Hose Protection Solutions: How Sleeve It Safeguards Equipment

Date: 03/12/25

Even the most complex modern industrial equipment can be brought to a halt by something as simple as a failed hose. Yet protecting your hoses against such failures couldn’t be easier. 

Sleeve It provides a wide range of hose protection products to keep your equipment safe from all kinds of threats, from high temperatures to UV breakdown, from chemical corrosion to wear and tear, splits and pinhole bursts.

In this article, we’ll take a look at why hose protection is a non-negotiable safety precaution. We’ll show you how hose protection takes care of key equipment and what can happen if you don’t take steps to avoid hose failures.

The Hidden Costs of Unprotected Hoses: Why Proactive Protection is Non-Negotiable  

Hose failure is more than just a minor inconvenience; it can be a major problem for your company, affecting productivity, costing money and ruining your reputation as a reliable supplier. 

If a failed hose leads to equipment failure, it can have a range of knock-on effects, including:

• Costly Downtime – on many integrated, automated production lines, the failure of one machine can shut down the whole factory. Your operating costs will keep going even though your operations have stopped.

• Equipment Damage – leaking or ruptured hoses can cause damage in two ways: either by stopping essential oils or coolants from entering and protecting the machine, or by leaking oil, water or hydraulic fluid onto sensitive parts of the equipment. In both cases, you may have to write off the whole machine because of one hose failure.  

• Human costs – leaks of hot or corrosive fluids can cause significant injuries to nearby operatives, and pinhole bursts can be even more dangerous, even fatal in some circumstances. Such injuries can have both a human and a financial cost, through compensation claims, increased insurance premiums and HSE fines.

• Environmental costs – leaking fluids from your equipment can contaminate your premises as well as the surrounding environment and waterways. Clean-up bills and fines for environmental pollution can be crippling, and the reputational damage caused by harming the environment can be devastating.

The Sleeve It Range of Hose Protection Sleeves

Sleeve It provides a range of hose protection products that resist flame, high temperature, hose spray failures and mechanical abrasions, while also offering electrical insulation. This includes:

• Abrasion Resistant Sleeves – to protect hoses that are subject to constant rubbing and friction that causes degradation of the hose wall and structural integrity

• High-Temperature and Fire Sleeves – to protect hoses in machinery with high, constant operating temperatures, as well as occasional very high temperatures, such as molten splash. This hose protection can also protect key components in the event of fire.

• Hose Burst Protection and Containment – manufactured from ballistic grade nylon, this advanced hose protection contains bursts and prevents penetrating jets from pinhole failures.

Original spec or retrofit

While it is usually best to fit hose protection as standard from the start, many Sleeve It hose protection products can be retrofitted during repairs, refurbishments or equipment upgrades. 

It’s never too late to add high quality hose protection using products such as Firesleeve Hook and Loop, Flexguard Hose Burst Hook and Loop, or Sleeve It Fire Tape. Installation can often be done in situ, without the need to disconnect hoses or disassemble equipment. This makes the upgrade fast and effective, with minimum disruption to your ongoing operations.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hose Protection

Q. What is the best way to protect hydraulic hoses?

A. The best hose protection product depends on the risk or risks you are protecting against. For example, Firesleeve is the best choice for thermal protection, while Flexguard Hose Burst offers unbeatable protection against leaks and bursts.

Q. How does a fire sleeve work?

A. Sleeve It Firesleeve is made with a heat resistant, E-glass fibre woven inner sleeve. This is coated with a high grade silicone elastomer outer layer, which melts when exposed to flame, creating a robust silicone dioxide layer to protect the hose.

Q. When should I install a hose protection sleeve?

A. Ideally, hose protection should be an integral part of equipment design. However, it is never too late to upgrade your hose protection using Sleeve It hook and loop products, which can be fitted in situ to existing equipment.

Q. Can hose sleeves extend the life of my equipment?

A. Yes, they can. Hoses are among the most vulnerable parts of your machinery and are subject to constant wear and tear. Hose protection prevents a minor hose failure, causing major damage to your equipment and associated machinery. 

Get the highest quality hose protection now

With the potential for such costly consequences, operating your equipment without hose protection is a massive risk in any industry. Yet protecting your machinery, your production line and your people couldn’t be easier or more cost-effective.

Talk to the team at Sleeve It to find the best hose protection solution for your company, and look forward to safer, more secure operations with significant savings on downtime, repairs and equipment replacement. It could save your reputation, and it could even save lives.

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