Bending/Moulding Rubber hoses

[TomoHawk]

I see a lot of stuff about bent hoses, like for the gas tank. Is there a way you can form te hoses in a desired shap so they stay bent, or does the manufacturer have to do it at the factory.

Maybe bending it with heat in a wood mold of some kind, then letting it cool? Solvents are out, obviously.

I haven't fooled with vulcanizing in a few years.

thx

[ZSaint]

I just installed my tank with new hoses. I do not feel they will bend or collapse. I used tranny lines and they are heavier in construction. I used a couple of plastic ties on the one at the front of the tank. It makes a pretty good turn and I put these ties on it to keep it from crimping. Maybe one of the lines will crimp. No big deal as long as it doesn't leak. These tanks have all kinds of venting. One line lost will not hurt a thing, IMHO.

[Inf]

Maybe you could get a thin metal pipe of the proper diameter with a bend in it (or make a bend) that you could slide the hose over to make the curves you need and making sure it wont crimp at that spot.

[TomoHawk]

Metal sounds good, but copper is out, so stainless is probably the only one that isn't reactive. How well does thin stainless tube bend?

[ezzzzzzz]

Impossible without a mandrel bender. It is much too brittle and prone to kinking. Even heating it has no measurable positive results. That's been my experience working with s/s tubing and emission systems. May be it could be purchased already bent? I sorely miss the bead used to ensure the hose doesn't slip off too. These tools are available but aren't cheap.

[TomoHawk]

Thanks EZZZ,

I'll have to get out my old book on vulcanizing to see if you can re-vulcanize a rubber hose ( depending on the type) to hold a shape. I haven't fooled with that stuff since the late80s.