Titanium hose clamps

[adon22]

I’m grasping at straws on finding hose clamps that don’t rust. Just struggling to find the size I need

 

[Subsea]

You can find 316 SS hose clamps not sure about titanium.

 

[UncommonSense]

These guys make some very pretty grade 2 titanium hose clamps for automotive applications:

https://jdcustomsusa.com/products/jdc-titanium-hose-clamps-universal?

As best as I can determine, the various color patterns this specific vendor offers are created by a combo of thermal oxidization, and a form of anodization wherein specific voltage is applied to produce titanium oxide of a specific hue… as far as I can tell, this means they’re still reef safe!

 

[mmorrison55]

Don’t want to use plastic hose clamps? What size are you looking for?

Marine vendors may be a good option.

I found the following, but have no experience with them.

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

 

[dank.reefer]

I also just use plastic clamps if I use them at all.

 

[adon22]

Don’t want to use plastic hose clamps? What size are you looking for?

Marine vendors may be a good option.

I found the following, but have no experience with them.

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

Has to be 2.5 inches

 

[adon22]

I also just use plastic clamps if I use them at all.

Tried looking around for those

 

[adon22]

Don’t want to use plastic hose clamps? What size are you looking for?

Marine vendors may be a good option.

I found the following, but have no experience with them.

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

Their shipping price is bonkers

 

[dank.reefer]

Has to be 2.5 inches

Oof that's a big clamp. Do you have a West Marine store anywhere near you? They are a chain of boat hardware stores. The marine grade stuff that they sell is real marine grade.

 

[adon22]

Has to be 2.5 inches

Oof that's a big clamp. Do you have a West Marine store anywhere near you? They are a chain of boat hardware stores. The marine grade stuff that they sell is real marine grade.

I’ll check out their website

 

[UncommonSense]

Oof that's a big clamp. Do you have a West Marine store anywhere near you? They are a chain of boat hardware stores. The marine grade stuff that they sell is real marine grade.

I actually had differing results at my local branch, last time I went in looking for 316 grade (marine grade) stainless steel fasteners… their selection of fasteners was predominantly 304 grade stainless steel, with 316 grade being explicitly listed among the few items they did carry in It (which also of course reflected in item price)…

Though to the point of this thread, “marine grade” is a term used in the marine boating industries, and is a bit misleading in regard to our reef aquariums! Essentially, it means that the item will not rapidly corrode away to nothing in a saltwater work environment… however, it doesn’t mean it is completely corrosion-proof!

(TLDR; Chromium, molybdenum, etc leeching from saltwater immersed stainless steel, including 316 stainless steel is still a concern in a small closed system such as a residential scale aquarium!)




For continuous saltwater aquarium immersion, the most commonly used hose clamps are the ratcheting plastics type, which are effectively inert in saltwater… however, these have their own issues if not sized and/or designed carefully, hence the attraction to solid titanium worm screw type hose clamps!


I’m not as well versed in the finer points of titanium (grade 2, or grade 5 alloy for the purposes of this discussion), but my understanding is that titanium oxide(s) is/are an extremely corrosion resistant compound, which will “self heal”, rapidly coating exposed raw titanium metal to essentially seal it from further degradation upon exposure to air or water!

 

[KrisReef]

I’m grasping at straws on finding hose clamps that don’t rust. Just struggling to find the size I need

Granger has a solution, but you have to make sure that you have the actual outside dimension of the hose that you are clamping.

https://www.grainger.com/product/Do...02NL4?opr=PDPRRDSP&analytics=dsrrItems_802NL2

They have the next step down if you are at a true 2.5” OD.

 

[UncommonSense]

Granger has a solution, but you have to make sure that you have the actual outside dimension of the hose that you are clamping.

https://www.grainger.com/product/Do...02NL4?opr=PDPRRDSP&analytics=dsrrItems_802NL2

They have the next step down if you are at a true 2.5” OD.

These are great when they work, but they have a few traps built in, that I’ve totally definitely never fallen for…

— if you spec these in say, 1.25” nominal clamping diameter, for a tube which is 1” inside diameter, 1/8” wall thickness; they’ll end up being too small to start ratcheting together around the tubing after the associated barbed fitting is pressed into if, expanding the outside diameter of the tubing!

(I’ve found that best-bet is physically measuring the tubing OD with the barbed fitting already inserted before ordering plastic hose clamp(s)… annoying as that is, barbed fittings come in various shapes and styles, so there isn’t a reliable “one size fits all” solution!)

 

[mmorrison55]

What are you clamping on a reef tank that’s 2 1/2 inches? You much have a big tank! You should start a build thread and share some pics.