Not all hose clamps are created equal
It seems that every mechanical or plumbing job we do involves hose clamps in one way or another. Yesterday I was able to deal with a slow fresh water leak by simply tightening two different hose clamps. In many cases though, we end up having to replace them.
It’s a fact that not all hose clamps are created equal. The image below is of a hose clamp with a perforated ring. You can see how it has corroded and broken in a couple of spots. Preferable to that type are ones where the ring is completely solid. Constructed with more material, they should last longer. More important than that design difference is the material that they are made from. Obviously, in the marine environment, we want hose clamps that are made from high-quality stainless steel. It’s important that the screw also be constructed of the stainless steel though. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
I found this broken hose clamp and replaced it with a proper one.
It’s a fact of life that, exposed to that salt air and water, the clamps will degrade over time. Make sure that you check important installations frequently, and keep a good number of spares, in various sizes, on hand to replace ones that begin to look suspect.
Once the US market was flooded with foreign made products, it became difficult to source quality clamps. I hear AWAB is a quality clamp.
We have a whole bunch of misc ones on board right now. 🙁
I think one of the keys to quality is that the back does not look like the one in the above picture. It is smooth and the back is also the same length as the screw housing itself. And then if it passes the magnet test you are good! Also if it actually says AWAB or IDEAL on the clamp…
Check.
I’ve taken to carrying a magnet with me whenever I need more hose clamps. Even the ones stamped “All Stainless” sometimes aren’t, or maybe the screw turns out to be a crappy martensitic grade even though the band is type 316. I’ve come across far too many that look OK from the outside, but have nothing but rust inside the screw housing, to take any more chances.
Yeah, a magnet is helpful.
AWAB is the brand that we used on Missinglink. We had a lot of suspect ones on the boat when we purchased it so I changed them all out on the boat. 316 stainless with chrome nickel plating!
I can only imagine how many hose clamps there are on this boat.
Good hose clamps are cheap insurance! And yes, a magnet is helpful!
Yup.
I do a lot of alternative energy work and bad clamps are a common failure point. Very hard to find good quality ones. Good ones aren’t cheap, but neither are unexpected repairs.
You are right.
For all my critical clamping needs I use T Bolt Clamps. Stainless steel construction and they don’t have those PITA teeth that end up stripping out. Sizing is much more critical, since they have a limited adjustment range when compared to standard cheap hose clamps.
Other friends of ours like to use them too.