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Good Source For Hose Fittings?

5K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  SEMIJim 
#1 ·
Hi All,

About to embark on an upgrade for our boat: Adding an engine raw water intake strainer. Going to need some fittings. Wondering what a good source for them are?

There are two kinds of "barb" fittings: One kind is what I think of as a "traditional" barb fitting, the other is a barrel that's smooth, with two ridges. I'm thinking the latter, double-clamped, is the better way to go? But I don't see them anywhere.

Right now the fitting coming out of the through-hull is a right-angle 1/2" NPT (apparently) brass fitting. You can see it in the lower-left of this picture:



The plan is to mount the strainer aft of the fuel/water separator/filter you see in that picture.

Right now I'm thinking I want to go with this Shurflo strainer:


I'll then want the fitting coming out of the seacock to go straight up, so I can run the hose straight up and into the inlet side of the strainer.

I'll also possibly need fittings for the strainer to adapt its I/O to the hoses.

Complicating things is the fact that I think the existing hose is already over-sized for the existing 1/2" NPT fittings (I was able to easily slide a plastic male/male fitting labeled "3/4" into it) and I'm thinking of replacing the Oberdorfer pump with an MMI pump that, inexplicibly, has 3/8" NPT fittings.

TIA,
Jim
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Jim,

Please, for your own sake, don't buy that strainer. It's barely worth the cost of the corrugated cardboard packaging it is shipped in. I had one on a Catalina and it was one of the first things to go!!

As for bronze barb fittings Jamestown Distributors, Hamilton Marine or Defender all stock them..

You want a real bronze, easy to clean strainer like this one made by Perko. It will hold LOTS of grass and sea weed before it reduces flow!!


It's sort of a pay now or pay later sort of thing.

Here are some ideas:

#1 You want the least amount elbows on your way to the strainer as possible.

#2 You want to use the biggest hose on the way to the strainer as possible. If your thru hull is a 1" full flow use 1" hose. If it's a 3/4" valve use 3/4" hose. I recommend a min of 1" intake hose to the strainer so that WHEN, not if, you need to snake it to clear it of weeds you can actually get a snake through it... I have converted every boat I have ever owned to a 1" intake system from the seacock to strainers intake port.

#3 You want to use either bronze or Marelon for all fittings bellow the waterline!! No nylon or PVC!!!!

#4 You want to use wire reinforced marine hose to keep the dia of the hose constant even with a radius bend.

P.S. Never mind you're on a rather sea weed free lake... I'll leave the info for others.. the advice about that strainer still stands though...

Oh and do something about those solid copper fuel lines before your forking over big green to the EPA..!!!!!!;);););)
 
#3 ·
Jim,

Please, for your own sake, don't buy that strainer. It's barely worth the cost of the corrugated cardboard packaging it is shipped in. I had one on a Catalina and it was one of the first things to go!!
For what reason? Too small, so it filled-up/plugged too fast?

The reason I ask, and the reason I'm hesitant to spend $150, vs. less than $50, is all we're talking about here is a relatively crude strainer of which not all that much is demanded.

We're on a well at home. It's got a 1 HP pump capable of delivering 18 gpm. (And it does it, too. Trust me.) It pressurizes the system to over 60 psi peak. Between that pump and the water softener is a filter--all plastic from top-to-bottom. It has a 5 micron disposable filter cartridge in it. Now I figure if a piece of plastic can stand up to years and years of what our water pump can throw at it, at 5 microns, no less, certainly a well-built plastic strainer can do no less for significantly less volume, pressure and fineness.

As for bronze barb fittings Jamestown Distributors, Hamilton Marine or Defender all stock them..
Ok, I'll check those out. Thanks! (WM doesn't have all that good a selection, looked like.)

You want a real bronze, easy to clean strainer like this one made by Perko. It will hold LOTS of grass and sea weed before it reduces flow!!
I certainly want it easy-to-clean, which was one thing I liked about the Shurflo design: The bowl unscrews. So if you get it filled up with sediment, you simply unscrew the bowl and dump it out over the side. No muss no fuss. (Just like our home water system filter.)

I do want whatever I get to hold lots of grass, weeds, etc. before flow is significantly impacted.

Here are some ideas:

#1 You want the least amount elbows on your way to the strainer as possible.
I knew that, but thanks :)

#2 You want to use the biggest hose on the way to the strainer as possible. If your thru hull is a 1" full flow use 1" hose. If it's a 3/4" valve use 3/4" hose. I recommend ...
As I said: Looks like the current fittings are 1/2" NPT. I appreciate the recommendation, but I'm disinclined to replace a thru-hull that seems to be providing ample water to the engine. Besides: The current pump is only 1/2" NPT and the one I'm thinking of replacing it with is less, at 3/8" NPT. (Dunno why.)

#3 You want to use either bronze or Marelon for all fittings bellow the waterline!! No nylon or PVC!!!!
Yup, that was what I wanted.

#4 You want to use wire reinforced marine hose to keep the dia of the hose constant even with a radius bend.
I wondered what kind of hose I wanted. Thanks. I may have to replace all the hose.

P.S. Never mind you're on a rather sea weed free lake... I'll leave the info for others.. the advice about that strainer still stands though...
We're far from anything resembling "seaweed-free," believe me. In fact: We're slipped at the end of a canal and sometimes the entire surface is a weed mat. One reason for the strainer, and one reason I want the screen area to be as large as I can fit in the available space.

Oh and do something about those solid copper fuel lines before your forking over big green to the EPA..!!!!!!;);););)
You know, I wondered about those. Funny thing: When we were discussing fuel/water separators/filters last season, I used that same picture and I don't recall anybody saying anything about those copper lines. Maybe I just forgot. New-to-us boat, lots to remember :p.

Thanks for your comments, halekai36. I may not follow (all of) your recommendations, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate and respect your input.

Jim
 
#4 ·
Jim..

Jim,

In short that strainer had a lot of shortcomings.

#1 Sea grass or eel grass, the long skinny ones, would not make the turn into the basket and would clog the intake it was my gut feeling that this was due to it's constricted size.

#2 Because of size I needed to empty it often. The bowl and housing are made of different plastics and as such required teflon grease to operate easily otherwise they would bind on each other.

#3 The gasket between the bowl and housing would tend to "bunch" as you tightened the bowl back on sometimes requiring two or three attempts at making it leak free.

#4 The bowl comes off the bottom and in the ocean, you would not worry as much in fresh water, it is a royal PITA if the strainer is not the highest part of the intake system as ALL the SALT WATER in the hose comes spilling out into your engine compartment!! I much prefer a top clean out!!

#5 Finally my clear housing cracked at the threaded portion and after calling every chandlery and SureFlo I decided to ditch it as the part was hard to get and far to fragile for my liking.

#6 As I removed it I noticed that the bronze hose barbs, that had been installed into the housing, had cracked it!! I had not noticed it leaking but where the male threads of the hose barb went into the housing was cracked.

#7 The metal bracket on mine was galvanized steel NOT stainless but I do think they have modified this since...??

So that is my experience with the strainer you posted. Mixing bronze and plastic is never advised and the differing expansion characteristics are most likely what cracked the housing. As for the clear bowl that NEVER should have split!!! Tried two different o-rings and both acted the same..

For the $50.00 more this Perko 1/2" bronze intake strainer is a VERY good value!!!

1/2" Perko Strainer / Hamilton Marine
 
#8 ·
Jim,

In short that strainer had a lot of shortcomings.
I guess so! All right, you convinced me :).

For the $50.00 more this Perko 1/2" bronze intake strainer is a VERY good value!!!
I agree. Okay, that's what I'll get.

Now I just have to see if I can find the fittings I want. I'm off to check the places you suggested.

Certainly WM will have the hose I need, right?

Thanks,
Jim
 
#7 ·
While the ABYC allows for the use of annealed copper fuel lines they are, and can be, a poor choice on a small boat due to the sever vibrations caused by the small aux diesels.

There have been many fuel spills due to work hardened copper fuel lines that broke and then spilled fuel into the bilge which was then pumped into the ocean or lake.. this is where the EPA comes in..;););)
 
#6 ·
Gotta go with Hal

Jim,
Gotta agree with Hal on this one, I just replaced my entire raw water system with a Perko like the one pictured, all new bronze fittings, new reinforced hose and double hose clamps for about $170 purchased at a local chandlery. Considering I leave my engine intake throughull open when I'm away during the week I sleep much better knowing something stronger than plastic parts are keeping my boat afloat. :D

Just my .02
Michael
 
#10 ·
List Of Materials

Hal,

If I could bother you for some assistance? Here's what I believe I'll need from Hamilton Marine:I only can't see what hose there is appropriate. There's "hose water heater" listed on this page, but the smallest size is 5/8".

This is a lot easier when you can just walk into the store and snag various parts right off the shelves until you get a bunch that all actually fit together :p.

Thanks,
Jim
 
#11 · (Edited)
Jim,

The clamps on the other page are likely AWAB hose clamps and they are all I use on my boat. They don't have the perforations in the band but rather stamped gears and as such are much more reliable. Is your thru-hull 1/2"?

I really prefer the "sweep" elbows as in the full flow ones you showed. They are easier to snake and will also plug up less frequently than a regular "tight turn" 90 degree elbow..

If I can get down to Hamilton today, I need to, I will screw some fittings together with the strainer and write down the PN's for you..
 
#12 ·
Jim,

The clamps on the other page are likely AWAB hose clamps and they are all I use on my boat. They don't have the perforations in the band but rather stamped gears and as such are much more reliable.
May be, but they're something like $2-$3 apiece! $30 for 10 hose clamps?

Is your thru-hull 1/2"?
Wellll... It would seem our entire raw water system is... kind of a hack. Friend at ours sail club looked at it Sunday and pointed-out that the thru-hull is actually 3/8". That's adapted up to 1/2" for the ballcock. The adapter off that has a 1/2" NPT fitting and what looks like a 3/8" right-angle hose barb. Being as a 3/4" male-male adapter that I use on a hose extension for feeding the system a bucket-full of anti-freeze for winterization fits in, I believe the hose is 3/4". The Oberdorfer pump I believe has 1/2" fittings. :rolleyes:

I plan to "standardize" on 1/2" up to the strainer, and on the strainer's output. Then when I decide what to do with/about the impeller/pump, I'll probably address the hose up to that.

I really prefer the "sweep" elbows as in the full flow ones you showed. They are easier to snake and will also plug up less frequently than a regular "tight turn" 90 degree elbow..
That's what I figured.

It also appears the Groco straight .50" adapter is "full flow," as compared to the alternate straight hose barbs.

If I can get down to Hamilton today, I need to, I will screw some fittings together with the strainer and write down the PN's for you..
That would be terrific! Thanks, Hal!

I can just imagine receiving a box-o-parts and finding that one bit doesn't fit/match w/the others. Arrrrgh! :p

The WM just a couple miles down from our boat is expanding. Right now all they have is Groco strainers, and expensive at that. Not a real wide selection of adaptors and so-forth in the store. I'm hoping that they'll have a much wider selection of such things after they expand. They may be a bit (?) more expensive, but they sure are convenient.

Jim
 
#13 ·
If I might chime in here with a couple of observations.

The spin-down filter on your well, which I'm hoping is after the pressure tank, doesn't have nearly the job to do that your raw water strainer does-unless you've a particularly old well accompanied by a high mineral content.

NEVER thread a metal fitting (male) into a plastic fitting (female). If you must use plastic and metal fittings together the plastic should always thread into the metal, ie...male plastic with female metal. It usually takes a few other fittings to do things that way but you're much less likely to have a plastic failure (cracking) some time later and end up with a boat or basement full of water! Don't ask me how I know this and, btw, each and every one I've seen fail was "just fine" for months if not a year prior to it's failing and putting 4' of water in the basement.

I understand your desire not to enlarge the hole in the boat for the thru-hull, Jim. What I would do, along with using the wire stiffened hose as this is a suction line, is to use the maximum diameter hose called for by the system. It appears that the strainer has 1" input, I'd run 1" all the way down to the thru-hull and adapt down at that point to 1/2" or 3/8" as necessary. Flow restrictions, otherwise known as suction head, are a function not only of pipe diameter but pipe length as well. Increasing the diameter over a given length makes the flow significantly better, especially going up from 1/2" to 1", even over the relatively short run you have to make.

If you can sweep your flexible hose, versus using a elbo/90 degree bend, you'll be doing much better. Note that while the elbo may be a "full flow" that that rating does not account for the male adapters (hose barbs) which you have to install into the elbo to adapt it to hose, and they're going to produce head loss. It's generally a good practise to use as few elbos as you can get away with, instead sweeping your hose to make the turns.

No matter how tempting, do not ever use those gray plastic hose barbs you see at the hardware store-the ones with thread on one end and an elbo or male adapter on the other-when threading into anything metal. When you go to remove them in a week or a year, you'll have to melt them out, in essence, from where they attach. Those things belong on outdoor sprinkler lines, preferably with a home owner whose nothing better to do than spend his time repairing it.

As you can see, the best route is to not use plastic at all!
 
#14 ·
Jim,

Here are the part numbers:

Strainer - PKO-493004PLB or the Hamilton stock # 127070

Full Flow 1/2" Barbed Elbow - GRO-FFC500 or stock # 153308
Full Flow 1/2" Straight barb - GRO-FF500 or stock # 150344

PLEASE take note that full flow fittings use the next size up hose. A 1/2" NPT thread "full flow" barb fitting takes a 3/4" hose!!!

The AWAB hose clamps to fit 3/4" hose are:

AWB 19-28 or Hamilton stock number 102618

Once you use an AWAB hose clamp you'll see why they cost more and probably will never go back to using IDEAL clamps..

Sorry no links as this is from my phone..
 
#15 ·
As halekai mentions, not all hose clamps are created equal. When reading the box for any brand one will note that, "stainless steel band" is not the same as saying "all stainless steel". Most clamps use somewhat deceptive marketing to hide their cheapness in quality.

Elbos with one size up for hose fittings are a really good idea if you have to use elbos. Try not to if you can. Sweeping flows better and clogs less. Of course, on a boat, it's not like you have too many options given the space considerations!
 
#16 ·
Ok, stuff on order. Hal, thanks very much for personally checking those parts out for me. Very much appreciated. I hope I can return the favour some day.

Hal, Sway, on the advice of Ken, over at Hamilton Marine, who was also very helpful, I went with the less-expensive (ok, "cheaper" :)) clamps. He was quite emphatic that the more-than-twice-as-expensive clamps were over-kill in this application. He assured me the less expensive hose clamps are all SS, just not as thick as their more expensive counterparts.

Ordered at least a foot more hose than I expect I'll need. Ordered an extra of each of the fittings I'll need. Should end up with four spare hose clamps. All this over-ordering will ensure that: 1. The project will go smoothly and 2. I'll never need any of the spare parts ;).

I'll let y'all know how it goes :)

Jim
 
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