Anyone Crimp Their Own Fittings?

[Iplayfarmer]

Does anyone out their crimp their own hydraulic fittings? What's the threshold at which buying a small scale crimper pays off vs. having every hose custom built?

 

[Mech]

I've always used reusable hose ends. They work well and let me make my hoses custom lengths w/o a crimper or going someplace to get them done. The crimpers are very expensive.

 

[Bedlam]

Mech could you elaborate a little on how they work? Thanks

 

[kennyd]

Rob (3RRL) details them in THIS THREAD starting at post #60

 

[Mech]

Rob (3RRL) details them in THIS THREAD starting at post #60

Thanks Kennyd. Beat me too it. Just spent over 3 hours getting home from work. Now need to go plow some snow.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Rob (3RRL) details them in THIS THREAD starting at post #60

Those look pretty cool. So if they are less than a crimp and easier to use, why does anyone use crimped fittings?

 

[CurlyDave]

So if they are less than a crimp and easier to use, why does anyone use crimped fittings?

I have used both kinds, and actually bought a small crimper for a place where I worked 30 years ago. As I recall, at that time, the smallest electric crimping machine (hydraulic with an electric pump) was about $1000. Throw in 30 years of inflation and I have no idea how much it would cost today.

At that time the crimp fittings were a buck or two less expensive than the reusable ones, and had a larger ID than the corresponding reusable one, which was important for our use.

If you make a thousand crimps a year, the crimper pays for itself pretty quickly, if you make 10 per year, it is never going to pay off.

Another reason to use crimp fittings is that they are not user-serviceable, which avoids a lot of potential problems with "customer modifications".

The crimped fittings are also more robust than the reusable ones, and will withstand more abuse.

 

[3RRL]

Those look pretty cool. So if they are less than a crimp and easier to use, why does anyone use crimped fittings?

Hello Iplayfarmer,
Yes, they are pretty cool.
Thanks Kenny for sharing that thread, it's been an eye opener for a bunch of us.
I just found out about them and always thought they were very expensive. That's why I used to get my hoses made or buy pre-made hoses and cut them and only have one end made up...to try to save on the cost of a custom made hose. But not any more. I'll use those re-usable hose ends from now on. One thing to keep in mind is the source I gave in that thread has some re-useable hose ends cheaper than others. The 45 and 90 degree ones are more expensive than the straight ones, but goes for crimped ones too. Also, I looked to see which ones were the most reasonable cost and tried to work my hoses around that. Then I got that size hose for them, so some hoses might be larger diameter than really needed, but are still reasonable. So by choosing what would work for me, I could make the hoses cheaper than having them crimped ... custom hoses made up at a hydraulics shop.
Rob-

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The crimped fittings are also more robust than the reusable ones, and will withstand more abuse.

There's a phrase that matters to me.

Now I have to decide if it's worth it. I actually think I can get most of the hoses stock from Surplus Center or someplace similar. There are just a few of the longer ones that they don't have in stock.

 

[spruce Deere]

So if they are less than a crimp and easier to use, why does anyone use crimped fittings?

I have used both kinds, and actually bought a small crimper for a place where I worked 30 years ago. As I recall, at that time, the smallest electric crimping machine (hydraulic with an electric pump) was about $1000. Throw in 30 years of inflation and I have no idea how much it would cost today.

At that time the crimp fittings were a buck or two less expensive than the reusable ones, and had a larger ID than the corresponding reusable one, which was important for our use.

If you make a thousand crimps a year, the crimper pays for itself pretty quickly, if you make 10 per year, it is never going to pay off.

Another reason to use crimp fittings is that they are not user-serviceable, which avoids a lot of potential problems with "customer modifications".

The crimped fittings are also more robust than the reusable ones, and will withstand more abuse.

I agree with curly dave. Just not justifiable to purchase a hose press, dies fittings not to mention hose on some occasions if you dont make a daily habit of such destruction. The logging company I work for with 20 plus pieces of heavy equipment, we go several weeks without hose failure with multiple crews. The company has there own hose set-up for insurance if a hose does blow to minimize down time though. Operators are key in this. And with reusable ones, they just dont hold over time. Snag a hose with a reusable it may not loose its end right then, they are able to twist way easier and it will be sooner than a good col-o-crimp or weatherhead fitting.