Hydroexcavators work in abrasive environments, so wear on the hosing of the machine’s boom is inevitable. But there are some simple practices that can help maximize the life span of the hose.

“One way is to rotate it,” says Mike Selby, national service manager for Vac-Con. “When you go from vertical to horizontal with the material, you’re going to have a natural wear path on the top side of the hose.”

Leave as is and that wear point could eventually become a hole, requiring the hose to be replaced. Rotate the hose regularly and the wear path develops more evenly around the entire inner diameter of the hose, extending its life. “If you take the hose and rotate it a quarter turn, you move that wear point, and that will increase the life of that hose.”

If hose isn’t rotated, it could be costly for the contractor as hose can be upward of $30 to $50 a foot. For operators working in particularly abrasive conditions, Selby recommends rotating the hose about every 30 to 50 hours.

“The more water you use, the less you’ll have to do it, but I would say if you do it weekly that would be a good average,” Selby says. “And just rotate it a quarter turn.”

A popular hose material in the industry is 180AR Kanaflex, which is abrasion-resistant, but Selby says it should still be rotated as well.

“Obviously you have to replace it when you blow a hole in it, or it gets perforated or ripped,” Selby says. “If you rotate the hose, you start wearing evenly across it instead of blowing a hole in one section while the rest of the hose is perfect.”