Still Kicking
Contributor
Something is definitely wrong. Hoses are tough and last years not months.
Hoses Keep Breaking
- Thread starter DivingHeadFirst
- Start date
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Tanks A Lot
Contributor
A regulator failure causing damaged hoses is all but impossible. The high pressure hose for your console should not be damaged by those tiny pressures it sees. It is rated to at least four times as much and a tensile strength of at least 1000N.
Your LP hose has an axial tensile strength of at least 250N at the connectors, a minimum burst pressure of 100bar and a minimum leakage pressure of either 30bar or twice the pressure of the safety valve (Most of the time that is the downstream second stage), whichever is higher.
The LP hose can in theory be damaged quite easily by the pressures involved, but the design of regulators mostly negate this. This could be an issue if you have a upstream second stage, e.g. certain Poseidons. Your dive shop should be wise enough to identify this very quickly and seeing as you use Atomic, this is a non issue.
While hoses do break, it is a rather rare occurrence. Oftentimes, although not always, hoses which are old or abused are the ones breaking.
I do remember a batch of high pressure hoses I bought from a factory which all were faulty. Their crimping process was too harsh and that broke a tiny stem inside the hose end. Another time a manufacturer used a bad batch of base material which made the hoses a lot less strong, making them rupture prematurely. How this was not caught in QC is beyond me - Both times I got 100s of hoses replaced from them.
I do want to dispel one myth, which was:
The amount of air you lose through a leaking HP hose is usually very very little. A completely broken HP hose is not allowed to leak more than 100 litres per minute for example. A hose which bubbles a little will cost you a few bar at most.
To me it sounds like you got a bad batch of hoses, nothing else.
Your LP hose has an axial tensile strength of at least 250N at the connectors, a minimum burst pressure of 100bar and a minimum leakage pressure of either 30bar or twice the pressure of the safety valve (Most of the time that is the downstream second stage), whichever is higher.
The LP hose can in theory be damaged quite easily by the pressures involved, but the design of regulators mostly negate this. This could be an issue if you have a upstream second stage, e.g. certain Poseidons. Your dive shop should be wise enough to identify this very quickly and seeing as you use Atomic, this is a non issue.
While hoses do break, it is a rather rare occurrence. Oftentimes, although not always, hoses which are old or abused are the ones breaking.
I do remember a batch of high pressure hoses I bought from a factory which all were faulty. Their crimping process was too harsh and that broke a tiny stem inside the hose end. Another time a manufacturer used a bad batch of base material which made the hoses a lot less strong, making them rupture prematurely. How this was not caught in QC is beyond me - Both times I got 100s of hoses replaced from them.
I do want to dispel one myth, which was:
The amount of air you lose through a leaking HP hose is usually very very little. A completely broken HP hose is not allowed to leak more than 100 litres per minute for example. A hose which bubbles a little will cost you a few bar at most.
To me it sounds like you got a bad batch of hoses, nothing else.
OMyMyOHellYes
Contributor
^^^ What he said ^^^ The outer hose casing is there to protect the inner hose more than anything.
Noted a few of those little champagne bubbles happen to me on a boat in Bonaire early on in my dive career (probably around the 20-25 dive mark). I started freaking out when I first saw them and scratched the dive, but got in the water on the next dive and had another diver check it out reporting no bubbles. Checked a few times on that dive with no problem. Later figured it just the inner hose expanding when first pressurized squeezing out the little tiny, minuscule air that resulted when the hose was last depressurized and the inner hose contracted a tiny bit more than the outer one... If you check along the length you will see the tiny tiny perforations.
I was curious so I just checked my regulator bags. All of my newest most-recently-upgraded miflex high pressure hoses (thinner carbon black color) all have "MFX 2022" stamped on the fitting on the side of 1st stage side of the hose. Is that year of manufacturer perhaps?
DogDiver
Contributor
If your Miflex hoses are stamped with manufacturer info and dates, they are junk counterfeits. True Miflex hoses are laser etched with manufacturer information. This was done to avoid confusion with all the made in china counterfeits being sold online. DAN has an article co authored by me on this issue.
joebob24
Contributor
One of the major brands just had a manufacturing issue with their HP hoses recently. I can't remember which one it was at the moment. I would have your LDS check with the manufacturer to make sure they aren't seeing this issue on lots of hoses. I had one go after 3 months and the LDS I got it from said they had 5 or 6 from the same batch that did the same thing. I was a little angry that they didn't make any effort to let anyone know that the hoses had been having issues, but at least the one they replaced it with has made it 4 months with no issues so far.
Tanks A Lot
Contributor
OMyMyOHellYes
Contributor
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