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Vac Cuff on Vac Hose

W

wendy's wash

Member
Does anyone have any suggedtions on how to stop people from unscrewing the 2" cuff off of the vac hose. Yesterday someone had the idea of removing 4 cuffs from 4 vacs out of 8 vacs. They then put them under trash in the cans. They put each in differant can. They removed the claws too, so in drilled a hole in the cuff to claw and put a short rivet in. Thanks.
 
What I do is a little elaborate, but it works. I use 2" plastic claws and the 2-piece swivel nut cuff. I cut the claw behind the ridge that is meant to hold it in the cuff (which doesn't work anyway), insert the claw in the cuff and drill two small holes through both pieces. I use a #6 x 3/8" truss head screw and a Nylock nut inside to hold the claw on the cuff, which leaves no edge inside to catch debris. I cut a 3" long piece of 3M foam adhesive tape (The thin gray weatherproof stuff; the thick white won't work) and stick it to the end of the hose. A little mineral spirits, rubbing alcohol or 3M adhesive cleaner works as a lubricant to get it screwed together, and once it dries it can't be unscrewed by hand.
 
I just squeeze a few drops if Gorilla Glue on the end of the hose and screw in the claw/cuff. If I need to replace the claw I have to cut the hose, making it 2" shorter but it's easy, fast, and it works.
 
I stopped using the cuffs years ago and just shove the claw straight into the vac hose. I find the addition of the cuff to make the hose too bulky and awkward to use.
I do like the idea of adding the gorilla glue to hold it in place but I have never had a real problem with claws gating stolen.
 
Red Baron said:
I just squeeze a few drops if Gorilla Glue on the end of the hose and screw in the claw/cuff. If I need to replace the claw I have to cut the hose, making it 2" shorter but it's easy, fast, and it works.
Click to expand...
I tried that too, but it didn't hold (May be the brand of hose I use), and if I got any glue into the swivel nut it would no longer swivel. Also, if I need to replace the hose I can reuse the claw by cutting the hose near the claw and unwinding it out like unraveling a sweater.

Eric H said:
I stopped using the cuffs years ago and just shove the claw straight into the vac hose. I find the addition of the cuff to make the hose too bulky and awkward to use.
I do like the idea of adding the gorilla glue to hold it in place but I have never had a real problem with claws gating stolen.
Click to expand...
I've done that too, but I feel customers want and like the swivel and don't mind the bulk to have it. I've also had no real problem with them getting stolen, but if I don't secure them well they'll just work themselves off, and I don't want anything falling apart while a customer is using it. I've had only one claw stolen in the last five years, and the guy cut the hose to get it.
 
I use more than a few drops of gorilla glue, but I have never had a problem with them coming off. I usually do the entire circumference for the first thread or two and I have never had a problem. Good Luck!
 
Bubbles Galore said:
I use more than a few drops of gorilla glue, but I have never had a problem with them coming off. I usually do the entire circumference for the first thread or two and I have never had a problem.
Click to expand...
Do you use Smooth-Bor vac hoses? They're really slick and non-porous, and because of that I can't find a glue that sticks to it. Even tried PVC cement hoping it would fuse the pieces together, but it broke loose the first time it was used. Only the tape works for me.
 
MEP001 said:
Do you use Smooth-Bor vac hoses? They're really slick and non-porous, and because of that I can't find a glue that sticks to it. Even tried PVC cement hoping it would fuse the pieces together, but it broke loose the first time it was used. Only the tape works for me.
Click to expand...

If you are referring to the inside of the vac hose, yes it is smooth. Thinking back, I have used a combination of both the gorilla glue and some craft glue that was picked up at a hobby shop. I have had zero problems with that setup and our vacs stay pretty busy.
 
Bubbles Galore said:
If you are referring to the inside of the vac hose, yes it is smooth.
Click to expand...
I was referring to the manufacturer name of the hose. The Smooth-Bor brand is more of a plastic whereas some brands have a rubbery feel to them.
 
vacum cuffs

We use "Rubber Cement" between the hose and the cuff and around the ridge
It seems to hold very well
 
I rarely have problems with people stealing them but the swivel cuff / claw arrangement definitely has room for improvement. The 2" swivel become difficult to turn not long after I install one. The cuff then turns on the hose and works itself off after a while. Anybody make a better swivel cuff?
 
Mel, that's why I use the swivel nut cuff and cut off part of the claw. One problem that keeps the cuff from swiveling like it should is that the claw is too long and it pushes into the hose. I secure everything theway I do to prevent them from falling off, and to prevent customers from taking them off to vacuum up large debris. I wouldn't even mind the latter so much except they won't put the claw back on when they're done, I would usually find them in the trash.

I'll put one together and take pics of the procedure.
 
MEP001 said:
Mel, that's why I use the swivel nut cuff and cut off part of the claw. One problem that keeps the cuff from swiveling like it should is that the claw is too long and it pushes into the hose. I secure everything theway I do to prevent them from falling off, and to prevent customers from taking them off to vacuum up large debris. I wouldn't even mind the latter so much except they won't put the claw back on when they're done, I would usually find them in the trash.

I'll put one together and take pics of the procedure.
Click to expand...

Did you ever take the pics? I'd like to see what your doing with the vac cuffs.
 
Update since I first asked the question on vac hose cuffs. Took the advice of using the Gorilla glue. Screw the cuff on about 2 or 3 turns and take the glue and fill in the next grove with about 1 inch of glue and then finish twisting the cuff on. The glue expands and tightens up cuff with hose and makes it a very tight connection. Not to tight to hit the swivel part of cuff. This has made a huge differance. I no longer find cuffs gone or just thrown accross the lot. I also drill 2 holes in the claw and at the swivel and insert 2 rivets. The claws are no longer deing pulled off. This has stopped me from having to spend time to fix what customers or their kids think was fun to do. I did learn to buy the larger bottle of glue instead of the little 1oz tubes. Can squeeze air out of bottle and reinstall cap. Glue does not go bad sitting.
 
We have been using a small stainless steel screw, I think a 1/2" #8 through the cuff and into the hose. It is easy to put in and take out and short enough that we don't have problems with it catching debris inside the hose.
 
Epoxy for Cuffs

I clean and scuff the vac nozzle insert really good and th einsideof the cuff and use a 2 part epoxy to glue them together. It WILL NOT come apart unless you dont scuff it up. Nothing will stick to shinny smooth plastic. I also stick a screw in it for the heck of it, that way they mess around gettng the screw out only to find the entire thing is basically one piece.
 
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