A hose is a flexible, bendable tube used to transport gases, liquids and solid particles. It is flexible and able to accommodate motion, vibration, thermal expansion and contraction, while being portable and easy to install. A hose is usually composed of multiple layers of material, including an inner layer (Tube), a reinforcing layer (Reinforcement) and an outer layer (Cover).

The inner layer is in direct contact with the conveying medium, the reinforcement layer provides adequate pressure support, and the outer layer is responsible for abrasion resistance and overall protection. Hoses are manufactured from a variety of materials, including rubber, metal, plastic, fluoropolymers, cotton yarns, textile fabrics, metal wires or plastics. By reasonably combining the characteristics of these materials, hoses can meet a variety of different functional requirements.

NO.1 The classification of the hose

There are various ways to categorize hoses, which can be divided by material, pressure or use. According to the classification of NAHAD Association, hose is mainly divided into five categories: industrial hose, hydraulic hose, metal hose, composite hose and fluoropolymer hose. Industrial hose also includes rubber industrial hose and plastic industrial hose.

According to pressure, hose can be divided into high-pressure hose and low-pressure hose. Hydraulic hoses are usually high-pressure hoses, capable of withstanding tens or even hundreds of megapascals of pressure, while industrial, metal, composite and fluoropolymer hoses are mostly low-pressure hoses, usually withstanding pressures of between 1 and 2 megapascals. Nonetheless, certain hoses may exhibit different pressure characteristics in specific situations, as will be discussed in subsequent details. For example, shower hoses, watering hoses, gas pump hoses, and fire hoses are all low-pressure industrial hoses.

Depending on the medium to be conveyed, hoses can be further categorized, especially in the industrial hose category, which mainly includes:

-Multi-purpose hose : Used for conveying liquids, air or steam;

-Water hose: for draining non-potable water or mildly corrosive waste liquids;

-Oil hoses: for the transportation of gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, etc;

-Chemicalhoses: for conveying corrosive media;

-Food grade hose: for transportation of food and beverages such as milk, beer, etc;

-Materialhoses: used for conveying solid particles or powders;

-Steam hose: used to transport saturated steam at a certain pressure.

Of course, there are some unmentioned types of hose, because they do not belong to the common classification, not introduced here.

NO. 2 The irreplaceable nature of the hose

Hose is widely used in various fields such as petroleum, chemical, construction, food, medical and so on. Although in many occasions, the use of hose is not large, but its function is often irreplaceable. Why must we use hoses? Is it feasible to use hard hoses exclusively?

Let's take one of the application pictures in the article as an example to illustrate the reasons for using hoses:

1. Conveying medium function: The blue hose assumes the function of conveying medium, whether it is gas or other media, and this function can be replaced by a rigid tube.

2. Convenient connection function: three blue hoses play the role of connection in different spaces. If you switch to hard pipe connection, the pipeline will become very complex, and hard pipe size requirements are very high, the interface position difference of 1-2mm may lead to failure to connect. The use of hose does not have these problems.

3. Vibration absorption function: Vibration is everywhere. If all the equipment is connected with hard hoses, the vibration generated by one piece of equipment will be transmitted to other equipment, resulting in damage such as loosening of the installation or cracking of the connection. However, hoses can absorb vibrations without materially affecting the other end of the connection. For example, without a hose to absorb vibrations in the engine compartment of a car, the noise level inside the car would rise to an unbearable level.

In addition, hoses have the advantage of being easy to store and carry. In many occasions, although the hose is not the protagonist, but is indispensable.

NO. 3 The choice of hose

Through the above introduction, I believe you have a deeper understanding of the hose. However, how to choose the right hose requires some specialized knowledge. Due to the variety of hoses, different brands, different calibers and complex application scenarios, choosing the right hose needs to keep in mind a word - "Stamped". For more information on "Stamped", check out our other article. If you have any other questions about hoses, please feel free to contact us.

WHAT DOES S.T.A.M.P.E.D. MEAN IN RELATION TO THE HOSE?