Removing Push Lock Hose Without Damaging The Fitting With Koul Tools

Lake Havasu City-based Dick Raczuk started Koul Tools in 2005 after discovering several creative solutions to plumbing his personal hot rods that would save fellow enthusiasts precious time and a lot of sore fingers. One of those industry changing inventions was the EZ-ON Hose Press for push lock fittings that we have covered in previous articles.

If you’ve ever attempted to disassemble a push lock hose, you know that once that barb is fully inserted in the hose it’s never coming back off without destroying the hose. For as long as push lock fittings have been around, the most common way to remove the barb from a hose has been to use a knife or razor blade to cut down the hose to release the fitting from the hoses’ grasp (which are commonly rated to handle line pressure over 250 psi).

But what many have learned the hard way is that without the precision hands of a surgeon, more often than not you will end up gouging the soft aluminum hose barb – creating a path for a permanent leak and ruining the fitting.

Dick presents a solution that is guaranteed to easily remove the hose and leave your fitting in perfect condition, all without the use of specialty tools or awkward homemade creations.

Simply pull out your trusty old soldering gun, grab a spade tip and simply cauterize the hose using the same technique as you would with a blade. The hose will melt away as you saw through it, leaving behind a perfect hose barb to be reused another day.