POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

A bit of a mini-project. Made 8 of the aluminium parts, hose barb with floating collar/nut so I can more easily detach hoses from my irrigation system.
Made sure to make it harder on myself by casting a 25mm-ish rod to make the barbed parts out of and also thread the collar part to full depth.
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MrCrankyface said:
A bit of a mini-project. Made 8 of the aluminium parts, hose barb with floating collar/nut so I can more easily detach hoses from my irrigation system.
Made sure to make it harder on myself by casting a 25mm-ish rod to make the barbed parts out of and also thread the collar part to full depth.
View attachment 492264View attachment 492265
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That looks like real nice work, but I hope you'll be satisfied with using aluminum in water service. My experience is that the aluminum fittings attached to a brass hose bib (or brass fitting on a garden hose) will corrode and become very difficult to remove. Actually, impossible to unscrew without destroying. I see you mentioned "so I can more easily detach hoses" so maybe you do it frequently and the corrosion won't have time to lock the two together. At any rate, I'd recommend coating the aluminum threads with plumbers grease before installation and periodically when in service. YMMV

Another thing, I noticed that the hex nipple looks like it was straight knurled before the threads were cut. I've not seen that before.
I'm wondering, what is the function/purpose of the "toothy" looking threads?
 
extropic said:
At any rate, I'd recommend coating the aluminum threads with plumbers grease before installation and periodically when in service. YMMV
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Since more garden hoses are coming with Aluminum fittings, I’ve been using a Nickel-based anti-sieze (mostly because it was a 1lbs. sample I got a long time ago and it works): use sparingly and wipe off well afterwards - that stuff gets everywhere.
 
extropic said:
That looks like real nice work, but I hope you'll be satisfied with using aluminum in water service. My experience is that the aluminum fittings attached to a brass hose bib (or brass fitting on a garden hose) will corrode and become very difficult to remove. Actually, impossible to unscrew without destroying. I see you mentioned "so I can more easily detach hoses" so maybe you do it frequently and the corrosion won't have time to lock the two together. At any rate, I'd recommend coating the aluminum threads with plumbers grease before installation and periodically when in service. YMMV

Another thing, I noticed that the hex nipple looks like it was straight knurled before the threads were cut. I've not seen that before.
I'm wondering, what is the function/purpose of the "toothy" looking threads?
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Thank you! Yeah it will be a bit of an experiment how it holds up in this climate, will try some grease/anti-seize on a few and see how much difference it makes. It's mostly for disassembly when winter comes and temps get too low and then reassembly again in spring.

The straight knurl thing is mostly done(AFAIK) to aid with making PTFE tape and similar stick better.
 
ChazzC said:
Since more garden hoses are coming with Aluminum fittings, I’ve been using a Nickel-based anti-sieze (mostly because it was a 1lbs. sample I got a long time ago and it works): use sparingly and wipe off well afterwards - that stuff gets everywhere.
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Yes, that anti-seize will probably do a good job of minimizing the corrosion problem. I didn't mention it because I don't know if he is irrigating a food garden and what effect the anti-seize might have on the consumers of the food. Plumbers grease is supposed to be safe for potable water service. YMMV

On my truck, during a parts replacement, I had to cut off a couple of corroded bolts. I installed new fasteners using the Nickel-based anti-seize.
When the assembly was done, I wiped the area clean, being sure to clean off as much anti-seize as possible. It makes me smile every time I notice the silver meniscus around those hex heads and nuts. That stuff is more durable than the paint. LOL. I think it gets on places I never touched. :grin:
Can't do without it though. Great stuff.
 
ChazzC said:
Since more garden hoses are coming with Aluminum fittings, I’ve been using a Nickel-based anti-sieze (mostly because it was a 1lbs. sample I got a long time ago and it works): use sparingly and wipe off well afterwards - that stuff gets everywhere.
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I can look at a container of that stuff and the whole garage will be coated in it...
 
extropic said:
Yes, that anti-seize will probably do a good job of minimizing the corrosion problem. I didn't mention it because I don't know if he is irrigating a food garden and what effect the anti-seize might have on the consumers of the food. Plumbers grease is supposed to be safe for potable water service. YMMV

On my truck, during a parts replacement, I had to cut off a couple of corroded bolts. I installed new fasteners using the Nickle-based anti-seize.
When the assembly was done, I wiped the area clean, being sure to clean off as much anti-seize as possible. It makes me smile every time I notice the silver meniscus around those hex heads and nuts. That stuff is more durable than the paint. LOL. I think it gets on places I never touched. :grin:
Can't do without it though. Great stuff.
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Mine is USDA Approved for Meat & Poultry Plant use, but all that means is that there are no harmful ingredients: any contamination means you still need to scrap the products.

And I agree it lasts; one of the best things about it is that the brush-in-cap can is always easy to open !
 
MrCrankyface said:
Thank you! Yeah it will be a bit of an experiment how it holds up in this climate, will try some grease/anti-seize on a few and see how much difference it makes. It's mostly for disassembly when winter comes and temps get too low and then reassembly again in spring.

The straight knurl thing is mostly done(AFAIK) to aid with making PTFE tape and similar stick better.
Click to expand...
Teflon tape is my goto for threads...
 
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