How do you protect Hydraulic Hoses?
-Hose Sleeve Dubai
Modern hydraulic hoses are tougher than ever before resulting in longer service period of the hoses before they need replacement. Moreover with newer and ever expanding variety of abrasion and wear resistant cover materials that resist heat, sunlight and chemicals providing even more protection and helping extend the hose life even more in some of the most challenging environments. This is where Hose Sleeves can make a huge difference.
Hose sleeves provide an extra level of security and protection from hostile ambient conditions that otherwise may be the reason for early failure of a hose. These sleeves may also help protect the personnel working in close proximity to the hydraulic systems. In case of small leaks in a high pressure hose, the hose sleeves may be able to contain a leak and prevent the leak from grievously injuries. Some special purpose hose sleeves made of thermoplastic material are lightweight, but dense enough to contain oil.
We will take a look at various types of hose sleeves for various applications and the type of extra protection that is needed.
Nylon Sleeves -Nylon sleeve protectors are widely used as they are an inexpensive product that can be used to prevent injuries and reduce clean up time. These simply slide over a hose and are fastened using hose clamps or plastic ties. Used as an extra layer of protection against weathering and general wear and tear, Nylon sleeves also help to minimise spray, absorb and divert leaks from a damaged hose. While the sleeve is not designed to stop a leak, it will stop the fluid from travelling a long distance, as the leaked fluid will saturate the sleeve and drip downwards instead of spraying outward reducing the risks of an injury from any high temperature oil or chemicals in the fluid.
Fire protection sleeves and tapes -These are designed to protect hoses that are used in high temperature environments and even molten splashes. Fire protection sleeves can handle intermittent temperatures of upto 500 degrees. Fire tapes are used to seal the ends of the fire jacket to the hose or even to wrap specific areas of the hose that may be more susceptible to extremely high temperature conditions. While protecting the hose from the external heat, these also prevent the fluids within the hose from over heating due to ambient temperatures.
Spiral Guard hose protectors -Spiral Guards are typically used to protect hoses from external abrasion and are wrapped around a hose. Sometimes they are used to wrap several lengths of hoses together to not only protect the hoses but also manage entire groups of hose assemblies.
Fiberglass and Kevlar hose sleeves – These are premium grade products designed for extreme service applications when none of the above products are suitable. Fiber glass hose sleeves are rated at 1000 degree Fahrenheit while Kevlar hose sleeves are highly resistant to puncture.
In conclusion, hose protection products do an excellent job of protecting the hoses and prolonging its service life. Investing in hose protection products if used effectively after a proper study and evaluation, may help in protecting personnel from dangers, reduce hose replacement costs drastically, reduce down time at clean ups and facilitate quicker hose replacements in case of hose failures.
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