hydraulic fitting types

[cityevader]

Currently, my log splitter valve is threaded into the retract port of the ram, with a steel tube with flare fittings to the extend port of ram.

I want to relocate the valve and use rubber hose for everything (valve and ram are all pipe thread fittings) but I'm having difficulty finding a hose with NPT ends that "swivel". Northern tools has perfect 4ft lengths, but the NPT ends appear not to swivel, therefore it can't possibly be threaded in on both ends without widly twisting the hose up.

Northern tools also sells fitting adapters from NPT to NPSM swivel....but I cannot find a decent definition of NPSM anywhere on the web. Will it screw onto JIC37 fittings if NPT-JIC37 adapters threaded into ports?

Here's a pic of valve and the flare-type fitting on tube.

 

[leon]

hydraulic fittings

Currently, my log splitter valve is threaded into the retract port of the ram, with a steel tube with flare fittings to the extend port of ram.

I want to relocate the valve and use rubber hose for everything (valve and ram are all pipe thread fittings) but I'm having difficulty finding a hose with NPT ends that "swivel". Northern tools has perfect 4ft lengths, but the NPT ends appear not to swivel, therefore it can't possibly be threaded in on both ends without widly twisting the hose up.

Northern tools also sells fitting adapters from NPT to NPSM swivel....but I cannot find a decent definition of NPSM anywhere on the web. Will it screw onto JIC37 fittings if NPT-JIC37 adapters threaded into ports?

Here's a pic of valve and the flare-type fitting on tube.

A local hydraulic repair shop will have everything you need and will help you to plan and replumb your piping/hoses. A JIC fitting will not thread into an npt fitting thread and if you do it will blow out and kill someone.


You can buy hydraulic fittings with the male swivel ends when you buy new hoses. the additional fittings needed to match/make connections will only reduce the inside diameter of the plumbing and cause friction and cavitation.

All your hose fittings should be high pressure female JIC fittings anyway with male JIC to pipe fittings for the ports of the valve body and cylinder-it looks as if they are using JIC fittings on the cylinder so that is very good.


You also must use at a minimum two wire braid hydraulic hose and fittings for your pressure connections, foutr wire braid hose and fittings is even better from a safety standpoint; a single wire braid hose is fine for a return to tank line as the oil passing through the center of the valve body that is not used for work it is always low pressure and the oil returnng from the cylinder back to the valve is low pressure as well as it is not doing any work.



opcorn:

 

[Crofter]

I believe the NPSM is national pipe swivel male one end and female the other so that changes nothing but gives you a swivel Whatever you screw it into should be NP female to receive the end of your premade non swivel male ends so you may need to change the elbows on the clyinder which are presently male JIC 37 X male NPT to a street elbow which is male NPT one end and female the other. Princess auto has a good selection of adaptors that can get you almost anywhere to anywhere. Knowing how to describe if you are ordering can be a challenge if you are not used to the terminology!

 

[Crofter]

Just read Leons post. Sometimes the premade hoses are enough of a bargain to tempt the use of adaptors but Leon is correct about not using unnecessary fittings and watching the inside diameters. Two wire braid should be quite adequate for standard pressures on a splitter. Four wire braid hose and fittings are much much more expensive and there again watch the ID. Often smaller inside than the same nominal sized components in two wire hose. Starting from scratch I would use hose with JIC female on one end at least and not have to go the swivel adaptor route. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do though. I have even grafted threaded sections together where no adaptor was available but is not something I would recommend.

 

[kevin j]

just to addd, the swivel end of NPSM adaptor must take a hose end, not a pipe nipple. Hose end has a precise chamfer which seats on a cone in the swivel end. Normal NPT seals by taper of the thread OD into the port. Pipe nipples are reamed but not precisely and usually won't seal right in the swivel adaptor. Some other types of adaptors are chamfered ID, some are not.

Eaton/Aeroquip has a little booklet on identifying threads. I have used dozens of them in teaching. Don't have the link but all the pages are on the web also.

NPT is a PITA, avoid when you can. Use o-ring boss ports, JIC flare, flat face o-ring (ORFS), or split flange when ever you can.
That said, I realize most consumer sourced equipment has NPT, sigh.....


k

 

[cityevader]

Ideally, swivelling NPT ends on the hose itself would be the way to go, if they can be found. And that was part of my main question...is NPSM truly NPT? If so, then I can easily get NPT X NPSM adapter and theoretically not have reduced I.D and use a prefab hose with solid NPT ends for cheap.
I found an acronym description, but cannot find an actual description of NPSM itself, only the acronym.

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/NPSM

Next best would be an adapter with male NPT and JIC ends threaded into all the ram and valve ports, with hose ends being swivelling JIC...but without holding one of those adapters in my hand I can't say if the I.D. is reduced or not.

 

[cityevader]

just to addd, the swivel end of NPSM adaptor must take a hose end, not a pipe nipple. Hose end has a precise chamfer which seats on a cone in the swivel end. Normal NPT seals by taper of the thread OD into the port. Pipe nipples are reamed but not precisely and usually won't seal right in the swivel adaptor. Some other types of adaptors are chamfered ID, some are not.

Eaton/Aeroquip has a little booklet on identifying threads. I have used dozens of them in teaching. Don't have the link but all the pages are on the web also.

NPT is a PITA, avoid when you can. Use o-ring boss ports, JIC flare, flat face o-ring (ORFS), or split flange when ever you can.
That said, I realize most consumer sourced equipment has NPT, sigh.....


k

AHA!!!
Thank you, finally found what i was looking for!!!
http://hydraulics.eaton.com/products/pdfs/fc/e-srov-ts009-e.pdf

Now to continue research!

 

[kevin j]

bingo. that is the one. tks for finding it. kcj

 

[flxblx]

Try a local farm equipment dealer (Case-IH, Ford, New Holland or John Deere).

It will probably cost a little more but the ones in my area can custom make a hose with the proper fittings crimped on.

No adapters needed.

 

[cityevader]

There is a local hose shop...but when went to them before to replace an 8" length of rubber hose when my Jeep A/C hose blew, they charged nearly a hundred bucks. All labor...the only parts being under one foot of hose....and the last time to get a simple 1/2"npt union 2 inches long for the new logsplitter, they charged 12 bucks...later found it online for $1.97...hesitant to go back there.

I know, I know, going online to a personless store robs income from someone local and hurts the economy...but hey, I'm hurting to because people not coming in for car repairs, so I need cheap too!

But flxblx has a point...get it made right the first time, one time, and get over it!

 

[flxblx]

My experience has been that adapters cost more than the hose I got for a good price.

Some NAPA stores in central Indiana make hydraulic hoses also.

 

[mini14]

http://www.surpluscenter.com/hydraulic.asp?UID=2008100522031749&catname=hydraulic

 

[Crofter]

There is a local hose shop...but when went to them before to replace an 8" length of rubber hose when my Jeep A/C hose blew, they charged nearly a hundred bucks. All labor...the only parts being under one foot of hose...
.and the last time to get a simple 1/2"npt union 2 inches long for the new logsplitter, they charged 12 bucks...later found it online for $1.97...hesitant to go back there.

I know, I know, going online to a personless store robs income from someone local and hurts the economy...but hey, I'm hurting to because people not coming in for car repairs, so I need cheap too!

But flxblx has a point...get it made right the first time, one time, and get over it!

That sounds like both you and the sales person got mixed up in the difference between a coupling and a union! Twelve bucks is not surprising at all for a 3000 lb 1/2" union but way too much for a simple coupling. Having a chart with pictures of the items makes things a lot easier.

 

[Gooserider]

Definitely keep us posted... I'm actually in the same boat, as I have the HF 30 ton H/V model (I don't like horizontal splitting, much prefer vertical...)

As it came from HF, the cylinder on my unit has the ports facing to the right, and the valve has a straight fitting into the bottom port, and a rigid metal line into the top port. (Just like the photos in the OP) The valve handle sticks out to the right, which makes it a bit awkward to reach while sitting in front of the vertical cylinder.

It looks like it would be a fairly trivial matter to rotate the cylinder 180* so the ports come out the left side, and swap the straight fitting on the cylinder for a 90* elbow so that the valve is facing the top / rear of the machine, and the handle sticks out the back on the left of the cylinder. This is the way a friend's MTD splitter that I use quite a bit is set up, and it's MUCH more comfortable to work with...

I'd like to keep the metal line if I can, and it looks like if the valve is basically just rotated 90* I'd be able to do so. I want to keep the metal line because I figure that offers more support to the valve than a rubber line would, along w/ more cooling, and maybe less fluid friction. (Besides, I'm cheap... Why change a part that doesn't need it?)

 

[046]

you need to unscrew the male fitting with flare. then take that fitting to your local hydraulic hose place.

with that flared fitting, they will be able to make a 100% ID of what size you've got. then hopefully will be able to get you the correct fitting.

 

[steveman12]

Northern tools also sells fitting adapters from NPT to NPSM swivel....but I cannot find a decent definition of NPSM anywhere on the web. Will it screw onto JIC37 fittings if NPT-JIC37 adapters threaded into ports?

DO NOT try to screw JIC fittings into NPSM fittings... I don't think that would work out lol. But I did find this definition of NPSM fittings, hope this helps...

 

[cantoo]

steveman12, a husky guy might take that long to repair a hose but a Stihl guy with an 046 would have done it long ago. Maybe Nov 01 or 02 of 2008?
Just playing with ya. I get into an old thread once in awhile too.

 

[cedarhollow]

i make my own hoses. i have weatherhead, parker and gates crimping machines as well as thermoplastc hose swaging tools. i have had very good service from discounthydraulichose.com. out of philly. I have been dealing with them since they started on the internet, probably about 1998.
they have just about every kind of hose end and adapter made. the only stuff they did not have was for belarus, (russian) tractors and I belive the hose ends for teleflex hydraulic marine steering is parker priority. the prices there used to be about 10% of what the local hydro shop charges but they have gone up a bit, still much cheaper than any place local and navigating the web site is pretty easy

 

[cedarhollow]

back to your question, jic 37 is not the same as pipe thread, or tapered pipe thread or british pipe thread, at discount hose web site they have charts of threads and sizes you can download.

 

[steveman12]

steveman12, a husky guy might take that long to repair a hose but a Stihl guy with an 046 would have done it long ago. Maybe Nov 01 or 02 of 2008?
Just playing with ya. I get into an old thread once in awhile too.

LOL I know I always forget to look at dates and end up posting on old-ass threads all the time I really gotta start checking dates lol