Do You Know These Ways to Improve Hydraulic Hose Safety?

Do You Know These Ways to Improve Hydraulic Hose Safety?

With the widespread use of hydraulic hoses, hydraulic rubber hose Safety and Maintenance is a pressing issue.Damaged hydraulic hoses can pose a serious safety risk to your employees. Additionally, not maintaining your hydraulic hoses properly often results in needing to replace them sooner than necessary, which means you end up spending more. Hydraulic hoses that don't work properly also can impact the productivity of your workers.For all these reasons, hydraulic hose safety and maintenance matters.

Safety is of utmost concern when it comes to hydraulic systems, including the selection process, maintaining and replacing hoses. Although establishing and maintaining a safe work environment might seem like common sense, refreshing associates and employees on the basics will help lessen the risk of catastrophic outcomes. Maintenance routine, leaks, contamination, temperature and pressure ratings are all factors to consider when working with hydraulic equipment. In Hydraulic Systems, Standards Rubber product division consider these seven tips to help you extend the life of your hydraulic hoses:

1.Have a maintenance routine

Checking hoses on a monthly basis is an easy way to catch issues with your hydraulic hose assemblies that may cause larger issues in the future. Creating and strictly following a maintenance plan takes time and will take some getting used to. If you stick with it, frequently checking hoses will prevent your equipment from lengthy and expensive downtime. Hydraulic equipment that is taken care of will likely last longer.

2.Don’t ignore leakage

External leakage means there is something wrong. Never use your hand to locate a leak in a hydraulic line. Because hydraulic fluid—often oil—is highly pressurized, compressed fluid released through a leak can penetrate the skin or eyes, causing severe injury, such as gangrene. Injection injuries from high-pressure hydraulic fluid require immediate medical care.Pressurized hydraulic fluid also presents a considerable fire risk whenever threaded pipe connectors, valve seals and flexible hoses rupture or vibrate loose. This risk is especially high when the machine operates in an environment where ignition sources are constantly present, such as plastics forming, die casting,

3.Replace old or damaged assemblies

Learn to identify potential hazards. Look for cracks, abrasions in the cover, tight bends or twisting. The cover protects the reinforcements (wire or fabric) from weather and environmental hazards such as rocks. If the wire or fabric is exposed, water and debris can adversely affect the reinforcement by either rusting the wire or, in the case of fabric, allowing water to wick into the system and get behind the coupling where it can cause damage. Also check to see if the hose is twisted. Look for any seepage in the area of the coupling or on the hose and any bubbling on the cover.

4.Keep it Clean

Contamination is always a danger during hydraulic rubber hose assembly replacement.Be sure that it has been properly cleaned before putting it on your hydraulic equipment. If the fluid going through your hydraulic hose carries debris, it can wear away the inner tube, eventually leading to another failed hose assembly. Before each use, clean the fittings of your hydraulic hoses. Regularly inspect fittings and clean them as necessary. Otherwise dirt, dust, and debris in fittings can all compromise the performance of your hoses.

5.Maintain the correct temperature

The hydraulic fluid temperature should be within the specified temperature of the hose. The temperature ratings are there for a reason and are different for each hose.  If the fluid temperature rises above the working temperature of the hose, small cracks will form on the inner tube and the hose will lose its flexibility.

6.Don’t exceed pressure ratings 

The pressure ratings of the hydraulic hose should not be exceeded. Although hoses are tested to higher pressures, it is for your safety and the hose life to use as recommended. Using higher pressures than recommended will result in a shorter hose life and potentially dangerous conditions.

7.Compete a hose failure analysis  

If a hose fails, have it tested to see why. You won’t be able to prevent the same issues from happening in the future if you don’t know what caused it in the first place. Fixing the root cause will save a tremendous amount of time and money.