Be meticulous!
“Good enough” – A saying often said to justify mediocrity. We’ve all been guilty of neglecting detail. After all, if it fits, why does it matter?
Installing a hose incorrectly often results in reduced service life and possibly injury. When making or installing a hose assembly…
- Avoid using components that are dirty, cracked, blistered, kinked, or non-conformant in any other way
- Avoid installing hoses in such a way that they will be re-oriented in any unnatural way during use, such as being stretched or twisted
- Avoid using sections of a hose that have been kinked during unpacking or installation
- Avoid re-using a field-attachable fitting that has pulled off or blown off a hose
- Avoid applying a twisting or torquing motion to a hose when tightening fittings, or allow twisting or torquing to occur during installation or when the assembly is in use
- Avoid installing hoses near any metal edges or too close to any other hoses
- Never forget that fluids that come in contact with hot surfaces, such as flames or sparks could ignite an explosion
- Never complete an installation without eliminating all air entrapment and pressurizing the system to a pressure equal to or less than the maximum working pressure of the assembly’s weakest link
- Never allow tensile loads, side loads, kinking, flattening, abrasion, thread damage, or sealing surface damage to impede the proper installation and use of a hose assembly
- Never exceed the minimum bend radius specified in the hose specification tables
- Never mix and match; it’s important that the hoses and fittings come from the same manufacturer and is assembled using the recommended equipment, components and procedures
- Never position the hose next to any heat sources. Increasing the temperature above the maximum operating temperature in a significant reduction of service life.
- Allow for length changes when the hose becomes pressurized. Hydraulic hoses can elongate up to 2% or contract up to 4% depending on construction
You should also ask your yourself…
- Are there any twists in the hose?
- Are any hoses rubbing against each other or against other components?
- Have you left sufficient slack?
- Have you allowed for system vibration?
- Is the hose protected against heat, sparks, or open flames?
- Is the hose protected against kinking?
- Is the hose protected against abrasion or chafing?
