Hose Protection: Spiral Guard or Wrap Sleeve?

There are several different products on the market designed to help eliminate hose damage from contact with the environment or application. The question is; which one is best for your application?

In this article:

• Hose Protection 101: Spiral Guard
  • 5 Myths of Spiral Guard
• Hose Protection 101: Wrap Sleeve
  • 5 Benefits of Wrap Sleeve
• Which hose protection method is best for you?

Hose Protection 101: Spiral Guard

Spiral Guard is a product that enjoys a wide use in hose protection. It was an innovation that replaced the older spring guard and flat armor guard. Both older products provided protection, but had one downfall. When impacted, would crush and stay crushed against the hose. The damaged spring guard or flat armor would then damage the hose which would then need to be replaced.

Although the new invention of spiral plastic wrap solved the issues of older methods, it has since then been replaced with newer hose protection products like wrap sleeves and tubular abrasion sleeves. Below are a few myths that have been busted with newer hose protection solutions:

5 Myths of Spiral guard

Spiral wrap is used in many hydraulic hose applications for protection and bundling. It is believed to offer hose protection against abrasion, tangling, chafing, and wire pullout. Spiral wrap also provides an added benefit of allowing breakouts of single/multiple wires.

Even though multiple industries widely use this popular solution of hose bundling/protection, it does not provide the protection needed. Claims made by manufacturers have been tested and proved false by many. Read on for five spiral wrap myths and why you should stop using it.

Myth #1: Spiral Wrap is Resistant to harsh conditions

The idea that spiral wrap will resist harsh environmental conditions is not true. Recently, a customer purchased spiral wrap for their oil rig. The image on the left below shows a spiral that was on the rotary drill hose. The cold weather conditions at -10° F, the wind slamming the umbilical against the rig frame, and the chemical degradation made the spiral brittle. It broke many times. They added more pieces as it broke, and duct taped it so it would not slide down. They will not be purchasing spiral wrap ever again.

The newly installed wrap sleeve (right) has held up against the environmental conditions.

Myth #2: Spiral Wrap works well with hoses in motion

Even new equipment can have unforeseen issues that come to light after being released for production. The angle and motion of this bundle was not best served with spiral wrap. Not only did it not prevent hose damage, but it concentrated the damage on one spot!

Myth #3: Spiral Wrap protects hoses against abrasion

Quite literally, the opposite is true. Can you imagine having to troubleshoot this hosing or the electrical cable in the field? Binding a group of hose tightly with spiral allows sand and grit to fall into the bundle, where it then becomes the internal abrasive, grinding away the hose and cable covers.

Myth #4: Spiral Wrap ages well

As plastic spiral wrap ages, it loses its elastomers, making it subject to breaking. Using a wrap sleeve instead is not only good factory installed, but also great for post assembly applications. It is low friction, sealed, and can be cut to length and installed in a couple minutes.

Myth #5: Spiral wrap performs well in tight applications

Tight radius applications are not well suited for spiral wrap. The fixed coils bunch on the inside bend, which exposes the hose on the outside bends. A better solution would be the 1050 Ballistic Nylon Wrap Sleeve. It provides 360 protection, even with tight, high range motion applications. Its abrasion resistance is three times that of spiral.

Hose Protection 101: Wrap Sleeves

The solution to replace spiral wrap with a heavy-duty hook & loop wrap style protective sleeve has proven to be the right decision time and time again. The sleeve is resistant to chemicals, flexible, easy to install at the application site and well suited for ambient conditions. The heavy urethane coating reduces surface friction, providing excellent abrasion resistance for wet, high UV and sharp edge applications.

5 benefits of wrap sleeve

Our hose experts recommend using a hook & loop style wrap sleeve, which encapsulates the bundle, keeping the dirt out and sized correctly, which results in the hoses moving independently inside the sleeve, as needed, preventing damage.

Benefit #1: Ultimate Abrasion Protection

Hose wrap sleeves are one of the best abrasion protection solutions for hose bundles. Why? Because they are sewn from premium abrasion-resistant materials that will handle repeated abrasion and rubbing from machinery. Not mention -- unlike spiral guard -- wrap sleeve is a fully-enclosed product that does not allow sand, dirt and other job-site contaminants to fall into the bundle or cylinder and cause more damage. 

Benefit #2: wrap sleeves are Super easy to install

With its hook & loop enclosure, Sidewinder Wrap Sleeves are easy to install on equipment and hoses that have already been installed. The Python Hook & Loop technology allows for super easy installation, and holds itself closed until considerable effort is applied to remove it.

Benefit #3: wrap sleeves are also Super easy to remove

As easy as it is to install, Sidewinder Wrap Sleeves are just as easy to remove. When machine maintenance is required, operators can easy peel off the wrap sleeve until it is ready to be reinstalled.

Benefit #4: Unmatched UV protection

Exposure to UV rays can cause hoses, cables, and wires to fade and degrade over time. However, with the right wrap sleeve product, you can effectively defend and protect against the damaging effects of harsh UV rays.

Benefit #5: Chemical and moisture resistance

There are multiple wrap sleeve material options to choose from that offer different levels of moisture and chemical resistance. From spray foam chemical to sea water, our offering of Sidewinder Wrap Sleeves can defend against it all.

Which hose protection method is best for you?

It’s not a one size fits all proposition. It’s choosing the best solution for the application. Have questions on which solution is best suited for your needs? Call us at 1-800-782-5752 or visit our website for more information.