• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hose Assembly Tips

Fluid Power Resources for Hose and Hose Assemblies

  • Hose Assembly Blog
  • Industry News
  • Hydraulic hose
    • Rubber
    • Thermoplastic
  • Pneumatic tubing
  • Fittings
    • Hydraulic
    • Pneumatic
  • Couplings
    • Hydraulic
    • Pneumatic
    • Quick-acting
  • Suppliers
  • Design Guides
    • Design Guide Library
    • Hydraulic Valves
    • Electro-Pneumatic Regulators
    • Hydraulic Cylinders
    • Hydraulic Hose Assembly
    • Hydraulic Pumps
    • Pneumatic Actuators

When should you use banjo hose fittings?

May 5, 2022 By Mary Gannon Leave a Comment

By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor

There isn’t much in the fluid power world taking a unique spin on a familiar concept. Pumps, valves and actuators operate and look much the same as decades ago, especially if you ignore electronic advancements. Hydraulic components like the internal gear pump and electrohydraulic actuator are certainly worth your time to learn, but sometimes it’s the everyday applications that surprise you the most.

Banjo Hose fittingsBanjo fittings bring the “why didn’t I think of that?” mind frame to hydraulic hose technology. The bolt, fitting and two washers combine to offer a hydraulic hose end with a 360° range of motion and high-pressure operation. In addition, the cross-drill in the bolt combined with the internal groove in the fittings provides a two-way flow path sealed by the washers regardless of installation direction.

Other hose connections and adaptors may offer permanent or live connections that allow full rotation, but the low-profile advantage of the banjo fitting is hard to beat. In addition, a 90° JIC female hose end allows the technician to connect the hose at any angle or even loosen the fitting to pivot the hose at any time afterward.

One example of minimum installed height compares ½ in. ORB banjo hose end to ½ in. JIC hose end. The banjo assembly comes in at 37.5 mm (about 1.5 in.), while the JIC low profile comes in at over 50 mm (about 2 in.) when you include the hose height.

It should be said that banjo fittings and hose ends find themselves primarily on European and Asian applications, so BSPP and metric are more common thread types. If you’ve done the brakes on your own car, and especially if you’ve had to remove the calipers, you may have found banjo bolts as the fitting of choice for your brake lines.

Like ORB, JIC or NPT, hose end sizes may differ from the fitting size. For example, you may find ¼ in. NPT male on the end of a ½ in. hydraulic hose. However, that combination makes for a less common hose end. Fluid power distributors and hose shops often stock separate ferrules and stems to combine as needed to match the hose size with the fitting size. Stocking one ferrule SKU for each hose ID allows the technician to simply choose the stem with the fitting for their application. Those stems are less expensive than their one-piece counterparts.

Banjo bolts and hose ends seal at the base and the top using crush washers, usually made from copper or bonded seals as the bolt is torqued into the port, which seals each end while locking the fitting in place. However, copper crush washers flatten over time, so some technicians prefer bonded seals using a metal backing with synthetic rubber soft seal in the ID.

The banjo fitting is a rare animal, especially here in North America. However, banjo fittings are functional and versatile, so they deserve more attention from technicians and designers. I see them especially useful as workports in cylinders and motors, where their slim profile offers up a clean installation.

You may also like:

  • While still useful, NPT fittings or pipe threads, should no longer be used in fluid power applications because better designs exist for leak-tight, contamination-free sealing.
    Why you should avoid NPT fittings
  • Brennan flange fittings and components for hydraulic systems.
    How to find the right fittings for your hydraulic system
  • Holmbury flat-face couplings
    What should you know when specifying quick couplings?
  • Thread-measurement-feature
    How do you identify fitting thread types?
  • Figure 1. Hydraulic hose assembly sizes
    What measurements are required for hose assembly sizes?
  • fittings and adapters - image from tompkins
    What’s the difference between fittings and adapters?

Filed Under: Featured, Fittings, Hose Assembly Blog

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe

Fluid Power World Digital Edition

Fluid Power World Digital Edition

Browse the most current issue of Fluid Power World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading design engineering magazine today.

Follow Paul on Twitter

Tweets by @wtwh_paulheney

Follow Mary on Twitter

Tweets by @DW_MaryGannon

Footer

Hose Assembly Tips

FLUID POWER WORLD NETWORK

  • Fluid Power World
  • Mobile Hydraulic Tips
  • Pneumatic Tips
  • Sealing and Contamination Tips
  • Fluid Power Distributor Lookup

HOSE ASSEMBLY TIPS

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Advertise with us
  • About us
Follow us on Twitter  Add us on Facebook  Follow us on LinkedIn  Follow us on YouTube  Follow us on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy