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New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 1:54 pm
by Bryan
If you have an Argonaut Kraken, a new Argonaut DSV or the Argonaut Hose assembly you have cobra head nylon straps to secure the mouthpiece to the hose. I chose this option because it looked very clean and was easy to remove/replace. It also did not require me to re-invent the wheel.
As I've said before it was not Luis's first choice but he conceded that it worked fine but continued to experiment with another type that he and Herman had been working on.
After the Krakens with DSV's and lots of double hose went diving with the DSV's I started getting feedback that the DSV was difficult to turn with gloves on or when your hands were cold. Even to the point that divers were twisting the hose around the DSV.
As an alternative I put out the ratcheting style hose clamp. It works great, can be re-used and is inexpensive. My biggest problem with it was it ruined the clean lines of the hose loop. Again Luis reminded me that function over form was more important.
Next he asked me again to look at the clamp option that he was using that Herman had made a screw for that was different than the ones the straps came with.
Finally I gave in and with his help had the special screws Herman had made done in chrome plated brass. The hose clamp below is designed for the mouthpiece end only. Easy to put on and take off, re-usable, very sercure and it provides a nice thumb rest for easy rotation of the DSV with or without gloves.
We also experimented with covering the exposed area with various nylon covers and heat shrink tubing in various colors.....I'll leave the decorating up to the end user.
Luis will comment more I'm sure, the final parts are in route to him.

I do have a 4th option that I'll get information out about in the next week or so.

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Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 3:51 pm
by tbone1004
looks awesome! definitely had a few struggles with the hose spinning on the DSV. Can't wait to try this when it comes out for real!

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:09 am
by Bryan
I just shipped a new Kraken with the new clamps installed and sent along other options if they prefer.

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 7:10 am
by 1969ivan1
Looks very interesting. I like how the Kraken just keeps improving.

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:24 am
by luis
I have been using these clamps for several years. During some of the early DSV prototype testing I needed a clamp that was easy to take off and reuse and this clamp is perfect for that. It is easy to loosen them up and re-adjust.

The available clamping force is just limited by how much you tighten them.

The only thing I didn’t like about them was the original screw they come with. You can see the black screw with the hex-head on the last picture of the original post. The screw heads sticks out too far and it requires a hex drive or similar type of wrench to turn it.

To resolve the screw issue I made a drawing of a replacement screw that would fit inside the screw boss and only required a flat blade screw driver to turn it (or a blade from a Swiss Army knife, etc). Herman made some prototype screws and they worked great, but they are a bit of a pain for him to make because they have an odd thread pattern. He did a great job with the prototypes.

I also modified some of the original plastic screw, but cutting the screw driver slot into the plastic screw weakens the head too much. I have used them a bit, but some have broken. The brass ones Herman made work great. The screws that Bryan is having made are chrome plated brass. They look great.

With the screw fitting inside the boss the clamp works great. The boss also doubles as a raised finger rest to turn the DSV and gives you a positive indication of the rotation of the DSV.

The prefer location for the screw boss is on the back with the screw head facing down. If you lay the hose loop on a table with the DSV in the open position, the bottom of the clamp screw boss, should touch flat on the table. Look at Bryan’s pictures. This position keeps the screw boss out of sight from others and provides a perfect grip for your thumb.

Having a clear raised boss on the back of the DSV lets me operated the DSV easily, even when I am wearing heavy neoprene gloves of dry gloves (drysuit gloves).

There has been a bit of objection to the looks of the clamps, but I think they are beautiful. Ok, I am not that passionate about looks… But I am a strong believer on the beauty of functionality. And IMHO, these are the most functional clamps I have used.

On mine, I have added a short length of heat shrink tubing to cover the threads on the clamp that are exposed, but are never used (since the clamp was design to close down to possible smaller hoses). The heat shrink tube forms a nice clean cover. I will post some pictures later.

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:51 am
by couv
I remember those clamps now. I liked them, but as mentioned above the hex drive and size (9/64 I think) caused me to do the same as Luis and cut a screwdriver slot in the head....I had mixed success too.

I'm looking forward to the new iteration.

Can I have thumb screws on mine? :twisted:

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 10:05 am
by lexvil
The clamps look like they would work well, just a thought as to the hex head on the plastic worm, (this is what I would have tried, so maybe it's been done) couldn't you cut off the hex part and tap it for a SS screw with a straight or Phillips or Allen head? A dab of epoxy an you have a drive head that comes off the shelf. I do like the elegant solution you have though.

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 11:24 am
by Bryan
Clamps are not in the store yet as I'm waiting on El Jefe to give them the thumbs up since they were his idea.

I'll send the nylon screws as well when I so everyone can see how horrible the clamps would be without the recessed screws that Herman and Luis came up with.

If you see Herman or I on a dive boat and look at our regulators, we usually have the hoses held on with a couple of mouthpiece size zip ties. I travel with my hose assembly taken apart....I'm not that picky, but to save face I'll try to use one of the new style clamps when I dive in the future.

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 11:45 am
by Bryan
The last style clamp I have is similar to the one used by LaSpirotechnique in the 70's. It's a stainless ring clamp and is solid as a rock. I clamped one on a spare can and hung a 20lb weight from it and it never moved.
The clamp us usually attached with a special tool but I took a cheap pair of end cutters from Harbor Freight and ran the jaws on a grinder to make them a bit less sharp and they work just as well as the actual tool.
CAUTION....You do not need to CRUSH the clamp closed. With the leverage the tool has you could possibly crack the cans or DSV inner tube.

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 4:46 pm
by guyharrisonphoto
Are these still available. I would like to get a set for my Kraken.

Thanks

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:35 am
by Fibonacci
Just to be annoying I thought of a 5th DSV hose clamp option :)

Was browsing through the Cobra cable ties catalogue and saw their new Flexroute product.

This is a resilient cable routing system used in aircraft and high-end racing bicycles to hold cables parallel to tubing.

http://www.cobraties.com/flexroute.html

I immediately thought it might work as a combination thumbrest/clamp on the DSV...

- Soft resilient profile which will conform to the external diameter of the hose when installed.
- Rounded edges with natural thumb rest, no snag points... and the hole where a cable is supposed to be routed could be used to tether the mouthpiece if required.
- Recessed channel for the low profile Cobra ties, cannot overtighten and crack the fragile plastic Kraken can horns.
- No visible screw heads or horizontal striations.
- Cheap, quickly and easily replaceable if required.
- Black in colour so blends in with the hoses.
- Designed and made in the USA.

Negatives could be the channel only suits 4.5mm wide Cobra ties not the larger heavy duty ties which are 7.5mm wide.

Thoughts?

Re: New Hose Clamp Options Available

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:13 am
by Bryan
Fibonacci wrote:J
- Recessed channel for the low profile Cobra ties, cannot overtighten and crack the fragile plastic Kraken can horns.
Unless you use the rachet installation tool for zip ties you have no chance of damaging the cans. Even then I"ll bet you couldn't do it with a 4.5mm tie as it would snap long before the can was damaged.

Lots of options out there and these may work great. Variety is the spice of life they say.