Why It's Not A Good Idea To Use Hose Protectors!

[Scuba Lawrence]

I was reading in a tech diver forum that hardly any techies use protectors because they want easy access to inspect hoses and they don't want to hold the salt or sand in that area that might cause failure. Then MaxBottom swears by them. Which is the right philosophy?

 

[Agility]

A tech diver will inspect the hoses before taking them to an environment where direct access to the surface is not possible at any time of the dive.
I have yet to see the recreational diver that pulls the protectors off every time he rinses his regulator and to inspect every hose end to end before every dive.
IMHO there is no "right" philosophy, you have to choose the tool best suited for your planned diving;
the hose protector reduces the wear of the hose at a very sensitive part of it but on the other hand it prevents easy detection of the beginning brakedown. In an environment where a loss of gas is not critical because you can use your buddies or ascend to the surface easily the hose protectors seem to have their place.

 

[vladimir]

A tech diver will inspect the hoses before taking them to an environment where direct access to the surface is not possible at any time of the dive.
I have yet to see the recreational diver that pulls the protectors off every time he rinses his regulator and to inspect every hose end to end before every dive.
IMHO there is no "right" philosophy, you have to choose the tool best suited for your planned diving;
the hose protector reduces the wear of the hose at a very sensitive part of it but on the other hand it prevents easy detection of the beginning brakedown. In an environment where a loss of gas is not critical because you can use your buddies or ascend to the surface easily the hose protectors seem to have their place.

Pulling the hose protector back requires quite a bit of persuasion on mine. I wonder if I do more harm than good by inspecting them, especially frequently. I do an occasional inspection.

 

[big island diver]

I pull mine after every dive to rinse them to avoid corrosion. Leave that way to dry and then push them back into place after pre-dive pressure test. Yes I am OCD, why do you ask?

 

[drbill]

Agree with Vladimir... my hose protectors are too difficult to pull down so I don't do any inspection of the underlying hose since the removal of the protector would cause unusual stress that might weaken the hose. I do have an LP hose on one reg without a protector and I worry about it getting stressed and blowing. As has been said, things could go wrong either way... so I dive with total redundancy on any dive where it might be necessary (as did the OP).

 

[fjpatrum]

I was reading in a tech diver forum that hardly any techies use protectors because they want easy access to inspect hoses and they don't want to hold the salt or sand in that area that might cause failure. Then MaxBottom swears by them. Which is the right philosophy?

The right philosophy is the one that works for you. If you'll inspect under the hose protectors properly, then no worries. If you won't, don't add them.

I actually didn't like the one on my hose and ended up switching out the hose and not adding the protector to the new hose.

 

[catone]

The 'hose protectors' on the ends of the hoses next to the first stage provide a cosmetic appearance, however there is no evidence they prevent hose damage. Hoses sometimes fail where the fitting is swaged onto the hose, but that's caused by gas pressure, and a hose protector is not going to prevent that from happening. Because hose protectors interfere with routing and streamlining, they are almost never seen on regs used in technical diving. In fact, hose protectors may compromise safety and many experienced divers don't use or recommend them. Hose protectors hold water against the fitting, causing corrosion and hiding developing problems. The post dive maintenance recommendation is to pull the hose protectors back from the fittings, rinse and inspect. However, our observation is that not only do most divers not perform this suggested maintenance, when they do they are actually pulling hard at the most failure prone part of the hose. Our maintenance recommendation: permanently remove all hose protectors (we carefully use a pair of side cutters rather than pull them off) and replace the hose if there is evidence of excessive wear or damage.

All the above copied&pasted from divegearexpress website

 

[AfterDark]

"From outside appearances the hose was fine". So just how did the hose protector interfere? What would you have expected to see without the protectors installed?
Most LP or HP hoses fail from the inside. The rubber on the outside can crack but the hose won't leak unless the inside hose is breached. By the same token the outside rubber hose won’t contain the pressure if the inside hose is breached. I’ve used hose protectors for decades without incident. I listen for leaks before a dive. Looking at the hose to detect a leak is dubious.
Your car’s rubber brake lines are constructed in a similar fashion.

 

[MSDT476614]

ditto here, no problems with hose protectors to date. some of my hoses date back close to a decade. could be that particular hose was not made so well from day 1? from the manufacturer that is. like how 1 in every xxxx cars is a lemon by default? or precision 1st stages for that matter.

i have had multiple problems with 'myflex' HP hoses though. went through 4 (2 from each brand) in a year. back to oldy moldies there. LPs work just fine and are pretty too!

glad you're ok!

 

[eelpout]

After repairing regulators for more than 30 years, I do not use hose protectors on my, my wive's and daughter's regulators. I don't need them and they just add more effort and time to deal with after each salt water dive we do. If you want them on your regulators , it comes with the extra job to pull them clear of the fitting while rinsing and drying, and pulling them back on. I have seen too many regulators that have had corroded hose fittings because this job was not done. If you store your regulators flat and coiled , you won't need hose protectors. Now if you want color coordinated regulators with your outfit then go ahead and get them.