Hose Inspection & Preventative Maintenance
Find the hose that is about to go, at a time that suits you.
Nearly every hose failure we attend was visible beforehand. Not predictable to the day, but visibly on its way out to anyone who looked.
What we look at
Every assembly on the machine, not a sample:
- Abrasion. Where the cover has worn, and importantly what it has been rubbing on. A worn hose with an unexplained wear point is half a diagnosis.
- Corrosion at the ferrule. Rust staining at the crimp means water has got into the reinforcement. The hose can look perfect elsewhere and still be finished.
- Bend radius and routing. Hoses pulled tight at full extension, forced round tighter than they should be, or twisted during a previous fit.
- Age and hardening. Rubber that has gone stiff and lost its flex.
- Blistering and cover damage. Which tells us whether oil is migrating between the layers.
- Clamping. Missing or broken P-clips are why hoses start rubbing in the first place.
What you get
A written record for each machine, with findings graded so it can be planned rather than reacted to: replace now, replace at next service, or monitor. That grading is the useful part. A list that says everything is urgent gets ignored.
Where we find a chafing point, you get the fix as well as the fault. Refitting an identical hose into the same unprotected run means seeing it again.
The argument for doing it at all
A planned hose change is cheap. It happens in your yard, at a time you chose, on a machine that was not earning anyway.
The same hose failing costs the part, an emergency callout, and a shift. Sometimes it also costs a spillage on a site that will have views about it. The hose is the smallest number in that list.
What is included
- Every assembly on the machine checked for abrasion, corrosion at the ferrule, bend radius, kinking and age.
- Findings graded so you can plan: replace now, replace at next service, or monitor.
- Written record per machine, which is what an inspector or an insurer will ask to see.
- Chafing points reported with the fix, not just the fault, so the same hose does not fail twice.
- Repeat visits scheduled to suit your maintenance windows rather than ours.
Common questions
Are hydraulic hose inspections a legal requirement?
PUWER requires work equipment to be maintained in an efficient state and in good repair, and inspected where safety depends on the installation being correct. Hydraulic hoses come squarely within that, though PUWER sets a duty rather than a fixed interval. In practice you need a defensible inspection regime and a record of it. We are hose engineers rather than safety consultants, so treat this as background and take your compliance advice from someone qualified to give it.
How often should hoses be inspected?
It depends on the duty. Plant working hot, dirty or with a lot of boom movement needs looking at far more often than a machine that runs light. A sensible starting point for working plant is alongside each routine service, then adjusted once we see what condition the fleet is actually in.
How do you tell a hose is about to fail?
The reliable signs are mechanical: cover worn through to the reinforcement, rust weeping at the ferrule, a hose kinked or twisted, one rubbing a bright patch on a bracket, or blistering where oil has got between the layers. Age matters too. A hose can look sound and still be well past it.
Is preventative replacement actually worth the money?
On a machine where downtime is expensive, yes, and not because hoses are dear. A planned hose change happens in your yard at your convenience. The same hose failing chooses its own moment, usually the worst one, and brings a callout charge and a lost shift with it.
Do you inspect fixed industrial plant as well as mobile?
Yes. Presses, balers, injection moulding and conveyor systems all have hose that is harder to see and easier to forget than anything on an excavator.
Machine down? We can usually be with you the same day.
Tell us the machine, the hose and where you are. We will tell you honestly whether we can reach you and what it will cost before we set off.