joining hoses

[shaggystu]

a bit of advice needed please. i've just got a blow torch from ebay, the kind that connects to a big calor gas bottle via a rubber hose. the problem i have is that the hose on the torch is of a much smaller diameter than the hose that's currently on my regulator.
there's no way of getting the hose on the torch to fit the regulator directly, i've tried.
i don't want to cut the hose off of the torch and try fitting the larger diameter hose directly to the torch because i don't think it will work.
easiest solution i can think of is to join the two hoses together (the extra length will help too).
so, is there a fitting i can buy to do the job, and where can i get one?

cheers

stuart

p.s. it just occured to me that sizes might help, the smaller hose is (approx) 4mm internal 12mm external, the larger is 8mm internal 15mm external

 

[Martyn]

Bad idea i reckon.

 

[shaggystu]

Bad idea i reckon.

yeah? i wasn't sure myself, why would you say it's a bad idea?....and, any ideas how i could solve this?

stuart

 

[Martyn]

I'm no expert Stu, but I think you have to be careful even with low pressure kit. The red type hoses are high pressure and should be crimped onto the connectors. You can get away with jubilee clips, but you are supposed to use industrial crimps for it to conform to regs. I know your regulator will drop the pressure, but it's still something I'd not want to mess with and the reduction in diameter worries me, that will cause a higher pressure. You can get male-to-male reducing hose connectors like this....

...to fit different hose sizes and you could clamp them with jubilee clips and it would all probably work, but I'd be worried about the safety of it. If your join fails, you've got a pretty significant amount of gas leaking not far from a big source of ignition with you in the middle. I think I'd look at changing the fitting on the torch, or maybe using an adapter with a good compression fitting, rather than trying to splice a hose. I could be being over-cautious, but it's potentially dangerous, so better that way IMO. Other people may advise differently.

If you do want to use a reducer, you should find something here, but on your own head be it....

http://www.advancedfluidsolutions.c...teel-reducer-hose-connector-joiner-1176-p.asp

 

[shaggystu]

i agree entirely with everything that you've said there martyn.

....You can get male-to-male hose connectors to fit different hose sizes and you could clamp them with jubilee clips and it would all probably work....

that's pretty much what i had in mind, what i'm struggling with a little is finding the "proper" fitting to do that.

i don't think the fitting on the torch could be easily changed, it looks like a pretty well sealed unit, i could be wrong though. i also thought about trying to get a different regulator, but the bottle i've got is an unusual size (1mm smaller than the standard calor bottles IIRC) and i struggled to find the regulator that i've already got. cost is always a factor too, i only just got the regulator and i'm really loathe to buy another one if there's some way i can avoid it (yes, i really am that tight)

as for splicing the hose, SWMBLT has already threatened me with all sorts of acts of violence if i even consider such a thing, i think she guessed what i was thinking when she spotted me trying to fit one pipe inside the other she's quite clever sometimes

 

[Martyn]

i agree entirely with everything that you've said there martyn.



that's pretty much what i had in mind, what i'm struggling with a little is finding the "proper" fitting to do that.

See above link, I edited my post with more info.
http://www.advancedfluidsolutions.c...teel-reducer-hose-connector-joiner-1176-p.asp

Dont forget the jubilee clips!

Personally, I'd change the fitting on the torch, or get another regulator. They are only about £5 on ebay. You should use a dedicated hose and regulator for each appliance anyway.

as for splicing the hose, SWMBLT has already threatened me with all sorts of acts of violence if i even consider such a thing, i think she guessed what i was thinking when she spotted me trying to fit one pipe inside the other she's quite clever sometimes

She's a clever girl, that really would be asking for a Darwin award.

 

[shaggystu]

See above link, I edited my post with more info.
http://www.advancedfluidsolutions.c...teel-reducer-hose-connector-joiner-1176-p.asp

Dont forget the jubilee clips!

Personally, I'd change toe fitting on the hose, or get another regulator. They are only about £5 on ebay.

She's a clever girl, that really would be asking for a Darwin award.

thanks for that martyn, i'll give that a try i think. i've got a mate of mine trying to find me a regulator that'll fit the smaller pipe and the odd sized bottle that i've got too, that's probably the best way to go.

cheers for the help

stuart

 

[Martyn]

thanks for that martyn, i'll give that a try i think. i've got a mate of mine trying to find me a regulator that'll fit the smaller pipe and the odd sized bottle that i've got too, that's probably the best way to go.

cheers for the help

stuart

Definitely. I bought a powerful burner from the US ( a t-rex burner) for a little forge I was building a few years back and I was keen to test it. The regulator was an expensive variable pressure regulator because I needed to run the burner on about 3 bar for full blast, which is more than the low pressure regulators you usually get. Anyway, the burner arrived and I wanted to test it. I didnt have a length of high pressure hose but as I had a variable pressure regulator and was only running to 3 bar, I figured I'd test the burner with an old length of garden hose. I clamped both ends with jubilee clips and turned the bottle on, then turned the regulator up to 2 bar and BANG! I hadn't figured for the much reduced nozzle of the burner jacking up the pressure in the hose and the hose blew out. A chunk of hose about the size of a 10p flew and hit me in the back of the hand, it broke all the tiny blood vessels and caused a nasty bruise. Painful as hell for ages. Fortunately, I hadn't lit the burner yet, so no explosion, but it was close to being much worse than a bruised hand. I crapped myself at what could have happened and I dont economise with gas fittings now.