Re-Usable Hydraulic Hose Fitting Tutorial

[kennyd]

I have two upcoming projects that will require a lot of custom length hoses, so I though it would be a good time to give these a fair trial. I have always had hoses made locally at a fair price and in a timely manner, but I was always curious about these.

All parts (hoses and Fittings) where purchased from Discount Hydraulic Hose. I only needed the 1/4" hose and fittings for this project, but all the sizes are assemble the same way.

This is 30' of 1/4" SAE 100R2AT 2-Wire 5000psi hydraulic hose

Here are two types of fittings, 1/4" NPT on the left, and a -6 JIC on the right.

Better view. 1/4" NPT on the left and -6 JIC on the right.

Here they are with the inner stems removed from the outside collar.

A die grinder with a cutoff wheel makes easy work of cutting the hose cleanly.

Here is the cut hose, a straight clean cut is important.

The outside collar is threaded onto the hose. These are left-hand threads.

Turn it till the inside bottoms out on the hose.

Now, mark the hose/collar, and back off the collar 1/2 turn or so to create a gap inside the fitting for the hose to expand into. This is a VERY IMPORTANT step. Failure to do this will cause the stem to break (Don't ask how I know!)

Hold the collar in a vise, lube the stem and inside the hose with some hydraulic oil and start turning the stem in. This was the hardest part-pushing and turning till the threads engaged. If it starts to get real tight, remove the stem, re-lube and try again.

Here is the completed fitting. The stem should NOT be tightened to the collar-but rather a small gap left.

After assembling the hose, be sure to flush it with a solvent (like mineral spirits) and compressed air to clean it out. You don't want the crap from cutting the hose in your hydraulic system.

So, that is it. I hope this will help someone in the future...

 

[dex3361]

Great tutorial I appreciate the thread. I have wondered about how well these work. Have you used them before? I thought they would be a better option overall more economical overall and the ability to use and all. I thought maybe they may have a problem with leaking.

 

[J_J]

Kenny,

Do you think this is a one time use of the screw on fittings, or can you screw the fitting back into the same hose. Would you have to use a fresh piece of hose every time you made up one of these units?

 

[actionaj]

I have used these fittings before to, on much larger hoses. They work really well never had seen one fail. And yes they are re-usable.

 

[kennyd]

Great tutorial I appreciate the thread. I have wondered about how well these work. Have you used them before? I thought they would be a better option overall more economical overall and the ability to use and all. I thought maybe they may have a problem with leaking.

This will be my first time using them, but a few others here have and reported great results. There has just never been a dedicated post on how to install them so I thought I would do it.

With how tight they go together, I can't imagine them leaking.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Kenny's da' man!

 

[kennyd]

Kenny,

Do you think this is a one time use of the screw on fittings, or can you screw the fitting back into the same hose. Would you have to use a fresh piece of hose every time you made up one of these units?

The fitting itself is definitely reusable...I would guess they would want it screwed into fresh hose each time rather than where one was already but not 100% sure, there is very little info available about these.

 

[kennyd]

Kenny's da' man!

Thanks Andy...I was waiting for you to beat me down for using them!

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Thanks Andy...I was waiting for you to beat me down for using them!

I don't know, maybe they kinda grew on me. I have seen these on very old hoses so they definately work. If I didn't own a $5,000 hose crimper and over $100,000 in stock, I would use them too.

Manufacturers now call them "field attachable" for liability reasons but they are probably reusable until you wear them out. I can check my Weatherhead catalog, but I wouldn't use them on the same piece of hose twice. Maybe you can, I don't know.

Just a note for everyone else, they make different reusables for different hose types. (The SAE 100R #) Please, do not mix them up.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Not trying to be a smart guy here, just want it to be right when some noobie searches. Once the fitting has been removed, the hose should have the end cut off before a fitting is installed again.

I completely re-plumbed my Case 310 dozer with these fittings. Trust me, the larger fittings are not cheap.

 

[GPintheMitten]

As a newbie, thanks for the tutorial, KennyD.

Great looking Case, MtnViewRanch. You've obviously got a lot of work into it.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I use these as a quick fix for blown hoses at work. I carry 1/4" through 1" male and female JIC on my service truck. If a mixer blows a hose on the job and it is a long hose that is hard to replace in the field I will cut the hose in half at the bad spot and install a male JIC on one side and a female JIC on the other to make a splice. When I get the truck back to the shop I replace the hose. I take the fittings off the repaired hose and put them back in the truck for the next time. The only time I have seen these fail is when the outer casing of the hose is old and dry rotted. Make sure you get the right fittings for the type hose you have. Different types of hoses have different outside diameters.
Bill

 

[kennyd]

Not trying to be a smart guy here, just want it to be right when some noobie searches. Once the fitting has been removed, the hose should have the end cut off before a fitting is installed again.

I completely re-plumbed my Case 310 dozer with these fittings. Trust me, the larger fittings are not cheap.

Thanks for posting your project and experience with these fittings. I knew I was not a pioneer with these-I just wanted to dedicate a post to them since there was not one.

 

[kennyd]

As a newbie, thanks for the tutorial, KennyD.

You are welcome

 

[MtnViewRanch]

One of the best things about building your own hoses is that you can get them exactly how you want-need them to be. You know, like a 90 at both ends, but not in line. One end is turned a little so that the ends are connected without the hose being in a twist-bind. Does that make sense?

 

[Discount Hydraulic Hose]

Kenny, thank you for sharing this with everyone and thanks for mentioning Discount Hydraulic Hose as well!

Your tutorial was very thorough and accurate. To confirm what someone else said, the fittings are re-usable, but you should always cut an inch or two off your hose before using them again on the same piece of hose.

As others have noted, reusable (or field-attachable) fittings aren't cheap, but they certainly do fill a need. We have lots of customers, especially truckers who are usually miles and miles away from home when a hose blows, who keep a few of these fittings in their toolbox for emergency repairs.

Thanks again, Kenny. I really enjoyed reading this, and I may even point people here to this thread the next time I get questions on installing these fittings.

 

[kennyd]

Kenny, thank you for sharing this with everyone and thanks for mentioning Discount Hydraulic Hose as well!

Your tutorial was very thorough and accurate. To confirm what someone else said, the fittings are re-usable, but you should always cut an inch or two off your hose before using them again on the same piece of hose.

As others have noted, reusable (or field-attachable) fittings aren't cheap, but they certainly do fill a need. We have lots of customers, especially truckers who are usually miles and miles away from home when a hose blows, who keep a few of these fittings in their toolbox for emergency repairs.

Thanks again, Kenny. I really enjoyed reading this, and I may even point people here to this thread the next time I get questions on installing these fittings.

Thanks HHG.

 

[woodlandfarms]

A question for those who own these fittings. Are they Longer than the crimp version? I ask because my tractor was designed around a particular (shorter) type of connector. In certain spots it is not possible to hook up hoses with the longer connector.

Also, what I am hearing here is that these connectors are much more expensive than crimp? So if it is just an occassional hose it probably makes more sense to get it made than have these items hanging around?

 

[J_J]

Carl, the primary purpose of the reusable fittings is so an operator can repair a hose assembly while in the field away from a hydraulic shop. Also when you are experimenting with a hyd system and you need a hose with specific fittings on it, right now. They certainly do cost more, but are reusable.

 

[kennyd]

A question for those who own these fittings. Are they Longer than the crimp version? I ask because my tractor was designed around a particular (shorter) type of connector. In certain spots it is not possible to hook up hoses with the longer connector.

Here is picture of the reusable and a crimped connector. Be aware that there are many makers of crimped ends so the difference may be more or less than this. This is about 1/4" longer. The actual overall length measurement of the reusable from tip-to-toe is 2.395"

Also, what I am hearing here is that these connectors are much more expensive than crimp? So if it is just an occassional hose it probably makes more sense to get it made than have these items hanging around?

Some ends are more expensive, but the hose is a lot cheaper-plus no labor cost. And you get the exact length hose you want for a perfect fit. Hard to nail down an exact cost savings, but I think there is some.