Crimping vs Banding Brewery Hose

Make sure you know the difference before making a selection for your fluid transfer application.

Summary: Crimping a brew hose comes with some major advantages over banding. One benefit of a crimped hose is that the full tube is compressed against the sanitary fitting. This eliminates any open area that could trap bacteria or bugs. Additionally, a crimped beer transfer hose will not come off during higher pressures and temperatures. When possible, a full crimp with between an FDA compliant brew hose and a sanitary fitting is recommended.

What does banding a hose assembly mean? In the banding process a fitting with a hose barb is used to mark the tube and then fully inserted into the cut ends of the hose. Clamps are then aligned to the marking on the hose tube in order to match-up to the hose barb. The clamp handle is inserted into a handheld tool and the clamps are tightened, compressing the hose tube between the barbed fitting and the tightened clamp. Once the bands have been tightened a softheaded hammer is used to punch or stake the buckle, then the band tail is snapped off.

Banded Hose Assemblies: Benefits vs. Considerations

Benefits	Considerations
+ Assembly requires no machinery	- Hose barb could become unsanitary
+ Can cut clamp to potentially reuse fitting	- Highly susceptible to leaks
	- Will not work for high pressure application
	- Increased possibility of catastrophic failure

 

What does crimping a hose assembly mean? Hose crimping is the process by which a hose tube is compressed between a fitting and a metal ferrule usually using an electric crimping machine.

A metal ferrule is placed over the ends of the cut, cleaned and grounded hose ends before the fittings are inserted. The specification for the crimp is loaded into a high precision digital touchscreen programmed to run the crimper.

Once assembled the full end of the hose is placed into the jaw of the crimping machine and on top of the appropriately sized die set. Several thousand kilonewtons of force are applied as the cylindrical collar closes around the metal ferrule to bond it to the fitting and hose tube. This prepares the full assembly for industrial use. This process also allows for a more precise and forceful seal thus giving the hose assembly the ability handle higher transfer pressures and more rugged industrial uses.

Crimped Hose Assemblies: Benefits vs. Considerations

Benefits	Considerations
+ Maintains seal integrity with high pressure	- Requires machinery to apply seal pressure
+ Does not leak when assembled correctly	- Should be completed by a specialist to ensure seal
+ Can provide full seal around sanitary fitting