James O’Mahony’s background is in agriculture, and a quick repair gadget he invented initially for farming machinery is what brought him make an acquaintance with the fishing industry.
“I come from a dairy farming background and have been into machinery since I learned to walk,” he said, explaining that the King Coupling idea came about after he had driven two hundred miles during a harvest season in Australia to repair a hydraulic hose.
“That was using an old reusable system, and it blew off again after twenty minutes,” he said.
This was the trigger that prompted him to design something better, coming up with a three-piece fitting that can be fitted to a blown hose in minutes.
Once the blown hose has been cut off clean, the first section is screwed onto the end, turned anti-clockwise, after which a toothed insert is placed inside, and the outside casing is screwed into place and an allen key used to tighten everything up, which spreads the teeth inside to grip the hose securely.
“That’s the difference,” he said. “Instead of squeezing the pipe, it expands inside, pushing the walls out into the casing. Everyone who has used it has been delighted,” he said, commenting that the King Coupling is good for up to 20,000psi and they have been tested in re-use fifteen times with no problems.
“You can leave it on there as long as you want. Or you can replace the hose and drop the Coupling back in your toolbox for the next time you need it. Everyone should have a couple of these on board ready to use. Downtime costs money. This takes five minutes to fit and then you’re back to work.”
