[HELP] Fitting Pneumatic Tubing

[DarkShadow73]

This may have been a topic posted in the past, but thought I would ask anyway.

Is there an easier way to fit the tight pneumatic tubes on the valves and especially the small t-pieces? Its enough to bend back the flesh under your thumbnails, and that hurts. Mainly large pneumatic heavy models, one example being the 8455 Backhoe Loader. I'm not sure what to use to make easier to get them on instead of using brute thumb force, which at least for me results in the painful thumb as listed above.

Just thought I'd throw it out there to see what others use, especially the MOCer's who make giant models using a lot of pneumatics.

Thanks in advance.

[allanp]

I found the most important thing is probably the simplest, wash your hands! Over the course of the day, you'll likely have a wash in the morning and build your Lego sometime in the evening. Between the morning and the evening the natural oils in he skin build up and make gripping the small T pieces and hoses quite difficult. So I always wash my hands right before doing any pneumatic work to get rid of the natural oils in the skin. I have naturally oily skin so for me it makes a big difference. I know other people use some spit (gross!) to make the hoses slide on easier, but that also makes your hands more slippery and also makes the hoses pop off easier.

[dr_spock]

You can also use a small pair of needle nose pliers to wiggle them in all the way.

[RohanBeckett]

I find rubbing the hoses between thumb and forefinger for 5-10 seconds, softens them up a bit, and makes them slip on a bit easier...

you could try dipping the ends into a glass of hot water for a short time, too.. but be careful to flick them dry, to get all the moisture out of the tube

Edited October 21, 2015 by RohanBeckett

[Beck]

I've found that rubbing hand soap (just a bit- don't need a lot) with water onto the T piece and the end of the tubing can really make a difference. You can flush the soap out with water if you want when they're attached. To add on to what allanp said, make sure you dry your hands really well after you wash otherwise it can get kinda slippery.

[nerdsforprez]

Silicone-based lubricant on the T pieces works like a charm. Perhaps odd-sounding at first, but then again, many pneumatic applications, such as LPEs, or Lego Pneumatic Engines, require some form of lubricant b/c they turn so fast. I have built several LPEs, and done a lot of pneumatic work, and I always have some lying around.

[DarkShadow73]

Thanks for the replies. I rather think Allanp's makes a lot of sense since I do modeling late evening. I think the T-pieces are the hardest to fit the tubing onto, they are small and not attached anything...brings to mind the 8455 build many moons ago, that was a lot of T's and a lot of tight fits onto valve nipples. I also built an MOC of a telescoping man lift, similar to a Genie Boom lift we see extensively here in the US and the whole thing was pneumatic, I'm not as great with the LA's, plus I wanted a look of tubing and valves, cylinders, etc.

The lubricating oil sounds interesting, but in the long run would it damage the plastic or tubing? The hot water softening bit sounds good too. I had considered dipping the ends of the tubing in plain water from a dixie cup, then putting them on, thinking the water would be a decent short-term lubricant to get them fitted, then when done attaching the system to a hand pump or an electric pneumatic system, the force of the air would dry up any moisture. Just wanted to get opinions first.

[BachAddict]

Pure Silicone oil is quite inert. For T pieces, I connect tubes to them before installation, so I have plenty of room to grip properly. All the larger parts now have smaller tips for easy connection.

[allanp]

The issue I have with any kind of lubrication is that it can (and usually does) get on your fingers making it harder, not easier and also, whilst you maybe reducing the force required to push the hoses on, you are also reducing the force required for them to pop off.

[nerdsforprez]

The issue I have with any kind of lubrication is that it can (and usually does) get on your fingers making it harder, not easier and also, whilst you maybe reducing the force required to push the hoses on, you are also reducing the force required for them to pop off.

Yea, that really hasn't been my experience. And I run things all the time with quite high PSI. I have several LPEs that I run at 4-6 bar all the time. MB Arocs, Unimog, etc..... never had a problem with things popping off. Eventually the effect wears off and things stay put. Also, I don't think that the lube wears away at anything. Alex Zorko at LPEpower uses in on his LPEs quite reliably. I have one of his engines I bought years ago.... no problems......