Air Hose also known as pneumatic tubing or air line is a flexible tube designed in a way to transfer compressed air and other gases from one location to another. It sounds quite simple, but hoses are more complex that some straightforward phrases. Knowing the criterion of how to choose the right air hose depends on many significant factors. In addition, when is the right time to replace the existing hose? If you have worked with Air hose and tools for a while, you must understand that there is more to it than just looks.
The foremost factors we will discuss today when selecting an air hose are the material it is made of, its inner diameter, and of course the length of the hose required. You will also need to keep in mind the work environment, application of the hose, the tools and fittings used, its distance from air compressor system, maximum working pressure and definitely your budget.
Currently, Air Hoses are available in market in wide range of colours, material and lengths that are easy to cut, strong and flexible to match any application. Ranger Stork, a leading tyre repair products and workshop consumable across Europe and UK, offers a collection of Air Hose Accessories, Air Hose Tool and Air Hose Reel all under one roof.
Hose Material
With many different materials available in the market, the selection would entirely depend upon the application of the hose. Some of the most commonly used air compressor hose materials are discussed below.
Rubber Hose
Rubber is one of the popular materials used for air hoses and is an inexpensive option as compared to other materials. These hoses stay flexible, soft, strong and durable through temperature variations. However, rubber being a permeable substance to some extent cannot be used for high purity applications. This property of rubber may compromise the quality of pure gases by picking impurities. In addition, rubber is a heavy material and thus not an ideal choice for operations on roof or other such conditions.
PVC Hose
Durable and abrasion resistant, PCV is yet another commonly used material for air and gas hose. These hoses are durable and economical. Being light in weight, they are ideal selection for outdoor applications as well as for great heights. Although, not as flexible as rubber or other alternatives, PCV hose work great for warm weather but are not recommended for use in cold temperature as they may crack or curl.
Polyurethane Hose
Similar to PVC, Polyurethane air hose is a lightweight, abrasion-resistant and an ideal all-round option. It remains flexible in varying working temperatures and can be easily dragged around a job site all day. Being susceptible to kinks, the material is better suitable for coiled version than straight hose. It is perfect general-purpose hose with surprisingly long life.
PTFE
PTFE or Polytetrafluoroethylene hose are better suitable for high-pressure industrial application. This type of hose is economical, flexible as well as durable. It serves perfectly for high purity applications by exposing PTFE to a post-sintering process (processing it at controlled temperature and pressure) resulting in increased strength and thickness of material, thus reducing diffusion.
Straight or Coiled?
Selecting the right air hose depends on the application of the product as well as on user’s preference. Between the options i.e. Straight Hose or a Coiled Hose, a straight hose is flat, without bends or coils whereas coiled hose comprise of many regular curls giving them a shorter look that their actual length.
Straight hose are prone to getting kinks and thus reducing or cutting off the air supply. They are easy to handle, can be gathered up into loops for storage or are available as air compressor hose reels and offers no resistance. On the other hand, coiled hose are easy to store, highly tensile, and spring back in shape after use. The coils, however, offer resistance and it needs some strength to stretch it.
Coiled hoses are often the preference of manufacturing plants as it takes up less space and can be stored easily and quickly without intervening with other processes. However, auto body shops prefer straight hose, as they offer no resistance thus allowing complete mobility, especially during painting application.
Length of hose
When deciding the ideal length of an air hose, first thing to consider is its application. The length requirements of an air hose differ if you are a professional at an automotive body shop where you will move around large vehicles throughout day, where you will require a long and highly manoeuvrable hose. However, if you are working with an air drill at one bench entire day, you would need a much shorter air hose. Ranger Stork offers a wide range of Air Hose with variety of lengths ranging from 6.5m to 25m.
Inner Diameter
Air Compressed Hose is measured by its inner diameter and its standard sizes are available in 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2” or metric size of 6mm, 8mm and 10mm. The higher diameter of hose is directly related to higher air capacity, thus selecting ideal air hose diameter needs a basic understanding of the CFM (Cubic Feet per Metre) requirements of your air tools.
An air hose with small diameter is easy to carry around, store and roll up with additional benefit of lower price tag, whereas, a wide inner diameter helps in limiting frictional loss.
Summary: Main Features of Air Hose and Other Factors
Apart from the criterions discussed above, other factor that is required to be taken into consideration while buying an ideal hose is maximum working pressure. Flexible pneumatic hoses have different capacities. It is significant to ensure the compatibility of the air hose with the maximum working pressure of your compressed air system.
There exist various reasons to replace your existing hose; however, the question is when? Common defect that necessitates the replacement includes:
- Premature Aging of Hose
- Faulty connection
- Softening due to heat
- Hardening due to cold
- Rupture and cracking that result in air leakage
- Inflammation and bursting
- Absorption of dirt
Ranger Stork presents a collection of Air Hoses under Air Service Products category with plenty of features and benefits including flexibility for easy usage, simple installation at and around the workplace, an array of connector fittings and easy to cut to length. We offer all kind of solutions for tyre repair and tyre service products and consumables at our one stop shop.