Hose fittings have me feeling like a hoser
I thought I knew what I was doing. I needed fittings for coolant and veggie oil. To save on shipping, and to be tantalized by a large selection of fittings, I went down to the local hydraulic fittings “Superstore”. Naively thinking the store would have aisles and rows of steel, brass, aluminum, titanium, kryptonite etc fittings, I was disappointed when I was shown a very limited selection of brass fittings. What the #@@%#? Since I was there already, I decided to take advantage of what they had and bought $64 in fittings for a flat plate heat exchanger. The heat exchanger was only $60 on ebay! The consoling thought soon followed, saying that this would be it, I don’t have to buy many more fittings. Well, 30+ trips to Lowes & Homer D, and ~$150 later, I’m still not sure I have all of the fittings to adapt to my tank, fuel filter, valves, coolant and stock fuel line connections. Part of the problem is that my system was not comprehensive, and I piecemealed used components together, seizing upon deals from forums and feeBay. Another part was my failure to plan. Drinking as much coffee as I do, coupled with my excitement about WVO, I tend to “just do it” and leave the planning to those at the Philosophers’ Club. And yet another part was my lack of knowledge regarding the vast array of fitting sizes, styles and compliments. 37 JIC, Flare, Hose Barb, 5/16” ID, ORB, NPT, FPT, MPT, 64 Flare, ANC #8, push-lock are some of the styles of I had the privilege of learning about through trial and error.
I have a sneaky suspicion that I’m not the only one who has a box of expensive, erroneously purchased and un-used fittings lying around. This must be a rite of passage for us folks putting together our own kits. There has got to be a better way. One of the things were doing here at WVO Designs is creating an information resource for folks to build their own conversion kits. We are aiming to layout some designs down to the fitting(Pssst…We could use some help in documenting vehicle specific fittings). Additionally, we have been working hard to secure a source of quality and affordable aluminum fittings which work interchangeable with major conversion components and hose. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you have funny hoser fitting stories or some helpful advice, please chime in!
Jason Jelonek
Matt says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 1:38pm
I feel your pain. I went with keep it simple, and went through the conversion in my head countless times. I think I ended up with 4 or 5 extra fittings. I want to upgrade to the 37* jic at some point. I want to replace the banjo bolt in my 95 PSD that I feel I shouldn’t trust after what I have had to do to it.
I think I probably made around 10 trips to the hardware store, finding only Brass and PEX fittings, and often not the thread sizes I needed. I was able to make due with adapters and a few fittings I bought online because the other component was either free shipping or the fittings would not add to shipping.
I think this is as you stated a “rite of passage”. I’m no plumber, and certaily am not familair with all the fitting, threading, and flaring terminology, but I had to learn.
Having been there and done that, and knowing what a particular vehicle needs to convert to wvo goes a long way.
Matt says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 1:41pm
Ideally I would loved to have gone with solid aluminum and then to braded steel lines. But I do not have the tools or money for that right now. When I upgrade to a newer truck, and if I am still veggin, then yes, that will be the route I take.
Dave Roberson says:
Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 9:27pm
It’s not only the cost of the fittings but the cost of the time chasing them. I am lucky as I have a Hose Power store 2 miles from my shop.A parker Store 7 miles from the shop.Every time I need 1 fitting I buy 10.
After 4 years of this I have to go to the store a LOT less but I have not even wanted to know what that wall of bins has cost.
Dave
Travis Tortorige says:
Friday, July 15, 2011 at 5:54pm
I had the same problem. I have more money in fittings and SS braided hose than I do in solenoids, fuel pumps, filters and heaters. And, yeah, a nice pile of random brass in the tool box (which has come in handy quite often to be honest). And its funny, I learned more in that process about fittins and sizes, and spent way to much time making several trips there.
I’d advise anyone to look up their local Parker Hydraulic shop. Parker really does have that dream supply that you are free to browse and test fit.
Also, JIC is for the birds. The braided hose is way to expensive; the reusable JIC fittings are $8 each and are extremely difficult to put together and keep from leaking (parker won’t even build them for you for those reasons. They just make crimped ones). A push lock hose and barbs are about 20% of the cost and can handle about 300psi. Wire braided and JIC looks good, but thats about it.
Good luck to anyone who’s about to build their own system!
Randall - WW5RM says:
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 9:36am
I am just getting into WVO. I don’t have anything on my Truck yet but need some 5/8 X 1/2 NPT hose barbs. I think I will get a 50ft roll off ebay for 30 bucks. I only need 35ft or so but buying by the foot is more expensive so this 50ft will give me extra if needed. I see Auto Zone has the best price on fittings compared to ebay.
Any suggestions?
Randall – WW5RM