hydraulic hose crimper

[toplessHO]

revisiting this after spending $400 on hose and fittings from NAPA.
Has anyone built a crimper using a shop press?
I found one on you tube but doesnt give much info on the die.
also thinking that adding a pressure gauge to my shop press jack will get repeatable results

 

[vwpieces]

I haven't built one.
But the dies are for the most part proprietary to the size and type of hose and ferrule being used.

 

[zendriver]

I don’t think I’d wanna half *** on hydraulic hoses.

One could get some serious injury if one “springs a leak”

 

[toplessHO]

I don’t think I’d wanna half *** on hydraulic hoses.

One could get some serious injury if one “springs a leak”

there are specs to crimp to
This wouldnt be a guessing game

 

[Under_Pressure]

I tend to think along the same lines you do, and honestly haven't looked into it really in depth, but I do know that it seems every time this comes up on this forum, the consensus is it's not worth it. Which for this place is saying something.

 

[Wrench97]

The specs for the dies are different depending in the brand of hose and fittings.
I've had half-**** hoses put together by a parts store employee who though he knew what he was doing using brand x fittings on brand y hose it wasn't pretty on the first pull of the lever when it blew apart.

 

[nadogail]

Mixing the manufacturers parts of hose assemblies is comparable to trying to "Make a Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear".

 

[plinker]

Might be less trouble to locate a used crimper from someone that upgraded. Either way, the hose and fittings are still going to be spendy.

 

[signcrafter]

My local napa will do the crimps for free if I buy the hose and fittings from them. Does your napa not have the machine?

 

[Walkers]

Find a better hose shop, or order pre made hoses from a place like surpluscenter.com

 

[HenryAZ]

Not hoses, but I used my hydraulic press as a battery cable crimper.

 

[AGuinn]

As someone who regularly builds/repairs hydraulic hoses at work, unless you're making up 1000's of feet of hydraulic assemblies every year, the expense of tooling up to make them yourself is cost prohibitive. OP never mentioned what size/length hose he had made - $400 could be very reasonable. On a 4-braid hose, the fittings alone could come to $250 or more.

The dies are manufacturer specific (Parker, Gates, Aeroquip, Weatherhead) and each size hose takes a different die set. Our Gates machine uses a tapered cone and die set and pushes down on the cone that squeezes the die (similar to a compression fitting). There is a micrometer-like switch mechanism that sets how far down the cone is pushed before automatically turning the hydraulic pump off and controls how small the fitting gets crimped. Different series of hose in the same size require different settings on the crimper to ensure a solid crimp - i.e 2-braid Global Spiral takes a different setting than a Non-Conductive hose even in the same I.D. size and using the same fittings. Gates also has a chart for using their fittings to repair another manufacturer's hose - I would imagine most other manufacturer's offer similar.

 

[Wrench97]

Not hoses, but I used my hydraulic press as a battery cable crimper.

I usually just hit it with a hammer a couple of times...........................

 

[Wrench97]

As someone who regularly builds/repairs hydraulic hoses at work, unless you're making up 1000's of feet of hydraulic assemblies every year, the expense of tooling up to make them yourself is cost prohibitive. OP never mentioned what size/length hose he had made - $400 could be very reasonable. On a 4-braid hose, the fittings alone could come to $250 or more.

The dies are manufacturer specific (Parker, Gates, Aeroquip, Weatherhead) and each size hose takes a different die set. Our Gates machine uses a tapered cone and die set and pushes down on the cone that squeezes the die (similar to a compression fitting). There is a micrometer-like switch mechanism that sets how far down the cone is pushed before automatically turning the hydraulic pump off and controls how small the fitting gets crimped. Different series of hose in the same size require different settings on the crimper to ensure a solid crimp - i.e 2-braid Global Spiral takes a different setting than a Non-Conductive hose even in the same I.D. size and using the same fittings. Gates also has a chart for using their fittings to repair another manufacturer's hose - I would imagine most other manufacturer's offer similar.

I've yet to find anyone willing to repair used hoses, especially from another manufacturer.....................................

 

[RedneckWelder]

It’s not cost effective and you have to have a proper crimper. There are portable field crimpers vs. stationary shop ones.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Not hoses, but I used my hydraulic press as a battery cable crimper.

HUGE DIFFERENCE !

A hose swaging machine typically uses segmented dies. For large diameters each segment may have it's on ram.

 

[toplessHO]

I've yet to find anyone willing to repair used hoses, especially from another manufacturer.....................................

asking for trouble repairing used.

 

[matt_i]

I have the tooling and the press for Parker that I got at an auction, one fateful day the press got accidentally bumped and fell to the floor, which blew apart the hydraulic pump and reservoir Its yet to make it back to the fixit stage... The tooling is pretty exotic and not easily duplicated. I could have used it twice in 12 years which tips the scales even to me as not worth it. One also needs a cutoff tool for the hose stock which is not cheap.

I have had good luck with Parker Store in several states and always found their stationary shop service reasonable. I did not need a rush on any application. In populated areas there's even a mobile truck to come out if you're down and need it ASAP to get your factory or excavator up and running I've also bought hoses from the Surplus Center (in Nebraska) via mail order. I adapt everything on the fitting end to JIC so my hose can always be JIC female swivel tube-nuts on both ends. Makes installation and future service quick and easy, and the JIC fitting is extremely reliable in being leak-free in my experience. The Parker 4300 tube fitting catalog that you can find by google is very useful to have on your PC. I don't know the hose stocks worth a darn but talk to the shop if its something like a forklift hose which goes over a sheave and is in essentially constant flex. For a tractor where it mostly sits there its not as critical.

 

[AGuinn]

Since several folks have commented:

We don't repair hoses often, and we don't repair hoses for every customer, and rarely with another brand of hose. We won't repair a hose that has failed from age, but if it has been cut or crushed sometimes we will if it is otherwise in good shape. Sometimes a farmer is trying to beat the rain and can't wait to order a fitting we don't have, but we always explain we cannot guarantee that it won't leak.