What if, sometime in the future, you’re on a big-time game show and the emcee asks you to name more than 15 types of industrial hoses and describe their applications?
If you don’t memorize this entire article now, you won’t be able to provide those answers then, which means you won’t win the his-and-hers motorbikes, and you’ll feel like a real dope on national TV.
Of course, knowing about industrial hoses and the environments they’re made for will help you on the job, too. So, take a look at this info below. And if you ever need assistance with any type of industrial hose down the road, you can always reach out to your pals at Binkelman.
Air and Water Hose
Despite their name, air hoses carry more than just air. They can also be used to transport water and mild chemicals. Since they’re made from durable rubbers, they’re strong and flexible and typically have a long service life.
Common uses:
- Providing compressed air for pneumatic tools and equipment
- Transporting granular solids via gas or air
- Moving gases to heat or cool machines
Water hoses are basically the same as your garden hose at home, just larger and tough enough to handle higher internal pressures. The exterior needs to withstand rugged work sites, sunlight and ozone, too. Water hoses are often found in construction, agricultural and mining environments.
Common uses:
- Cleaning floors and machines
- Fighting fires
- Watering crops
Chemical Hose
When transferring corrosive or otherwise hazardous materials, use a chemical-resistant hose. Made from a polyethylene base, chemical hose is reinforced with a synthetic material lining and a steel wire helix that maximizes its corrosion resistance, while allowing for easy function. It’s often used in the pharmaceutical and food processing industries.
The most common application for chemical hose is transferring acids and solvents.
Dock and Barge Hose
Work in a marine environment? You might need dock hoses. They’re heavy-duty suction and discharge hoses used to transfer materials from vehicles or containers on land into storage tanks on ships and barges and vice versa. The category of dock and barge hoses also includes heat-resistant molten sulfur hoses, as well as hot tar and asphalt hoses.
Dry Bulk Material Hose
Used to transfer both wet and dry bulk materials, dry bulk material hoses feature a static-dissipating tube that helps prevent cuts and abrasions. The hoses can be attached to a suction-powered, pneumatic-powered or gravity-powered material handling system.
Common uses:
- Transferring sand and gravel
- Moving lime, cement and rock salt
- Conveying glass and fertilizer
Ducting Hose
Ducting and ventilation hoses are flexible, lightweight and highly abrasive. They’re used to remove the fumes and gases from different substances, as well as dust, sawdust, wood chips and shavings, loose bulk materials and granules.
Fire & Mill Hose
While both fire hoses and mill hoses can convey water, only fire hoses are tested and FM approved for use in fire-fighting environments. Fire hoses can also carry fire-retardant foam. Mill hoses are constructed differently than simple garden hoses in order to tolerate higher water pressure and harsher environments. Mill hoses are also more economically made than fire hoses.
Common uses:
- Fire hoses can be used by fire departments to extinguish fires.
- Mill hoses are used to convey water in agriculture, manufacturing and construction applications.
Food Handling Hose
Obviously, adhering to high safety and sanitary standards is key with food and beverage hoses. Made of USDA and FDA-approved materials like synthetic rubber or PVC, food and beverage hoses are designed to transfer both solids and liquids.
Common uses:
- Transporting milk, beer and wine
- Visual flow applications
Lay-flat Hose
As the name suggests, lay-flat hoses default to a flat state when not filled with water or another fluid. That makes them easy to roll and store when they’re not being used.
Common uses:
- Irrigation
- Drainage
- Delivering concrete mixes
Material Handling Hose
Manufacturers, farmers and food processors all need to move large amounts of material from one place to another. That’s often accomplished with material handling hoses. To avoid clogging, the hoses must have a smooth, abrasion-resistant interior, along with a pressure or vacuum rating, plus good flexibility that allows the hoses to be positioned in tight spaces. Material handling hoses can also be designed to handle heavy-duty applications.
Common uses:
- Transferring pelletized fertilizer
- Moving gravel, cement or sand
Mining Hose
There are several types of mining hoses. The type you need is determined by your application. Hard-wall suction hoses, for instance, are used for pumping and transferring abrasive slurry, gravel transfer, mineral processing and general material handling.
Oil Field and Petroleum Hose
These types of hoses need to be tough on the outside to withstand the rugged conditions found in drilling, production, refinery and delivery sites, and resilient on the inside to tolerate the chemicals they transport.
Common uses:
- Carrying oil or petroleum products
- Transferring fracking slurries
Steam Hose
Since working with steam is so dangerous, the hoses used to transfer it are designed to protect workers by tolerating extreme temperatures (up to 450°F) and high pressures (250 psi). Made of synthetic rubber, EPDM or metal, steam hoses are built to a higher safety factor, 10:1 rather than the standard 4:1. They’re used in refineries, chemical plants, shipyards and steel mills.
Common uses:
- Pressurized steam cleaning
- Fire prevention
- Thawing operations
Teflon Hose
Teflon hose is also known as Polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE for short. Teflon hose is flexible, chemically resistant and able to repel water. It also has low-friction and electrical insulating properties.
Teflon hose is most commonly used as a liner for rubber hose or stainless steel braided hose.
Suction and Discharge Hose
Made with a variety of rubber compounds or PVC, suction and discharge hoses are semi-rigid and feature a metal or PVC spiral reinforcement that prevents collapsing. Suction and discharge hoses are used to vacuum liquid materials from a non-pressurized source.
Common uses:
- Oil and fuel delivery
- Storm drainage and water discharge
- Flour and grain dispensing
Industrial Hoses Available at Binkelman Corporation
Every one of those industrial hose types (and others) are available now at Binkelman. And, of course, our in-house hose pros are ready to custom-build the hose assemblies you need to your precise specifications.
Contact your Binkelman Account Rep to place an order or for more details.