Berg-Nelson have been the leader in the industry for many years when it comes to crimping hoses effectively and safely using the best industry practices, machinery, hoses, fittings, ferrules & sleeves offered in today’s marketplace. We have a wide array of crimping machines using a wider array of product materials to handle everything from your smaller hydraulic hoses to your larger industrial dock hoses and everything in-between. We have made tremendous investments in our machinery and training to keep us ahead of our competitors and have crimped over 1 million hoses in counting both in the hydraulic and industrial world. There’s a difference when choosing Berg-Nelson for your hose assemblies.
Crimped vs Banding
Crimping ferrule/sleeve vs Banding hoses started a new era in the hose assembly industry which ultimately turned into a game changer and allowed the retention values of the fitting in the hose to increase providing a MUCH SAFER completed hose assembly. The permanently attached fitting using a crimp ferrule or sleeve which applies equal pressure around the circumference of the hose and addressing the “end-force” phenomena happening once the hose is energized addressing possible fitting ejection when transferring media. This eliminates leak paths where banding is susceptible. This technology provides a more robust and safer hose assembly for your company and employees to utilize in moving media from point “A” to “B” and providing ultimate “peace of mind”. There’s an art and science behind this advanced method of putting together hose assemblies and with our unmatched experience, knowledge, and insight expertise you are guaranteed a high-quality product.
HISTORY
For decades, hose distributors have been attaching fittings and couplings to hoses with methods that date back to our ancestors. Finally, in just the last 25 years, we have moved beyond such antiquated technology. Berg-Nelson shared today’s innovation using crimp-specific industrial hose fittings, couplings, ferrules and sleeves, creating permanently attached fittings to hoses for a 100 % leak-free assembly. Gone are the days when a distributor would use a hodge-podge of different manufacturers’ products banded together and hope for some level of performance. Safety and liability were laid solely with the distributor assembling the hoses and end users expected that leaking and failure were inevitable. A need in our industry for better performing hoses – ones that would be safer for end users and increase process efficiency – that would perform under higher pressures, higher temperatures, and not leak while in service. But don’t be fooled, all crimped hose assemblies are not the same!
A hose assembly is made up of three components: the hose, a fitting or coupling, and an attachment method. The overall rating of such an assembly must be rated to the lowest component. For example, if a jackhammer hose has 300 psi printed on the layline as a working pressure and uses a universal coupling (a.k.a. Chicago coupling), there is already an issue. Disregarding the attachment method for a moment, the universal coupling is only rated to 150 psi. Therefore, labeling the entire assembly 300 psi is a mistake. Using this hose in a 300 psi application would be unsafe and could potentially cause an accident. Now add in the factor of clamping the universal coupling on to the hose. The sum of those three components would be zero. Why? Because clamping a fitting or coupling on to a hose does not create a permanent attachment. Therefore, you cannot assign a clamped assembly a pressure rating. The question becomes: how tight is tight enough for a pre-formed clamp? Clamping just not a repeatable way to attach fittings and couplings to hoses and will not ensure industry-mandated safety factors are met consistently.
Using today’s innovative technology, Berg-Nelson can now create hose assemblies using fittings and couplings specifically engineered to be crimped with pre-calculated specs provided by the manufacturer, thereby creating permanently attached, leak-free hose systems. These hose systems can be assigned a pressure rating which carries a minimum safety factor, designated by the National Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution’s Hose Safety Institute. Pressure ratings vary greatly from fitting to fitting, also taking into account the type of hose construction and the specific attachment method. For example, a sleeve will have less holding power on a hose than a ferrule, because a ferrule creates a mechanical interlock with the fitting, allowing for higher pressures to be achieved while in service. Also, older coupling serration designs do not allow for crimping. The old style, two-bump cam-and-groove was designed to be banded, not crimped. NAHAD recommends using newer fitting technology that employs multiple serrations throughout the length of the shank, which maximizes sealing and retention.
The process of crimping sleeves and ferrules on to hoses is surprisingly straightforward. However, not having the appropriate type of components or failure to follow a process mandated by the manufacturer may generate poor results. A procedure of hose measurement will guide the distributor in using an industrial hose crimper to squeeze the ferrule or sleeve on to the hose to a pre-calculated specification. Verifying that the final crimp is to within the manufacturer’s tolerance range is critical to success. Only after completing all the necessary steps can a distributor be confident that a hose assembly will perform to the manufacturer’s published pressure ratings.
Other application factors that will affect the performance of the hose assembly, such as elevated temperature (of either the media or the environment) will also be critical to the understanding and expectation of what a assembly can and can’t do. Berg-Nelson uses the acronym STAMPED to ensure proper identification of an application and what the safest and most efficient hose and fitting combination is. STAMPED data is an acronym that encompasses all the information related to a specific application – Size, Temperature, Application, Media, Pressure, Ends, and Delivery.
As the industrial hose markets continue to demand better performing, more reliable hose systems, critical applications have seen the most success. Those applications that involve steam, high-pressure air, chemical transfer or other higher pressures and temperatures have quickly seen the value of increased safety and process improvement. When a failure occurs with these applications, people may often be injured. But what about the other negative effects, such as costs related to clean-up, property and environmental damage, process downtime, even fines or shutdowns. In a world dominated by liability, you cannot afford an accident.
But what about those less critical applications? Even those applications with lower pressures like water suction and discharge have embraced the benefits of crimping technology. Some may say that a jackhammer hose is not dangerous. Have you ever seen one whipping around a job site? Ever known someone to be injured by one? Even water transfer can create headaches in places where leaking is unacceptable. Crimping on layflat and mill hose solves the problem of continually leaking banded assemblies. Plus, no more clamp buckles to cut the operators’ hands or gloves. Mounting process costs apply to these applications as well when hoses don’t perform as needed.
Hose assemblies that are leak-free, perform under pressure and get the job done is the goal. The proof of how an assembly will perform is in the testing. Berg-Nelson only uses top manufactured products and tests completed hose assemblies with our state of the art test bench and equipment providing reassurance for our customers. This is the KEY to our and your SUCCESS!!!
Contact us at our facility in Long Beach, California for more information
