How much do I tighten my LP Hose?

[AceszHigh]

Another noob question....Just bought my BC, and I am wondering..with regard to attaching my LP hose to my 1st stage..how much am I supposed to tighten it? Just enough til it stops?

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I'm sure someone will chime in with the exact torque specs, but my non-scientific answer:

Just a bare smidge more than hand tight. Just "snug". Do NOT overtighten these bad boys.

So, yeah, using a short-handled open end wrench of the correct size, tighten just until it stops. Just tight enough so you can't remove it with your bare hands. The o-ring does the sealing, not excessive torque.

Best wishes.

 

[cbmech2]

Couldn't resist when I read about the scientific chiming in about torque specs part. As an example, the SP MK17 Torque spec for LP Hoses/Port Plugs is 4-5 Newton Meters / 35 inch pounds.

 

[mts0628]

Hey AceszHigh:

I dunno if it will make a huge difference but I think that each regulator has slightly different specifications. My Apeks regulators specify a torque of 25 plus or minus 2 inch pounds. This is for both the blanking plugs and the male end of the hoses.

Of course, now you have to either find a torque wrench that measures in this unit, as most people have torque wrenches in foot pounds or convert it to the usable measurement. I will covert for you and say 2 foot pounds (actually 1.92-2.25 foot pounds). The word force is omitted intentionally for those who want to call me on it. (There are some smart peeps here!)

And finally, you need a crow's foot wrench to attach to the torque wrench. Torque to the specifications and when you hear a click from the wrench or see the deflection of the needle that matches your needs, stop.

Or the easy way, just use LeadTurn's recommendation. I would and have done it his way as well.

With kindest regards,
Thomas

 

[John_B]

Tight enough, but no tighter.

 

[herman]

I tighten them down by hand until they stop, continue with the correct size wrench using 2 fingers on the wrench, snugging with the 2 fingers with light pressure. The Oring does all the sealing, if you still have a leak there is another problem like a bad Oring or a bad mating surface, in any case, farther tighting may hide the problem but is not the proper fix and you may do damage to the reg.

 

[Slonda828]

I'm with Herman and Lead, I go a little bit past snug. It is brass after all, so if you over tighten the hose it will break. A good way to test if it's tight enough is to try to loosen it by hand (put some arse behind it). If you cannot, it is tight enough.

 

[Hatul]

The purpose of tightening the hose is so it does not get loose. The air seal itself if from the O ring, which does not have to be tight.

Adam

 

[tfsails]

I'm with Herman and Lead, I go a little bit past snug. It is brass after all, so if you over tighten the hose it will break. A good way to test if it's tight enough is to try to loosen it by hand (put some arse behind it). If you cannot, it is tight enough.

Perfect advice here!!