Getting Ready to Crimp? Make Sure You Have the Right Machine!

Bringing your hydraulic hose making in house is a big decision – one that can save you a lot of money.

Consider the time and money you save by simply walking over to your work bench and creating your own custom hose, instead of driving to the nearest shop to have one made for you. Consider not only the cost of the hose, but the time it takes you to get the information to the hose maker, driving there to get it and, most importantly, the amount of time your equipment is unusable without the hose it needs. Sometimes, it’s much longer than just an hour or so, isn’t it? If the hose maker is backed up, it could be a week or more!

In reality, it just makes sense to make your own if you go through enough hoses.

But, how do you know which crimper is right for you?

At Kimball Midwest, we offer three of our own machines to help you get the job done right. The K100, K300 and K500 crimpers have several options that go with them to make the machines work even better for you. But here’s the general rule: The higher you go, the more crimper capability you get. And of course, all our crimpers are made in the USA.

All three of our machines have an open design, which provides excellent operator visibility, and the fully adjustable micrometer allows for a precise crimp. The removable pusher and die cages make it easy to accurately place the fittings into the die.

 

The first in our series of three crimpers gives you 35 tons of crimping force and can handle up to 1" of 2-wire and 3/4" of 4-spiral hose.

The K100 has an LED crimp indicator that illuminates when the optimum stop position has been reached to help prevent over-crimping and crushing hoses.

The K100 can be mounted to a bench or used in mobile applications, easily mounting to truck beds. Weighing just 48 pounds, the mount with built-in handle makes it easy to move if your needs change. It is available with an air/hydraulic pump or with a hand pump.

Our next crimper provides 62 tons of crimping force with hose capacity of up to 1 1/4" 2-wire, 1 1/4" 4-spiral and 1" 6-spiral hose. Like the K100, it can be bench mounted or used in mobile applications.

The K300 offers an adjustable retraction stop, which limits the ram retraction to only the amount required to remove the hose and coupling, saving time on multiple crimps. It also provides an automatic shutoff, which stops the pusher when it reaches the optimum stop position to prevent over-crimping. A pneumatic switch allows hand or foot operation. The crimper has three options for operation, an air/hydraulic pump, a 110 volt electric pump or a 220 volt electric pump.

The final crimper in our line is the most powerful. The K500 doles out 80 tons of crimping force and can handle up to 2" 2-wire, 2" 4-spiral and 1 1/4" 6-spiral hoses. Like the K300, this model offers an adjustable retraction stop.

With its two choices of electric pump operation, the K500 is easy to use. A built-in work lamp allows easy visibility of dies and fittings to ensure an accurate crimp. The K500 can be mounted on a bench or in a truck bed.