Used Regulator Hoses with Unknown History?

[SlugLife]

Lets say you bought a set of used regulators. There are no obvious signs of damage, but you have no idea general history of the hose including age, use, abuse, etc of the hose.

• What signs would you look for, to determine general hose condition?
• If a hose was problematic, how would you expect it to start failing? Is there any danger, or do they usually start failing slowly?
• What do you generally do with your old hoses? Have any of you used the hoses for other purposes? Lets say, cut them up and did a DIY project of some sort?

Personally, I've replaced nearly every hose with a brand new flex-hose of the exact length I want. However, I also have a bunch of old ones too. So far, I've thrown a few in my save-a-dive kit. I also plan to keep some, just in case I need to convert a side-mount reg setup, to a backmount style.

 

[Bigbella]

Every hose failure that I have ever experienced -- knock on wood -- occurred upon that initial pressurization, and never in the water; and were always quite immediate. Each incident exclusively involved LP hoses.

I would look for any signs of abrasion or punctures on the outer surface (or fabric, if MiFlex); and, especially, any obvious wear and tear next to the connectors (threads or any visible fabric).

Some brands even have a tiny "window," which allows for visual inspection -- "[the] 'low pressure hoses are equipped with an inspection hole, allowing you to verify that the hose and connection are properly assembled. Before each use, verify that you can see the rubber hose in the inspection hole. If you do not see any rubber in the inspection hole, the hose should be discarded . . ."

I typically cut my spent hoses, to prevent their reuse; made some tough-ass lanyards from some; or once made a toy, with a handball attached, to amuse my dog, Bella -- that was, until she madly whipped it around a few times and struck me, straight in the shins -- damn!

 

[Bob DBF]

I had one catastrophic failure but It was a fluke event with an upstream reg.

Most hoses show signs of wear, cracking, or minor leaks that get them replaced before they fail enough to stop a dive. I have more flexibility on replacement of LP hoses than with HP because of the pressure involved. I have a lot of vintage regs with old hoses, and haven't had an issue with hoses that show no signs of a problem. If was diving those regs regularly, or on important dives, I would replace the hoses for peace of mind since they are of unknown age and quality.

I have no direct knowledge of the Miflex type hoses.

 

[Dark Wolf]

Rubber hoses I pressurize and flex them. Got rid of all of my Miflex hoses, so can't really help you there besides checking the manufacture date.

DW

 

[Wibble]

They work until they don’t. They normally release a stream of champagne bubbles, if it’s not an O-ring, replace the hose.

Keep spares.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Some hoses deteriorate from the inside out and show no alarming exterior signs of degradation. I use old hoses as wedge tank cushions and I cut them open all the time.
Older American made hoses last longer than Chinese hoses from what I have seen. I saw one catastrophic failure of a high pressure hose that was pressurized on land prior to a dive and it sounded like a shotgun blast.
If I got a used reg set I would replace all the hoses.
I never worried about it but I’m making a point of replacing hoses about every 10-15 years depending on use. HP hoses are probably are more prone to failure than LP hoses.
To me it’s cheap insurance to be prudent and replace them.
I’ve seen shops sell used hoses and I think they’re nuts.

 

[SlugLife]

High Pressure hose failure is actually the less scary scenario according to several tests I've seen. The reason being, the opening in the first stage is tiny, which means your air drains significantly slower than a complete failure of a low-pressure hose.

So far, the only failure I've seen in person has been an o-ring, which on land. Air was leaking fast, but not fast enough that I think it would have caused any significant danger unless they were being irresponsible with air-management. And of course slower-leaks from aging, damaged, or misaligned o-rings as well.

I didn't know about that "window" - I suppose that would show if the hose was starting to slide out of the metal housings at the end.

Buying used hoses seems pants-on-head stupid. And selling them seems like a liability. Maybe if the hoses were used for non-scuba purposes it might make more sense, but even then I'd expect them to perhaps give away the hoses for free sort of like how you can sometimes get used boxes or buckets from grocery stores for free.

Using old-hoses to cushion tanks sounds like a great idea. Seeing as my tanks are rigged for side-mount, I could even integrate them into the tank-harness. Alternatively, with some bungee, they could easily slide on/off tanks.

 

[happy-diver]

50 years mint!

 

[Bob DBF]

High Pressure hose failure is actually the less scary scenario according to several tests I've seen.

Talking about it is a lot different than standing next to a hose that blows on the surface, or trying to figure out where the leak is and how fast you are losing air while submerged.

 

[SlugLife]

Talking about it is a lot different than standing next to a hose that blows on the surface, or trying to figure out where the leak is and how fast you are losing air while submerged.

Agreed. I mean it is less likely to cause you to drown.... but yeah, the failure would likely scare me in the moment.