Clamptite vs Hose Clamps

[allene]

Originally Posted by marujo.sortudo

I know this is slightly outside the usual question of rigging (more like plumbing,) but it seems a worthwhile question to ask here, given the expertise with metals and corrosion in a marine environment. I've been going through my boat and doing the usual bit of hose clamp replacement due to corrosion which inevitably effects even the best stainless hose clamps and I've been wondering about how to lessen this maintenance and improve cost/reliability. Almost all my hose clamps that show rust, have corroded the tension screw. My presumption is that this is because the screw is made of a slightly different stainless than the band (hence galvanic corrosion.) In any case, there are a lot of hose clamps on any boat and I'm trying to figure out how to lower the cost of maintenance without negatively impacting reliability. I have a couple of thoughts in this direction, but wanted to put them to the experts.

My first thought is that coating the screw with either anhydrous lanolin or Tef-gel would extend the life the hose clamp significantly.

My second thought is that using a Clamptite tool to apply an appropriately sized seizing wire of stainless or monel might last longer. I do have a couple of worries here, though. I wonder how obvious it would be to inspect, if the strength would be sufficient, or if it might cut into the hose a bit.

I welcome any thoughts on either idea, especially if anyone has any experiences to relate with these techniques.

I just had to chime in here. Two years ago I replaced the oldest hose clamps on my boat. It was done as part of replacing the through hulls that they were attached to not because of anything bad about the clamps themselves except that the screw was a ball or rust. These clamps were holding some rather high end hose to the cockpit drains which were under the water line. It was pretty clear that had the clamps failed, the hose wasn't going anywhere as it had to be cut off.

Anyway, these clamps were 55 years old as was the hose and the through hulls. I replaced the through hulls just because of their age although they were pristine after inspection once they were removed (and cut in half). By the way, they were not bonded as I don't think they would have lasted nearly as long had they been bonded but that is another story.

I am not advocating leaving clamps on for 55 years but I am not going to replace mine on any regular schedule either. I just use two and if one breaks, I still have one. And I use wire reinforced exhaust hose for all the hose. I have enough to do on my boat to keep it floating...

Allen

[Brion Toss]

Hi there,
55 years? I've seen hose clamps, bonded and otherwise, crumbling in a tenth that time. Mild climate, dry environment, and low sodium come to mind as longevity determinants...
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[allene]

Originally Posted by Brion Toss

Hi there,
55 years? I've seen hose clamps, bonded and otherwise, crumbling in a tenth that time. Mild climate, dry environment, and low sodium come to mind as longevity determinants...
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

Here is what they looked like just before replacing them. And to tell the truth, the hoses were so in love with the fittings that the clamps were redundant anyway. But, I would not recommend waiting this long.



Here is what they look like now. This looks better to me :-)



This boat was in SF Bay for 20 of the 55 years, Los Angeles before that.

Allen

[Stumble]

I have also seen a small umber of titanium hose clamps being used. While I don't have any direct experience with them, personally I am in love with the other titanium parts I have on the boat.

And effective immunity to galvanic corrosion goes a long way in my book.

[marujo.sortudo]

I'm looking forward to trying out the Clamptite tool where I'm replacing some hoseclamps; although, I may still use some hose clamps in places where it's difficult to get the tool in or where I disconnect hoses for decommissioning. I got some of the .041" Monel-equivilent wire and .051" 316L wire for larger hoses. Of course, I still plan on doing regular inspections and keeping multiple "clamps" on important hoses. I had investigated the Titanium hose clamps earlier, but all the sources I found on line claimed to be out-of-stock for most sizes which made me wonder if maybe production hadn't been halted for some reason. I haven't talked with anyone that has direct experience with them, but some anecdotal reports I read on-line suggested that their corrosion resistance was excellent; however, they couldn't be tensioned as much as stainless (i.e., they would strip their threads at lower levels of tension.) I'd be interested in hearing more about them as well, if they continue to be available.