Fix a Broken Retractable Air Hose Reel
by NigelP14 in Workshop > Repair
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Fix a Broken Retractable Air Hose Reel
A factory neighbour asked me to try to fix their retractable air reel – you know, the ones that you can never work out how to lock after you have pulled some hose out?
Off With It's Lid
After unscrewing the fixed swivel hose, removing a circlip, and removing the cover, it became obvious the clock spring end had broken – where the 90° bend is.
What Do You Do, With a Broken Clock Spring?
I have tried to bend new hooks on these flat springs before (heating with blow torch) without much success.
Spring is 25mm x 1.6mm section. I was about to measure the length and look on eBay for a new spring, until I looked at the other end, where they have a pin through two holes to form a loop (no photo, you can just see it in the previous step's)
A Cheap Fix
Aha! I can bodge up a solution. First, clamp the spring in place to stop it unwinding, then grind a hole using a Dremel™-like tool
Clamp the Spring
Now there is a hole, a saddle clamp can be used with it to keep the spring in place.
If I didn't have one, either some wire wrapped around the axle, or a cable tie might work.
Spring Is Sprung!
Bend the clamp, so a bolt can hold the spring in the slot. M4 cap screw, some washers and 2 nuts - one to lock against the other. Then re-assembly:
- Cover on, circlip back, swivel hose back in
- Take retaining stop off the air hose
- Give the wheel/drum a turn backwards to tension the spring
- Feed hose through the nylon guides, and put the retaining stop back on.
Clamped the whole thing to something solid, and gave a few test pulls on the hose. Tension seemed OK. Returned fixed reel to its owner. It should last another 5 or 10 years!
Note that the saddle clamp I used in there isn't very strong, but I don't think it needs to be. Pulling the hose should lock the spring on the sides of the little slot in the axle. That's why a cable tie might even work.