<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> Hi Nick:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Your comments are very timely, and I am grateful for having them. My end caps are supposed to be 1 ½” (See second paragraph below)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I spent part of the day today developing blisters and frustrating myself. I dunked the 1 ½” Nitrile hose in boiling water multiple times and kept working to expand it. I had bought some 1 ½” plain PVC pipe, which I buttered and finally was able to insert into the end of the hose. I then was pulling up on it and working it around the sides, the idea to be to stretch out the hose at the ends enough to get it started on the barb. As I kept working it and reheating it in the boiling water, that did cause some very grudging (and small) expansion of the hose end. I then switched to heating the end with a heat gun and working the PVC pipe around it to expand. Some more gain after a long time. I actually tapered the end of one of the barbs to make it easier to get on. Then I used a 1 ½” drum sander fixture (like you would insert into a drill press). That tool you put the drum onto and tighten a nut to secure it in place, which it does by expanding the sides out into the sandpaper to hold it. I used that to press out the sides, which I also did while using the heat gun. After 2 ½ hours of doing this on a single end, the most I was able to get was the end of the barb into the hose about 1/8”, where the taper would prevent it from going any further. Oh, and I had been buttering the inside of the hose and the barb with grease all the while. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> At a certain point, you realize that you are beating your head against the wall, and maybe it’s time to stop. At first, you wonder if you’re an idiot; but after you have tried so many things (including those that others have said they had success with) you can at least say to yourself, “Well, I may still be an idiot, but I think there is something else going on here too. “ I took my calipers and miked the ends of the barbs, which varied from 1.618 to 1.645 inches in diameter. The unbarbed shank remaining after the barbs ended measured out at 1.54 inches. It was too difficult to get a reliable inner diameter reading on the hose because it is flexible and of the fold flat variety. Whatever it is, it’s obviously smaller than the barb end! <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Thanks for your remark about your using the 1.25” stuff for the end caps. I’ll head over to Lowe’s tomorrow morning and buy one or two barbs of that size and see if that is going to be a workable solution in a test fitting. If that seems to be the ticket, then I can go about securing some ones of sufficient quality. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I thought I was being pretty careful about this. Jude Reveley has been extremely helpful to me with a lot of this. I went to a fantastic local hardware store in Mass. Near Jude’s shop, and bought the exact same fittings that he is using with success and with nitrile hose. I got my nitrile hose from a local supplier who ordered it from me. I don’t know what the differences between my hose and Jude’s are, but there must be some, as he did not experience the level of difficulty that I have. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Nick, how are you holding the hose to twist and hammer – by hand? I was finding that the hose wanted to fold over against the pressure of the barb against it instead of staying straight on. I have some large channel lock pliers, so I will try that too.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I happened to stop by my best friend’s house this afternoon. A plumber was working on his furnace. The plumber suggested going to an Auto parts store and getting a tool that is used to expand exhaust pipe so that one end of the pipe can fit over the end of another. You keep turning it to expand it. I’ll look for such on Monday <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Thanks again for your help, and any further comments you have would be appreciated. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Will<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div> <div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Nick Gravagne Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 11:11 AM To: 'Pianotech List' Subject: RE: Fitting fire hose to barbs<o:p></o:p> </div> </div> <o:p> </o:p> Hi Will,<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> What size are your end caps? Are you able to at least get the barbed diameter started on the hose, or is it more like trying to stretch a bicycle tire on the rim? If the latter, I doubt your success in making it work (at least not easily).<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I also use 1.5” fire hose (comes with some sort of rubberized inner sleeve), but trying to mate this hose with 1.5” end caps did not work at all. I found this out many years ago. The industry protocols of fire hose and related fittings do not necessarily match those of the plumbing industry. The end caps that worked for me are 1.25” stuff. I recently purchased more through Amazon (Genova #31814 1-1/4" White MPT Plug) at 0.92 cents each. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> My procedure is to butter up the barbs with gray plumbers putty (also acts as lube), then twist and hammer on the caps (dead blow) to the hoses. The use of large channel lock pliers also helped a great deal in “turning” them on. When they are pushed home and flush, the clamps are seriously tightened up. I recently did several of these without boiling water or special lubrication but with a bit of muscle. Fortunately I found that the use of colorful language and poetic flourishes was not required.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Ciao for now…<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div> Nick Gravagne, RPT<o:p></o:p> Piano Technicians Guild<o:p></o:p> Member Society Manufacturing Engineers<o:p></o:p> Voice Mail 928-476-4143<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <div> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center> </div> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Will Truitt Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 6:12 PM To: 'Pianotech List' Subject: Fitting fire hose to barbs<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> To the List:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I got my Nitrile rubber 1 ½” fire hose late this afternoon, and at the end of the day I cut my lengths and started playing with fitting the hose over the barbs of my end pieces.  The inner diameter is slightly smaller than the end of the barb.  Even with grease and wanging the barb around the inside of the end of the hose to stretch it a bit, it looks like it’s going to be a lot of work to get those suckers on – a lot of screaming, cursing, and gnashing of teeth.  I was hoping to secure a tool designed for this task at a hardware store, but there appears to be no such animal.  The suggestion of placing the hose end in very hot water was made to me, and I will try that tomorrow.  Does anyone who has experience doing this have any suggestions that I could use to make my life easier here?  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Will Truitt<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html>