Attack of the Hose That Drank Human Blood!

While AN braided steel hose is tough, getting those fittings on can be tricky. It almost seems as though the hose has a thirst for human blood, as it's very easy to accidentally cut yourself if you don't know what you are doing. And, of course, I didn't know what I was doing. After losing more blood than I'd care to on the frayed ends, I searched the Internet for a few articles on how to put the ends on the hose correctly. Here's the secrets.

1. Wrap it in electrical tape before cutting the hose. (Duct tape or masking tape don't work quite as well.)
2. Remove the socket from the fitting body and put that on first.
3. Leave the tape on when you start attaching the socket. You can remove it once the socket's on straight.
4. Thread the socket onto the hose counter-clockwise. This threading is backwards so that it won't unscrew when you slip in the fitting body.
5. Put a little oil-based lubricant on the threads of the fitting body and thread it into the socket.

The key to the whole process is keeping those little braid ends tightly controlled with tape. If they fray out, they'll make it a royal pain to slip the socket on.

One other little trick. Pros often use soft aluminum wrenches to avoid scratching the fitting. If you're going to be like me and use a steel adjustable wrench, wrapping the fitting in more electrical tape can at least keep most of the scuffing off of it. Remove the tape residue with rubbing alchohol.

For some reason, the original copy of this post disappeared. Great. I've got a hose that is thirsty for my blood and a blog that eats my posts. It's an appetite conspiracy.