Burst hose...a common occurrence?

[AJen01]

Hi,

As a new user, I'm conscious that this thread doesn't match a lot of the recent content, however, I'm hoping that it is relevant and in the correct place.

I've recently returned from a liveaboard trip in the Mergui Archipelago (Myanmar) where I had my primary hose burst during a dive. This is the first time that I've been involved in, or even witnessed, an incident whilst diving. The incident was chalked up as something that was just 'unlucky'. Is this just 'one of those things' or can I take steps to avoid anything like this in the future beyond inspecting the hose as normal before a dive?

The leak occurred close to the first stage, there was no discernible damage prior to diving, and within the first 5 minutes of the dive it went from completely fine to audibly gushing air...

Thank you in advance for any advice,

Adam

 

[tc]

Not common at all.

I’ve also had a hose burst on me, ONCE, in over 40 years of diving.

Toward the end of a dive, in about 15 feet of water. Really loud bang and then lots of fizzing. (The inner braid of the LP hose held together.)

Also close to the first stage, about 5” of the rubber split from the burst. Scary as hell when it burst but the leak after the initial blowout was slow enough to allow for a safe ascent without having to switch to my redundant air source.

I’m a regulator tech- the hose had been recently inspected during a rebuild and no visible issues were noted (or I’d have replaced it immediately. )

Moral of the story? Keep up with inspections on your gear - but even then Murphy’s law sometimes catches up with you so keep up your practice on the out of air drill.

 

[chrisch]

I've never seen one in 30 years of diving. Generally hoses will show signs of failure where the hose meets the 1st stage by a small bulge. Ironically this is often covered up by so called "protectors". If the hose is misshapen replace it. This is the sort of thing that should be picked up on a service. If you are like me and service less frequently than the annual interval then it is a good idea to check the hoses regularly yourself.

If you couldn't see any problems than you were very unlucky indeed.

 

[Vicko]

It happens to inflator hoses quite often, people bend them at angles that hoses are not ment to be bent. Just last year I have seen 3 hoses blow on inflator tanks. I never seen or heard of a reg hose going boom though, people tend to take better care of those.

 

[happy-diver]

So wash your regs on a tank full of air or be square

 

[DevilEyeDog]

I did not have a burst hose, but I did have it start leaking. Small bubbles were coming from my primary hose. It had just been inspected the week before. I had also just dove with it the day before without any bubbling from the hose. The shop I brought it to said that it's an early signs of weakness and many people don't notice the bubbles. He said hoses burst and it's more common than one thinks. His thought was that hoses should be replaced every 2-3 years because they don't last forever and compared to the cost of a mistake it's worth it.

I can say that I'll be likely replacing mine every few years.

 

[AJen01]

I've never seen one in 30 years of diving. Generally hoses will show signs of failure where the hose meets the 1st stage by a small bulge. Ironically this is often covered up by so called "protectors". If the hose is misshapen replace it. This is the sort of thing that should be picked up on a service. If you are like me and service less frequently than the annual interval then it is a good idea to check the hoses regularly yourself.

If you couldn't see any problems than you were very unlucky indeed.

Thanks everyone for giving a bit more context and advice. In hindsight, it might well have blown under the 'protected' section and then shifted it. If it's quite uncommon I'll try not to worry too much about it. The experience has certainly made me want to invest in my own gear though; at least then the maintenance is within my control.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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[Compressor]

Hi,

As a new user, I'm conscious that this thread doesn't match a lot of the recent content, however, I'm hoping that it is relevant and in the correct place.

I've recently returned from a liveaboard trip in the Mergui Archipelago (Myanmar) where I had my primary hose burst during a dive. This is the first time that I've been involved in, or even witnessed, an incident whilst diving. The incident was chalked up as something that was just 'unlucky'. Is this just 'one of those things' or can I take steps to avoid anything like this in the future beyond inspecting the hose as normal before a dive?

The leak occurred close to the first stage, there was no discernible damage prior to diving, and within the first 5 minutes of the dive it went from completely fine to audibly gushing air...

Thank you in advance for any advice,

Adam

Hi Adam:
Do you happen to have a picture of the hose you can post?
Where the hose burst is common location for this event. How old was the hose? Was it under lots of stress prior or during the event. Sounds like the hose is made of rubber and it was not in good condition.

I always carry 3 spare hoses with me: Inflator hose, Hi Pressure hose for SPG, and one for the regulator.

Is this a rare occurrence? No. I've seen it happen when least expected or desired.

 

[Akimbo]

I always carry 3 spare hoses with me: Inflator hose, Hi Pressure hose for SPG, and one for the regulator.

I converted all my wing and drysuit hoses to LP regulator hoses with an adaptor like this one:
EZ-ON Adapter: Turns LP Reg Hose into BC/Drysuit Inflator Hose

This method also allows you to separate hose and QD failures. It is easier to get regulator hoses in remote locations than hoses with QDs that fit your inflators. I do carry spare adapters on expedition dives since they are not widely available.