail. imo the biggest thing is using the correct style clamp for the application. you cannot use a normal worm clamp on silicone hose with out the risk of it cutting into the hose. that's why they make clamps with a extended band on the inside to shield the hose from the worm screw area. also intended operating psi will dictate what should be used. take boost pipes for example. on a cat 3500 series engine it uses 4 turbos feeding into 2 6" pipes. they use silicone connections with double ct clamps per side. and with 40lb of boost a single clamp would not hold very long before the hose pulled out from under the clamp. also keep in mind thermal expansion/contraction. t bolt clamps work very good but the ones with out the tension spring will not give and you could potentially split a hose once the component comes up to operating temp.