Pirtek: Extend the life of your hydraulic hoses

Hydraulic hoses keep heavy equipment and machinery working properly year-round. All hydraulic hoses break down, but following a few best practices will extend their life and keep machines working longer and more efficiently.

Hydraulic hose failure is typically attributed to three issues: site damage, wear and tear and contaminated oil in the hydraulic system.

Exposed hoses can easily get struck, severed or crushed by outside objects, such as sharp pieces of steel, concrete or rebar, which causes site damage. When equipment is working in an aggressive environment, such as a scrap yard or a construction site, there is typically an increased amount of site damage.

When the exterior of the hose assembly has been exposed to the elements, wear and tear will occur. The length of time the machinery or equipment is in service also plays a big role in wear and tear of hydraulic hoses. Ultraviolet light can cause the outer, protective cover to become hard, start to crack and fall away. This exposes the steel-wire reinforcement to the elements, which then rusts and eventually leads to hose failure.

Failure to replace hose brackets or clamps during the maintenance of other parts on the piece of equipment, thus exceeding the number of cycles which the hose assembly was designed to carry out or leaving the hose assembly free to rub against parts of the equipment, are also common causes of wear and tear. The life of a hydraulic hose is often measured by the number of times the system cycles.

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