Changing hoses

[demcc2]

Hi everyone! How often should your oxygen and fuel hoses be changed? Mine are around 12 years old with no leaks.

Do people generally change them every so often?

Thanks in advance

Duane

[losthelm]

I usualy do a visual inspection and replace them when they look worn, usualy washing the hose it self to better see whats hideing under the dust. A larger welding shop can presure check the hoses for you.
The US Army corps of enginears and Osha have helpful standards though they deal oxyfuel welding.

http://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/...%20Welding.pdf

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...able=STANDARDS

[cheng076]

Duane,
A couple checks you can do to see if the hoses are holding up.
1. Use a Q-tip to swab out a section of the hoses and look for any rubber residue. A small bit of discoloring is OK.
2. Clean the outside of the hoses with soap and water and when dry inspect the outside surfaces for cracks. I do it by forming a hairpin loop (3 or 4 inch dia.) and 'walking' the loop up and down the hose. Some small cracks that do not penetrate beyond the colored top surface are OK.

Light duty use such as lampworking should not cause much damage over time but environmental issues such as ozone will. Mechanical damage is another issue.

PJH