What's the best clamp to attach reinforced silicone tubing to a hose barb?

I'm building a new system and using 1" fiber-reinforced silicone tubing to connect the MT, HLT, BK, and Fermenter to the other hardware, which is all Tri-Clover. The vessels have a combination of Tri-Clover ports and other threaded ports.

I got a Tri-Clover / hose-barb adapter and shoved it into the 1" silicone tubing. It went in easily and I could also pull it out easily. So I'm going to want one or two hose clamps to secure each of these.

I hate hose clamps! Especially when the screwdriver slides out of the slotted nut and jams into my palm. I have seen Oetiker clamps, and I even own a tool, but are they easier to deal with? Are there any other options?

I want something secure that is not a hack job. Preferably something that will not require me to cut the end off the tubing every time I disassemble it.

Poke around in the archives a bit. there is a tool around that allows yout o make your own wire type clamps.

I run my silicone tubing attched to tri-clovers with zip-ties and it works great. It doesn't fit your criteria for not having to cut them off, but they work extremely well. I disassemble them every 4-5 brews so its not to much to replace. They are cheap don't chew up the tubing and I always have a package of 1 size or another laying around it seems. Just something to think about

A nut driver, (1/4" I believe), works good to secure ordinary hose clamps. If sized properly, they don't look too bad.

They also make solid band hose clamps that will allow you take the clamps off and not chew up the tubing.

I second using a nut driver over a screwdriver. Of course its never around when you need it.

This uses stainless wire

http://www.akcooltools.com/clamptite.html

Oetiker clamps are another option

http://www.oetiker.com/content.asp?idNavig=7&l=4

But silicone is soft enough that plastic zip-ties work great, easy to install, cheap, and pretty low profile if you trim them back.

I used the fancy euro style hose clamps and they leaked. Cable ties no leaky and cheap as can be. +1 Cable/zip

samc said:

I used the fancy euro style hose clamps and they leaked. Cable ties no leaky and cheap as can be. +1 Cable/zip

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I'm surprised to hear that a cable tie can be as tight as a hose clamp. Do you tighten them by hand or do you use a tool?

wuertele said:

I'm surprised to hear that a cable tie can be as tight as a hose clamp. Do you tighten them by hand or do you use a tool?

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Pull hand tight, then grab tie by the area close to the connection with pliers and pull while twisting the tie, this levers the tie against the base. Not sure if that makes sense, but it is pretty simple/fast. It provides a nice even seal on the tubing. The hose clamps were harder to seal and they also corrode when I would soak the hoses in Oxyclean, even though they were stainless.

wuertele said:

I'm surprised to hear that a cable tie can be as tight as a hose clamp. Do you tighten them by hand or do you use a tool?

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I have a tool that tightens and cuts in one motion. Pretty cool if you can find it (maybe the hardware stores, dunno).

These are what I use. They are made by "Unex". They are so good you can clamp silicone tube onto thin glass tube should you ever need to! They are very easy to get on and off as many times as you wish with no damage to the tube and with no need for tools if you pick the handscrew style. They are stainlesss steel and brass, and you have the thumbwheel or grubscrew option. They are widely used in vending machines for silicone tube clamping. This is a british link, but you must have an equivalent type in the U.S.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/...d=searchProducts&searchTerm=2882826&x=19&y=6V

I love these..
http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=927&location_id=546

Thermoplastic shrink bands, good to 300f I think
you can get them a NAPA auto supply stores

silverbrewer said:

These are what I use. They are made by "Unex". They are so good you can clamp silicone tube onto thin glass tube should you ever need to! They are very easy to get on and off as many times as you wish with no damage to the tube and with no need for tools if you pick the handscrew style. They are stainlesss steel and brass, and you have the thumbwheel or grubscrew option. They are widely used in vending machines for silicone tube clamping. This is a british link, but you must have an equivalent type in the U.S.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=searchProducts&searchTerm=2882826&x=19&y=6V

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That looks like it would be easy to use, but it also looks like it would be unwieldy on the end of a hose. And I wouldn't want to have it slip through my tired and wet hands at the end of a brew day.

One reason why I hate hose clamps is because they protrude. That's why I'm leaning toward the thermoplastic clamps. If these can generate the clamping force I want, they would be optimum from the point of view of looking clean and not getting hung up on my knuckles.

I just ordered the wrapped-wire clamp system. It probably digs into the silicone so I don't expect use it on my brewery, but it just looks really nifty.

I have the Thremo clamps on all my silicone hoses 1/2 and 3/4 barbed fitting no leaks, no torn knuckles,no corrosion from cleaners or sanitizers and they do not distort the hose, you can cut them off with a seam ripper or razor blade if needed and clean, reuse hose again..

they also look really clean on hot rods, custom car builds

Henrythe9th said:

I have the Thremo clamps on all my silicone hoses 1/2 and 3/4 barbed fitting no leaks, no torn knuckles,no corrosion from cleaners or sanitizers and they do not distort the hose, you can cut them off with a seam ripper or razor blade if needed and clean, reuse hose again..

they also look really clean on hot rods, custom car builds

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Hmmm.. I called a couple NAPA stores and they claim that they don't have them in their catalog. Can you tell me exactly where you got yours?

Thanks!

Yes I suppose they are a bit large regarding how much the hand turn hexagonal knob seems to stick out, but they are dead handy as no tools are needed and they can then be chucked in for sterilising. I would get one or two and try them. They are not as cumbersome as they look, they are well made, will last forever, and are exactly circular as far as clamping is concerned, which is the most important bit after all

Gates parts #s 49922 1/2 hose
49925 3/4 hose
any parts house that stocks Gates hoses and belts can get these

Henrythe9th said:

Gates parts #s 49922 1/2 hose
49925 3/4 hose

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What I meant to ask was what supplier you got these parts from.

wuertele said:

What I meant to ask was what supplier you got these parts from.

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any parts house that carries Gates hoses and belts should be able to get them

I've now tested three methods of clamping. Here are my results:

1. Zip-tie, using a metal zip-tie gun with tension set on max: not strong enough clamping action. This is 1" fiber-reinforced silicone tubing. I get some decent compression on the hose barb, but if I attach a fixture to the hose barb and wrench on the tubing with my hands, I can pull the hose barb out of the tube. Unsatisfactory.

2. Clamptite stainless wire from AKCoolTools: this has the strongest clamping of anything I've tried. I was able to clamp a 1" hose onto a hose barb meant for 1/2" tubing! I think I could probably clamp the hose completely closed on itself and hold some significant pressure. But the wire is hard to apply, and it is ugly. It takes about five minutes to cut the wire, wrap it, tension it, and trim it. The wire digs into the tubing, causing the end of the tube to flare out. It is hard to control the spacing between the winds, and the ends are sharp.

3. Gates PowerGrip thermosetting plastic clamp: These have the most promise of the bunch. I haven't experimented much because I only got one clamp that was the right size for my hose. These buggers are expensive at $7 a pop for a single use! They do not come with instructions and I could not find instructions online, so I had to guess at the proper temperature. Supposedly these clamps change color when you've heated them properly. I have a digital heat gun, so I started at 500F and went up to about 900F. At 900F the surface started to blister, so I backed off, but there was never any change in color. It only took about a minute to apply and it looked great. I'm going to buy more of these and keep experimenting. The major drawback is the price, and the minor drawback is the fact that I really don't get to control the clamping force.

I think I will also try the Unex hex head hose clip for comparison. I'll follow up with more info about that and about my Gates PowerGrip experiences.