Cheap hose connectors

Discuss safety issues here.

Cheap hose connectors

Postby Fatguts » Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:42 pm

Im posting this in the hopes it saves someone from heartache and pain. I finally got the majority of my column built and decided to do a vinegar run to clean it out. Things were going great, stinky vinegar steam for 90 mins. I decided to hook up some hoses to the shotgun condenser. I plugged in my mains water hose to the input and grabbed a hose I had for my rain water tanks and plugged it into the output. I turned on the mains water and proceeded to stand there tweaking the water flow valve on my shotty. Nothing seemed to be happening and thats when I noticed that water was not coming out of the output hose. I turned off the mains and walked back to the still and disconnected the output hose...Big mistake! I got showered in boiling water from the back pressure and ended up with some savage burns to my arm and hands. Turns out the plastic hose connector had a one way valve in it which I was not aware of. Photo shows the orange one way valve in the middle of the fitting. A lesson learnt the hard way.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Fatguts
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:55 am
Location: Adelaide
equipment: 4", 4 plate glasser and a 2" all copper reflux still with a 2 meter packed column, 500 mm shotgun condenser and homemade parrot, all sitting on a 50 litre upside down beer keg boiler with 2 X 2400W elements.

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby Doubleuj » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:29 pm

Shit man, thanks for posting, are you ok?
Hoselink fittings are exactly as the show on tv, I love mine.
Doubleuj
Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 3630
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 7:15 pm
Location: rockhampton qld
equipment: 4" stainless glasser

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby bluc » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:20 pm

that sux big time. burns are no fun i got beuty from backset couple years back. hope not to seriously burnt.. :handgestures-thumbdown:
bluc
Site Donor
 
Posts: 8967
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:47 pm
Location: sunshine coast
equipment: 2" pot with 2" shotty 400mm long 5x 1/2" on a t500 boiler.
50l keg boiler 4" still mount 4" sight glass 1" drain..
4 plate 4" bubbler, 600mm packed section

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby unwritten » Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:00 am

Not good, thanks for the heads up. It's the little things like this that are often missed, stay safe. Hope you have a speedy recovery mate.
unwritten
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue May 08, 2018 3:16 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast
equipment: Nil - newbie.

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby db1979 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:37 am

It's a pretty crappy design really, if they wanted them to be one way they need to have a male and female end so they can only be connected in one way. Even in scenarios of regular home use with the hose sitting out in the sun it's possible someone could get a burn from hot water if not connecting them properly.

I've removed those valves in the past, they're just a pain. Easy enough if you take the fitting off the end of the hose and the end of the valve is then exposed, cut with pliers or snips and then you're able to pull out the valve.
15500035249782.jpg

15500035102911.jpg

15500034883350.jpg

Hope you recover ok.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
db1979
 
Posts: 1760
Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:47 pm
Location: South of the big smoke in banana bender land.
equipment: Eve - 4" x 4 plate solid state bubbler (sieve plates), 330 mm packed section on a keg boiler with 2 x 2000 W elements.
Currently having a makeover: 2" x 4 plate solid state bubbler (1" bubble caps, no sight glasses...maybe not for much longer!) on a bain-marie boiler.

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby Fatguts » Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:37 am

It could have been a lot worse...im glad it missed my face and groin area. Ill be ok in a week or two. Scorched off some areas of skin on my bicep and inside elbow and got some big blisters elsewhere but other than that, im fine. I immediately ran cold water over the burns for 10 mins as recommended and it definitely helped.
I've never intended to use those hose connectors as a permanent item. I just used what I had at the time but I WILL be cutting out that fkn one way valve. Looking on the bright side, ive got the rest of the week off work and got plenty of whiskey / endone for pain relief. Cheers.
Fatguts
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:55 am
Location: Adelaide
equipment: 4", 4 plate glasser and a 2" all copper reflux still with a 2 meter packed column, 500 mm shotgun condenser and homemade parrot, all sitting on a 50 litre upside down beer keg boiler with 2 X 2400W elements.

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby B-Man » Wed Dec 25, 2019 7:32 am

Does anyone know what they are actually for?

I thought they were there so you could change over the fittings without turning off the supply .ie changing sprinkers or different nozzles. Rather than a 1 way valve since when its connected to something it opens up and works.
B-Man
 
Posts: 301
Joined: Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:07 pm
equipment: keg 4" Bubbler

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby db1979 » Wed Dec 25, 2019 9:04 am

They stop the flow when there's no fitting attached, so yeah you can change fittings while the water is on, but also as a water saving measure. I think they're required by law. With a fitting (such as a sprinkler) in place, the insert gets pushed back in and opens the flow. Water pressure pushes the insert outwards and engages the seal, stopping the flow, when no fitting is inserted.
db1979
 
Posts: 1760
Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:47 pm
Location: South of the big smoke in banana bender land.
equipment: Eve - 4" x 4 plate solid state bubbler (sieve plates), 330 mm packed section on a keg boiler with 2 x 2000 W elements.
Currently having a makeover: 2" x 4 plate solid state bubbler (1" bubble caps, no sight glasses...maybe not for much longer!) on a bain-marie boiler.

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby The Stig » Wed Dec 25, 2019 10:47 am

The Stig
Site Nerd
 
Posts: 18192
Images: 9
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:37 am
equipment: Only the Best will Do.
Mac4 SSG Bubbles of Joy

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby wynnum1 » Wed Dec 25, 2019 12:14 pm

I think there there to stop water siphoning back into the water system and contaminating. the mains water supply if get a break in a pipe water could flow opposite back in the pipes. they where saying Sydney is losing massive quantity of water from faulty pipes leaking in the streets and they drop water pressure off peak to save water.
wynnum1
 
Posts: 1494
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:18 pm

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby scythe » Fri Dec 27, 2019 1:21 pm

The stop valve is actually just meant to you losing water once you take the spray fitting off, or if the little clips fail and it breaks away from the tap fitting.
Bit strange really, my hose is not left charged and all my experiences with hoses letting go are from the connection of the fitting to the hose, usually the back nut splits.
scythe
 
Posts: 1860
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:34 am
Location: Central West NSW
equipment: Dreaming of a 4" bubbler

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby helloworld1000 » Mon Mar 16, 2020 7:05 pm

yeah those one-way valves are annoying on hoses. Sorry to hear about your injury
helloworld1000
 
Posts: 0
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 8:46 am
equipment: Hydraulics

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby helloworld1000 » Mon Mar 16, 2020 7:07 pm

the one-way fittings are normally only found when buying hoses with the connectors already attached. If you buy replacement hose fittings they are rarer to find. It normally just when buying a complete hose set
helloworld1000
 
Posts: 0
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 8:46 am
equipment: Hydraulics

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby wynnum1 » Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:01 am

Has anyone used old washing machine hoses to connect they seem very sturdy high pressure and take hot water and plenty out there.
wynnum1
 
Posts: 1494
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:18 pm

Re: Cheap hose connectors

Postby The Stig » Tue Mar 17, 2020 10:25 am

Problem with washing machine hoses is they are short.
The Stig
Site Nerd
 
Posts: 18192
Images: 9
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:37 am
equipment: Only the Best will Do.
Mac4 SSG Bubbles of Joy


Return to Safety Discussion



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests

cron

x