Jump to content

Waterproofing The Km Premium Hose Part Ii


Recommended Posts

After reading Scott's post about making his KM hose washable, I toyed with the idea of making it fully washable. I wasn't planning to, but I yesterday rolled over the hose with my office chair and crushed it pretty good sad.gif

Not wanting to have to re-sew the cover like Scott, I decided to try and pull the stuff from the inside out of the cover. The covering was only held into place by a small spot of hot glue, and then the cover slid right down.

Just as Scott thought, the handles are in fact made of wrapped cardboard.


The very ends of each handle are covered with a small strip of leather. This is where the tips seal with the gaskets. Imagine how the water would treat these handles with time blink.gif


These handles were held into place with hot glue, just like the Nammor hose. After the glue was removed, the inside of the hose can be seen. Its leather and foil, with steel wound in between the layers, and string wrapped around the outside.


I pulled the hose out from the inside of the cover, leaving the outside cover fully intact.


Now I'm off to Lowe's to get some tubing and something to replace the handles. I'll update this a bit later.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm about half way completed now.

I bought about 6 feet of 5/8" vinyl tubing and threaded it through the cover. It was a real tight fit, so it took me about half an hour to fish it through. It was a PITA, but i am happy with the result. This tubing has 1/2" ID though, so its really going to flow some smokey goodness!



For the handles I chose a material call PEX, which may be replacing PVC completely within the next 10 years or so. I used to use it years ago when I installed Wirsbo in floor heating systems. It's completely non toxic, flexible, moldable with heat, and is nearly indestructible unlike PVC, which is made of some really nasty shit and has a tendency to shatter.

Anyways, the ¾" was a little small on the ID..nothing a heat gun can't fix though! After about 40 seconds with the heat gun, I pressed each end right into the tube and let it cool. Now it's a perfect seal, and won't shrink back unless I heat it again.




I would assume that the Nammor hose uses a similar material; the OD measurement is about the same as the handle on my Nammor.



To add some girth to the handle, I bought some electrical tape and just began to wrap around the PEX. This will not only build up the OD, but also add some weight while remaining water safe (unlike those cardboard handles!). It took a whole roll, but its pretty close.




Now I just need to restich the handle fabric to tighten it up a bit. I'll post some more once I finish it, but here is how its looking so far:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow.

How did you know what diameter tubing to get?
Cuz you used 3/4, and Scott used 5/8... (not that much of a difference, but I was just wondering)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't tried smoking with it yet- the other end is still just a tube. I still need to re-stitch the handle fabric.

I've gotten 2 PMs about selling it, so I'll put it out in the open. I'm not going to sell this one, and to make you guys one would cost about $45-$50 + shipping for materials and time. So far its been a real chore to modify it. At that price, I doubt many people would be interested.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks awesome man! How much time did you spend on it all together?

I may consider trying this for mine in a couple weeks.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (iamscott06 @ Jun 5 2008, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Looks awesome man! How much time did you spend on it all together?


hard to say...I worked on it while I was watching a movie. When it pissed me off, I'd put it down and come back to it. Straight through, probably about 2 hours so far, not including the time spent buying the stuff.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (SuburbanSmoker @ Jun 5 2008, 12:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
how much was the materials to make it is what im curious about. Looks sweet right now though.



KM Premium Hose - $20
5' PEX 3/4" OD tubing - $3.84
6' Vinyl 1/2" ID tubing - $1.81
(2) Rolls electrical tape - $.89 each = $1.78
_____________________________________
total = $27.43 + taxes, gas money, & shipping

Also, this is assuming you have basic tools and supplies like a pipe cutter, heat gun, side cutters, red thread & needle, etc.

If you figure about 2 hours of time, you can see how this is a pricey procedure. My time is valuable...don't know about you guys cool.gif
Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (NickReppinThe909 @ Jun 5 2008, 03:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
if i send you my leather handle KM hose how much would you do it for ? without covering the vinyl hose because i ordered a sick green hose cover for it


I'm not sure Nick. let me think about it, and I'll drop you a PM later.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (chromecarz00 @ Jun 5 2008, 09:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Props. This new material, can it be heated?


Yup. I heated it with a heat gun to allow it to conform to the hose ends. Once you form it and cool it, it stays that shape until you heat it back up, and then it shrinks back down. It can withstand temps up to 200 degrees.

Its a very similar plastic as is found in gallon milk jugs.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...