Hydraulic fluid injury

[Eric_Phillips]

I would consider putting that ballistic nylon woven fabric tubing around the hose at every fitting. It would help protect the fitting in general and in failure would break up the fluid jet.
larry

This thread was posted up in the hydraulic forum and someone there also mentioned covering the hoses with the nylon abrasion covers. My question is if this will really be any match to the hydraulic fluid coming out of a small hole? I would be interested in what others think. I just put some new remotes on my fender and the hoses leading to the bulkhead for the rear remotes goes right by my shoulder. The only way these hoses would see abrasion problems is if I tore off the top of the ROPS and ran the tractor upside down so would the nylon cover help or just hide potentially dangerous hoses as they age?

 

[J_J]

This thread was posted up in the hydraulic forum and someone there also mentioned covering the hoses with the nylon abrasion covers. My question is if this will really be any match to the hydraulic fluid coming out of a small hole? I would be interested in what others think. I just put some new remotes on my fender and the hoses leading to the bulkhead for the rear remotes goes right by my shoulder. The only way these hoses would see abrasion problems is if I tore off the top of the ROPS and ran the tractor upside down so would the nylon cover help or just hide potentially dangerous hoses as they age?

I would recommend the covers for several reasons. It bundles the hose and keeps them from flopping about. Although some hose is UV tolerant, the less the better. Anywhere there is abrasion, rubbing, vibration, the covers will give a little more protection. As far as whether the abrasive sleeves would protect in an explosive hyd release, is subject to a lot of variables, but I would think, to some degree, maybe spreading the blast of fluid to attenuate the force. Perhaps you can equate this to a pressure washer nozzle. You have maybe 3000 psi in say a 3/8/tube, but the outlet on the nozzle is very small and spreads the water, and there is another nozzle that has a larger opening, called a bullet nozzle, and directs a stream of water that could rip you shin/muscles open. If I am thinking correctly, where the burst occurred, would be at the end of the crimped fitting, which gets a lot of bending, and protection sleeves usually do cover that area. They could, but you would have to pull back the sleeve to connect and disconnect the tool, or whatever. They also have a thick molded rubber cover for that area, which might have prevented such a wound.

Here they show the spring wound, and total hose protection, and just a short piece to cover the fittings and part of the hose.

http://www.kurthydraulics.com/products.php/category/166

 

[pat32rf]

I believe that in most cases its the pinhole leaks and not the catastrauphic failures that present the most danger. Quite often, when a hose blows, you have pretty well instant pressure loss and you know that there is a problem, especially on our small units. If you have a pinhole however there is not enough flow to cause pressure loss and thats when you start poking around looking for the source of the drip.
I recently had a swing cylinder hose on my hose develop a pinhole. Controls all worked but I noticed fluid on the ground. The hose would only leak when i pulled the valve and I couldn't see the hose from the seat. Then I found where the escaping fluid had peeled the paint off the bottom of the foot rest, down to the shiney metal....

 

[SPYDERLK]

This thread was posted up in the hydraulic forum and someone there also mentioned covering the hoses with the nylon abrasion covers. My question is if this will really be any match to the hydraulic fluid coming out of a small hole? I would be interested in what others think. I just put some new remotes on my fender and the hoses leading to the bulkhead for the rear remotes goes right by my shoulder. The only way these hoses would see abrasion problems is if I tore off the top of the ROPS and ran the tractor upside down so would the nylon cover help or just hide potentially dangerous hoses as they age?

To answer this direct a pinpoint jet of water from a 3kpsi pressure washer at the fabric. Yould want a static jet rather than turbo nozzle type so you could control dwell time. Anybody got such a nozzle and some of that fabric handy?
larry

 

[Charlesaf3]

To answer this direct a pinpoint jet of water from a 3kpsi pressure washer at the fabric. Yould want a static jet rather than turbo nozzle type so you could control dwell time. Anybody got such a nozzle and some of that fabric handy?
larry

I can answer this!

Just had a pinhole leak on the m59 on a hose covered in hose guard fabric. Fabric was soaked, but no penetration. When I pulled hose guard off, and ran the tractor (taking standard precautions) it was a classic high pressure pinhole.

To my mind its a no brainer - use the fabric. Doesn't even cost much if you buy it by the roll - I got mine roll from Tompkins per a rec on this site. I basically put it on all my easily accessible hoses (though on the m59 kubota wraps almost all the hoses in the factory, which tells you something right there)

 

[SPYDERLK]

I can answer this!

Just had a pinhole leak on the m59 on a hose covered in hose guard fabric. Fabric was soaked, but no penetration. When I pulled hose guard off, and ran the tractor (taking standard precautions) it was a classic high pressure pinhole.

Thanks for the direct experience! What pressure was the hose carrying - full relief pressure against a stop or just what it took to lift something?
larry

 

[J_J]

Another similar injury.

Finger that has been lanced in attempt to save the finger and the hand. The injury was caused by a high - pressure injection of hydraulic fluid. If there is a pinhole leak in the hydraulic line and someone runs there hand along it, at 2000 psi, they can easily incur and injection of hydraulic fluid and may not even be aware that it happened until gangrene begins to set in. Use cardboard held above the line to check for leaks.

In addition, used hydraulic is very bad for the human body.

Independent testing revealed large amounts of visible masses. These masses were made up of metal particles, accumulated over time from wear, and soot-like carbon particles formed as the hydraulic oil broke down. Additionally, anti-wear additives in the oil changed form and released their component substances. Due to these breakdown processes and the accumulation of foreign particles, the waste hydraulic oil appeared visibly darker in color.

Specific contaminants identified by the independent laboratory include arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, zinc and other metals. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium and nickel are metals that can cause cancer. Leads propensity to produce a variety of adverse health effects has made this metal a particular focus in regulatory controls of chemical exposures.

Research regarding a number of the identified metals has documented their potential to increase susceptibility to pneumonia-like illnesses and other infections. Many of the same metals have been associated with allergic reactions and the progression of long-term autoimmune illnesses. Particulate matter, such as that found in the waste hydraulic oil, can trigger foreign body reactions that slow wound healing, and its petroleum components can cause irritation to the skin or other tissue.

 

[J_J]

I found the original to the first wound. It is really close up and gross. We don't use this kind of pressure, but any injection into the skin or spray in eyes is bad enough. The PDF takes a while to load.

http://www.apexvfd.org/SafetyAlerts/HydraulicInjectionInjurylearning.pdf

 

[J_J]

And here is another one, and this is not to gross you out, but to make you aware of the dangers of hydraulic fluid.

http://www.lww.com/static/docs/product/samplechapters/978-0-7817-5146-9_Chapter 16.pdf

 

[mjncad]

J.J.:

Thanks for sharing this information. The warnings in the manuals don't even do justice to educate people as to what can happen from these kinds of injuries.