Log splitter hydraulic hose leak protection

[user 140828]

Has anyone here put protective sleeves on their log splitter's hydraulic hoses--the kind that can stop possibly dangerous high pressure leaks? I have no idea how likely that is to happen but I note such protection is advised in industrial settings to protect equipment operators.

If used, any suggestions on brand, where to buy, etc?

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I have thought about that from time to time, but it is so very rare seems almost impossible. I welded a fitting on a cylinder to accommodate a one inch hose and thought what if so just welded a little box near the fitting to make it benign. One thing to remember you are not working with large volumes so injury is very very rare. Yes you have pressure of 3,000 psi but no volume following it. Thanks

 

[Capitalist]

https://wojanis.com/2-1-2-flexgaurd...XpgAXRNJkLMMU3o71hH5wisdaNYyUzkgaAo2EEALw_wcB

The sleeves are dual purpose. This is not a suggestionbut they are cheap and serve the purpose

 

[Capitalist]

And yes a log splitter can blind you.
Volume is already in the cylinder under pressure.

Most injurys happen when someone is touching the line under pressure via toxic injection or eye injury.

A hole .005" across does not require volume to kill.

 

[Capitalist]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...-hydraulic-oil-injection-injuries?hs_amp=true

A life threatening pin prick...

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Cap you must not be too familiar with modern hydraulics because very few companies or hose manufacturers worry about hydraulic failures. As with a simple hydraulic log splitter where as there is little to no volume or stored energy the risk of injury is low. A pin prick would have a difficult time in producing injury or blindness. To cause the kind of injury you describe it would take a catastrophic event coupled with your face being in very close proximity to the failure area. People get struck by lightening eaten by sharks, but should people stay away from the ocean. If a log splitter manufacturer were to safety approve every fitting and joint it would cause the cost to at least triple or more. The risk of injury from pinching fingers or a knot popping towards your face are many many times more possible. ts had a question about if the risks of his splitter build and would justify him to buy or build a safety net around his system. By building a safety barrier it will cost him several thousands of dollars and several extra months of build time. Of course the complexity of extra safety devices along with the extra weight the total project could have more problems coming out of the total project. So what would you tell him. If the fittings could fail what about the hoses or. I have found in my practice be reasonable which goes to all equipment and operations. If you fall tripping over some thing in a shadow with your safety googles on you still could have serious injury. Thanks

BTW welcome to AS. There is plenty of name calling lots of ridicule and some time seasonable debate breaks out.

 

[Antarctica]

I used to worry about this a lot being the medic/EMT on vessels where we were far from support, used a lot of hydraulics (cranes, winches, etc.), and all the equipment was subjected to lots of corrosion (i.e., we popped lines regularly).

I don't so much in normal situation, and especially with something like a log splitter. Unlike compressed air systems, there is almost no stored energy in a hydraulic system (because the fluid is more or less incompressible - at least at the pressures we're dealing with). So, as stated above, you pretty much need your hand covering the break point to received a hydraulic injection, and the motors/pumps on a log splitter don't deliver enough drive to continue to push enough force to be of significant worry. Now if it were a 100HP motor driving a big swash plate pump, it might be able to continue to deliver a high pressure stream that you would need to be cautious of.

 

[Capitalist]

Cap you must not be too familiar with modern hydraulics because very few companies or hose manufacturers worry about hydraulic failures. As with a simple hydraulic log splitter where as there is little to no volume or stored energy the risk of injury is low. A pin prick would have a difficult time in producing injury or blindness. To cause the kind of injury you describe it would take a catastrophic event coupled with your face being in very close proximity to the failure area. People get struck by lightening eaten by sharks, but should people stay away from the ocean. If a log splitter manufacturer were to safety approve every fitting and joint it would cause the cost to at least triple or more. The risk of injury from pinching fingers or a knot popping towards your face are many many times more possible. ts had a question about if the risks of his splitter build and would justify him to buy or build a safety net around his system. By building a safety barrier it will cost him several thousands of dollars and several extra months of build time. Of course the complexity of extra safety devices along with the extra weight the total project could have more problems coming out of the total project. So what would you tell him. If the fittings could fail what about the hoses or. I have found in my practice be reasonable which goes to all equipment and operations. If you fall tripping over some thing in a shadow with your safety googles on you still could have serious injury. Thanks

BTW welcome to AS. There is plenty of name calling lots of ridicule and some time seasonable debate breaks out.

Thank you.
Yes a little 5 ton splitter can kill you via fluid injection.

 

[Capitalist]

I have operated and rebuit the rams on 300 komatsu and a hundred others as well as taken OSHA hydraulic safety courses.
If the guy is smart enough to sleeve his lines for twenty bucks I wouldnt disuade him.
I have had hoses burst in my face and its not fun.

All hydraulic mfgs worry about it.
Thats why they all have warning labels saying not to touch the lines while under pressure.

I am very familiar with hydraulic systems and have see very new hoses burst as well as old ones.
There is not much hydralic equipment I havent ran or had to change blown hoses on.

Volume is not what kills you.
It is a couple milliliters of fluid that is injected in an instant through a hole you cant even see until its too late.

Regardless, who wants to have to wash their eyes out and stop and go change clothes?

This guy thinks ahead which is a winner quality.

 

[Haironyourchest]

Maybe inch-and-a-half waterpipe?

 

[Antarctica]

If the guy is smart enough to sleeve his lines for twenty bucks I wouldnt disuade him.
...

This guy thinks ahead which is a winner quality.

I won't disagree with you. If he's inclined, by all means, not a bad idea. One easy way may be to just unfasten each line and slide some old firehose over them..

 

[user 140828]

Thanks everyone for all of the responses. My conclusion, FWIW: Log splitter hydraulic hoses appear to be very safe as evidenced by all the sales pix and forum pix you see with uncovered hoses, and lack of high pressure leak injury reports (that I have seen, anyhow). But "very safe" is not "entirely", and these comments more or less sum it up for me:

>If the guy is smart enough to sleeve his lines for twenty bucks I wouldnt disuade him.<
(Who was he referring to? I know better ha ha.)

>This guy thinks ahead which is a winner quality.<
(Yeah, I try to, because of all the times I didn't and don't....)

>I won't disagree with you. If he's inclined, by all means, not a bad idea.<
It does seem so.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

chaff guard is pretty cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Cut-Spir...argid=aud-645589642778:pla-383525757320&psc=1