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Foam hoses.. Post New Topic | Post Reply
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Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Apr 19, 2006 08:45 AM
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Foam hoses..
What do you gentlemen do to keep your hoses in good shape? I used to use 2-layers of Nelco sleeving (scuff jacket). Lately I have been duct taping the entire hose and using 1-layer of sleeving.The joints seem to be the critical area. I also purchased some heat-shrink wrap from Nelco and we put that over the joints (about a 30" piece) and shrink it. This protects the joints and remains flexible. It's almost tempting to shrink-wrap the whole 100' first two sections. The stuff is $4 per foot. The downside is, if you develop a leak at the joint, you must cut into the sleeving and the shrink-wrap to fix it. Be nice to have a zipper there... Evidently, it is super important to keep moisture out of the joint areas. Water will corrode the copper connections and cause resistance heat. That heat will melt through the air line, or worse, the fluid hose. Each manufacturer has had their issues with foam hose, but there are things that we can do to lengthen the life of our hose. gcw |
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Posted: Apr 19, 2006 05:09 PM
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I'm glad you ask. I'm hoping for a great response. currently I buy very thin rubber at $0.25/foot and rap connection and week points, then using duct tape, followed by the scuff gaurd. I have a nice seal, duct tape is not in direct contact with hose, which makes cutting it with a scissors when needed fairly simple. However Maybe this is the reason I have been seeing EO3 on the E-30 for the past 4 months and replacing electrical connectors like there going out of style. Can anyone help me with that? |
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Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Apr 19, 2006 05:37 PM
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Do your hoses ever get left out in the rain on a large roof? We do sometimes. That may be part of the problem. Don't know much about Graco (MH kinda guy..). The principle is the same though. Is your rubber wrap a roofing product? .045 mil? gcw |
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Posted: Apr 23, 2006 12:37 AM
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olger,, i use duct tape,,,the good stuff,,like foam,,you get what you pay for.. i generously apply shrink wrap plastic over the bundled hose asemblies,,extra generous at connection sites..and then wrap with the duct tape...usually 1 wrap with 1/2 overlap will NOT last ,,and i reinforce as a "tear" develops,,increasing the thickness overall as we go...the commercial scuff guards are just to darned expensive(and i dont know how i would fit it over the excessvely large "knots" at the electrical and hose connections....good idea... bad design)...and the "flex wrap" is really a PIA in residentials,,it catchs on every thing...so for now i use the duct tape... |
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SprayFoamSupply.com
Posted: Apr 23, 2006 09:00 PM
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I have seen one installer use the hose jacket that is made for hydraulic hoses. It looks strong and is smooth. At the joints, he used the fiberous pipe insulation that is for 1 1/2" pipe wrapped with duct tape. It looked great, but he hasn't done enough spraying to know how it will wear. I priced it at a local auto parts store and it was $3 a foot. Has anyone replaced the insulation on the hoses? I need to replace mine and was looking for some pointers on sliding it on. I forsee it being a pain in the rear. Olger, how often do your hoses need to get redone? George |
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Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Apr 27, 2006 08:57 AM
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Hi George: I redo our hose annually. What that means is that we stretch it out over our big yard (310')and inspsect it for damage and repair accordingly. If a guy keeps up with it, the hoses should last 5-years or more before replacement. As to replacing insulation, that is tough. Real tough. They use a long vacuum tube to install the insulation in the factories. It's easy under those conditions. Years ago I tried to use pipe insulation to repair some foam hose. It made the hose bulkier, but I suppose it worked. The central key in a good foam hose is protecting the insulation & the joints from damage. Very important. You might look for an "insulation wrap" material, and use that to repair the hose. I would double duct-tape it afterwards. One big mistake that we foamers inevitably make is using new hose without protecting the insulation. This will quickly lead to tears in the soft insulation. I recommend duct tape and scuff jacket before ever taking them out of the truck/trailer. This makes happy hose (sounds like Sesame street). good luck (and thanks for the material). gcw |
