Hose clamps, what's the best?

[dobbslc]

What are a good quality make of hose clamp?
I'm asking this as I had to re-do the job of replacing the thermostat housing on my sons Fiat 500 due to a rubbish hose clip. It felt tight but after reassembling everything it leaked, it felt tight but was just binding up. It was one of those universal ones you get in Halfords which are very chunky and have a little tab that sticks out underneath that I think pinches the hose up.
All suggestions welcome

 

[selectedgrub]

Oetiker

 

[steveo3002]

norma are nice and oem on decent cars , stainless strap ones stay nice

 

[angellonewolf]

dont buy the screwfix boxed set there siht ive started swaping them out in the box for jubilee clips ive not ever over thightened them as yet

 

[8ob]

What are a good quality make of hose clamp?
I'm asking this as I had to re-do the job of replacing the thermostat housing on my sons Fiat 500 due to a rubbish hose clip. It felt tight but after reassembling everything it leaked, it felt tight but was just binding up. It was one of those universal ones you get in Halfords which are very chunky and have a little tab that sticks out underneath that I think pinches the hose up.
All suggestions welcome

Sizing is important on the smaller clips.

Bob

 

[Bornfree]

I still use jubilee. Stainless ones on stuff I will be working on again and steel on everything else.

 

[JOEPRO]

dont buy the screwfix boxed set there siht ive started swaping them out in the box for jubilee clips ive not ever over thightened them as yet

Jubilee are a good and well stocked brand throughout UK. The "original" hose clamp brand if you will. But they are zinc / galvanised finish and I find they do therefore corrode after only a couple of years use so I stopped using them.

norma are nice and oem on decent cars , stainless strap ones stay nice

Norma or any decent branded stainless hose clamp is my preference. I keep a large selection of them on hand so I use the ideal size when required. I also keep a box of stainless fuel hose clamps in stock too, very handy. That is, the correct smooth type hose clamp.

 

[prepman]

What are a good quality make of hose clamp?
I'm asking this as I had to re-do the job of replacing the thermostat housing on my sons Fiat 500 due to a rubbish hose clip. It felt tight but after reassembling everything it leaked, it felt tight but was just binding up. It was one of those universal ones you get in Halfords which are very chunky and have a little tab that sticks out underneath that I think pinches the hose up.
All suggestions welcome

Getting ones that are the correct size, worm is not all the way through the band and stainless steel. IMHO

 

[MetalMonkey]

Jubilee, Norma, Mikalor - all make good worm drive clamps.

Just note that the stainless ones are often available as a stainless band with steel screw (W2) - although better than the fully steel ones (W1), these still rust and jam up.

The best versions have full stainless band and screw (e.g W4), so check the product version carefully. Be aware these can be subject to galling though.

That being said, for radiator hoses those hateful spring clips, while being a pain, are quite cheap and mostly very effective when sized correctly.

 

[Brad93]

Oetiker Ear Clamps

Mikalor Clamps

 

[timgunn1962]

Depending on the hose being clamped, all-stainless with the worm engaging holes that go all the way through the band and a 5/16", 8mm hex drive tends to be the set of criteria that I've found separates the wheat from the chaff. Getting the correct size is important: I'm pretty sure the underside of the worm housing is radiussed to suit and this reduces the tendency to pinch. The universal kits, with a roll of banding and a bunch of worms/housings, seem to have flat bottoms and tend to be fine on big stuff, but can be a problem on small hoses.

With really thin hose, the Jubilee type (7mm hex drive, usually Zinc-plated and with the worm engaging formed grooves that don't go all the way through the band) might be better because there's no risk of the worm cutting into the hose. Otherwise, they are best avoided IME.

 

[julianf]

T bolt ones (or whatever theyre called - nut and bolt and band) over the rack and worm drive ones any day.

 

[timgunn1962]

Mikalor is the brand I know/use for the T-bolt ones. We use them for Canoflex and similar spiral-reinforced hoses onto rigid pipe from 2" Nominal Bore (60-odd mm pipe OD/hose ID and about 70mm clip ID) upwards. They are quite bulky and generate a lot of "squeeze". I dont think I've ever encountered one in an automotive application and I imagine the opportunity for deforming the typically thin-walled pipes would be quite high.

 

[frank horton]

regardless of type...st/st or zinc I always used a couple of drops of oil on the screw...
only fit st/st clamps now for myself.....

 

[8ob]

When I get down to needing a 12mm or below clip I use the miniature version of the jubilee, the banded single ear otiker type clips are also good but don’t have much scope.

Bob