Fitting fire hose to barbs

[Nick Gravagne]

Hi Will,

 

What size are your end caps? Are you able to at least get the barbed
diameter started on the hose, or is it more like trying to stretch a bicycle
tire on the rim? If the latter, I doubt your success in making it work (at
least not easily).

 

I also use 1.5” fire hose (comes with some sort of rubberized inner sleeve),
but trying to mate this hose with 1.5” end caps did not work at all. I found
this out many years ago. The industry protocols of fire hose and related
fittings do not necessarily match those of the plumbing industry. The end
caps that worked for me are 1.25” stuff. I recently purchased more through
Amazon (Genova #31814 1-1/4" White MPT Plug) at 0.92 cents each. 

 

My procedure is to butter up the barbs with gray plumbers putty (also acts
as lube), then twist and hammer on the caps (dead blow) to the hoses. The
use of large channel lock pliers also helped a great deal in “turning” them
on. When they are pushed home and flush, the clamps are seriously tightened
up. I recently did several of these without boiling water or special
lubrication but with a bit of muscle. Fortunately I found that the use of
colorful language and poetic flourishes was not required.

 

Ciao for now


 

Nick Gravagne, RPT

Piano Technicians Guild

Member Society Manufacturing Engineers

Voice Mail 928-476-4143

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Will Truitt
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 6:12 PM
To: 'Pianotech List'
Subject: Fitting fire hose to barbs

 

To the List:

 

I got my Nitrile rubber 1 ½” fire hose late this afternoon, and at the end
of the day I cut my lengths and started playing with fitting the hose over
the barbs of my end pieces.  The inner diameter is slightly smaller than the
end of the barb.  Even with grease and wanging the barb around the inside of
the end of the hose to stretch it a bit, it looks like it’s going to be a
lot of work to get those suckers on – a lot of screaming, cursing, and
gnashing of teeth.  I was hoping to secure a tool designed for this task at
a hardware store, but there appears to be no such animal.  The suggestion of
placing the hose end in very hot water was made to me, and I will try that
tomorrow.  Does anyone who has experience doing this have any suggestions
that I could use to make my life easier here?  

 

Will Truitt

 

 

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