Hose clamps (or Pipe Jubilee Clips as the Brits say)

[Dr.Jeff]

Usually when I acquire another project vehicle and I'm going through the engine bay to sort things out, and perform service or repairs as needed, I replace most or all of the hoses and the corresponding hose clamps. In the past that meant using the readily available "American" type of clamps (see illustration below). They are easy to find, inexpensive, and do a good job. And frankly I never gave it much thought.

Since I always buy European vehicles, they usually have other styles of clamps installed by the factory - mostly the German, British, Double Wire, and Mini types.

Now, thanks to the internet, you can pretty much get anything from anywhere at a fair price. So I've been wondering if it would be better to use some of the other styles of clamps, especially in particular applications. In some cases that is necessary; high pressure FI hoses require Mini style clamps to avoid fuel leaks, and silicone or other soft hoses require British or German clamps to prevent damage to the hose. But what about the regular places, like the radiator or heater hoses? For example do the Double Wire type offer a better seal over time without the need to re-tighten them (which I believe is their benefit)?

I recently attended a international "industrial trade show" where several makers of hose clamps showcased their wares. Interestingly they told me many of their current offerings started as special requests by clients for particular applications with special needs. And I did not realize just how extensive some of the selections are; in terms of styles, sizes, materials, etc.

For example the "mini" clamps are also available in rather large sizes. That could be useful in some instances.

On the other hand, "Heavy Duty" and Bolt clamps come in much smaller sizes than I realized.

The previously mentioned Double Wire clamps come in a very large range of sizes as well as materials and even heavy duty wire gauges.

So are there real benefits to be gained by using various types of clamps beyond the usual American worm-gear ones? Frankly I have not tried many of them (except for the noted required applications), so I'm not sure.

What have others used? What was the reason for using it? What were the pros and cons of it? How did it do over time?

 

[kmead]

I have had the wire ones fail due to rust. It is how my 1975 met its demise. They do work well otherwise.

I have moved on to English or German type clamps intended for silicone type hoses with the rolled edge to reduce the cutting in of the clamp and increase the bearing surface of the hose to the rigid pipe.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

If the double wire clamps made of stainless were used then they should not fail due to rust. But you are right, the old ones I find on engines are typically pretty rotten looking. Supposedly the wires' narrow width allow it to "bite" into the hose more and provide a greater seal.

I also like the English/German clamps, but kind of have the feeling they strip easier than the American ones. I'm referring to the serrated "gear teeth" stripping on the band. I suppose they should not be tightened that much but it happens. I'm sure a lot of that will depend on the quality of the clamp.

Speaking of "bite", increased bearing surface, over-tightening leading to "stripped" clamps, etc. One reason I started thinking about clamp selection is due to a recent situation I had. The fitting (hose barb) in this case was slightly undersized and therefore did not offer a really good fit for any standard size of hose (metric or inch sizes). It is too big to 'stretch' the smaller size hose over it, and too small causing the next larger hose size to 'pinch' when tightened (creating a small gap). I looked into various 'constant tension' clamps, fully lined clamps, and crimp clamps (like Oetiker's). Ultimately I decided to try a double wire clamp, however it has not been put back into service yet so I do not know how effective if will be. One nice feature of these clamps is they are tightened by a bolt, similar to a T-bolt clamp. And depending on the length of that bolt, they can have a very wide range of clamping circumference without distorting the band of the clamp. Therefore they should have the ability to tighten down as far as necessary even under non-ideal conditions (like I had) without stripping, distorting, etc.
I've never been into American cars, but weren't the double wire clamps widely used on older US models?
Another option I considered for that situation was a larger size "mini clamp" (like a FI hose clamp but bigger). The thought being they provide a good seal under high pressures so they might offer the ability to clamp down enough on the "loose" hose. But I did not have one that big to try (although they are made).