Alternatives to JG connectors?

[Bart90]

Hi guys,

I've had a couple of JG connections fail recenlty.  The recent failure was a new one which had the grippy metal piece ripped out where the short clear hose from the brush connects sideways on.  Not sure how it happened but had probably only been on 6 weeks.  Are they the best connectors or are their alternatives?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Iron Giant]

JG fittings are the only way ones for brush head assembly, I've never broken one in over 10 years what are you doing with them [emoji848]

County Durham Lad

 

[AGlassAct]

If it’s a Gardiner one I think you’ll find it’s not actually a John guest fitting - it’s a cheaper version. I had issues with the cheaper 8mm versions Gardiner sell but have since swapped to genuine John guest and had no issues.


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[Redditch windy]

i cant see gardiners marketing jg fittings and sell fakes,its not their style

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[AGlassAct]

If you look on their site they sell both - they aren’t ‘fakes’ just a Chinese version. The pro026/021 fittings are the same. Rectus are the daddies of them but Gardiner’s sell a ‘different’ version. John guest seems to be the go to name for anything push for these days


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[Bart90]

JG fittings are the only way ones for brush head assembly, I've never broken one in over 10 years what are you doing with them

County Durham Lad
 

You make me wonder if it is something wrong with my set up.  I never had an issue for 10 months and then the pole hose started jumping out on tugging the univalve. They are gardiners ones but not sure which.  @Alex Gardiner any thoughts?  Are they prone to break/snap or is it likely something I'm doing?

 

[Tuffers]

Personally I find it amazing how a piece of plastic with metal claws inside is leak free. They're only peanuts to buy so can't see what the issue is? I do find that the more robust JG straight connectors Gardiners used to sell were better than the new slimmer version though.

 

[jack b]

Yeah, Ive had the same issue recently with these fittings and the use of the univalve. I dont have a clamp where the orange upvc pole hose comes out of the Gardiner pole and I think this is causing undue pressure on the jg fitting being pulled . Going to get a clamp ringlet fitted tomorrow as per the univalve fitting instructions to see if this stops the jg  failing. Bought them off the internet so they are prob cheap Chinese ones !!

 

[Tuffers]

Yeah, Ive had the same issue recently with these fittings and the use of the univalve. I dont have a clamp where the orange upvc pole hose comes out of the Gardiner pole and I think this is causing undue pressure on the jg fitting being pulled . Going to get a clamp ringlet fitted tomorrow as per the univalve fitting instructions to see if this stops the jg  failing. Bought them off the internet so they are prob cheap Chinese ones !!

Try a barb connection https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/all-products/pump-hose/hose-fittings-adapters/john-guest-fittings/metric-fittings/john-guest-8mm-stem-to-6mm-barb.html. I use a very small cable tie to secure the cable tie to the pole hose.

 

[Bart90]

I dont have a clamp where the orange upvc pole hose comes out of the Gardiner pole and I think this is causing undue pressure on the jg fitting being pulle

Nice to know I'm not alone !  Where exactly would you put the clamp?

Personally I find it amazing how a piece of plastic with metal claws inside is leak free. They're only peanuts to buy so can't see what the issue is? I do find that the more robust JG straight connectors Gardiners used to sell were better than the new slimmer version though.

Efficiency Tuffers!! ?  Peanuts in several different areas add up and if there's a better connection or an issue solved it's less faffing and changing in the middle of jobs & less money spent!  I do confess though to taking my 'expenditure efficiency' to extremes.  I recently rang morrisons HQ to get 35p refunded....lol

 

[Tuffers]

^^^^ tight wad ?

 

[Iron Giant]

You make me wonder if it is something wrong with my set up.  I never had an issue for 10 months and then the pole hose started jumping out on tugging the univalve. They are gardiners ones but not sure which.  @Alex Gardiner any thoughts?  Are they prone to break/snap or is it likely something I'm doing?

Now you tell me you have a univalve ?,I don't use a univalve never saw the point in them and adding extra weight to the top of the pole,  I think @Tuffers has potentially solved your problem ?

 

[Bart90]

Now you tell me you have a univalve

What do you use?  I've found the univalve hugely beneficial; i work off a backpack so the saving in water has been great.  Going back to the switch on the backpack was a right pain and wasted loads!

 

[Iron Giant]

What do you use?  I've found the univalve hugely beneficial; i work off a backpack so the saving in water has been great.  Going back to the switch on the backpack was a right pain and wasted loads!

I use 1mm pencil jets aka Clarkes 1mm welding tips which will save you around 1/3 on your currently water usage and I just nip the hose between windows if needed, but I use a van mount so I have a inline tap on main hose to shut off water

County Durham Lad

 

[Alex Gardiner]

You make me wonder if it is something wrong with my set up.  I never had an issue for 10 months and then the pole hose started jumping out on tugging the univalve. They are gardiners ones but not sure which.  @Alex Gardiner any thoughts?  Are they prone to break/snap or is it likely something I'm doing?

A lot of your issues will be due to the fact that you are using a Univalve.

As standard a Gardiner pole, brush and gooseneck is supplied with the following setup:

Brush with Gardiner brand T Connector - 6mm to 8mm, with a red collar clip, then a short 30cm length of Orange PU Hose that pushes in to this and goes through the gooseneck. Then inside the pole there is a Gardiner brand 8mm to 8mm straight connector which connects to whichever hose pack has been selected. All of our hose packs terminate in a red stem to barb fitting that is clipped to the hose with an O clip and this stem push-fits into the 8mm to 8mm straight connector. This setup works very well and is very reliable. A video showing all of these parts being assembled is here -





However when one or more components from this setup is changed then they can be less reliable as they are now perhaps working in a different way with different components - for instance some clients do not bother with the short length of Orange PU Gooseneck hose and connect their pole hose direct to the brush T connector without a stem to barb fitting. This often leads to the hose pulling out from the T connector.

Looking at the use of the Univalve - why is this most probably causing your issues? The Univalve has been manufactured with barbed connectors rather than push-fit connections - Why? This is because push-fit connections are not designed to take the constant sharp tugging on the pole hose 200-300 times a day. Whilst these push-fit connectors are reliable and pretty tough after 5-6,000 hard tugs the teeth or the hose surface will start to fail and then the T connector will either break or simply not hold on strongly enough. If wanting to continue using the Univalve then it is important to fit something to the hose just above where it exits the gooseneck so that it stops the hose being pulled against the T connector.Doing this will prevent wear over time on the metal teeth holding the hose or stem.

 

[Alex Gardiner]

On the subject of Push-Fit connectors we currently sell three different brands - John Guest, Mur-lok and our own manufactured Gardiner Brand. Why do we sell three different brands? The reason for this is that each different brand offers different products. John Guest are great connectors, but have a limited range - for instance they do not make a T connector that allows our 6mm jet hose to connect to our 8mm pole hose - this is why we starting having our own brand made. The Mur-lok connectors allow for a 1/4" TDS probe to connect to a 3/8" or 1/2" feed line - this is also a type of connector that John Guest do not make in any form.

Once we invested in having our own Gardiner Brand (small G etched on the collars) made for the brush connectors we then also had a 4 way T connector made as this is not a fitting that any other brand made (or still makes). We then also started having the 8mm to 8mm straight connectors made as these are lighter and more compact than the John Guest versions. We also found at the time of switching over that the John Guest brand starting supplying variable types (different body sizes, colours etc.) of these straight connectors and we could not say which version they would supply with each batch. Some of these were very tight inside the #1 section of a pole and could cause assembling issues so making our own connectors offered a more reliable and consistent product for our own use.

We of course would not sell any 'Fake' connectors which is why any John Guest or Mur-Lok connectors are clearly labelled on the website with their brand.

Why do we not sell 'Rectus' brand 21/26 couplings? Two reasons:

1. In our window cleaning application we found that the assembly method used in the Rectus brand 21 couplings was not as reliable as it should be when used in our high abrasion environment. The brand that we have manufactured for our own use has a different way of assembling and holding the parts together and this has proved much more reliable for our clients.

2. When we did use to sell the 'Rectus' brand which we bought wholesale direct from the owner of the 'Rectus' brand , we found that we were often being supplied cheaper 'replicas' of their own brand rather than the Rectus brand we had paid for. This led to several batches which failed very quickly on clients and in the end we had to send these back to the suppliers. The decision was made that we could not rely on this brand moving forward for a consistent and reliable product.

 

[Bart90]

37 minutes ago, Alex Gardiner said:

A lot of your issues will be due to the fact that you are using a Univalve.

As standard a Gardiner pole, brush and gooseneck is supplied with the following setup:

Brush with Gardiner brand T Connector - 6mm to 8mm, with a red collar clip, then a short 30cm length of Orange PU Hose that pushes in to this and goes through the gooseneck. Then inside the pole there is a Gardiner brand 8mm to 8mm straight connector which connects to whichever hose pack has been selected. All of our hose packs terminate in a red stem to barb fitting that is clipped to the hose with an O clip and this stem push-fits into the 8mm to 8mm straight connector. This setup works very well and is very reliable. A video showing all of these parts being assembled is here -

Thanks for the informative reply Alex.  I love the univalve and the water savings it makes so want to keep it.  I'll have a look at the video and make a change to the setup to see if it helps.

 

[Tuffers]

Can I just say that I love Mr G

 

[jack b]

I use a very small cable tie to secure the cable tie to the pole hose.

Nice one Tuffers. Used a cable tie instead of the steel ringlet , which is a nightmare to get off if you need to. worked a treat today and is easy to remove if you need to. The jg type fitting stayed intact as a result of the tie. Result.