HP Hose failures

[Flycaster]

Recently in one of my threads someone commented on his misfortune of not once but twice having HP hose failure.One was of a catastrophic nature involving the inner hose blowing out and the outer skin failing. The other was with a small pinhole.
Supposedly this was on gear that had undergone regular maintenance by professionals.
Has anyone else here had or known anyone who has had such failures on the HP side?

Are any of you using a HP transmitter only with the SPG eliminated to safegaurd against HP hose fails?

 

[Akimbo]

I put my transmitter on a hose to eliminate that big honker looking like a handle on my first stage. The HP hose is the one you want to fail if you have one though:

(Reprinted by permission)
This table appeared in Life Ending Seconds, 3000 to Zero in 72 Seconds, Advanced Diver Magazine by Curt Bowen​

 

[kelvinbatista]

I have had 2 slight leaky HP hoses, 24" and 6" in my short career. Granted, these were just small bubbles but as soon as I spotted them, they went to the trash. I have become a better diver because of this and do a bubble checks and look out for my buddy.
I'm no snob, but I'm considering purchasing name brand hoses in the future.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The service tech should be examining the hoses for any visible wear, weather checking of the outer cover as well as any wrinkles in the cover near the first stage end. The tech should also be leak testing the finished reg and looking for pin hole leaks and small bubbles while it's in the water.

But a hose that is leak free today may not be leak free tomorrow, and I noticed over the last 32 years I been diving the last 20 years I've been working on regs that hose quality is not what it used to be. Today's hoses are perhaps more flexible, but they don't seem to last nearly as long.

Miflex hoses and braided cover hoses in general give basically no warning before failure, and that adds another element to the problem. On the one hand they hold up better when tight bends are involved in the hose routing, but on the other hand when they fail, they fail with no outward visible warning before hand.

In any event, it's the DIVERS responsibility to conduct the pre-dive inspection and ensure the regulator and hoses are in good shape before each and every dive. It's a good idea to inspect them before each dive trip, and replace If needed, and inspect after ach trip to note any damage so that you can replace it before the next trip.

If you're smart, you'll regard hoses as consumable items and buy your spares in advance, knowing you'll need to replace them eventually. If you do that, you'll have the replacement already on hand, and you won't be tempted to put off replacing a suspect hose.

 

[jlcnuke]

I bought my SPG used and the first time I went diving with it I found it had a pinhole leak in it. Had the hose replaced that afternoon. The pinhole leak obviously impacted my air consumption rates, but I had a lot more air than needed that day anyway and even if it had ruptured I wasn't worried about safety (skill dives in very shallow water). Not sure I would have been comfortable doing the dives if we were going to be at any significant depth though, probably would have cancelled the dives if I couldn't swap out the SPG.

 

[DogDiver]

Stuff happens. That’s why we do a bubble check prior to decent. Found failed hoses at least 5 times. That’s why I carry extra new ones in the truck.

 

[cneal]

On a recent trip Sheila's HP hose started leaking with visible pin hole bubbles down half the hose. It did not impact the dives as she sipps air and was replaced at the end of the day.

Several years ago I had a first stage failure, luckily while I was still on the boat. The second stage free flowed but the octopus exploded (Oceanic slimline) spreading parts around the boat. Luckily all the parts were collected and the octo was rebuilt and is still in use today. In Oceanic's defense I have to say the tank was considerably overfilled.

 

[dlofting]

I've had two HP hoses that started to leak....found out when I tested them before diving. I always have at least one spare HP hose, between myself and my wife.