Air hose leak on a Windmill

Hello all.

I’ve noticed a pretty significant crack in one of the air hoses that leads from the pump to my press. (if I am looking at the front of the press, it is the left hose). What is the best temporary fix for such a problem, and does anyone know where I can find a replacement?

Thank you.

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I have replaced most hoses on my windmill with hoses bought from the local hardware store. Dick G.

Be particularly careful on selecting hoses from the harware store. That being a suction hose, I think. During runs where the temperature is high. Some hose materials may be subject to intermitant collapse and drive you crazy trying to find out what the problelm is. When you stop the run and stop and look at the hose, it looks fine, when you resume the run and the hose temp. goes up again, it collapses.
Cheap vinyl electrical tape, tightly stretched and overlapped may last for years. I have considered using Home Depots (liquid tite electrical conduit - steel lined) and just trimming out the steel liner with a drill bit. That would give an inch or so to utilize it with a hose clamp. Might work and much cheaper.
Of course you could also put a long length spring or somethhing similar inside most any hose material and it would also stay open. Be careful. Good luck.

Try going to a Plastics Distribution Company, Laird Plastics, Curbell, Professional Plastics, Piedmont Plastics etc. Tell them what you are replacing and what it is used for.

Or check your local auto parts store — braided fiber reinforced hose should not collapse under vacuum and is available in many sizes with fittings to match.

Bob

Another possibilty is a supplier of hoses and filters for hydraulic applications.

I pulled the hose off for measuring purposes and the connecting piece (# T 1815) for the opposite hose snapped right off like a cheap piece of plastic. I have a list of places to call first thing in the morning, does anyone know a for sure place to get one other than direct from Heidelberg? My printing schedule is pretty booked… Probably a good thing that it happened though, obviously there was an issue that needs to be taken care of.

Thank you all for the suggestions!

My beast has 5/8” ID automotive heater hose. Haven’t had a problem. Specifically “SAE 20R3 Class D2”.

This is the braided fiber stuff AdLibPress is talking about. You wont see the braiding, its embedded in the rubber.

The hoses are secured with hose clamps.

I just re-did all the hoses on my press this spring, I used the non-metallic liquitite conduit like mentioned above (from Lowes/Home Depot). I hadn’t heard of anyone using it, but I had a chunk of it laying around in my garage from wiring up my other press & it seemed to fit fairly well (a little on the tight side).

Just make sure you get the stuff that has the plastic spiral molded in so its easy to cut/work with (most I’ve ever seen is plastic). No drilling necessary (mentioned above) as the conduit has a smooth internal bore (for its intended purpose of pulling-thru wires). The spiral re-enforcement will keep it kink free, but is fairly stiff - so allow enough slack for the hose to flex properly when you fit it (check it through a full cycle of the machine) & secure everything with hose clamps to prevent leaks

Works well for me
-Jason

I actually ordered replacement hoses from Heidelberg. And they were no different than from the hardware store. They didn’t have the nicely finished ends. And they were really expensive. I sent them back.

Courtney, years ago i ordered a hose from heidleburg, i too send it back, i have replaced all hoses on both my windmills with hoses from the hardware store for about the same money as one heidleburg hose would cost. The only thing i did was to use hose clamps on all the hoses, these hoses have been on my presses for about ten years with no problems. Dick G.