Burst hose...a common occurrence?

[AJen01]

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.

Sorry, no photo. It was a rental so unfortunately I don't have any info about age or condition.

 

[Compressor]

It was a rental so unfortunately

Well that may have a lot to do with it then. Good news: You did not have to bear the cost of a replacement.

I have what @Akimbo mentioned as well. Still carry 2-3 hoses since I am picky as to their length.

 

[Joris Vd]

I've seen hoses develop knicks with people that have the DIR doubles configurations with fixed first stages with angled ports (Apeks DS4, Aqualung Legend, Mares 52x, SP MK17 ) or any similar fixed four port style reg. This put unnecessary stress on the primary inflator and on the necklaced secondary regulator. I feel like it definitely shortens the lifespan of the hose, but I have not see a real 'burst' yet.

 

[PatW]

My dive buddy had a partially blown hose. He was able to get back to the boat and do a safety stop. I have only seen it once in 800 dives.

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

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

Hello Adam, I have seen several burst hoses over the years that I have been in the Industry. Here is a little bit of science for you in regards to both high pressure and low pressure hoses.

 

[Jonny Wishbone]

i heard a sharp pop on a dive one time, or more of a snap behind my head. it was the HP hose. later i learned it was the rubber on the outside of the hose that bubbled and then popped. finished the shallow dive looking like the aerator in the bottom of a fish tank as there were about 5 or 6 of the tiny pin holes venting air.

 

[broncobowsher]

One that recently went. 30 year old reg that had sat in a closet forever. Pressurized it to see if anything was good and the good looking rubber hose wasn't so good on the inside.

Seen several hoses (usually HP) where they start sweating air.

My spares only include 1 LP regulator hose. But I keep a BC adaptor on the end of it. That one hose can be used for either a reg or a BC, but if I had a BC hose only it would only be good for a BC.

 

[AJen01]

Hello Adam, I have seen several burst hoses over the years that I have been in the Industry. Here is a little bit of science for you in regards to both high pressure and low pressure hoses.

That was really interesting; thank you for sharing. As a recreational diver without any of my own gear there is certainly a lot that I don't know! It's good to know for future reference. The timings match up as well; I was at 20m having just finished my descent and I went from 200 bar to 50 bar in 1-2 minutes (give or take); enough time to swim to my buddy, grab a secondary and then close the tank valve to stop it free flowing. I also wasted a good few seconds because I initially thought it was the boat's engine overhead!