Check your torch hoses after a cold snap, nearly lost a finger last week

Last Tuesday in Gary, Indiana, I fired up my rig after temps dropped to 9 degrees and the rubber on my O/A hoses was cracked to hell from the cold. One flex during a tack weld and the line blew right at the fitting, sending a jet of flame past my glove. Have you guys switched to those synthetic hoses or do you do a visual inspection every morning before starting?

1 comments

1 Comment

olivia_bailey16d ago

Skip the replacement and keep the old hoses. I ran the same rubber lines for fifteen years through every freeze Indiana could throw at them and never once had a blowout. You probably pinched that hose against something or let it rub on a sharp edge during storage, cold weather just made a bad spot worse. Fact is, synthetic hoses cost three times as much and still crack if you leave them kinked in the back of a truck. Inspect them with your fingers for soft spots before you light up, that tells you more than any fancy material ever will.