Choosing the right hose determines operational safety, machine service life and how often you will have to deal with unexpected downtime. A water hose differs from a hose for oxygen, fuel or sandblasting in its material, reinforcement and permitted pressure – and mixing them up does not pay off.

In the Hoses category of our e-shop you will find over 270 items from SEMPERIT, MEBRA, GIP-KOM, ALFAGOMMA, TUBI ITALIA, IPL and THOR. Most of the range is in stock and sold by the metre or by the piece. Detailed technical data for each series can be found in our hose catalogue, which is free to download.

What a hose is made of

A rubber industrial hose has three layers, each with a different job. For every type, the material of the tube, reinforcement and cover is specified – and these tell you what the hose is for.

• Tube (inner layer) is in direct contact with the medium. It must withstand chemical and mechanical stress – fuel hoses typically use NBR, water and steam hoses EPDM, and blasting hoses an abrasion-resistant compound.
• Reinforcement carries the pressure. Most often it is a spiral of textile or synthetic yarn; larger diameters use textile plies, steam hoses a steel wire braid and suction hoses a steel helix that prevents collapse under vacuum.
• Cover protects the hose from abrasion, oil, ozone and weathering. Hoses for abrasive materials and steam often have an electrically conductive cover to prevent static charge build-up.

Plastic tubes (polyurethane, polyamide, PVC, silicone) are usually single-layer without reinforcement; the transparent PVC hose RW 501 has a textile braid.

Hose types by application

The range covers everything from thin pneumatic tubes and water and air hoses to steam and blasting hoses. The table summarises the main series we keep in stock; values are taken from the Hoses leaflet and MEBRA catalogues.

In the e-shop you can filter hoses by application, model, inner and outer diameter and wall thickness.

Materials and their resistance

The tube material determines what the hose may carry; the cover material determines where it may be used. The most common materials in our range:

The MEBRA polyurethane hose catalogue also offers specialities: antistatic hoses for ATEX environments, self-extinguishing spark-resistant hoses for welding robots and food-grade Fabuthane 54 for drinking water. The polyamide range includes spiral hoses for semi-trailer air brakes and multi-tube bundles for automation lines.

How to choose the right hose

The catalogue lists the same set of parameters for every hose. Go through them in this order:

1. Medium – what will flow through the hose: water, air, oil, fuel, gas, steam, food, abrasive. This determines the tube material; for chemicals, check the manufacturer's chemical resistance chart.
2. Temperature – of both the medium and the surroundings. The temperature of the conveyed liquid must be below its boiling point; superheated steam significantly shortens the life even of steam hoses.
3. Working pressure – choose a hose whose working pressure is higher than the system pressure. The catalogue also states the safety factor (e.g. 3 : 1 for PLE/PL15, 4 : 1 for FMO), i.e. the ratio between burst pressure and working pressure.
4. Vacuum – for suction you need a collapse-resistant hose, typically with a helix (FMS, TM30); for the DS1 steam hose the catalogue states vacuum resistance of −0.8 bar up to DN 32.
5. Size – the inner diameter (DN) determines flow; outer diameter and wall thickness determine the choice of clamp or fitting. The marking “25 / 39” in the e-shop means inner / outer diameter in mm.
6. Bend radius – the minimum radius below which the hose must not be bent, otherwise it kinks. For MEBRA pneumatic tubes it ranges from 10 mm (2/4 diameter) to around 100 mm (14/18).
7. Standards and safety – welding hoses to ISO 3821, brake hoses to DIN 74310, steam hoses to EN ISO 6134; for flammable and abrasive media choose an electrically conductive version.

Inspect hoses regularly and replace them if the surface is damaged or shows signs of wear; storage and handling are covered by DIN 7716.

Hose clamps and fastening

Even the best hose will leak without the right clamp. In the Hose clamps category we offer over 540 items from GeTech and MIKALOR for diameters from approx. 5 to 330 mm.

Clamp types: worm-drive (the most common, band width 9 or 12 mm), double wire, two-ear pinch clamps, MINI and high-pressure ROBUST bolt clamps, MIKALOR SUPRA with swivel bridge and constant-tension versions, screwless CLIC, Adapflex clamp banding by the metre and rubber-lined P-clips (DIN 3016) for securing hoses and cables.

Materials by corrosive environment:

Select the clamp by the hose outer diameter so that the value lies in the middle of the clamping range.

Hose catalogue to download

Technical data sheets with exact dimensions, pressures, bend radii and weights are available on the Downloads page. You will find the Hoses leaflet (PDF) and a directory of hose catalogues sorted by industry – including water and liquids, compressed air, hot water and steam, gas and welding, blasting, hydrocarbons, liquid and bulk food, concrete, mining, agriculture and marine – plus separate MEBRA catalogues for fluoropolymer, polyamide, polyethylene and polyurethane hoses.

Not sure which hose to choose?

We work closely with manufacturers' technicians. Contact our customer support at +420 558 694 401 (Mon–Fri 7 am–2 pm CET) or eshop@bohemiaseal.cz. You can order hoses together with the rest of our range, such as clamps, seals or belts.