Kaboom, or why I replace hoses after five years even if they look great.

[2airishuman]

I bought a nice Calypso J regulator on eBay. I like it and was just finishing up servicing it today. The J mechanism works perfectly, the IP is rock solid, it even looks great. I realize no one cares because I already tried to start a thread on that but that's not what this thread is about.

This thread is about hoses.

See, the Calypso J came with hoses. The LP hose was dodgy so I bought a new one from DGX. On the other hand the HP hose looked great, felt great, nice and supple, and so I thought I'd save $30 since everyone on SB tells me I'm nuts for replacing hoses just because they're old, and I was just going to use it for boat maintenance anyway. Besides this is a genuine U.S. Divers hose and everyone supposedly knows that they're better than those cheap hoses that all the on-line dive retailers sell and don't have to be thrown out just because of years. (There was a little corrosion on the ferrule but that can happen very quickly if the chrome gets scratched a little)

It burst with a loud bang that brought my wife from the other end of the house, at all of 1900 PSI, while I was checking the J mechanism.

The moral of the story is that you can't determine the condition of a hose by looking at it or feeling it. I've attached a photo. If you want to see it for yourself, send me your address and maybe a few bucks for postage and I'll send it to you, and then you can hold forth on whether you thought it would blow up in the middle of your dining room under 1900 PSI.

And go through your regs and throw away the dodgy old hoses. New ones are only $30 or whatever at DGX.

 

[caruso]

Its my understanding (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) that if a hose or an O-ring is going to burst, it's almost always going to happen when the system is pressurized, such as in your case, in the comfort of your own home, or prior to a dive. In which case, why not just pack a few hoses in your save-a-dive-bag rather than replace what is probably perfectly good hoses, which can add up to say, 20 or more hoses during a typical diving career?

 

[northernone]

Thanks for sharing. Any estimate how old the hose in question was? The weave of the construction looks peculiar, 1960s?

Yes I take the same lesson, test old equipment prior to use.

I've had a few hoses let go catastrophically while checking over equipment. It's a change when needed item for me. I hate waste particularly, when training has prepared us for handling the inconvenience of the unlikely failure when it does occur.

Perhaps wrongly, I think my odds of getting a new defective hose is worse than sticking with tried and true I'm currently diving.

Unknown new hoses, or unknown old hoses get the same scepticism from me. After 100 dives I start to trust a hose a little more. They seem in their prime as far as my own sense of security after 500 or so.

Cameron

 

[Dan]

Its my understanding (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) that if a hose or an O-ring is going to burst, it's almost always going to happen when the system is pressurized, such as in your case, in the comfort of your own home, or prior to a dive. In which case, why not just pack a few hoses in your save-a-dive-bag rather than replace what is probably perfectly good hoses, which can add up to say, 20 or more hoses during a typical diving career?

Thanks for the tips. I just ordered a spare of my 6yr olds MIFLEX Carbon HD Braided High Pressure Gauge Hose Carbon 30´´

I’m going to wait until the old one blows up, before I replace it.

Wouldn’t it give a tell-tale sign, like tiny bubbles emitting from the old hose, before it bursts?

 

[Storker]

When my HP hose was replaced, it was because it was leaking champagne bubbles along a noticeable part of its length. My LDS told me that modern HP hoses are designed to fail that way, to avoid the "boom" failure mode.

 

[scubadada]

When my HP hose was replaced, it was because it was leaking champagne bubbles along a noticeable part of its length. My LDS told me that modern HP hoses are designed to fail that way, to avoid the "boom" failure mode.

I've had one HP hose fail in just that way too, bunch of microbubbles

 

[johndiver999]

Was that the first time pressurized? You should always test with full pressure. Normally you will see bubbles fizzing or the hose will look rough and you have a pretty good warning of failure. Failure of the HP hose is not that big of a deal anyway - nothing like a LP hose going. I think modern hoses are marked 5,000 psi ?

 

[northernone]

Was that the first time pressurized? You should always test with full pressure. Normally you will see bubbles fizzing or the hose will look rough and you have a pretty good warning of failure. Failure of the HP hose is not that big of a deal anyway - nothing like a LP hose going. I think modern hoses are marked 5,000 psi ?

Yes, the old (50+ year old) industrial hose standards changed in the 70s and at a glance it's possible to tell the 4,000psi hose is the design that can/will rupture catastrophically.

This warning doesn't apply to modern hoses. I've yet to a rubber HP hose pass visual and service testing catastrophically fail during use. The odds are astronomical, while the odds on the old 4,000psi hoses are pretty predictable after 50 years of unknown use and handling. On the other hand, I've has good success with old LP hoses.

I hope those reading this thread consider the environmental impact of unnecessary waste.

Cameron

 

[Compressor]

I've had my hoses explode as above at the very inconvenient times like right before getting off the boat for a reef dive. I always carry spares now (84 in , 1 HP one and one LP regulator hose with this attachment which can be made into an inflator hose). Yes on every dive. I don't want to miss a dive if I don't have to.

Most of the time, I am giving these spares to the less fortunate divers who don't carry them when their hoses burst.

 

[RayfromTX]

I received a bunch of old 60s and early 70s vintage regulators last week, both double hose and single hose. One of the high pressure hoses looks just like the one in your picture but it bulged and didn't burst. I guess tossing it out is recommended? Selling it on eBay as historical display use only wouldn't be cool would it?

Two of the three single hose regs worked fine and breathed great. The third had a free flow. 50 year old hoses and seals and seats still working. Amazing to me. Perhaps common to those that see more of this stuff.

edit to add, I was joking about eBay.