A guide to hydraulic hose sleeve
In this guide, we’ll look at hydraulic hose protection sleeve and how to ensure hose safety, for the application itself and the people who work with it. We'll cover:
The purpose of hose protector sleeve
The life of hydraulic hose is not an easy one. Abrasion, age, heat, hardening and pressure can lead to burst protection sleeves and leaks, or having to replace hoses prematurely. The mess, downtime and costs are the least of your problems – the danger to operators in close proximity can result in severe burns, slips and falls and worse. For all of these, protective hose sleeves are beneficial.
Hose sleeve is designed to protect hydraulic hoses – and people – from these dangers. Hydraulic hose protection covers are made of textiles, a combination of textile and polymers, or often a single polymer, such as nylon. The sleeve is typically dense, yet not bulky, ensuring hose flexibility and protection.
Protective hose sleeves or spiral wrap?
Spiral wrap is another type of hose protection, which you can learn about in our guide, Hydraulic hose spiral wrap, explained.
Both spiral wrap – as seen here – and hydraulic hose protective sleeve share many similarities, such as resistance to abrasions, friction and wear. The primary difference between the two is that hose wrap protection is designed to protect your investment – the hose.
While hydraulic line sleeve provides protection against abrasion and UV rays, it’s also designed to protect your people by containing the contents of bursts and leaks. This is especially important when your hydraulic hose operates in close proximity to workers. Certain types of sleeve are also a great option when winding spiral wrap is difficult.
Types of hose protection sleeve
Hose sleeves aren’t just for hydraulics. They’re also excellent options for bundling cables in applications such as server rooms and racks. For hydraulics, they have a multitude of applications. Hydraulic protective hose sleeve comes in different materials, which help determine the sleeve’s capabilities.
Hydraulic hose quick assembly sleeves
The hose safety sleeves shown here offer a hook and loop design closure, making it quick and easy to assemble, remove or bundle hose groups. This style is especially beneficial when applying spiral wrap isn’t feasible or when you need easy removal of the hose assembly.
This hydraulic hose protector sleeve can also contain multiple hoses with a tighter hose bundling capability over standard sleeve. The sleeves here are available in different materials.
Use for:
- Polyester: automotive: wire harnesses, machine shops, and construction equipment
- Polyester and polyolefin: automotive, marine
- Ballistic nylon with urethane interior coating: automotive, construction equipment, speciality vehicles, oil drilling rigs, welding hoses
- Vinyl: Construction equipment and speciality vehicles
Hose protection sleeves – mining safety approved
Burst Guard Double Nylon Sleeves shield people, the environment and machinery from hose bursts and leakage. They also protect the hose against high temperatures, weather, water, and high abrasion. Made of nylon 6/6, this hydraulic hose sleeve protector is Essentra Component’s heaviest performance option, designed for mining hose.
Attributes include:
- Resistance to diesel, transmission fluid, engine oil and coolant
- 0.9-inch (2.3mm) thickness
- Working temperature range: -40˚C to 125˚C (-40˚F to 257˚F)
- Sleeve loses 10% of its resistance at 125 ˚C (257˚F)
- Melting point: 230˚C (446˚F)
- Approved by Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
Mining hose also available in nylon 6 with MSHA approval.
Use for: Underground, such as mining, quarrying and drilling
Fire resistant hose sleeve protects or bundles hoses, tubes or cables in hostile environments. With outstanding elasticity, there are two styles: the basic sleeve slides over the hose or fitting until the entire length is covered. Also available with hook and loop design for easy application and removal in the field, without having to disconnect the hose from its assembly. Fire resistant sleeves are made of silicone rubber with an interior of nylon glass fiber.
Attributes also include:
- Maximum operating temperature: 200˚C (392˚F)
- Hook and loop version, maximum operating temperature: 260˚C (500˚F)
- Reduces energy loss
- Immediately sheds liquid metal splashes
Use for: Smelting, oil hydraulic lines, ship building, automotive wiring harness, chemical industry, fluid pipelines and oil pipes
Materials of protective hydraulic hose sleeve
Let's take a closer look at the materials of hose protection items already mentioned above:
Ballister nylon
Key characteristic: strength
Ballistic nylon is woven from different denier, or weights, of nylon yarns. Incredibly strong, yet flexible, the material resists high abrasions, heat, water, sunlight, oil and tearing. The interior of this hydraulic hose abrasion sleeve is urethane, which enhances water resistance.
Polyester
Key characteristic: lightweight
Polyester is a durable, synthetic woven material with excellent abrasion and chemical resistance. It adds minimal weight to the hose while enabling flexibility. For heavy-duty applications, consider a plastic hose sleeve.
Polyester with polyolefin
Key characteristic: tight fit
When you need a tight fit for your hydraulic hose burst protection sleeve, this is the ideal material combination. Once installed, the sleeve can be heat shrinked without sacrificing superb abrasion resistance. You can learn more about polyolefin and the heat-shrink process in our guide Heat shrink sizing and materials.
Vinyl
Key characteristic: water resistance
A high-strength thermoplastic, vinyl resists water, moisture and humidity. It also has good chemical resistance to UV, acids, alkalis and oils.
Nylon 6/6
Key characteristic: high performance
Nylon 6/6 is the strongest grade of nylons. It has a higher melting point than nylon 6 and outstanding stretch recovery and wear resistance. Essentra Component’s nylon protective sleeve is specially designed for high abrasion, weather resistance and controlling hose bursts. Both nylon 6/6 and nylon protective sleeving have undergone rigorous independent testing to receive MSHA approval.
Read more in our guide nylon 6 vs nylon 6/6
Silicone rubber
Key characteristic: withstands extreme temperatures
Silicone rubber can perform in harsh environments without sacrificing performance. Its resistance to flammability makes it the ideal material for fire resistant sleeves. It also has excellent resistance to sea water and strong acids and alkalis.
Find out more about silicone rubber.
Nylon glass fibre
Key characteristic: heat resistance
Nylon glass fibre is a nylon filament with glass fibres. The result is high rigidity, mechanical strength, creep strength and toughness. These qualities help nylon glass fibre perform while exposed to high static loads continuously in high temperatures. For this reason, the material is used in the interior of our fire retardant sleeves.
Read more about glass-filled nylon in our guide.
Download free CADs and try before you buy
Free CADs are available for most solutions, which you can download. You can also request free samples to make sure you’ve chosen exactly what you need. If you’re not quite sure which solution will work best for your application, our experts are always happy to advise you.
Whatever your requirements, you can depend on fast despatch. Request your free samples or download free CADs now.
Questions?
Email us at sales@essentracomponents.co.uk or speak to one of our experts for further information on the ideal solution for your application 0345 528 0474.