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Shoutout to the cheap hose clamp that cost me a Saturday afternoon | Boilermakers - Chatter Central

Shoutout to the cheap hose clamp that cost me a Saturday afternoon

I was doing a pressure test on a feedwater heater last Thursday and a three dollar worm gear clamp let go at about 150 psi. Scattered water all over the floor and soaked my notebook with the valve settings. Had to drain down the whole system, replace all six clamps with proper T-bolt ones, and retest the next day. Anybody else had luck with a specific brand of clamp that actually holds up?

3 comments

3 Comments

sam_thomas4mo ago

Fair point, but the cheap clamp wasn't really the problem there. The issue was using a worm gear clamp on a 150 psi pressure test in the first place. That's like blaming a paperclip for not holding up drywall.

kelly_craig4mo ago

Wait, is that really the rule on those? I used to think worm gear clamps were fine for anything since they're so common, but you just made me realize I've been lucky I never had one blow up on me. I've seen them fail at lower pressures on water lines, so 150 psi on a gas test sounds like asking for trouble. Definitely changing how I think about picking hardware for different jobs now.

grace_gonzalez463mo ago

My 2003 Honda Civic had worm gear clamps from the factory holding the radiator hoses at 15 psi for 15 years without issue, so I feel like the cheap hardware argument gets complicated. @sam_thomas hit on the real point though, which is matching the clamp type to the actual pressure and temperature you're dealing with. A stamped stainless worm gear clamp can vary wildly in quality depending on the batch, so I usually stick with the name brands like Ideal or Breeze if I'm going that route. For a feedwater heater pushing 150 psi, I would never trust anything less than T-bolts myself, but that's just from watching too many of these tests go sideways over the years.