No manufacturer or distributor can tell you
exactly how long a hose will last before it needs
to be replaced.
What is certain is that hoses begin wearing
out as soon as they are put to use, so they are
guaranteed to fail at some future time. The
million-dollar question is, “How long will the
hose last?” The answer is: it all depends.
Prevent Hose ‘Basketing’
When stainless steel braided anhydrous
ammonia hoses balloon or mushroom out
behind the coupling, it is called “basketing”(left).
This occurs when anhydrous ammonia is left
in the line, heats up in the sun, and expands.
By design, manufacturers allow hoses to
expand behind couplings so the hoses
don’t burst. Prevent basketing by completely
emptying hoses after each use.
Some manufacturers evenly space pinpricks
on hoses to help prevent gas buildup.
Hose manufacturers
provide important
information with
their hoses. Read
this information to
prevent injuries and
avoid environmental
contamination.
Compare replacing hoses with replacing truck
tires. Obviously, a tire’s life depends on the quality
of the tire, number of miles driven, frequency of
tire rotation, how well pressure was maintained,
and how much weight it carried. These, and many
other, variables make predicting exactly how long
a tire will last almost impossible. The only way to
know for sure is to visually inspect tires for wear.
Evaluating hoses involves similar considerations.
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