I’m looking for a high-pressure hose. Which is the best one for me to choose?

Does your production process make your machines and production areas really dirty? Then you might want to opt for high-pressure cleaning. However, high-pressure cleaning is by no means always necessary, because it can damage equipment.

High-pressure cleaning in the food industry is necessary if your machines and areas are made very dirty by the production process. Think of fat residues, blood residues and baked-on dirt. Such dirt mainly occurs when processing meat and potatoes. You can only clean it away effectively with high pressure (from 60 bar) in combination with a high water temperature. Elpress recommends a ½-inch hose with textile layer and a black outer wall for high-pressure cleaning.

1/2-inch high-pressure hose

A ½-inch hose is always used for high-pressure cleaning. For rinsing alone, a ⅜-inch hose is sufficient. This thin hose is easy to use and uses about 18 to 20 litres of water per minute per employee at a working pressure of 60 bar. By comparison: medium pressure (40 bar) uses 25 litres of water per minute and low pressure (40 bar) uses 30 litres of water. Using a hose with a larger diameter in combination with high-pressure cleaning is not advisable because this requires much more effort at the expense of easy working.

Textile layer or steel layer

When buying a cleaning hose, you have the choice between a hose with textile layer or a hose with steel layer. In principle, a textile layer is preferred because it is more flexible and more durable. This synthetic material does not degrade and is very wear-resistant.

Potato processors and meat processors generally choose a hose with a black inner wall (NBR hose) because the water used for cleaning – at the end of the production process – does not come into contact with the food.

Avoiding damage caused by high pressure

As mentioned at the start of this blog, high-pressure cleaning is not always necessary. High-pressure cleaning (from 60 bar) can damage equipment. Think of conveyor belts, electronics, weigh scales and plug sockets. At a lower pressure, the chance of damage is much lower. So check whether high-pressure cleaning is really necessary or whether it is possible to clean at a lower pressure in combination with more water.