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DIY Hoses

mobiledynamics

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Mar 14, 2010
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Gotham City
Not worth owning the tools or a -roll- of hose for it, but has anyone rolled their own Garden Hoses.....

I can pay to have them made to X length....probably will still be cheaper than buying the crimp tool for it...or a roll
Just the OCD here. I have a new reel installed. I'm about 35 feet too long that I don't want.....could cut and just use an Orbit or the like...and put a new GH fitting on it.

Just for discussion sake, anyone here actually buy per ft/bulk @ the local hose shop and crimp your own Garden Hoses.
 
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e015475

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Jul 24, 2012
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643
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Show Low and Mesa Arizona
About ten-fifteen years ago, I was in the local hose shop buying hoses for a car project and there was a garden hose they'd made up for a customer on the will-call shelf. (they sold a lot of hoses to the pressure-wash trade)

I bought a 50' hose from them and I'm still using it. It is a little faded and it is darned heavy to haul around. Nice brass fittings that have survived being run over a few times. Was expensive at the time, but long-term it was probably the cheapest way to go
 

Old tool guy

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Apr 13, 2023
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It’s tempting. I found a remnant one day at the store, about 10 ft. I kept it in the tool trailer, it was handy to connect to a customers hose bibb, just long enough to get away from the house and have a little working room to rinsethings. And i would like a 1 or 2 ft hose to connect permanantly to the pressure washer, it would make connecting so much easier.
 

dscheidt

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Apr 26, 2017
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2,888
I've never bought bulk hose, but I've cut factory made hoses to the length I want, and put a good quality brass end on. I've used compression style, where there are two pieces that screw together to bind it on the hose, not the kind with screws that clamp on. (I've used those, too. They ****.) They're not quite as nice as crimped on factory or hydraulic shop made hoses, but good enough for a garden hose. I used to be able to get good ends at a local hardware store, but the last time I looked, all they had was chinese garbage, so I bought some from McMaster when I was placing an order for other things.
 

Ing3018

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Sep 3, 2009
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185
Location
Michigan, USA
I have made several short hoses for filling buckets and connecting to a hose reel. I have used good quality brass inserts ends, male or female. I like to clamp the barb with a stainless steel wire clamp made with a Clamp-Tite tool. I press the ends of the wire into the hose flesh with a punch to save my own flesh.
 

Plump

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Dec 22, 2009
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537
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SE Wisconsin
This is a great question as this is something I've been needing a good answer to for a while. My work (and home) calls for some custom hoses at times and there is not great answer. A good garden hose crimper is criminally expensive and with so many ID and OD specs, it's hard to even get the right fittings.
Anyone have some examples of set ups and/or where to get them? Where would someone go to have garden hoses crimped?
I've used the compression and screw together types and as dscheidt says, "They ****".
 

Steve_P

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Sep 15, 2010
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5,182
I'll join in also.... It drives me crazy that there aren't any decent garden hose repair ends that don't either use a worm gear clamp, or the clamp on style with two screws with ears that stick out on both sides of the hose. I have a pretty good hose, very resistant to kinking, with a bad end I need to replace. The below are aluminum but about the best I could find as far as a clean install.

 

OldDoItAll

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Plump

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mobiledynamics

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Gotham City
I've never repaired a hose....the only times I have is on my $$$ ones. I have had them all.....rubber, vinyl, vinyl+rubber, polyurethane and thermoplastic. My top tier hose is the thermoplastic. Second is the rubber. I do have the various others as such. I treat them like a pressure washer hose. If it blows a leak, then I'm just due a new hose. Buying even a $$$ hose, when one looks at the cost. Let's say it breaks down to $2.50-$3 a hose per ft for a assembled hose that's already have a fitting. It's still alot cheaper than when I briefly looked at the cost of material of buying hose per ft.....and that was not doing the math on the fittings.

Hoses per ft was running around $3-$7++ the last time I looked. I didn't even bother even looking at what a spool would be or the tool. The ROI wasn't there.

It **would be nice** to be able to just custom length and custom terminate hoses...
 

Beerhippie

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Far NE Oregon
I've used these with barbed hose fittings. Kinda pricey but they make a clean fitting. Usually have to go to the Gates site to find the part# of the size you need.
Since there seems to be absolutely no mention of what size hose that fits, how do you know? I have hoses in 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4".

I make up the wash-down hoses for the brewery. Those are 3/4" Goodyear hose with barb-to-MNPT or barb-to-TC fittings, secured with Band-It clamps. With 185 degree F wash-down water, I really don't want a hose end failing. The Band-Its are second only to a hydraulic crimp sleeve.
 
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mobiledynamics

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For those who have done crimps, with the variable of different hose brands, different wall thickness....how tricky is it. Too light of a crimp, you might have a small leak. Too tight of a crimp, you cut into the jack, which then makes it a weak spot.
 
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OldDoItAll

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Since there seems to be absolutely no mention of what size hose that fits, how do you know? I have hoses in 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4".

I make up the wash-down hoses for the brewery. Those are 3/4" Goodyear hose with barb-to-MNPT or barb-to-TC fittings, secured with Band-It clamps. With 185 degree F wash-down water, I really don't want a hose end failing. The Band-Its are second only to a hydraulic crimp sleeve.
As I mentioned in my post, Gates site has size range and part#s.
 

Wamsutta

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Jan 8, 2014
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10,871
Location
Amarillo, Texas
There's a place in California that makes garden hoses from bulk Thermoid hose. If you remember, Thermoid are the people who make radiator hoses, air hoses, fan belts, and a bunch of other stuff. The garden hoses are the absolute best in the world - bar none. Nice flexible rubber hoses that are easy to coil up. Their standard sizes are 50ft, 75ft, and 100ft, both 5/8 and 3/4 diameters. They will make you a custom length right on the spot. The name of the place is California Industrial Rubber in Fresno California.
 
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mobiledynamics

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Material wise, I like the Conti EPDM rubber hoses for GH. These hardly kink and abrasion is decent.
I was thinking why there wasn't a nitrile like equivalent , like their HP PW hoses. The outer covers of my HP PW hoses are bulletproof....although stiff due to the braid


My top tier GH hose is one made out of thermoplastic. It's lighter than a rubber hose and softer. I like it alot, but the only experience I have had is on turf. It doesn't ever kink but I don't have a decent benchmark on how much abuse it can take once off soft grass
 

Beerhippie

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Material wise, I like the Conti EPDM rubber hoses for GH. These hardly kink and abrasion is decent.
I was thinking why there wasn't a nitrile like equivalent , like their HP PW hoses. The outer covers of my HP PW hoses are bulletproof....although stiff due to the braid


My top tier GH hose is one made out of thermoplastic. It's lighter than a rubber hose and softer. I like it alot, but the only experience I have had is on turf. It doesn't ever kink but I don't have a decent benchmark on how much abuse it can take once off soft grass
****, man--that's one of the brands we use for brewery product hoses--at something like $30/ft! Sizes are a little larger, of course.
 
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mobiledynamics

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Yeah, Goes back to my 1st post. Quality hoses with ends (on paper) is just cheaper per ft than buying bulk hose and then as a *DIY'er* with not even the right tool to terminate it. It's just that they come in sized increments when I would love some ----custom--- sizes.

Even with many excuses, I can't see buying custom hoses as the math is just not there...
 

Beerhippie

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Far NE Oregon
Yeah, Goes back to my 1st post. Quality hoses with ends (on paper) is just cheaper per ft than buying bulk hose and then as a *DIY'er* with not even the right tool to terminate it. It's just that they come in sized increments when I would love some ----custom--- sizes.

Even with many excuses, I can't see buying custom hoses as the math is just not there...
Y'know... I just happen to have a spare Band-It clamp that AI don't need... if you're ever out thisaway.
 

Plump

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Dec 22, 2009
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537
Location
SE Wisconsin
I’ve used the clam shell things or a worm clamp, but my go to now is a 3/4 PEX crimp ring. It won’t work with all hoses, but is way better than a worm clamp.
Interesting! What size garden hose does it work with? The OD would seem to be quite a bit different from PEX but I'd LOVE to try it!!!
 

Gutman

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Jan 10, 2019
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292
Location
ENC
Watching. Some good ideas here.
I'd love to be able to use pex crimp rings too.
I found one brand of the 2 piece clamp with screws that I replaced the chinesium screws with some ss ones I had on hand. They're cast aluminum, but much more durable than the plastic ones. I'm a little more wary when I use them on the hose end if the end could come in contact with a car body panel or boat fiber glass, but I'm thinking of trying some heat shrink over the fittings.
I've got a couple shorter hosees that I've used on an end to mitigate that concern.
 
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mobiledynamics

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Interesting! What size garden hose does it work with? The OD would seem to be quite a bit different from PEX but I'd LOVE to try it!!!

The thought very briefly crossed my mind to try....but I only have Pex B in my stash and that stuff is no UV friendly
 

fourjeepin

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Feb 12, 2011
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Atlanta, GA
Interesting! What size garden hose does it work with? The OD would seem to be quite a bit different from PEX but I'd LOVE to try it!!!
I‘m not sure about the size hose, but it has worked on all hoses I have tried. It may not work on the **** with aluminum fittings that is sold in the big boxes now, but give it a try and report back if it works or not.
 

fourjeepin

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Feb 12, 2011
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I took a couple of pictures today. One hose that was too big for the 3/4” pex ring and one that it worked perfectly on. The one it wouldn’t work on was a curb find. It had those horrible aluminum fittings so I cut them off for brass.
 

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