Cause of Hose Failure

Do your hose assemblies fail prematurely or need constant repair? Many factors, some more obvious than others, may be the cause of a hose failure.

To determine the cause of hose failure, several potential issues must be reviewed, including internal, external, and installation factors.  Here are some of the factors that can cause premature failure:

• Hose is installed in a twisted or stressed position, or it is too short
• Internal or external temperature is causing the hose to deteriorate
• Pressure is too high at elevated temperature (see our post on temperature)
• Hose is hanging or bent after the coupling, or has too much stress at the end coupling
• Excessive weathering, ozone, hot dry air, or oil exposure causes damage to the cover
• Media being conveyed through the hose is not compatible with the hose material
• Pulsations or spikes in pressure can cause additional stress on the hose
• Hose is not secured and pressure or high vacuum causes it to twist or bounce
• If unused hose inventory has aged or weathered, new hoses from same stock may fail quickly

All hose will wear out of the course of normal use and needs to be replaced eventually. Prevent potential injury and reduce downtime and damage to equipment by replacing hose prior to its failure. Inspect hose assemblies and all connections regularly and remove from service if there are signs of wear. Educate all operators to use, store, and handle hose properly.