Vent: Blew a hydraulic line on the Mississippi River job near Baton Rouge last Tuesday

I was dredging near Baton Rouge last Tuesday on a tight channel and my 6-inch hydraulic line just let go. It sprayed hot oil everywhere for a good 30 seconds before I could shut the pump down. Lost almost 8 gallons of fluid and had to wait 3 hours for a service truck. Anyone else had a blowout on a tight deadline like that? How do you prep for that kind of failure?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretramirez17d ago

Pretty sure most hydraulic lines blow from pressure spikes, not just age or wear.

grant47816d ago

Yeah but that's still kind of a blanket statement. In my experience, age and wear do play a big role, pressure spikes just speed up the inevitable. A hose that's already brittle or chafed is way more likely to blow when that spike hits. If your system is maintained right with good filtration and you don't let hoses rub against stuff, they can take a lot more abuse before they fail. So really it's a mix of both, not just one cause. Take that for what it's worth though.

adams.uma16d ago

Hold up wait wait wait. You're saying it's NOT just old rubber lines failing? I always thought my hoses were just getting brittle from sitting in the sun or whatever. Pressure spikes? That makes so much sense though, like when a pump kicks on or you slam a valve shut. I've never thought about that before but it explains why some lines blow way before they look worn out.