Should you spend the extra money on high quality hose?

One of the most common questions asked is “what hose should I buy”. Like most questions about brewing, the answer is never universal. Fortunately, we’ve broken the various options down into bite-sized chunks and provided three options.

When it comes to choosing hoses there are a couple key things to consider:

• Are product contaminations a concern?
• Will the hose be at risk of being crushed?
• Will the hose be under a high vacuum?
• What temperatures will you be working with?

These four factors should then guide your consideration of what choices to make with your hose - from crimping vs. band clamps, to material selection, and more.

Band Clamp vs. Professionally crimped Tri-Clamp ends

Band clamping is cheaper and it gives you the ability to remove your end and attach it to a new hose. However, band clamped hose brings with it a higher risk of infection and has a higher rate of failure than professional crimping. Band clamped hoses are only held in two areas, instead of along the entire length of the Tri-Clamp insert. This produces a space which is hard to clean during CIP, storing bacteria and grime ready to attack your next batch. Further, since the hose is only held in one or two places there’s less friction holding the end on, resulting in a higher risk that pressure within the hose will knock the end clean off. This kind of failure can be disastrous.

When a hose is professionally crimped, the entire length of the Tri-Clamp insert is crimped against the inside of the hose. This creates a sturdy end that will not be pushed off by pressure. The smooth internal bore leaves no space for bacteria to grow; the entire hose can be fully sanitized during CIP.

What material do you want?

Your choice of material is going to depend entirely on the temperatures you’re working with and the product you are pumping. Butyl, chlorobutyl, and EPDM are all food grade and appropriate for breweries and other craft food and beverage industries, but if you are moving high-temperature products an EPDM hose is recommended. EPDM can handle up to 300°f, while butyl and chlorobutyl can “only” handle up to 220°f.

Making the choice - Hose options:

At CPE we’ve worked with a large selection of hose. In this time we’ve settled on three hoses which we think provide the best options for brewers and beverage makers.