taskswap
ArboristSite Operative
I have a Huskee 22T and I've had a few good years of service from it, but it's by no means old - I keep it covered, there's basically no rust except the usual surface discoloration on the wedge itself when it sits for a while, etc.
Last weekend I went out to do a little splitting ("wood heats you twice...") and noticed I was getting fluid leaking from the return line. It's happening RIGHT at the fitting where the hose clamp holds the hose on to the valve. I checked it pretty closely and didn't see any cracking but I suppose it's possible.
Now it was pretty cold (15F maybe?) and I know hoses get brittle in the cold... but still it was weird to see it leaking at that spot. Part of me wonders if the fitting itself had just shrunk JUST enough to let a little fluid leak out. So I'm wondering, should I:
1. Heat it up (gently) with a hair dryer and see if giving it some flexibility back helps,
2. Torque the worm clamp down a bit more with a wrench - at the risk of maybe cracking the line just by doing that, and/or causing trouble in summer,
3. Run it gently for a while - it's leaking very slowly - and just keep an eye on it, hoping as it heats up the fitting will expand again,
4. Cut an inch off the end of the hose (it does have enough slack to do this) and re-attach it,
5. Something else?
Last weekend I went out to do a little splitting ("wood heats you twice...") and noticed I was getting fluid leaking from the return line. It's happening RIGHT at the fitting where the hose clamp holds the hose on to the valve. I checked it pretty closely and didn't see any cracking but I suppose it's possible.
Now it was pretty cold (15F maybe?) and I know hoses get brittle in the cold... but still it was weird to see it leaking at that spot. Part of me wonders if the fitting itself had just shrunk JUST enough to let a little fluid leak out. So I'm wondering, should I:
1. Heat it up (gently) with a hair dryer and see if giving it some flexibility back helps,
2. Torque the worm clamp down a bit more with a wrench - at the risk of maybe cracking the line just by doing that, and/or causing trouble in summer,
3. Run it gently for a while - it's leaking very slowly - and just keep an eye on it, hoping as it heats up the fitting will expand again,
4. Cut an inch off the end of the hose (it does have enough slack to do this) and re-attach it,
5. Something else?