When to replace the hoses

[Xplorer]

My hoses have begun to look scary. The outer rubber is starting to dry rot and peel off. It's showing a weaved type casing under the rubber outer layer. The hoses are not leaking atm, but not sure what to think. How do you know when it's time? I would hate to have it give out while trying to lift or move something. It is a LA350 loader on my Kubota tractor.

 

[DT86]

We only replace when they actually bust, I'm sure there are many others like that.

 

[Loadstar]

Go till they blow.

 

[brain55]

We only replace when they actually bust, I'm sure there are many others like that.

Pretty much, I make and sell hoses and I don't replace hoses until they bust or start leaking either. Most of my customers would give me the green light to do it too.

Brian

 

[wdchyd]

The outer rubber is there to protect the steel wire reinforcement braid...if the wire braid is worn through and you feel raw edges of broken wire then change them right away....if the wire is not chaffed or rusted bad then keep an eye on them, they will eventually fail when you are lifting something really heavy and working it hard when they rust

 

[Gary Fowler]

I only replace when leaking or burst. If it is just the outer rubber, a double layer of electrical tape followed by one of the split type wiring protectors will keep the weather and sunlight from further destroying the hose. The outer rubber has no involvement with holding pressure or strength of the hose. WDCHYD pretty much explained the hoses and when to change. If you are storing your tractor outdoors, it might be a good idea to put some of the wire protectors on all the hoses to help slow down the sunlight damage to them

 

[LD1]

Ditto as others have said.

Go til they blow or leak.

Unless of course you are in business with the machine and the downtime as a result would outweigh the cost of the hoses...

 

[Xplorer]

Thanks for the response. Feel better now & will wrap in tape this weekend when I go up to the property.

 

[newbury]

Same concern - Is there an online place recommended for getting replacement hoses?

"Go till they blow" sounds good, but having a replacement sitting on the shelf in the shed sounds even better. Because I'm sure they only blow on a late Friday afternoon before a long weekend.

 

[LD1]

Same concern - Is there an online place recommended for getting replacement hoses?

"Go till they blow" sounds good, but having a replacement sitting on the shelf in the shed sounds even better. Because I'm sure they only blow on a late Friday afternoon before a long weekend.

discounthydraulichose.com is a site sponser here and has good prices.

Sometimes hoseinahurry.com is a tad cheaper, but dont have as much selection.

Also, surplus center has good prices for standard lengths hoses with common ends. But no custom stuff. 6" increments up to 3' and 1' increments after that. But if you can make one of their pre-made hoses work, its hard to beat the price anywhere.

 

[PILOON]

Same concern - Is there an online place recommended for getting replacement hoses?

"Go till they blow" sounds good, but having a replacement sitting on the shelf in the shed sounds even better. Because I'm sure they only blow on a late Friday afternoon before a long weekend.

Many operators I know keep a spare or 2, generally a one size fits all, eg one of the longer hoses that in a pinch can replace itself as well as everything shorter. Some carry 2 sizes + a coupling so that in effect they have 3 emergency sizes.

 

[muddstopper]

Whenever I blow a hose at work, I usually buy two. A replacement and a spare. When you have a crew of men standing around waiting for you to fix a hose, the labor cost can easily out cost the hose. For my own equipment, I run till she blows, but then its only me waiting to get the hose fixed. I also save blown hoses from work. I will cut off the blown end and throw it on a shelf when I get home. Lot cheaper to replace one end than buy a complete new hose.

 

[JimRB]

The auto parts up the street makes hoses. Lots of auto parts stores open on Sunday but no one seems to be trained on how to make hoses. Last time I blew a hose I had one made. Two days later I had a spare made. Now I wonder where I placed that new hose.

 

[troutsqueezer]

My hoses went at around the 10 year mark. i actually had two hoses go inside of 15 minutes of each other. A month later, two more hoses. I replaced all of them at that point.

 

[TomSeller]

. Because I'm sure they only blow on a late Friday afternoon before a long weekend.

Correct, or just before the crop needs to be harvested.

 

[John Pham]

normally hose produce with 1:4 safety factor. No indicator in the hose life cycle. It will be replaced when occur leakage or hose burst. Make sure the fitting & hose crimp come from same manufacturer, correct installtion, suitable temperature. hose life can be 6000 hrs or 3 years.

Eaton are lunching the Life sense hose with sensor integrated, it will send the signal to your monitoring device (black berry, laptop) to inform you about hose health. It give you time to prepare for replacement.

 

[CJONE]

Depends on a lot of things. The quality of the hose to begin with. My 4 wire braid hoses on my 1984 d3 are still all original hoses with no signs of failing. Hoses are rated on impulse life along with other things. With hoses you get what you pay for just like most everything else. A 500,000 impulse life hose is generally quite a bit cheaper than a 1 million impulse hose is. I will not sell the cheaper stuff anymore too many failures after a few years. I also will not sell 1 wire braid for pressure lines anymore either. The cover gets tore up and the braid rusts the hose will blow under the next pressure spike. 2 wire will last a lot longer under these conditions. I have actually converted a lot of 1" 2 wire applications to 4 wire just for the durability. CJ

 

[J_J]

Most folks can not replace hoses on a regular schedule.

Not only is it to expensive, it is impractical.

Sometimes it is obvious when to replace a hose, and sometimes a new looking hose will burst.

Can you judge when the hose will burst, probably not.

You might keep on hand some extra hose and REUSEABLE HOSE COUPLING/self installed fittings for those emergencies.

Years ago I had a hyd wheel motor blow a hose, and left me rolling backwards into a creek. It happen so fast that I could not think to apply the brake. Lucky for me a tree saved me from rolling into the creek.

It was a week day and I had tools and removed the hose and had a new hose made and then installed and finished up the days work.

 

[wdchyd]

Another thing I notice is an old hose that looks completely fine, then gets removed and/or bent out of it's natural state for other repairs will blow fairly quickly cuz the rubber over time takes a set and doesn't like it when it's bent backwards.....it may be the next one to blow out

 

[DJNebraska]

Ask your hose assembly supplier or hose and hose end supplier if the hose and hose end combination is matched. There are a lot of seemingly reputable suppliers around that are, in fact, not matched. Burst testing alone does not constitute a matched system.

Matching is an involved process that tests not only burst pressure but impulse cycles. JCONE is right. 1,000,000 impulse cycles is a good test. It can take weeks to test just one combination of hose and hose end. That's why many do not take the time to do it right.

Don't be afraid to ask for testing proof if you have doubts about the origins of your assembly, or hose and hose ends that you are crimping yourself. You might be surprised to find that your supplier does not have the documentation that proves that you are using a safe and dependable product. If you make hydraulic hose assemblies and sell them to the general public you ought to have the peace of mind that you are not putting inferior and unsafe products into your customers hands. Let alone any liability concerns you may or may not have.