High Pressure Hoses

[a1rock]

I am new to the car wash industry and would love to hear opinions on hoses. The previos owner had lots of hose problems that would lead to multi-day shutdowns. I would like to avoid that. I was going to replace all the hoses to be safe. I also want to ensure that I have a way of permanantly fixing hoses in house. Would it make more sense to have a bunch of spares, or get a machine so I can make custom length hoses. Any suggestions on what type of hose to get and what hose fittings would be best. If you were starting over with all your hoses how would you do it? Appreciate any insights!

 

[ShinePro]

Go to the self serve section on this site
On page 13 last jan and feb we had a big old discussion on high pressure hoses
Title “ High Pressure Hose Suggestions”
Got more questions- comeback here

 

[MEP001]

The best way for you to make hose repairs would be to use reusable fittings. Crimpers are really expensive. I have a hand swager which is about $1000 with all the pushers and dies, and I'm paying $10 for the fittings now.

 

[a1rock]

Thanks. I read through that and everything else I could find searching for "hoses," but most of the commentary seemed to be about self serve and not IBAs?

 

[a1rock]

Thanks MEP001! Appreciate it. That is exactly what I needed to know! Lots of opinions on best way, but those with experience are the best teachers of what works in reality.

 

[OurTown]

Can the manufacturer tell you the lengths of them so you don't have to remove and measure? If armed with that info you can get a full set made.

 

[Randy]

We use Continental High pressure hose. We buy a couple hundred feet at a time and make up the hoses ourselves to the lengths we want. We have our own hydraulic hose press so it’s pretty easy to make up hoses. I paid $400 used for the hydraulic hose press. I pay about $6 - $8 for the crimp on fittings. All of our bay hoses are the same lengths, so it’s easy to grab a hose and put on a new hose when a hose fails, the hose that fails the most often is the hose going to the gun. We have some hoses up in the attic that have been in service for well over 15 years. I think the blue hose holds up better than the black hose. We only use a reusable hose fitting in a pinch.

 

[Greg Pack]

Reusable hose fitting up to 1/2" are reasonably priced, If all you have are self serve that's all you have to worry about.

Spare 3/4" and 1" on IBAs are best kept in stock and the mail order houses are much cheaper than local hose shops, at least 50% less. Start replacing the hoses that move and thoroughly inspect all hoses for signs of severe UV deterioration, cracking, wire braid showing, etc. . When you order a replacement, order two so that you have a spare. You also need to buy replacement non working swivels because they often corrode on IBAs to the point of failure. I try to convert everything from JIC to NPT threads so I can minimize inventory.

 

[Waxman]

My partner in my used car business bought a gates portable crimper. he has tractors and a firewood processor that use hydraulic hose so he wanted to be able to make his own. I looked for a long time for a 3/8 die to use with his portable crimper but every place seemed to be on back order until October. However, he was able to find a used one and bought that. I have several hundred feet of 3/8 High pressure hose that I bought in 2019 when I needed to jet clean my sewer line. So now I just have to buy three eights fittings and crimp them onto lengths of hose that I cut myself.

 

[ShinePro]

Thanks. I read through that and everything else I could find searching for "hoses," but most of the commentary seemed to be about self serve and not IBAs?

Sorry about that.
i have washed over a 100,000 cars on a Razor and just replaced 2 hoses
I have all new hoses in stock in case of a blowup. Probably less than $1500.00 up in storage. I would rather just have new ones instead of a repair tools.
i was broke down for 4 hours in 2022
2 Razors
I intend on beating that this year!