4 Advice to Choose a Hose Fittings for Mining Machinery

When it comes to mining, everything runs hard, and nothing is easy. Your equipment is always taking a beating, and the hoses you use are no exception. Picking the right hose is a big deal because it keeps your operation running smoothly and safely. Not all hoses are the same, so let’s break down what you need to look for when choosing hoses for mining work. 

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1. Durability 

Mining is tough work, and your hoses need to be just as tough. They’re going to get dragged through rough terrain, exposed to extreme weather, and constantly bumped around. A hose that can’t handle this will wear out fast, causing downtime and costing you money. Look for hoses made from strong materials like reinforced rubber or thermoplastic. Hoses with multiple layers, such as those reinforced with braided steel wire, are built to last and can stand up to the rough conditions found in mining. 

2. Flexibility 

While durability is key, the hose also needs to be flexible. In mining, hoses often have to squeeze into tight spots, bend around corners, and move with your equipment. If the hose is too stiff, it can be a pain to install and might wear out faster, especially if it’s constantly moving. Flexible hoses, like those made from thermoplastic elastomers or reinforced rubber, are better suited for mining because they can bend and flex without breaking down.

3. Resistance to Abrasion 

Hoses in mining are constantly rubbing against rough surfaces, sharp edges, and abrasive materials. This can wear them down quickly. To avoid this, you need hoses that are resistant to abrasion. Look for hoses with an outer layer made of tough materials like polyurethane. This material can handle the constant friction and rough treatment common in mining, helping your hoses last longer and reducing the chance of breakdowns. 

4. Pressure and Temperature Ratings 

Mining often involves high pressures and extreme temperatures. Your hoses need to be able to handle these without bursting or breaking down. Always check the pressure and temperature ratings of the hoses you’re considering to make sure they’re up to the task. Going beyond these limits can lead to serious failures, which can shut down your operation and create safety hazards. Choose hoses that can handle more than what you expect to throw at them to ensure they’re reliable and safe. For best results and hose life try to keep the pressures and temperatures in the 80% range of the max ratings of the temperature and pressure. 

5. Ease of Maintenance 

Mining hoses go through a lot, so regular inspection and maintenance are necessary. It’s smart to pick hoses that are easy to install, inspect, and replace. This can save you time and money in the long run. Some hoses come with features like built-in wear indicators or quick-connect fittings, making maintenance even easier. These features help you spot issues before they become big problems, keeping your operation running smoothly. 

Conclusion 

Choosing the right hoses for mining is crucial for safety, efficiency, and cost control. By focusing on durability, flexibility, resistance to abrasion and chemicals, proper pressure and temperature ratings, ease of maintenance, and compliance with industry standards, you’ll ensure your hoses can handle the tough demands of mining. Investing in good quality hoses will help you minimize downtime, cut maintenance costs, and keep your operation running smoothly. 

When replacing hydraulic hose lines, it is essential to adhere to the instructions of the machinery or system manufacturer. Close attention must be paid to the technical specifications provided by the manufacturer to ensure safe and reliable operation. The maximum load, here the maximum permissible pressure that the hydraulic hose line can withstand, must not be exceeded under normal operating conditions. Some systems also have special requirements that need to be taken into account. If the nominal pressures given for the hose and the fitting differ, then the lower value always determines the working pressure of the complete hose line.

• Working pressure
• Volumetric flow
• Medium
• Temperature
• Environmental factors
• Bending and impulse loads
• The safety requirements to be observed

5 key points for choosing the right hose, fittings & accessories

1. Fittings 

In making the right choice of fittings, it is preferable to choose fittings that fulfil widely accepted international product standards such as DIN, EN, ISO or SAE. Before this choice can be made, it must be decided whether to use a hose fitting with an elastomer sealing element (e.g. DKOL, DKOS, ORFS) or one with a purely metallic form of seal (e.g. JIC, DKR). A hose fitting with an elastomer sealing element should always be preferable. However, for certain applications, such as where the seals are incompatible with the medium in use or where high temperatures prevail, the fallback choice is often a metallic form of seal.

In addition, the geometry of the connection needs to be considered. For example, if the installation situation is such that the bending radius of the hose line would be too small, an elbow fitting should be chosen to avoid kinking the hose line. Moreover, the natural curvature of the hose line should be taken into account when choosing the offset angle of the fitting.

Finally, the environmental conditions are an important factor in the choice of components. If, for example, there is a risk of corrosion by salt water, the recommended choice is stainless steel fittings.

Further information about connection geometries:

Technische Information Verbindungstechnik Rohrverschraubungen (PDF)

Technische Information Verbindungstechnik Adapter (PDF)

For more Hose Fittings for Mining Machineryinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

2. Hose

As with fittings, the chosen hose should be one that complies with widely accepted standards such as DIN, EN, ISO or SAE. Depending on the application (pressure and temperature loads), various hose materials can be used such as elastomer or thermoplastic hoses with pressure carriers made from steel or textile braid.

It is essential that the choice of hose is matched to the expected conditions of use. Therefore, for example, if the conditions involve high impulse loading, then the right choice would be HANSA‑FLEX series KP100S, KP200S or HD700LL hose, which have been tested to withstand up to 1,000,000 impulse cycles among other things on our test bench.

The nominal diameter of a hose line should be selected such that overloading of the hose line from excessively high fluid flow velocities is avoided.

Further important information on the installation, operation, maintenance and inspection of HANSA‑FLEX hydraulic hose lines:

Technische Information Schlauchtechnik (PDF)

3. Fitting type

In addition to no-skive crimp ferrules, in which the sleeve is pushed over the unpeeled hose and then crimped, in order to speed up the assembly of hose lines, hose fittings with skive crimp ferrules can be used for braided hoses.

To ensure a safe connection between hose and fitting under extreme loads and high pressures of up to 500 bar, interlock fittings can be used as a system solution with pull-out protection. The inner and outer layers of the hose are peeled to allow the crimp nipple to achieve a highly effective positive fit with the hose and the ferrule.

Good to know: As a rule, when you order preassembled hose lines from HANSA‑FLEX, we have already made the choice of compatible fitting types for you.

Hydraulic hose lines should ideally be purchased only from a specialist workshop, where they are manufactured professionally and in conformance with the standards. In this way, all the components are optimised for use with one another and will function reliably. If, however, hose lines are assembled by the user, it is particularly important to ensure that the hose and fittings are a perfect match. This means that the dimensions, the shape and, above all, the pressure rating of the components must be chosen to suit one another. Here it is absolutely essential to follow the guidelines provided by the manufacturers of the hose and fittings in order to ensure safety and proper functioning.

In these situations, we recommend the use of hose retention systems.

Schlauchfangsicherung (Stop Lock)

Rohrverschraubung (Stop Rov Stopflex-Befestigung)

Flansch und andere (Stopflex-Befestigung Stop SAE)

Escape of hydraulic fluids under high pressure:

To mitigate this risk, we recommend the use of TGF ISO Schutzschlauches.

Proper installation must always be ensured when using the above protective measures.

For example, in the case of hose restraints / hose retention systems, attention must be paid to using the correct lengths of cable and their proper attachment to the machinery components and hose lines. With a protective hose, it is essential to choose the appropriate internal diameter, which must be at least 30% larger than the outside diameter of the hose line used.

Caution: Improper installation degrades the protective effect and can lead to serious injury of personnel.

For more information, please visit Hydraulic Hose Fitting for Metallurgical and Petroleum Equipment.