You think you have a perfectly functioning pump or compressor till the air hose springs a leak out of the blue. If you don’t have an explosion of the hose, then it can easily be repaired. You can’t just ignore a leak, it will hamper the performance and might even damage the compressor.
So, how do you repair a leaked air hose? Well, you can replace the air hose but that might turn out to be expensive if you are using an expensive hose. Or you can do a quick and easy inexpensive repair yourself.
What You Need
It is fairly simple to fix an air hose. It requires only a few things and you can get them at any auto parts store. You would need some threaded air hose fittings, ferrule, and a crimper. With these three things, you are set on making repairs on your air hose. You can repair air hoses of up to 120 PSI with these things. Anything above, I would suggest you go consult an expert.
Step 1
First, you need to make sure you have everything in order, especially a crimping tool. You can buy a crimping tool; it comes in handy if you are working with hydraulic pressure devices. You can use any crimping tool you want for this. The crimping tool uses a set of dies to crimp the fittings to the desired size.
If you don’t want to buy a crimper, then ask a local store if you can borrow or rent one. However, if you have a friend who owns it then you are in luck. When considering buying a crimper you should make sure it is multi-faceted. Meaning the crimper should work for AC, Power Steering, and other types of crimps.
Step 2
You need to conduct a thorough inspection of the hose. Make sure you identify how much of the hose is damaged, and what type of damage it is. After that use a hose cutter or any other similar tool to cut away all of the damaged air hose. This part is very important if you don’t conduct a thorough inspection and miss some leaks then you are looking at a repeat at the minimum. When using the cutter, you should make sure that the cut is square otherwise, the fitting won’t be correct.
Step 3
The next step is making sure you connect the ferrule and the air hose fittings. Slide the ferrule to the end of the hose and then attach the air hose fitting properly. Make sure that the ferrule is firmly pushed inside the hose to offset any leakage and a proper fit. Once you make sure the ferrule has been firmly fitted it’s time to put the barb or air hose fitting to be fit. Once this is done the hose is ready for crimping.
Step 4
This is a crucial part of the repair process. Set up the crimper and make sure you use the right dies on the crimper for your air hose. Once everything is set up, place the hose on the dies and close it. It will close on the ferrule making a perfect seal. The compression from the crimper assures that no leaks occur and is a perfect fit.
Repaired and Ready for Service
There you go, these are the steps on repairing your air hose leak. The process is quite simple. But, if you are a novice with little mechanical knowledge and know how then I would suggest you consult an expert. You should have enough knowledge of the problem before going in for a DIY repair. Working with Hydraulic hoses and fittings can be a tricky thing. Which is why I advising you to consult or study up before attempting anything.
