Tips please on sliding reinforced hose (for engine cooling ¾”) onto a seacock fitting. I have tried softening in hot water but the hose (new) is still reluctant to go more the halfway onto the spigot.
For plastic, I find that a hot air gun is much more effective than hot water - but watch out, you can get the hose hot enough to give you a painful burn.
For rubber, try a plumber's merchant for the lubricant gel used to assemble PVC drainage pipes - its rather more effective than washing up liquid.
I have just renewed several hoses on my boat including fitting to seacock spigots. I used a hot air gun to warm the length of the hose to go on the spigot and coated the spigot with a 1:5 mixture of washing-up liquid and water; each hose went on without much difficulty. Be careful to avoid warming the hose beyond the length of the spigot or you may cripple the hose which may collapse and restrict flow through the hose
