TIL a busted hydraulic hose on the Mississippi taught me a hard lesson

I was operating on a barge near Baton Rouge last month when one of my 3-inch hydraulic hoses blew out right at the pump connection. Oil sprayed everywhere and the cutterhead just stopped dead in the mud. The whole crew had to stop and I felt like a fool because I hadn't checked that hose for chafing during my morning walkaround. We lost about 4 hours waiting for a supply boat to bring a replacement from the yard upriver. Now I run my hands along every hose coupling before I start up and carry a spare set of hoses in a crate on deck. Has anyone else had a simple inspection miss turn into a full day delay?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly.charlie26d ago

Man that's rough, at least your spare hoses will probably outlast your pride.

the_alice26d ago

Did you check if the hose was kinked before you turned it all the way on?

blair_taylor3225d ago

You're right about the spare hoses, but actually @kelly.charlie might want to double check the burst rating on those things. Most cheap garden hoses are only rated to like 60-80 PSI and a lot of people don't realize their house pressure can spike way higher than that. It's not just the kink in the hose either, sometimes the connector is just cheap plastic that'll crack the first time you really crank it on. Better to grab a rubber hose next time at the hardware store, they handle the pressure way better and don't split as easy. How many times has that happened to you before?