<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> <p class=MsoNormal>For those of you who have tried so hard to help me as I have struggled in vain trying to get my recalcitrant 1 ½” nitrile fire hose onto the barbs, I have some developments today. I got the smaller size pipe expander (sized 1 1/8” to 1 5/8”), inserted it into the hose and was able to dilate it fully out to 1 5/8”, the limit of the tool. But when I backed it off, it contracted back to its original position, with no discernable gain in diameter, even after several tries and with heat applied. I knew it was time to stop beating my head against the wall, although I was beginning to really enjoy seeing all those stars. I called the seller, who gave me the manufacturer’s phone number in Canada. I called them and spoke with their tech person, whom I am happy to say tried very hard to be helpful. I told him what I was doing, all the things I had tried, and gave him the measures of the barbs. We both agreed that, despite my heroic measures, it was not likely that barb would ever fit into the hose. This hose is rated to 500 PSI, is of very high quality, and it is specifically designed to return to its dimensioned shape. He said that, when they want to change the shape, they heat it in an oven up to several hundred degrees centigrade. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Despite the fact that I spent $168.00 on 50 feet of this nitrile hose and had cut it into the lengths I needed, it was time to accept the inevitable, and get some other hose. So I went back to the dealer and bought a 75 foot length of domestic, generic 1 ½” fire hose, the white weaved stuff you see everywhere. This stuff is rated to 300 PSI. Back in the shop, the barb went on with relative ease. I cut my first length, horsed down two hose clamps at each end over the barbs, inflated it, and left it for a couple of hours. It did not leak at all in the water bucket, or lose pressure over that time. So I cut all my lengths, goobered the barbs with an adhesive sealant, and torqued down two hose clamps on each barb. I’m letting it dry overnight, and will test inflate tomorrow, but I am optimistic that they will work fine. Once I had the right hose, it took me all of 1 ½ hours to cut the hose and put everything together. The pipe expander was useful in that, where the hose was a little tight on a barb, I could expand it just a tad and get the hose over the barb more easily. Still worth the $21.43 I spent for it. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>I was talking to Doug Kirkwood (a fellow New Hampshire Chapter member) this afternoon, and he suggested to me that what I may have is a metric size that is very close to but is not exactly 1 ½”, which a middleman distributor may have substituted for 1 ½”. I have no way to obtain exact dimensions, but the Nitrile hose is visibly smaller than the domestic product. I don’t know for sure if that is the case, but it may make sense here.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Thanks again to all who were helpful. Even though my problem turned out to be something different from others experiences, your input helped me to establish what is “normal”, and gave me a frame of reference. Otherwise, I would still be stabbing in the dark. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal>Will <o:p></o:p></p> </div> </body> </html>