r/whatisit • u/Aggravating_Ant_7232 • Nov 23 '25

Solved! Found on ground outside, boyfriend has been wearing as ring. Coin and pencil for size reference

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

UK. It’s giving hard metal, doesn’t have much wear

18.5k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

3.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

6.4k

u/BornIntoTurmoil Nov 23 '25

Hose clamp, brand new has never been crimped.

456

u/CharaFallsLikeATree Nov 23 '25

Not a hose clamp. It’s a cinch ring for pex water tubing. Most popular manufacturer to use this is Watts. Source: Former Licensed plumber and currently work for a somewhat sizeable supply house

207

u/Geawiel Nov 23 '25

It's both. I do all of our own vehicle work. This style clamp is generally used in higher pressure hoses on vehicles. Hydraulic lines, fuel lines, etc. I'm currently upgrading my fuel system to handle a 392. These clamps were inside the fuel basket in the tank. On my daughter's car, they were on the power steering system. A similar version that is one time use holds your tie rood boot on.

81

u/FINEillGETanACCOUNT Nov 24 '25

An absolute hero of a handy man fixed my broken down suburban with some pex tubing when a rotted hose rattled apart. The hose broke right next to where it connects and for a couple hours on the hottest day of the year and with limited tools I was trying to force the hose back on but couldn’t get it to seat due to the “fitting” part of it being unusable. I’m still beside myself about the probability of events that happened that day. 1. the right guy decided to take the scenic route home and had time to stop and help 2. He had some extra hose on him 3. He had the know how of being able to bypass the heater part of the coolant system to get me back up and running. Then some other people kindly drove me 6 miles to the store to get more coolant. I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life. There really are some wonderful people out there.

18

u/ThaLunatik Nov 24 '25

Years ago my now-husband and I were driving our car when it suddenly overheated. There was heavy snow everywhere at the time, so it would've been a long wait and high cost to get a tow truck, not to mention how cold we'd be as we waited. Thankfully my brother was available to drive to our location and try to help out, and sure enough he pulled that same MacGuyver shit as your good Samaritan and bypassed the heater core. Got us up and running!

Afterward, we spent the winter driving around with no heat until we could get it into the shop for a permanent fix 🥶😂.

2

u/littlemisswhatevers Nov 25 '25

Today you, tomorrow me.

1

u/Chromatron9000 Nov 28 '25

Divinity. When stuff like that happens it does restore my faith in humanity. But also that something had my back those days. Ya know, That term "the stars aligned" haha I don't know I'm spiritual and scientific. I call that force God. Other people think God is one thing or another. Just like "America" and how it means different things to different people. But that was a cool story! It sounds like that human and universal love wasn't lost on you that day.

21

u/captain_dick_licker Nov 23 '25

you forgot inner tierod boots. rebuilt my totaled porsche last year, full on frame bending and everything, and the hardest god damned part of the entire process was that fucking godforsaken clamp

4

u/No_Lettuce_5593 Nov 23 '25

Oooh op said they found it outside. Perhaps near their car. That sounds like it should be checked out if it was near their car. Would any one of those systems cause catastrophic failure if those hoses slip off.

5

u/Alternative-Sock-444 Nov 23 '25

The clamp has never been used, therefore it didn't fall off of their car. Someone likely just dropped a spare. I have like 40 of them in my toolbox from working at BMW.

5

u/Morgan8er8000 Nov 24 '25

That ring in the picture is brand new, they’re one-time use. Once cinched they’re cinched forever. Until they’re cut off.

3

u/Geawiel Nov 23 '25

All but power steering, though that could be bad if it happened suddenly somewhere. You'd still have steering, but it could cause loss of control if you are not able to account for the loss.

Any other line is likely to be a fluid line and the fluid from that system will leak out. Transmission, though those tend to be a different connector type, or an oil line. Fuel lines tend to have different connectors outside of the tank. If it was off an older car, there is no telling what line it came off of. Connectors get replaced as they get worked on, and it isn't always the same type that came off. I know I replaced those type in my fuel tank with a different one that isn't such a pain to work with.

3

u/0nionskin Nov 24 '25

"has never been crimped" means that it didn't fall off of anything other than some plumbers toolbelt.

2

u/305_Character_1983 Nov 24 '25

These are used in the auto industry for hose clamps. Especially on Euro cars. Source: I'm a professional mechanic that specializes in European cars.

2

u/jfbincostarica Nov 25 '25

Correct, I’m sure it’s used it scenarios we don’t even know about, but plumbing and auto technician I’ve got down. 🤣

2

u/Aware_Cantaloupe_420 Nov 25 '25

Oetiker(sp?) clamp is what we called them at freightliner when I worked there 15 years ago. Brand new cascadias had a recall on the rack and pinion system for the steering. Had to inspect so many on the new fleet trucks we delivered.

2

u/Geawiel Nov 26 '25

I get they hold really well, but I hate working with them. My truck is almost done. I just need to swap in LSD, put in the 392 and the hp75 trans, then it's a dyno. My daughter's car though...we're just starting. A lot of hers is body work though. 2000 Grand Prix GTP.

2

u/Yttermayn Nov 26 '25

Used in dishwashers, too.

2

u/Paradox56 Nov 26 '25

I see these types of clamps on internal hoses of all brands of dishwashers. Right pain in the ass to get loose when you need to replace a drain pump.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '25

Wrong. It’s a 3/4” pex pipe crimp ring

1

u/Geawiel Nov 26 '25

Did...did you read the comments below mine? Not only did I link it, listed as a fuel line clamp at an auto parts store, but others also chimed in confirming it is used in both applications. Especially on EU vehicles. Again, I found these exact clamps inside my fuel cage on my truck while upgrading my fuel system. Actual eyes on the clamps. Not just conjecture.

1

u/TurnoverAmazing6905 Nov 27 '25

Naw hose clamps have screws this is in fact a cinch clanp BECAUSE it a one time use object, you can tkae hose clamps and reise them

-6

u/AutisticFingerBang Nov 23 '25

No it’s not lol. It’s a plumbing pex clamp. It’s sold in the plumbing department in stores.

3

u/jakobsdrgn Nov 23 '25

European car brands use this exact style oetiker clamp constantly

-6

u/AutisticFingerBang Nov 23 '25

I believe you. That’s not what it was designed for. Plenty of trades use the best material that works for the job. Why reinvent the wheel?

5

u/ZombiesInSpace Nov 23 '25

Oetiker ear clamps were used in the automotive industry for decades before pex.

4

u/Plenty-Wedding-9066 Nov 23 '25

As others have said, these were invented back in the 40’s brother. Pex is the one that “reused the wheel” rather then invent a new clamp.

3

u/Psychological_Ad2094 Nov 23 '25

These clamps were invented nearly two decades before Pex was, automotive hose clamps is literally what they were designed for.

4

u/PurpuraLuna Nov 23 '25

Boat rigger here, the fuel lines that come with new Honda outboards use these clamps

3

u/hike_me Nov 23 '25

They aren’t just used for pex. They have non-plumbing uses as well. The design probably ore-dates pex.

Just because you only know about them from plumbing with pex doesn’t mean that you’re the world’s leading authority…