Improving safety of hydraulic systems by using hose restraints

If you worked around hydraulic systems for any length of time, you have seen a hydraulic hose failure. Whether the failure is caused by a hose being snagged by a moving part or the hose blows off a fitting, the consequences can be more than just a big mess and loss of hydraulic oil. One such consequence is a hose whip.
When a hose assembly completely fails at a point close to a fitting, the pressure in the hose causes it to thrash around. It can hit and damage other components of the hydraulic systems and injure personnel. 
One solution to guard against an eventual hose whip is to use a hose restraint system. Hose restraint systems are designed to prevent whipping of a pressurized hose in the event of a hose separating from its fitting.  They provide an additional level of safety and help prevent damage to nearby equipment or injury to operators near the failed hose by limiting the distance of travel of the pressurized hose after it breaks free from the fitting.
The system is comprised of two components, a hose collar and a cable assembly. The hose collar is selected based on the outside diameter of the hose, and the cable assembly is selected based on the type of hose connection.

One of the Hose Whip Prevention systems is manufactured by Parker. Parker offers two types of cable assemblies – one for flange-type connections, and the other for port adapters.

The hose whip restraint is not to be used in place of proper hose crimping procedures.  The Parker hose whip restraint system has been tested to work at operating pressures of the hoses it is designed to work with. It is not meant to increase the hoses working pressure or to add incremental pressure rating to the hose / fitting combination. Your hose-fitting-whip restraint system is rated to the pressure of the lowest rated component of the system.

Posted by Joni Scott

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