So any hoses not etched by Laser are NOT genuine Miflex?
Problem with generic braided hoses
- Thread starter Hatul
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R
redacted
Guest
Is this an earlier marking used by Miflex?
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And this:
R
redacted
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That is a rather alarming claim that Miflex hoses have a useful life span of less than 20 years. I have quite a few conventional rubber hoses that are well over 20 years old and are still performing flawlessly. Unlike car tires, there does not seem to be any reason they should be expected to wear out in use like a tire does.
Sure, all hoses will eventually fail and such failures can be accelerated by poor user care. But the failure modes are rarely catastrophic. That is, conventional hoses usually give plenty of warning before they simply fail to deliver gas. They usually just leak or develop cracks which benignly warn of incipient failures. They do not disintegrate from the inside and suddenly block gas delivery as seems to be the failure mode for these Miflex LP hoses. This is a particularly dangerous failure mode that can not be dismissed with the idea that the hoses are getting old. In this particular case, it would appear the age is about 12 years.
I am looking forward to hearing the resolution of these failures from Miflex.
muzikbiz22
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R
redacted
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What word would you prefer to describe the idea that your LP regulator hose may be expected to suddenly stop delivering gas within the first twenty years of use?
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Or simply stop delivering gas without any warning signs and of no way of checking. It's a little concering. It would be comforting to know the exact mechanism that caused these failures.
muzikbiz22
Contributor
You will never find a hose that's older than 3 to 5 years, on any of my OC reg sets or rebreather or bailout bottles. As a different kind of example, my car uses synthetic oil, and an oil change is recommended every 15,000 miles. I change it every 5000. That's just my personal maintenance regimen, works for me. Your mileage/regiment may vary. Now back to the Miflex's. I posted earlier in this thread, (and other threads too), that i have used nothing but authentic Miflex since I can remember, and have NEVER had a failure. I attribute this to 2 things; 1 - They work, and 2 - i change/maintain hoses every 3 to 5 years. Also, I applaud MiFlex for hopping in the thread here and responding/clarifying. Bottom line, I'm not worried about a product with a 20 year life span, because it's never gonna see 20 years of service. Again, thats just me.
R
redacted
Guest
Well, some folks buy new cars every couple years to avoid car problems. If you don't mind the expense, it might work. I usually drive mine until they are unfit for resale and then give them away.
My newest hoses are a couple Miflex that are only 6 years old. They may also be the next hoses I put in the trash. What do you do with your "old" hoses?
I too applaud Myflex for getting into this; but I'm not sure they had much choice. I think they have been a bit evasive in identifying their products (other than the newest ones wioth the laser engraving). I found it interesting that they admit to having seen this failure mode before. BTW, Miflex did not claim a 20 year life span. What they said amounted to UP TO 20 years. The reported failures look to be in 12 Y/O hoses so that fits that claim.
The repetitious anecdotal statements that rubber hoses are good for X number of years etc. are not scientific and are not documented by any literature from the manufacturer. I seriously doubt any manufacture of rubber hoses would claim a lifetime service of 30 years and that several guys on here continue to use 20 and 30 year old rubber hoses just because they have not failed yet is again anecdotal and not scientific analysis. I might, in 20 more years have Miflex hoses still hanging in there. Who knows. What I do know is that the rubber hoses DO NOT have a stated lifetime of 20 or 30 years. Unless someone can provide the document stating so, hog wash. And I have seen failed rubber hoses and LP hoses that would not flow air or which looked fine but leaked at the swages.
You guys can continue to use 30 year old hoses for technical, deep and overhead/deco diving but I think I will not, never have. I have new(er) hoses on all of the regulators I actually use including my wife's. What do I do with old hoses, well, cut them up and throw them away, use some for test equipment, one older set is on my pool regulator, I think I can make a free ascent from the deep end.
I worry a lot more over LP hoses than HP hoses.
N
You guys can continue to use 30 year old hoses for technical, deep and overhead/deco diving but I think I will not, never have. I have new(er) hoses on all of the regulators I actually use including my wife's. What do I do with old hoses, well, cut them up and throw them away, use some for test equipment, one older set is on my pool regulator, I think I can make a free ascent from the deep end.
I worry a lot more over LP hoses than HP hoses.
N
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