First off, it’s okay (probably). Do you have all your fingers? Is anyone hurt or burned? Is equipment on
fire? If none of these things are happening, the worst thing you might have to do is fill out an incident
report if you’re on a job, and if you’re just working by yourself in the field, you may have a bit of a
hydraulic mess to clean up.
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Blowing a hydraulic hose assembly happens. There is an overabundance of engineering that goes into
the manufacturing of hydraulic hose assemblies, but even so, nothing lasts forever. This post is designed
to help you understand how to get some questions answered so a replacement hose can be made (from
your friends at American Hose and Supply) and get you operational again as quick as possible. There is a
simple acronym you can use to help determine what hose you will need: STAMPED.
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S- Size
T-Temperature
A-Application
M-Media / Materials
P-Pressure
E-Ends
D-Delivery

A quick search of this acronym online will give you several in depth articles outlining these seven areas
of hydraulic requirements. Should you have time to deep dive, have at it! But out of respect for your
time and brain, here is a quick run through of what each letter means (what you need to figure out/ ask
about!). Before we do that, it should be noted that you can bypass figuring out most of these answers by
bringing in your hydraulic hose to American Hose and Supply. Once there, someone will still probably
ask you what’s moving through it, and they most certainly will ask you if you would like a drink or some
chips while you wait. I digress….

Size

Easy. What size is it? The only thing to remember is that hydraulic hoses and industrial hoses alike are
almost always measured by the internal diameter. I say almost because I don’t want someone to @me
with the one exception they know about. (But seriously, you can always throw shade or ask questions to
us, just check out contact us tab) The size of the hose might even be stamped or printed on the hose
itself.

Temperature

This includes two answers usually- What’s the temperature of the media moving through the hose, and
is it super-hot or cold around the hose? In other words, what’s the environment the hose is in? As
temperature around and in the hose increases, the amount of pressure the hose can take decreases. If
you can see information stamped or printed on the hose, this required detail is usually included there.

Application

What’s it being used for? Is it on the side of a dozer cylinder? Does it go inside of a boom crane? Is it off
that hydraulic reclining couch you’ve been developing? (Don’t listen to the haters, it’s gonna be a hit!)
This answer probably should include if any tight bends or routing constraints are going to be of concern.

Media/Material

This one is also easy. What’s moving through it? Usually the answer is hydraulic fluid or water. Not
always, however. American Hose and Supply offers industrial hoses that can carry all sorts of things.
Steam hoses, cement hose, dry bulk material hose, and propane hose, heck even hoses that transport
minerals and acids are common stock items. If you know what is going to be in the hose, then you can
answer this one. Look at ya go….. smarty pants.

Ends

Okay, this is one that might take a bit more of a deep dive, but let’s just state what is obvious for this
category; What ends are going on the hose? Once again, the easiest way to answer this question is to
bring in your hose assembly to American Hose and Supply. Another option to get this answered is to call
us at 918-234-0585, and request to send us an email or text of a picture of each end. There are some
instances where we would still need some dimensional data about the fittings, but most times our
customer service technicians can figure it out with just that! Check our resources tab for a healthy
breakdown of what some hydraulic ends look like with supporting dimensional data, but some usual
suspects include; JIC, Pipe Thread, SAE (commonly called O-ring Boss), Face Seal, and Pipe Swivel. Here
are some questions get you dialed in. Do the ends swivel? Is it a female thread or a male thread? Is there
an O-ring? If you can determine these three answers on your own, you’ve eliminated a lot of options
and are closer to victory (cue the Guess Who board game commercial theme song from my childhood).

Delivery

When do you want it and are there any other requirements? Usually the answer is something like, “I
want it right now, just give it to me not broken.” That’s an acceptable answer. Other things to consider
would be if you need any certification, packaging, or tagging of the hose assembly. American Hose and
Supply offers hydrostatic testing and certification. Should you need that or some traceable tagging, we
have you covered.
To review, when you have a blown or broken hydraulic hose or industrial hose assembly, the best and
usually quickest solution is to take it to the hose experts at American Hose and Supply. If that simply
isn’t in the cards, look on the hose and see what information is stamped or printed on there. Lastly, call
us at 918-234-0585 and ask to send us some pictures of what you need replaced.
There are many things to take into account when you have a blown hose problem on your hands. A
good way to avoid getting stuck or shut down and needing a hose in a hurry is to exercise a little
preventative maintenance. If you notice cracking in the cover of your hose or hoses, and especially if you
have hydraulic hoses down to the wire braid or there is fluid seeping from anywhere on the hose
assembly, you are better off taking the hose off and replacing it before it finally blows out on you. Asaying someone much wiser than me once said, maybe Abraham Lincoln, or maybe I saw it in a
commercial, but anyway. The saying is, “preventative maintenance trumps emergency intervention
every time.” Nowhere is this truer for both your safety and wallet than with hydraulics. Figuring out
what you need to replace a hose successfully can be done by remembering the STAMPED method. Our
technicians are trained in this same way. So answer what letters you can, and leave the rest to the
experts in hydraulics and industrial hose assembly at American Hose and Supply.

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