Braided against spiral hose fittings: why the same thread comes in two crimp series

Two JIC 37° female swivels of the same size can sit side by side in a drawer and look identical from the nut end. One is made for two-wire braid, the other for four-spiral hose, and they are not interchangeable. The thread end of a hose fitting is chosen by the port; the crimp end is chosen by the hose, and that is the half people forget to specify.

/01Why there are two series.

Braided hose has one or two layers of interwoven wire; spiral hose has four layers laid in alternating helices, a thicker wall and a larger outside diameter for the same bore. The ferrule has to grip each construction differently — on spiral hose it typically has to bite into the wire layers to hold the pressure the hose is rated for — so the stem, the ferrule and the crimp diameter are designed for one construction. A braided-hose fitting crimped onto spiral hose, or the reverse, is an assembly no maker has a specification for.

/02The same end families in both.

Both series cover the same thread families, so the choice of series never limits the port you can reach: BSP female swivel 60° cone (straight, 45°, 90°), JIC 37° female swivel and male, ORFS female swivel, DIN light and heavy 24° cone female swivel and male, Komatsu JIS metric 30° and JIS BSP 30° female swivels, SAE 45° flare female, NPT male (rigid and swivel), SAE O-ring boss male, and SAE Code 61 and Code 62 flange heads. Our JIC ends follow SAE J514 and ISO 8434-2; ORFS SAE J1453 and ISO 8434-3; flange heads SAE J518 and ISO 6162.

/03Hoses outside both series.

4SH, R13 and R15 are heavier spiral constructions than 4SP and R12, and they are not on either listing. They take fittings and ferrules specified for them: our crimp ferrule shelf lists a skive interlock ferrule for 4SH, skive ferrules for 4SH in DN10 to DN16, a DIN 20023 skive ferrule for 4SH and R12 in −32, and a double-skive ferrule for R13. Compact 1SC and 2SC have a smaller outside diameter than standard braid, so confirm the ferrule specified for the compact hose before crimping.

/04Ordering the right one.

A hose fitting order needs five things: the thread family and size at the port, the gender, the shape (straight, 45°, 90°, long drop), and the hose the fitting goes on — grade and dash size. The last item picks the series. Where the old assembly is available, the hose layline answers it; where it is not, the hose outside diameter and wire layers seen at a cut end will. See the hose assembly guide for the full build.