Removing Hoses . . . Need Help

[CaptainBW]

In spite of the fact that I have owned and worked on my own boats for over 20 years, I am having a devil of a time with my latest.

Trying to winterize a boat that I bought in March of this year and I cannot get hoses off to feed antifreeze into the systems. Part of the problem is a lack of room to get physical leverage, but I have tried heat gun and everything else I know. I am turning to the forum for ideas. How do you get stubborn hoses off????

[rigormortis]

Cap'n:
This works for me:
A sharp exacto type knife, big screwdriver and lots of profanity. Even if you have decent access hoses can be reluctant to give up.
Slit the hose over the barb attachment and lever it off the barb. Of course you need sufficient hose excess for this to work elegantly. Otherwise you must add to the list above, another length of hose.
P

[gonesail]

if you can get a pipe wrench around them .. once you twist them loose they come right off. last resort is to cut them off at the end of the barb but then you loose 2" of hose. makes me wonder why people are so worried about hose clamps.

[Finistere]

Loosen the hose clamp, the hose will usually twist. unscrew the fitting while turning the hose in the opposite direction. You can now intro duce the antifreeze thru the open end of the fitting. Use reverse procedure to reattach fitting, may need some pipe dope or teflon tape.

[rrranch]

A cotter pin puller works great. Slip it under the hose and work it off. Snap on and matco also have several types of hose pliers if you run across one of the trucks.

[vintageray]

Hoses in general, loosten the clamps and a pair of channel locks will usually break them loose. Sometimes there's not room to remove a hose and the component that the hose is connected to has to be removed and more than one hose removed and replaced at the same time to get the component into place. Just replaced all of the hoses on my heat exchanger and oil cooler.....no fun at all.

[CarinaPDX]

You might think about putting a tee into the plumbing so you don't go through this again. There are seacocks that incorporate a plug on the side for this purpose as well.

[vintageray]

Many of the hoses on marine stuff are 1 1/8" I.D.. T's, elbows and things in this size are not available at Home Depot, auto parts, the local hardware or many marine type stores. I'm hunting an insert 90 degree elbow now and am coming up empty. Flex hose would work, but the steel wire in it corrodes in a hurry around salt water and hose deteriorates.

[CarinaPDX]

Best I can tell Rule, and possibly others, use 1 1/8" to lock in the business. I generally use 1" hose for those applications, which then allow the use of standard plumbing parts and seacocks/thruhulls. It would have a small impact on flow but the advantage of standard parts tips the scale for me.

[peghall]

I think you've just provided an excellent illustration of the reason why all fresh water and sanitation system fittings should only be double clamped...NO sealant, ever.

If heat won't work, cutting 'em off is about the only solution. I'm hesitant to use any kind of cotter pin puller or other tool because they can "dimple" plastic hose fittings, guaranteeing that they'll never seal completely again.

[David M]

In addition to the heat gun and sliplock plier trick, on really stubborn hoses I will squirt a little WD-40 in there. Yes, WD is bad for rubber because it makes it swell longterm but it is not on the hose for very long.

[David_Old_Jersey]

If heat gun and brute force ain't working then IMO it is either glued (sealanted? ) or the hose is simply age hardened (and therefore more prone to splitting from vibration) - and should be replaced.

Indeed, given the aggro you are facing with access (on a newly bought boat) I would replace whether I thought needed or not.....better to fit now than when bouncing around at sea

The good news is that a hacksaw works well for removal

[peghall]

You raise a good point, David. The average usable life span for any hose--fresh water, sanitation, engine exhause, raw water, ANY hose--is +/- 10 years. By then they've started to become hard and brittle and prone to cracking, even leaking.

So if the hoses in question are anywhere near 10 years old or older, the smartest thing you can do is replace ALL of 'em now...so you won't have to replace each one, one section at a time, always at the LEAST convenient time to have to do it.

[CaptainBW]

Thanks for all of the replies. I was able to remove the hoses I needed to. I used a screwdriver to pry the most stubborn one off. Many of the hoses are fairly new (< 5 yrs old) but I agree that some are in need of replacement, and that is a prudent thing to do.

Thought about plumbing in "T's" to facilitate winterizing, but the Admiral and I decided that the best course of action is to start moving each fall to a latitude where it is not necessary.

[Vamonos]

I see that you soved your problem. I used to sell quite a few of these when I had a Matco Tool franchise. http://www.amazon.com/Danaher-Group-82107-Double-Plier/dp/B0012S99ZQ The "double x" design puts two hinge points in the pliers, that keeps you from having to open the handles very far. You can reach a hose that you can't possibly touch with your hand.

Here is the single 3/4". http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-820...9464645&sr=1-6


No longer affiliated with any tool distributorship. Although, you couldn't tell it by looking at all the old unsold tools and junk in my garage.

Richard