titanium hose clamps

[sbmcwilliam]

I recently had my mechanic replace what I thought were all of the hose clamps in the bilge. Come to find out he missed a bunch and consequently, I've had 4 break off underway with the associated hoses falling off and cause an overheat. I'm told that stainless steel hose clamps get salt water on them, corrode and break off. So then why use stainless steel hose clamps? I'm told because that's what comes from the factory and everyone uses. This is crazy. I've researched and it appears titanium hose clamps work identically to stainless steel clamps BUT. THEY DON'T CORRODE and ultimately break off; so it is written. Does anyone have any real-life experience with replacing their stainless steel hose clamps with titanium clamps and what is their performance?

 

[Boat Guy]

The SS ones are not supposed to corrode... I guess it depends on the quality....How much are the titanium ones?

 

[sbmcwilliam]

http://www.titan-marine-hardware.com/titanium-hose-clamps.htm

 

[Lazy Daze]

Never used them, but I don't think there's really any downfall... other than price. They look to have rolled edges, which is nice.

There are different quality levels of SS - I have definitely seen a difference in that. Also, not all SS clamps are ALL SS... sometimes they use a regular steel worm gear. Good ones, though, should last a long, long time. They may eventually corrode, but it will be a long time in coming. I guess you just have to weigh the huge cost difference vs replacing them. The reality is, most people trade a boat before the clamps need to be replaced. For those that keep their boat longer, maybe they replace the clamps once or twice... and still way ahead of the game in terms of cost.

Personally, I wouldn't spend the money here. But sure, if you want to do it, go for it. I don't see a functional downside to it.

 

[Golfman25]

You need to find the good true stainless steel clamps. Not the cheap china made chit. It you want something better than stainless, look for Monel hose clamps. They should be cheaper than titanium.

 

[fwebster]

My "old" boat is 23 years old and the only hose clamp failure I have experienced was on a seawater pump that had a seal failure and dripped some saltwater on the inlet hose. I also believe in preventive maintenance and I wash my bilge and engines every other month so there is no salt residue that collects.

I agree with Dennis....go for it if you want to throw money at fixing something that isn't broken. I'll just continue to wash my bilge/engines and keep about $5 worth of spare hose clamps in the tool box.

 

[sbw1]

You could try them where the old ones failed including replacing those hoses if they are also old. Side by side test to see which is best. This is a salt water boat issue, as hose clamps don't fail in fresh water. The hoses do wear out, and that is when we replace clamps.

 

[Krazzeeddie]

Which ever clamp you decide to get, try and get what’s called ( Lined hose clamps ). The inside tail of the clamp is longer than normal and covers the worm part of the clamp so that it does not dig into the hose like normal worm clamps do.

Ed