Gates Heat Shrink Hose Clamps

[Rawleigh]

What are your collective thoughts on these. I cannot decide whether they are a good thing or not.

http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?broch ... ion_id=546

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH1po8kP9c8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O91YqHbp8c

[Navatech]

The videos are quite interesting however, it's an advertisement and not a documentary... As far as the clamp testing goes it's quite convincing but I'd be hesitant to use their product as it's not AYBC endorsed... That means that should something happen which can be tracked back to your hoses/clamps your insurance company would decline coverage due to faulty maintenance... Proving that a non AYBC endorsed solution is equal or better is a huge PITA... And you'll notice that Gates says that their product is a solution for "most" applications... IOW, looking to them for help won't help... Not unless they specifically endorsed your proposed application...

As far as the water permeation goes, they calculated an annual 5 gallon loss based on a truck running 2 shifts per day... That's 12-16 hours per day or 60-80 hours a week and 240-320 hours a month... Even charter boats don't get that much usage so I'd say we can safely ignore that issue as it's a non issue for all of us...

[CaptPatrick]

Certainly sounds convincing...

The main downside would be initial cost, (they're a bit pricy), but if they perform as claimed the cost isn't much of an issue.

I like the concept & think they would be worth trying... I'll be ordering some.

[CaptPatrick]

Good points, Nav...

[Navatech]

Certainly sounds convincing...

The main downside would be initial cost, (they're a bit pricy), but if they perform as claimed the cost isn't much of an issue.

I like the concept & think they would be worth trying... I'll be ordering some.

Seems like the parent company is selling them somewhat cheaper. They also offer additional quantity discounts: http://www.wirecare.com/products.asp?prodline=sb

[Rocket]

What would a safety inspector or surveyor have to say about no metal clamps on your hoses? I can imagine the argument. Would you use these on a through hull?! Even though you dont get the same temprature variations, these apprear to be an effective product. I think most of us with boats double clamp our hoses, I wounder how that would test out on their apparatus? It leads me to the question, when double clamping should you use one constant dimension clamp and one constant tension clamp? What about the clamps with a worm gear and a spring?