EZ snap couplings

« **on:** March 16, 2008, 07:14:25 pm »

have got a female coupling on end of 6mm microbore and then the male on the end of the hose to the pole, nothing odd with that!

thing is, on connecting the couplings and running the system up to pressure, the couplings leak! i have got back to the supplier who sent me out another female but same thing happened!!

anyone else had this? anyone know of any solutions??

ta

« **Reply #1 on:** March 16, 2008, 07:21:20 pm »

is it the connection that leaks or the end the that goes in the hose? i.e. does it leak on the female connection when its not connected and up to pressure?

« **Reply #2 on:** March 16, 2008, 07:26:30 pm »

Check for debris in the connections and check that the leak isn't coming from or near to where the jubilee clip or equivalent is. Give an extra tweak to them if you're not sure.

« **Reply #3 on:** March 16, 2008, 07:28:51 pm »

the back shoulder of the male fitting isn't right by the sounds of it. I'd change the male fitting and try it again with both female connectors.

« **Reply #4 on:** March 16, 2008, 07:33:47 pm »

Sounds like you`ve got a dodgy one,the new ones out at the moment have a fault with them.What happens is you use them for a few weeks and then the bearings fail inside the female connector,suppliers are looking into it and getting the problem resolved.I love these connectors but always have to keep spare ones in the van with spare o rings also.

« **Reply #5 on:** March 16, 2008, 07:41:10 pm »

Funny you should mention that, i bought a brand new female and it's not quite the same as the original - i have to press mega hard to get the snap fit to click into place, even with new male ends too.

« **Reply #6 on:** March 16, 2008, 07:45:17 pm »

We have had no problems with these connectors (genuine German fittings not cheap Chinese copies) at all and have had no problems needing looking into.

The fact that you have had exactly the same problem with the replacements, makes me think that what might be leaking is where the hose joins on to the barb. Sometimes these can leak in such a way that it appears the leak is coming from the joint instead.

Have a really close look at exactly where the water is leaking out, I think that it is only leaking when connected which means that it probably is the connection between the pole hose and the male barb. If not done up exactly right the jubilee or O clip can allow a fine jet of water to squirt onto the joint.

If having examined this it really is the joint, then please send them back and we can check them out and arrange replacements.

« **Reply #7 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:00:30 pm »

Mark and Tony know about this problem and have said they`ve had complaints regarding the same fault,the bearings retract and don`t re surface.The water then just flows out the end of the minibore and the only way to stop it is to turn it off on the varistream.

« **Reply #8 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:04:18 pm »

That is because they do not always source the connectors through us, but try and get them cheap elsewhere

« **Reply #9 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:06:12 pm »

Quote from: daveappleby on March 16, 2008, 07:14:25 pm

have got a female coupling on end of 6mm microbore and then the male on the end of the hose to the pole, nothing odd with that!

thing is, on connecting the couplings and running the system up to pressure, the couplings leak! i have got back to the supplier who sent me out another female but same thing happened!!

anyone else had this? anyone know of any solutions??

ta

I had the same sort of problem last week only I have a male on hose with tap and female on pole hose I found ptfe sorted my problem after getting wet for weeks, then only to find there was a tiny little hole in the pole hose. cut that bit off and attached again problem sorted

« **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:06:30 pm »

gary j - yeah

« **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:13:08 pm »

They can get a bit gritty - little squirt around the bearings with wd 40 usually does the trick for me. The only leaks i have had are from the clips. Nip them too tight and they can force the hose togo out of shape. Alex has a new kind now with a metal sleeve that seems to help.

« **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:13:21 pm »

i have looked at the connections and it is not coming from the barb end. the connection between the barb and the micro bore seams fine, no leaks.

on pressuring the micro bore (no pole hose connected) - no leak.

on pressuring the micro bore and then pushing the male EZ connector into the female, numerous fine jets of water omit at high pressure. not a huge problem as the water still flows, just annoying when stood over the connector and then finding out you have a wet leg and looks like i am incontinent!!

« **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:23:27 pm »

I'll give you a call tomorrow. I would like to send you a replacement pair of fittings and clips and have the old ones back for testing as this is a first for our connectors.

I will send them out tomorrow and if you could then send the old ones back still connected to a short (3-4 inches) length of the hose they are connected on at the moment.

« **Reply #14 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:27:15 pm »

ok no worries. you very kindly sent me a second female but as i have said, same (actually a little worse!) result.

i will double, double check in the morning as i have a full day planned so will check.

i was wondering if there should be a o ring on the male connector? it appears to have a grove for one but the pics on your site does not show one??

« **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:37:06 pm »

No, there is no o ring on the male connector, this is shaped to fit onto the inner collar of the female mechanism.

« **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2008, 08:40:16 pm »

no-why??

« **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2008, 07:02:13 am »

It sounds to me like the male connector has got damaged or dirty by dragging on the ground. Very easy to do.

« **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2008, 09:52:09 am »

Quote from: Vince Green on March 17, 2008, 07:02:13 am

It sounds to me like the male connector has got damaged or dirty by dragging on the ground. Very easy to do.

Could be, you can get some protecta balls from Gardiners while your at it.

« **Reply #19 on:** March 17, 2008, 12:26:30 pm »

have checked both couplings for damage and none apparent. gonna double double check again!!!

« **Reply #20 on:** March 17, 2008, 06:23:04 pm »

I would treble check the water isn't squirting from the hose under the metal clip and travelling to the connector giving the impression that the connector leaks.

« **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2008, 07:15:42 pm »

alex we ve had the same problem and only today i ve ordered some replacements from you,i know it s the female end on the microbore because i changed two over and back to perfect.i just assumed it was grit getting in the fitting and one of those things you have to put up with,i must admit we don t really take as much care with them as we should.it does help if you put two of alex s nice little balls on instead of just one. cheers mick

« **Reply #22 on:** March 17, 2008, 08:07:53 pm »

I usually get about 6 months use minimum out of a female connector and 12 months from a male connector.

I did wreck one once by dropping it 4 storeys from a balcony. It was slightly stiff to use after that!

I have started using a Protecta-Ball on the microbore side as well as the pole side.

« **Reply #23 on:** March 18, 2008, 08:36:30 am »

Not trying to affect Gardiners sales at all(

) but any old tennis ball on the microbore end is so much better as it keeps the connector that little bit higher off the ground, but yeh a protectaball on the hose side. I even found a GIANT protectaball in one of my custys gardens the other day. It was lookin like it had been discarded and had been there for over a month so i've "borrowed" it for further analysis

« **Reply #24 on:** March 18, 2008, 08:00:28 pm »

Just a thought, were the two parts ( male and female) bought at the same time?

My pole came with a male connector already fitted and it has worked with the existing female connector on the end of my hose from day one. But suppose it hadn't?

Is this a compatability problem?

« **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2008, 10:21:36 pm »

I have gone through about 40 EZ connectors in the last 3 years, just treat them as diposable items.

« **Reply #26 on:** March 18, 2008, 10:27:37 pm »

Quote from: Dave morris @ st-ives on March 18, 2008, 10:21:36 pm

I have gone through about 40 EZ connectors in the last 3 years, just treat them as diposable items.

So do i they don`t last 5 minutes.

« **Reply #27 on:** March 18, 2008, 10:29:45 pm »

Got some balls off Alex today to protect the EZ , see if they fair any better, used the before but lost them

« **Reply #28 on:** March 18, 2008, 10:30:46 pm »

Quote from: NWH on March 18, 2008, 10:27:37 pm

Quote from: Dave morris @ st-ives on March 18, 2008, 10:21:36 pm
I have gone through about 40 EZ connectors in the last 3 years, just treat them as diposable items.
So do i they don`t last 5 minutes.

??

We have 4 poles going all day and have only managed to scrap 10approx in the last 3 years (we've been using them longer than most

)

« **Reply #29 on:** March 18, 2008, 10:32:53 pm »

Dave they don`t make much difference as it`s the actual connecter that fails,the bearings retract and stick.Sometimes if you push the outer ring in and out it does release it but most of the time once the bearings get stuck they`ve had it.

« **Reply #30 on:** March 18, 2008, 10:44:48 pm »

Alan

Ae have four poles going as well

NWH

I know they fail for all sorts of reasons, today i had one fall to bits, that was a first.

They get damage whan you drop them from height, some stop retracing , some get clogged with grit etc.

We used to push then in manually to fill our bucket, and if you pushed them in too far they would stick.

The most trouble we have is with them warping when dropped from balconies etc, now i usually take them down the balcony with me instead of just dropping them.

« **Reply #31 on:** March 19, 2008, 07:52:37 am »

Quote from: Dave morris @ st-ives on March 18, 2008, 10:21:36 pm

I have gone through about 40 EZ connectors in the last 3 years, just treat them as diposable items.

That's because you didn't buy them from us and you bought cheap Chinese rip-offs

Seriously though, I will be interested to see how long the one I fitted for you yesterday lasts.

« **Reply #32 on:** March 19, 2008, 09:00:26 am »

your on , date fitted 18-03 08

1 day and counting

« **Reply #33 on:** March 19, 2008, 03:55:50 pm »

Like everything else, they last better if you treat them better. If you tread all over them while you're working you will seriously shorten their life

The male fittings seem to suffer most - if they get worn, or damaged by dragging along the ground they won't fit properly and the female won't close properly around them

I carry a few spare male fittings and if there's a problem I just swap them. As there's no pressure in the pole hose, you don't need any sort of hose clip just push the fitting into the hose.

The female fitting on the end of my microbore is the original one - 2 and a half years so far

« **Reply #34 on:** March 19, 2008, 04:04:50 pm »

Just changed mine after a year. I do tend to go through a lot of pole valves though. The gas tap ones. It's always the little flanges on the tap itself that break off so you can't find the stop point easily. The valve body would last for years, it's a pity you can't source the tap levers for a few pence instead. Would save me a small fortune.