Connecting Hoses to Seacocks

[ericw]

I'm just replacing the hoses in the heads and have noticed some kind of sealant on the Blakes seacocks.

Just a quick bit of advice sought - should I use something like Sikaflex 291 before connecting the hoses or do any of you guys out there have other suggestions ?

As ever, thanks in advance for your assistance,

Regards,

Eric.

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[chriscallender]

Hi Eric,

I haven't come across sealant on hose connectors and suspect that it shouldn't be there - perhaps the old hose didn't fit properly and a previous owner bodged it up with sealant? Anyway seems to me to be unhelpful because it will all need to be cleaned off if you ever replace the hose again.

I do know that there should be two stainless jubilee clips to ensure that the hose cannot come loose. If you want, you could wrap a couple of turns of PTFE tape around the connector before you put the hose on. But provided the hose fits the hose connector and is held on 100% securely by the two jubilee clips (give it a good pull after youve fitted it and check there is no way its coming off) then its not going to cause you any trouble.

Chris

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[tcm]

agreead. There should be no sealant, and double clips. If anything, tiny wipe of vaseline on the seacock to lettem go on smoothly.

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[ericw]

Many thanks for your help, guys !

My initial thoughts were exactly as yours, Chris - i.e. that there should be no sealant because the hoses were v.difficult to remove !!

I'll go along the old trusted method of double clipping !

Regards,

E.

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[anabel]

As others have said, use two s/s jubilee clips on each pipe connection. Make sure flexible pipe is correct size for connection on seacock. A thin smear of silicon greese or any light greese on the pipe before fitting. This will make it easier to remove later if needs be. Chech these clips at least each season as they are there to prevent the deep blue sea from coming into your boat!!

anabel

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[snowleopard]

another thing worth mentioning is that the connectors on the blakes seacocks are a bit oversize. it's one hell of a job to get a new hose onto them involving lots of hot water and liquid soap. as long as you do a proper job and get enough hose on to be able to fit two clips it ain't goin' nowhere.

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[claymore]

TCM and KY Jelly

Dual use I would have thought?

<hr width=100% size=1>regards
Claymore
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[Observer]

Dry sense of humour! nm

.

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[tcm]

warm water is no good - it needs to be almost boiling. Then you can't touch it. then you need the vaseline.

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[snowleopard]

too right, boiling hot water. not sure about the long-term effect of vaseline, i prefer something water-soluble, suppose ky jelly would do if you happen to keep a supply on the boat ;-)

a useful trick i found was to use a tapered softwood plug to open out the end (of course i always have one right by the seacock, don't you?)

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[tome]

Hot air gun works a treat for me!

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[Avocet]

Couple of thoughts:

1. I'd be very worried about using PTFE tape on this sort of fitting - it's the slippiest stuff known to man! All it will do is stop the serrations on the seacock from efficiently biting into the inner lining of the hose. (IMHO)!

2. Depending on what sort of hose you're putting on I'd be wary of Vaseline or any oil-based "slime". If the hose is rubber, it might get attacked over a period of time.

3. The common spiral-reinforced plastic hoses (I think they're PVC but I'm not sure) respond very well to near-boiling water for a few seconds. Wrap a towel round it to save your fingers and the pipe should go on a treat.

4. I once tried to expand a bit of this sort of pipe "cold" using a taper (not a wooden one) and all I did was crack the rigid plastic internal spiral reinforcement. This made the pipe a lot easier to fit but a few months later I noticed a small split in the pipe. I cut it back to good material, heated it and refitted it and it has been fine ever since.

5. I wouldn't use Sikaflex - it sticks too well. I don't see the harm in using silicone though - but I'm not sure it would be any better than nothing at all.

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[vyv_cox]

Great - the double jubilee clip advice again!

I thought this one was due to resurface about now. Why, oh why do people think this to be necessary? The head of water being sealed by a seacock hose attachment and jubilee clip is rarely more than a few inches water gauge. Call it 0.5 psi maximum. A jubilee clip on a well-fitted connection will hold 100 psi in my experience and the millions of cars in the world all use up to a dozen single jubilee clips on their cooling systems, operating at pressures between 4 and 13 psi. How many fall or blow off? I never heard of one. Anyone who has ever tried to remove hoses from seacocks knows that this is invariably a hell of a job and the likelihood of their falling off is remote in the extreme. Yes, I know they don't cost much and maybe bring "peace of mind", but do we really analyse the value of these old wives' tales?

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[snowleopard]

ptfe tape: definitely not in a join under a jubilee clip, it would creep and the pipe would fall off (happened to me when i used insulating tape to pack out a loose connection.

silicone sealant is a definite nono, it uses acetic acid as a curing agent (hence the vinegar smell) and you don't want acid in permanent contact with metal.

 

[jimi]

Jubilee Clips

Why do the one's in chandlers cost 10 times as much as the s/s ones in plumbers. To be safe I use the more expensive ones as I'm told they are marine grade ss. Is there really that much difference?

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[vyv_cox]

Re: Jubilee Clips

There are differences between stainless ones but I don't know whether this refers to materials, i.e. 304 or 316. Unless under seawater I don't think it would be worth specifying 316.

The main difference I have found is that although the strap always seems to be a stainless steel of some sort, the screw and maybe its housing is sometimes only carbon steel in cheaper versions. These tend to "fail safe" in that they don't come undone but they corrode solid. Suggest you check with a magnet, 300 series s/s is not attracted but 400 series and carbon steel will be.

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[jfkal]

Re: Jubilee Clips

There is. The are all SS but usually never specify the grade. I have had chandlery ones fall off completely corroded after a few month.
I agree with the previous post that putting two on does not make sense IF they are of the same make and fitted at the same time. They will happily corrode at the same speed. Name of the game is to ensure that at any given time ONE is still holding on.
Therefor: Use two different brands at the same time or replace one or the other at different times.
To overcome the how to fit the bloody hose on the seacock challenge: Warm up the hose with a heat gun (but do not overdo it.......) and fit it while hot and soft.



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[jleaworthy]

Re: Great - the double jubilee clip advice again!

Agree totally. I've had hoses perish, hoses split, hoses chafe but I've never had one pull off a fitting because a clip had failed. In fact I've often had to cut them off even with the clip removed. There is no point in doubling up on what is already the safest part of the system. As far as fitting new hoses is concerned I find that boiling water, washing up liquid and words that only bishops are allowed to use works eventually.

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[andyball]

They do use the bloomin' sealant on hose connections at our yard.....can't see the point at all, just makes it B. hard to remove once it's set - If the hose/fitting joint leaks with new hose & two clips...you really don't want to be masking the evidence by using sealant.

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[Avocet]

Re: Great - the double jubilee clip advice again!

There's more than just the material which makes the difference between a good and bad "jubilee" clip. The cheaper ones have razor sharp edges on the bands that can cut into hoses. The more expensive ones have a tiny radius on the band edges. I'm generally not that bothered about going for brand names but I have found the genuine "jubilee" article to be significantly better than other cheaper alternatives.

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