How often do you change your hoses?

[Eric Sedletzky]

I'm just curious as to how often people change out the hoses on their regs, both HP and LP.
I have a box full of odd and end hoses of many types and lengths just from being in diving for several years and from collecting regs and accessories in some form.
I was going through stuff to put together a few units and came accross many old hoses I've pulled off very old regs and the hoses appeared to be in OK shape, but are they really?. I found one HP hose that had a crack in the outer rubber covering. I got to thinking that I have no idea how old many of these spare hoses are and many of them seem stiff like the rubber is hardening.
I know they are wound inside with kevlar thread but what about long term fatigue?
I could see unexpected hose bursting from neglected hoses being a real safety issue at depth, probably more likely than an actual reg failure.
I was standing right there once when an HP hose blew up on my buddies rig. We were setting up in a parking lot getting ready to go out diving. It sounded like a shotgun blast. In fact it sounded so much like a gun shot that my ears were ringing and it got the local sheriff there within a few minutes.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Great question Eric. I also have a box of "old" hoses.

I had a HP hose let go when I when I was doing initial testing before rebuilding an old regulator bought on ebay. The funny thing is I had very carefully inspected the hoses before putting the reg on a tank because it was approximately 30 years old and did appear to have the original hoses.... but the hose appeared to be in great shape, could almost have passed as a new hose.... yet it failed (did not burst like your friend's hose, just a very loud hiss).

I'm interested in what the "usual suspects" think.

Prior to the incident above I would have said if it looks good on close inspection, no problem.... now I think that you do need to consider age. I still think hoses can go for a VERY long time, and I'd have no problem with hoses that are 10 -15 years old.... but when should I change them?

Good question.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Yeah, I mean just for semi cheap insurance, would it be prudent to change hoses every 6 to 10 years whether they need it or not?
So depending on what type and how many, most people would spend probably between $150 - $200 to swap out all hoses.
Maybe that should be part of a standard regimen? Just like the aircraft industry, stuff gets changed out as a pre-emtive measure to avoid disaster.

 

[dmoore19]

Are HP hoses more prone to failure than LP hoses?

Is the failure rate tied to the number of times the hose is subjected to being pressurized along with age? The reason I ask is that it seems that most of the stories I have heard have the hose failing when it is initially pressurized.

 

[Tortuga68]

Poll is flawed, needs When they have a problem/fail options

 

[Bob DBF]

I had to go for never because I don't change hoses because they are old.

I change the hoses because I don't like the length, they show cracks splits or wear I as a problem, or they start to leak. I dare say I have used hoses that are 20 years or more old. The hoses on my double hose reg are original from 1963, it's not used much and taken care of well.

To toss you a bone, the hoses on my pony are a few years old and if I was going to switch out a hose for age, they would be the ones.


Bob
-----------------------------------------------
I swear its not hoarding dear, I'm just keeping an adequate stock of equipment and parts. It's life support, you know.

 

[Akimbo]

I have used a couple of hoses for 15-20 years without a problem. I do inspect them under pressure before leaving on a dive trip.

My guess is it depends more on how they are handled than elapsed time. It has been a long time since cotton fiber was used for reinforcement. Look at how long hydraulic hoses on industrial machines go between failures... often decades.

Happy Birthday America

 

[mathauck0814]

... whenever they appear to be on their way out. For some hoses that are bent at more extreme angles (like short high pressure hoses or infation hoses for drysuits) that's every year or 18 months, for others (like 7 foot hoses or other second stage suppliers) whenever they appear to be cracking or bubbling... which is a whole lot less often.

I think part of the issue is an understanding of the anatomy of the hose and where they fail. So far as I can tell (not based on science, just observation) hoses have two problems:

1) at the end where hardware is interfaced with the hose. Especially on LPI hoses, this seems to be a consistent point of failure.
2) Beneath the rubber coating in the metal mesh air begins to seep and creates a bubble.

Both of these problems seem to be more prevalent in hoses where I've got 90-180 degree bends in the routing than in those which are allowed to route more naturally.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

When I first started diving I naturally had the LDS put together my first reg set since that's just what people did who were taking OW. I didn't know anything then.
They put hose protectors on each hose coming out of the first stage. I suppose I paid extra for them, I don't really know.
A few years later when I became a little DIY savvy I started moving stuff around to find a better configuration. I decided to pull back the hose protectors to check the hose underneath. To my surprise every one of the hoses was cracked right where it met the metal collar.
I went and bought new hoses right away and decided to leave off the hose protectors so I could keep an eye on the ends a little easier. It's never happened since. I don't know if it happened while trying to pull the protector back or what?
I know other people who have had really bad luck with hose protectors.

---------- Post added July 4th, 2014 at 04:34 PM ----------

Poll is flawed, needs When they have a problem/fail options

I figured that went without saying.

 

[KeithG]

Since the poll does not have the "when they have a problem" option I choose never.

Our regs are over 20 years old. We have only replaced 1 lp hose due to failure (small leak at second stage end).

At this point, It likely makes sense to replace the rest of the hoses as well.

But I think people that replace hoses yearly "just in case" are being a bit foolish. Maybe that "new" hose they just bought is older than the one it replaced?