What style of radiator hose clamp do you prefer?

Post by **abscate** » 11 Mar 2020, 14:01

Four things

The open notches cut the rubber into pieces

The bottom of the bolt portion has two sharp edges on the cheap ones which also slice the rubber

The tolerances on the cheap ones suck

The metal quality in the cheap ones is silver cheese and looks like this - yes - these were 'stainless'

Post by **abscate** » 12 Mar 2020, 06:22

abscate wrote: 11 Mar 2020, 03:43 We should get a group buy together for all of with multiple Volvo’s.

You can get ABA clamps in durazinc here , from Belmetric

About $2 a piece and they drop to 1.50 USD in qty 10 or more

https://www.belmetric.com/aba-blue-hose ... -6922.html

Post by **wizechatmgr** » 12 Mar 2020, 11:00

I like these for radiator clamps on silicone hoses... Note: This is not the correct size...

https://www.amazon.com/Breeze-Constant- ... 166&sr=8-3

Post by **mecheng** » 12 Mar 2020, 17:34

Neil is correct you want the European clamps for those reasons on critical hoses and yes my dealer has some of the sizes but for others they sell the generic crap.

I found McMaster Carr a good source, they are German made

https://www.mcmaster.com/screw-clamps

Post by **amblerman** » 13 Mar 2020, 08:08

That brownish stain is called a corona stain.. No that wasn't a lame attempt at a joke.

See here:

http://www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/te ... index.html

Good description here from the folks at NGK.

Post by **amblerman** » 13 Mar 2020, 09:18

abscate wrote: 11 Mar 2020, 14:01 Four things

The open notches cut the rubber into pieces

The bottom of the bolt portion has two sharp edges on the cheap ones which also slice the rubber

The tolerances on the cheap ones suck

The metal quality in the cheap ones is silver cheese and looks like this - yes - these were 'stainless'

Those are all excellent points. I have been a little spoiled on some of these issue as I inherited a huge number of hose clamps from my dad. He was a sailor and had a lot of stainless clamps rated for marine use. ie: real stainless.
Some/most still suffer from the hose cutting issue but they do not rust.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 13 Mar 2020, 10:09

Unfortunately, some grades of stainless are not very corrosion proof. Grades 304 and 316 has good corrosion protection. Other grades made have less protection, but can still be called stainless.
volvolugnut

befarrer · Post by **befarrer** » 13 Mar 2020, 13:41

I prefer the spring clamps, they allow for heat expansion and contraction. Give the right pressure on the hose too. Just a pain to install and remove.

Post by **Clemens** » 13 Mar 2020, 14:15

volvolugnut wrote: 13 Mar 2020, 10:09 Unfortunately, some grades of stainless are not very corrosion proof. Grades 304 and 316 has good corrosion protection. Other grades made have less protection, but can still be called stainless.
volvolugnut

While I don't doubt what you say, this is weird. What's the point of stainless that isn't stainless?

Post by **volvolugnut** » 13 Mar 2020, 14:29

Stainless steel is a generic description. The actual grade tells the true characteristics of the material. The various grades can be magnetic/ nonmagnetic, corrosion resistant or not, weldable, easily machined, very strong or weak, etc. As in most industrial stuff, you need to know the details.

A comment on the constant torque type hose clamps: in a previous job, we only used this type on radiator and turbo hoses of industrial diesels. All others would blow off under pressure. We also found we had to restrain the hoses so they could not move outward from the hose nipple and slide off. When the turbo hose blew off the engine immediately stopped. When radiator hoses came off, you wanted to be aware and immediately shut down the engine.
volvolugnut