Most of the hoses on my Case 580se are showing some decay , a few are leaking. I'm looking at a sizable investment to replace most of the hoses but sooner or later they will all need it so I may as well replace most of them at once. I just looked at the prices of new CASE OEM part # hoses and that seems to be most expensive route. Next cheaper and equal quality I assume is to go to my local Parker Hose store and get them to make up new ones. After that , although I've never done it , a friend who lives 5 hours away says he has a hydraulic hose crimper. In that case I'd need to get all the end fittings and the various size bulk hose and try and make up the hoses i need. It seems so quick and easy when the guys at Parker Hose make custom hoses but I suspect there is more to it than I realize. My backhoe is for around the farm and an occasional cash job. Your suggestions please. Thanks.
This. Or Napa, if they have a good reputation. Making hoses that last does take a little bit of effort.
I have a crimper and make my own hoses. To make a good 2’ hydraulic hose with say a straight and a 90 degree, say a 1/2” hose, with both swivels, probably costs me 15 or 16 bucks. I buy the hose in bulk and the fittings at somewhat wholesale and shipping. That hose, around here, at Napa or Sanels or any hydraulic shop, will be 50 to 70 bucks. I have been using cheap Vevor hose and some good stuff, doesn’t seem to be any difference. Best way for you to do it would be to go to your friends and do it. I have a 580 SE. Most are JIC to JIC, on the backhoe, boom hoses are 5/8” and 2 hoses are JIC to ORBS fittings, direct to cylinders. Even though I have my own crimped, I still replace only when blown. I will say that a lot of hoses are original on my machine and when I cut them apart, they don’t make stuff like they used to.
I would have no idea, but I wonder if you could talk to the Parker store manager and ask if you could bring your own hose if you had them do all the fitting crimpings and maybe paid a bit more but not enough to offset the difference in their upcharge on the hose. At 100+ bucks per hose (for short ones, at Parker) I imagine this will be an expensive endeavor.
I've ordered from discounthydraulichose.com a few times. They have the thermoplastic hose that I couldn't find locally. The local parker store is overpriced, won't go there anymore
The price of hoses at Parker Hose isnt quite at the level of OEM Case but its getting close, thats what made me ask the question 'does a 3' hose really have to cost $80-120?'. That seems to be overpriced, but aside from DIY , I dont see any alternatives. Does anyone know if the cheap crimpers that sell for $600-1000 are any good ?
I replaced almost every hose on my Case 450C dozer and several on my 480E backhoe a couple years ago. Our local NAPA uses Gates brands hoses and fittings and they seem to be of pretty good quality. Have some of their hoses that have been in service for many years. They are a good bit cheaper than the local hydraulic hose place, but still not cheap. Most everything on these Case machines is a JIC 90* swivel fitting which isn't cheap. I think I spent about $1600 to replace all the hoses on the dozer, which was about 15-16 hoses, most were 1/2" with JIC 8 or 10 fittings IIRC.
I have been paying a little more for Gates brand hose and fitting at a local Carquest. My grapple for my small tractor came with Parker hoses and the covers were all cracking at 3 years old. They are older now and haven't burst but I still don't like that the outer covers started to crack that early. So far my Gates brand hoses are holding up better than other brands I had made.
Two parts houses around here will build hose. They usually have the JIC stuff for my 580SE. Nearly $50 for fittings, and a buck an inch for -08 hose that degrades in the sun pretty fast. Surely a guy can find 'em cheaper. A good hydraulic hose fitting crimper with the right dies would pay for itself before all those hoses got replaced.
I'm certainly not going to take the time to respond to every single reply, I'll just lump my response into one. You guys that enjoy getting by with cheap, crappy Chinese hose with whatever brand fittings, it must be nice to not have to worry about down time. If I tried that, the hose would fail at the worst possible time. Trying to be cheap just ends up costing a guy expensive oil, and lost operating time.
My most expensive Gates hose was around $110 if I remember correctly. I don't remember the technical size but it was a very large diameter and spans 3/4 the length of my machine. The guy did have to reuse one of my fittings which he wasn't sure it would crimp right with the Gates collar but he made it work. That's been a couple years ago though.
I'm sure I've paid 120ish bucks at a Parker store for about a foot and a half of hose. Granted, I haven't looked extensively but I've found my options to be fairly limited here. It'd be cool to find a cheaper, better hose but any hydraulics place I've called has just sent me to Parker. I don't think Napas around here do hoses anymore.
A 1/2 90 degree JIC crimp fitting is 8 dollars. I just had to order a bunch of 3/4 JIC and the 90’s were 9 bucks and the straights were 6 bucks a piece. The cheapest way to do this, is learn a bit about sizing, you can buy a JIC and ORBS double duty sizing card, and a NPT and ORFS card, they are plastic and they fit in and over the males females. Then when you learn the different types and sizing of fittings, you can order them made. Discount Hydraulics, will make that hose, with good hose, for about a third of what you would pay locally. The biggest hurdle or anxiety, is knowing what you need to order. Then, you would take the hose off, measure it and put it back on. Then you would order it and then you could use the machine, until the hose came in. I was about to do this route, until a crimper and a cabinet of fittings came up on CL for a good price. I now know more about fittings and hose than I ever wanted to know. I have been making hoses for every employer or other for 40 years, so I knew how to make them, just never knew anything about them. I use Crimp fittings.com, Discount Hydraulic hose, Crimp fittings and more, and a few other site for ordering.
I’m fortunate enough and have a friend/neighbor that we swap favors. He works at a hydraulic shop. I simply give him the hose/s and he takes them and returns them in a day or so when ever he has time to get to them. I only get charged for materials and I suspect it’s cost pricing so I’m saving me a lot. I’ll be replacing what ever I can on my 30 year old 580SL while I have this deal. It would cost a fortune otherwise. I spend a little more and get the braided nylon covering on every hose to protect from chafing and sun, hopefully they will last even longer. He also got me the plugs and caps to seal up the open ends on the machine to keep fluid in and dirt/water out while the hoses are off. Since it’s just for farm use I’m not that concerned about the down time. Otherwise I would be buying all the equipment to do myself, it has to be the least expensive way.
Another fitting place Universal Hose & Fittings The Problem Solvers: We are your one stop and shop supplier for everything Hydraulic Hose, Hydraulic Fittings, Industrial Fittings, Industrial Hose, Yard Hose & More! Knowledgeable staff and same day shipping on most orders! www.universalhoseandfittings.com Some resources DiscountHydraulicHose.com: Resources DiscountHydraulicHose Discount Hydraulic Hose.com has been serving the hydraulic community online since the early 2000's. We pride ourselves on stocking fittings, hose, and much more for quick shipping and discounted pricing! www.youtube.com Here is a review of the Chinese hose crimper
I don't know about his Case but my NH doesn't have a straight fitting on it. They all step down so the hoses are one size larger than the tube connection. This makes a difference in fitting costs.
On my Case 580 the front loader is all 1/2” JIC’s and on the back, most are 1/2” but some through the tower is 5/8, some 1/2” and all are JIC. The 2 lines between the boom cylinders are 5/8” JIC to ORBS direct to the cylinders. The thumb is 1/2’ JIC to NPT
I also make my own hoses. I wish all machines had the same fittings, preferably JIC. As NH575E stated, the E series NH machines have oddball ends (read expensive). Of course when I need a hose, I never have the correct end. Getting quite a collection of ends at this point. I have a Parker crimper (called karrykrimp). I do not use parker hose, and get the made in USA non parker crimp fittings. I have had very good luck with both.
Back when I was using a hose maker that used all different brands of hose they made one of my loader hoses with a straight fitting. In other words they didn't have the step down fitting so they put a smaller hose on and used a fitting that was the same size on the hose and connection. It hasn't caused any issue that I can tell. You could probably retrofit all of them to straight fittings as you go. Nothing gets moved fast enough to create any heat so the only thing I could see is it might operate a little slower.
I guess to be fair , if I spent $2000 on a crimper and another $2000 on a supply of bulk 1/2 and 5/8" hoses and common fittings , would I sell 30" hoses for cost at probably $30/each ? Or would I charge for my time and my investment and double the price and charge $60 for that hose in which case I'd have to make 75 hoses to get back my investment and offset my outlay of supplies. 75 hoses is a lot of friends needing favors. But I could probably sell that crimper to the next guy for $1800 and get my hoses for cheap.
I second Discounthydraulichose.com
try Surplus center. I bought every hose for a kubota loader for$125.00 Hydraulic Hose Assemblies | Hydraulic Hose and Hose Assemblies | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com Hydraulic Hose Assemblies,Hydraulic Hose and Hose Assemblies,Hydraulics, 3/4" X 108" 3/4 NPTM X 3/4 NPTM 3000 PSI HYD HOSE Brand new, www.surpluscenter.com
The only problem with that, is that just like TS, all those NPT fittings to JIC would break that deal up and look like crap. A lot of times, hydraulic line failure is caused by too long, too short, not routed correctly. Sometimes, you can get by with a hose slightly longer but I like my stuff tight.
Not sure what you meant Harley, They also have JIC both end hoses too. They also sell JIC fitting cheap too. Hydraulic Adapters & Fittings | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com Hydraulic Adapters , Fittings,NPT to NPT,SAE O-ring to NPT,JIC to NPT,SAE O-ring to SAE O-ring,JIC to SAE O-ring,JIC to JIC,BSPP,ORFS Face Seal,Plugs www.surpluscenter.com
Surplus Center does have JIC hoses that are fairly inexpensive, but they only offer them with straight ends best I can tell. Almost every hose on these machines has a 90* fitting on one end or the other.
No matter where you get the hoses made they need to be cleaned properly preferably with foam projectiles. Better hose shops do this. I have a good hydraulic shop that's fairly reasonable and also a farm type store that is even less expensive for basic 2 wire hoses. They are great if I need a hose on the weekend. They both have foam guns for cleaning new hose assemblies. Better hose shops also have specific hose cutters instead of abrasive chop saws. Hydraulic hose has a shelf life so unless you make a lot of hoses it's not worth buying your own crimper and rolls of bulk hose.
I've never heard of or seen this but sounds like a good idea. I have only used two different hose shops and neither cleaned out the hoses after cutting them.
I blow, then wipe out my hoses. The professional tools are sweet! Robot or human?