Have you ever been cut by a worm gear clamp and needed to make a trip to the first aid kit? It’s time to look at other options!
If you work with air, water, gas or liquid applications, you know It has been years since the industry invented new ways to clamp a hose to a barb for industrial applications less than 200 psi. In this day and age, though, we should all be concerned about safety. Let’s take a look at some options.
- Worm Gear Clamps – cheap and easy fix in a pinch, but this does not outweigh the injury potential from extremely sharp edges
- Ear-style clamps – one or two “ears” are crimped using a special pair of pliers. Safer than worm gear clamps, but still contains sharp edges.
- Hose Ferrule Crimp System – uses a small crimping tool to attach hoses to a barb. Cleaner and much safer than worm or ear-style clamps. Every major hose manufacturer / industrial supply house can set you up with a kit.
- Push-on or Parker Push-Lok™ style system – uses a special braid in the hose that constricts when stretched or pressurized. A plastic indicator allows you to see if the hose is pushed onto the barb completely. The Parker Push-Lok™ assembly tool is in the same price range as the hose ferrule crimp tool, but it’s actually pretty easy to push the barbs on Push-Lok™ hose up to 3/8” by hand.
SAFETY TIP: Use a non-detergent soap that dries to help the barb slide on (non-drying liquid soap will
allow the barb to come off when pressurized.)
Safety, not time or money, should be your first concern, so make sure you are using the safe and easiest system available.