Saw a trick at an MRO hangar in Phoenix last month

I was down at a Southwest maintenance base in Phoenix and noticed a mechanic using a zip tie trick to hold fuel line clamps open during a filter swap. Never seen that before, it saved him like 20 minutes of wrestling. Has anyone else picked up a weird hangar hack from just wandering around other shops?

2 comments

2 Comments

susanm228d ago

Whoa, wait, a zip tie to hold fuel line clamps open? That sounds like a major safety risk to me, honestly. I mean, if that zip tie snaps or pops off while they're working, you've got raw fuel spilling everywhere in a hot hangar. Not trying to be a Debby Downer, but that trick sounds like it could turn a 20 minute job into a big problem real fast. Has anyone ever had a zip tie fail on them like that?

fiona_nelson518d ago

The zip tie isn't actually holding the clamps open by itself. It's a common trick where you put the zip tie around the fuel line slip it over the clamp so it just keeps the clamp from fully closing. The clamp still has enough tension to stay put even if the zip tie breaks. I've seen guys do this for years and never had one snap during a job. The bigger risk is forgetting to remove the zip tie before you button everything back up. That's the part where you actually get fuel everywhere.