hoses

[jprohan]

I'm having a bear of a time trying to reattach old hoses onto the fittings they came off. One of the fittings is plastic (holding tank) and I'm afraid if I wrestle with too much it'll break. I'm thinking a heat gun is the best bet?
I once put a rubber hose (with no wire) in my microwave to try to soften it. Only for a few seconds. Don't try this at home; only a professional or a moron would try it. Count me in as the latter. Kind of smokes up the cabin; a little smelly; and really gets the admiral ticked off. Got a positive out of the smoke alarm tho; it's good to know your equipment is working.
Jim

[henry robertson]

bright sun or hot water and a long screwdriver to "wallow" the end bigger then wd40 receiving end and push hard --don't forget 2 clamps on first

[jleonard]

Add some liquid dish detergent to the end of the hose to help it slide on.

[Veebyes2]

The heat gun does wonders. Low power, be careful. Dishwashing liquid, try first. Heat in the hose, dish liquis on the fitting, zip! Done.

[bccanucker]

Jim: We got a great Sunday morning chuckle at our house with your microwave story.
If you've got the white hose I agree with the others about heat gun and a bit of soap. The "be careful warning is real. It seems to get to a point with too much heat where it will melt.

[dkircher]

My West Marine guy told me to soak the hose end in hot water. It worked well. There is no danger of overheating it, a potential problem with a heat gun. I heated the hot water in the microwave on the boat, dipped the hose in it and quickly pushed the hose on to the fitting.

[Pitou]

I always carry vaseline in the tool kit ... hoses, impellers, etc. ...

[zinbaad]

Use the microwave to boil a cup of water then hold the hose for a few minutes in the boiling water to soften, quick squirt of dish soap & slide it on. No chance of compromising the hose with direct heat. It has worked for me several; times, good luck