Silicone coolant hoses

pippin · Post by **pippin** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:13 pm

Silicone is often mistakenly referred to as "silicon". Although silicones contain silicon atoms, they are not made up exclusively of silicon, and have completely different physical characteristics from elemental silicon.

The word "silicone" is derived from ketone. Dimethylsilicone and dimethyl ketone (a.k.a. acetone) have analogous formulas, thus it was surmised (incorrectly) that they have analogous structures. The same terminology is used for compounds such as silane (an analogue of methane). A true silicone group with a double bond between oxygen and silicon does not exist in nature; chemists find that the silicon atom forms a single bond with each of two oxygen atoms, rather than a double bond to a single atom. Polysiloxanes are called "silicone" due to early mistaken assumptions about their structure.
So, now you know!

Socket Set Sue · Post by **Socket Set Sue** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:24 pm

Now this is an interesting thread.

Silicone hoses are very good, probably the best, but very expensive. I reckon there are at least 20 water pipes on the complete cooling and heating circuits and shudder to think what the cost will be to have these made in silicone............ but maybe if enough people order then they may be affordable.

Possibly a better idea is for all the likeminded people to get a spokesperson and see how much a standard rubber set can be purchased for from a reputable supplier, if the quantities are high enough they may be of an affordablr price and we know they will last at least 7 to 10 years.

flippa · Post by **flippa** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:25 pm

Hi guys, i would just like to say i have spent the last four months on this ....as a bongo owner who had suffered overheating problems ,i thought it necessary to replace all the coolant hoses.....when i saw the price of the rubber i couldnt believe there was no alternative......this lead me to investigate the silicone alternative.....the crunch came when i had to spend 180 on the new hoses which then enabled me to send off the old hoses from my bongo as samples ,to be made into moulds , the initial time and investment has mainly been on getting the moulds made up , it has been a long process and all along i have been taking a chance regarding ....is their a market for silicone hoses (for a bongo)? i had sounded out a few members including ian regarding their viability and got a positive response ....i was always of the opinion that i would'nt go public until i have the hoses in hand

so to speak

.... on seeing this thread i had to respond.....also it is not just a case of receiving and selling the hoses, i have a responsibil;ity to you all to do the appropriate tests on them , and make sure they are up to spec ...please feel free to ask away.... i will have a dig at the photo bucket ting

cheers all

flippa · Post by **flippa** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:53 pm

[img][img]http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff13 ... BAU9J7.jpg[/img]

just seeing if this works

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Socket Set Sue · Post by **Socket Set Sue** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:03 pm

A very big WELL DONE Flippa..

I didn't know you had this all in hand, if you need a test bed then I am willing to swap hoses and give it a go.

Go for it, I hope you are very succesful in this enterprise.

John the sparky · Post by **John the sparky** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:12 pm

well done Flippa,

and a nice range of colours....

good to see there is no green, I believe there is very little demand

If they are ready before christmas.... I'll put them on my list, if not I'll start an easter list, or possibly whitsun..... birthday etc etc

cheers.... keep us posted
John

flippa · Post by **flippa** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:45 pm

christ sue i nearly overheated then

......i'm just dreading changing my hoses again

Socket Set Sue · Post by **Socket Set Sue** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 7:01 pm

No big deal flippa, just look on it as a job that needs doing and when its done its done for ever.

Its a good opertunity to flush everything out and make sure all the metal work is in good order and change the antifreeze.

Can you imagine a Bongo where the hoses are not going to leak ...... priceless.

vanvliet · Post by **vanvliet** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 7:27 pm

Make no mistake - the standard hoses are damned expensive - and probably inferior! I am sure that Ian would have gone the route of standard hoses if it had been viable.
It makes more sense to concentrate on getting as many owners as possible to buy the 'Flippas ' to keep the cost down .Why on earth would we want to give cash to the rip off Mazda dealers when we can get a superior product through this form?

Me? I want to get the thought of aged failing hoses off my list of Bongo worries - and they can be in any bl--dy colour as long as they work.

Well done Flippa. Lets give him some support.

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 7:58 pm

great idea, but i am moving this thread to the pimp my bongo section. as its not actually a techie question, hope you dont mind.

vanvliet · Post by **vanvliet** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:07 pm

I think that this thread should appear in the same section as queries about overheating and cooling system failure

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:15 am

I thought i remembered reading on here that someone was looking into getting some silicone hoses made up!...But i had just had yoghurt so thought i'd dreamt it.

Seeing as green is the most sought after colour,would they work out a little cheaper Flippa?

Well done for this too Flippa

helen&tony · Post by **helen&tony** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:54 am

AAhhhh, Pippin
I thought Silanes were the enemies of the good guys in Battlestar Galactica
Helen

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:01 pm

Yep - well done flippa, its a great bonus for Bongo owners. It would be really interesting to know which hoses are the main culprits for going on Bongos so that - budget permitting - replacements for those could be bought in first so they are ready when needed.

Socket Set Sue · Post by **Socket Set Sue** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:23 pm

From memory the Forum seems to mention the top hose from the cylinder head to the top radiator pipe, the hose from above the starter motor to the rear heater, and the bleed pipe above the alternator as the main culprits for developing leaks.

Silicone coolant hoses

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