protecting your hoses

[SteveFass]

any scuba topic is better than doing work....


I was recently told to put hose protectors (the three inch protector that slides up where the hose meets the first stage) on my hoses. I thought that protectors were a bad idea - especially for someone like me that doesn't dive a lot (60 dives/year at most) - because they can hide potential problems.

What do you think? Good idea, bad idea, or it doesn't matter and I should either come up with a better topic or just get back to work?

Steve

 

[Crawl79]

I use them but I also pull them back and check the fittings often since I dive mostly salt water.

 

[MSilvia]

I think you're right. I don't have "protectors" on mine either. In fact, I deliberately cut them off and threw them away.

I suspect they're intended to give the reg a "finished look" and protect you from seeing that there's a bolt there that fits a wrench you probably have. You could argue they protect against hose strain too, but I've never had a problem with that.

 

[300bar]

Hi there,

As a lds owner and service tech i'll have to tell you yes it makes sence to use them.
Altough it might not be DIR we see a lot of cut hoses at the point where the hose meats the metal parts at the 1e stage.But as you private parts you need to clean underneath the sleaves.

Oops this one was just to good to be true

 

[Diver Dennis]

I've never used them but it a good idea to check you hoses. I've changed mine out because of cuts.

 

[Footslogger]

The terminology may be outdated ...but I was told way back when that they were "strain reliefs" and used to prevent sharp bends in the hoses near the crimped connectors.

I've always used them but like someone else already said ...after diving I pull them away from the first stage and rinse that area of the hose. That said, before I stow my gear I always apply a light coating of silicon grease to the hoses. Never had one blow or leak in over 30 years of diving. So ...I'm either lucky or it works.

 

[SteveFass]

Oh man, I knew one of you would go for the easy shot! It was only a matter of who.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Some hose protectors are a good idea in some circumstances. I do not like the thin, hard to slide on the hose variety as they are nearly impossible to slide back off the fitting to rinse and inspect on a regular basis. Since there is no air or water circulation inder them, they will trap moisture and cause corrosion of the fitting.

The larger diameter type that allow for air and water flow through the protector and allow it to be slid on an off fairly easily are a good idea.

Hose protectors should also be pulled back in extremly cold water diving as exposing the metal fittings improves heat transfer and can help prevent a freeze up.

Technical divers seem to not like them on general principle, but when you talk to them and get past the DIR dogma, the real reason seems to be that they do their job and prevent excessively tight bends in the hose which can cause problems for some diver's chosen hose routing.

Personally, having seen hoses fail under water, I'd rather accept hose routing with longer radius bends and not strain the hoses. Alternatively, if the configuration demands it, I will leave them off, but I will also not leave the gear set up any longer than required to reduce strain and weather checking and I will plan on replacing the hoses every two years (or sooner if the cover starts to crack or weather check).

 

[Peter_C]

I removed my hose protectors, then wound up putting them back on. First of all I have Scubapro stuff and it is stiff. Now here was and still is my concern. To clean the hoses, you have to pull them back. Well with my hose protectors it takes a lot of force to move them. I felt like I was doing more damage than they were doing helping. At this point I am still up in the air and only use them on the hoses with a lot of strain.

 

[terrasmak]

No need for them here,so i removed mine to the circular file.