Why do shore hose connectors always leak ?

[Snowgoose-1]

Out of the water for a week, summer deal.

Why do my own and yard hosepipe connectors leak or blow off despite doing them up tight ?
Even when the bayonet fittings stay in they seem to leak badly.

I've given up the struggle and gone back to buckets.

Is there any hope for the future ..............................

 

[jdc]

They don't, so I suspect your set up to be peculiar (or the yard's). Can you describe your arrangement, or post photographs?

On my boat I have a cockpit hose, which is the same type of Hozelock system as I use in the garden, between the boat's pressurised water and a spray /shower head. It never spills a drop and hasn't since I fitted it 8 years ago. So they don't have to leak.

 

[johnalison]

I’ve noticed the occasion dribble, as the bishop said.

 

[Plum]

Out of the water for a week, summer deal.

Why do my own and yard hosepipe connectors leak or blow off despite doing them up tight ?
Even when the bayonet fittings stay in they seem to leak badly.

I've given up the struggle and gone back to buckets.

Is there any hope for the future ..............................

Do you mean the "Hozelock" type? Normally very good. Rarely an O-ring needs replacing.

 

[Neeves]

If you buy cheap copies of original hose pipes and their connections, or anything come to that, the copies seldom match the originals. Some components will be made to fit hose pipes from the same manufacturer and water pressure is such that it will find opportunity to leak or blow connections apart.

PTFE tape is useful stuff.

As mentioned pictures may allow some sensible help.

Jonathan

 

[fredrussell]

More often than not the hose gets left in the sun (especially the bit at tap) and eventually stiffens, making a good seal with connector less likely. As others have said, buy the decent brand connectors, not the DIY store copies, and if you’ve feeling flush (pun intended) good quality hose. Tricoflex is good.

 

[Plum]

More often than not the hose gets left in the sun (especially the bit at tap) and eventually stiffens, making a good seal with connector less likely. As others have said, buy the decent brand connectors, not the DIY store copies, and if you’ve feeling flush (pun intended) good quality hose. Tricoflex is good.

Tricoflex make dozens of hose types, do you mean this one: Hozelock Ultramax 116240 Grey & yellow 5-layer reinforced hose pipe (L)15m | DIY at B&Q

 

[stu9000]

Fitting non hozelock female connectors to male hozelock part attached to the tap always causes issues.
As others have said, PTFE tape helps. I carry my own male part to screw onto the tap if the setup allows.

 

[Poignard]

I have never had any problem at all with genuine Hozelock fitting but this supposedly compatible connector that I bought via eBay a while ago leaked badly and I obtained a full refund.

 

[westernman]

Out of the water for a week, summer deal.

Why do my own and yard hosepipe connectors leak or blow off despite doing them up tight ?
Even when the bayonet fittings stay in they seem to leak badly.

I've given up the struggle and gone back to buckets.

Is there any hope for the future ..............................

Its because you bought the cheap hosepipe connectors for 1 euro from Lidl or other places instead of splashing out 8 euros for a decent one.

 

[fredrussell]

Tricoflex make dozens of hose types, do you mean this one: Hozelock Ultramax 116240 Grey & yellow 5-layer reinforced hose pipe (L)15m | DIY at B&Q

That’s the stuff, yes

 

[johnalison]

I think that Hozelock type connectors are usually pretty good. More often than not the leak seems to come from the screw thread to the tap as in #8.

 

[Poignard]

In 27 years never came across a marina tap that these:



or this:




wouldn't enable a leak-free connection to be made.

 

[ghostlymoron2]

If you buy cheap copies of original hose pipes and their connections, or anything come to that, the copies seldom match the originals. Some components will be made to fit hose pipes from the same manufacturer and water pressure is such that it will find opportunity to leak or blow connections apart.

PTFE tape is useful stuff.

As mentioned pictures may allow some sensible help.

Jonathan

In my experience and measurement, gardena and hozelock have the same dimensions. I bought some O rings off eBay and replaced when mine started leaking after about ten years. The O rings are dirt cheap. You shouldn't have any problems with the screwed connections but you don't generally need PTFE with plastic connections.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I've found some metal connectors. Perhaps they are more reliable given they have decent o rings.

 

[WoodyP]

I find water pressure has a great deal to do with the fittings. I get 10 bar here and have to fit prv's to prevent blow offs

 

[Neeves]

In my experience and measurement, gardena and hozelock have the same dimensions. I bought some O rings off eBay and replaced when mine started leaking after about ten years. The O rings are dirt cheap. You shouldn't have any problems with the screwed connections but you don't generally need PTFE with plastic connections.

You do need to connect the plastic connectors to a metal tap and plastic connectors wear and the hose is subject to UV, as already mentioned. For drinking water you should not be using a garden hose anyway - they are not sold for drinking water.

Jonathan

 

[penberth3]

In my experience and measurement, gardena and hozelock have the same dimensions. I bought some O rings off eBay and replaced when mine started leaking after about ten years. The O rings are dirt cheap. You shouldn't have any problems with the screwed connections but you don't generally need PTFE with plastic connections.

Correct. The tap connectors have a rubber washer that does the sealing. PTFE tape on the thread will do nothing useful.

 

[ChromeDome]

After many years of strange solutions (various hoses, lying on the ground or hanging partially in the water from the bridges, dirty and definitely not suitable for drinking water), all have been replaced by these:



A huge step forward. Fitted with approved hoses, nice and tidy. 50m ½" on each reel.

Couplings have never been the responsibility of the marina:

1. If they're good, they get stolen
2. As there are different tolerances among the many products, most of times they are not tight anyway
3. People bring their own couplings and put on the hose as long as they use it

My personal favourite is GEKA® PLUS QUICK series:

 

[Neeves]

Out of the water for a week, summer deal.

Why do my own and yard hosepipe connectors leak or blow off despite doing them up tight ?
Even when the bayonet fittings stay in they seem to leak badly.

I've given up the struggle and gone back to buckets.

Is there any hope for the future ..............................

Interestingly, and I do lead a sheltered life, I have never seen a bayonet water fitting in a marina or boat yard - the taps all have screw fittings as the nozzle, I think imperial, and one of 2 sizes (so we carry the 2 different sizes).

No-one has commented on the bayonet fittings, not one mention. Yet Snowgoose, the OP, mentions them as if he thinks they are common place - I'm simply intrigued as I've never seen one. Bayonet gas fittings, yes, but not for water, or not water pipes of the size we use.

PTFE is dismissed, despite at least 3 posters using the tape with success, as being totally redundant in favour of a rubber washer that apparently for some last for ever, does not perish, never cracks nor is simply lost and the plastic fitting that screws to the tap also lasts for ever despite being much less resistant to abrasion than the tap.

Everyone seems to use a garden hose to connect tap to yacht - even though garden hoses would not meet approval. Chrome Dome made a refreshing change. We used a John Guest standard hosepipe 12mm, white for our fresh water supply from shore to cat, we had a green one for salt water (and red and blue, and green for salt water, for domestic plumbing in/on the cat). The Guest metric hosepipe needs converters for imperial fittings (and was a devil to handle being a hard plastic).

Jonathan