PSA: Don't trust those cheap hydraulic hose repair kits from online auctions

I bought a $45 kit off an auction site thinking I scored a deal for my dredge. First job on the Mississippi last Tuesday, the crimp fitting blew out after 20 minutes of running. Lost half a day and had to tow back to dock. Those cheap fittings just can't handle the pressure we run. Has anyone else had bad luck with those no-name hose kits?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicaw541mo ago

Rolled the dice on one of those $35 kits for a small backhoe hose last spring and it lasted maybe two weeks before the fitting split right at the crimp line. Had to replace the whole hose anyway so I ended up paying more in the long run. The problem is those cheap kits use softer steel that doesn't bite into the hose jacket right, so the fitting just slides off under pressure. Your dredge running that much higher PSI than a backhoe probably made it worse. Did you check the rated PSI on the kit before you bought it?

pat_hall871mo ago

Oh jeez, that's exactly the kind of headache I was trying to avoid. You know what nobody talks about though? It's not just the steel quality or the PSI rating. Those cheap kits also use a different crimp pattern than what your machine's fittings are designed for. I checked my old hose against the new one and the crimp lines didn't line up at all. The cheap ones use like a six point crimp instead of the eight point that my dredge needs. That alone makes the fitting slip way easier under pressure. Plus the inside diameter of the hose itself was off by like a sixteenth of an inch, so the flow was actually restricted before the fitting even failed. Just another thing to watch for if you ever try again.