The package arrived and the 50' of hose was in a 4' box. When I opened the box it turned out to be what you might describe as a heavy duty dryer hose. I pulled on the end to extend a portion of the hose and being still cold the hose broke at about 6" in. The next thing I noticed was the box was printed 12 mill vinyl in red ink, but there was a sticker added at the end of the box that said 6 mill vinyl.
The 50' was only $50 bucks so I thought I may keep it as a back up that could be made into whatever size I needed and that it may be somewhat more durable when warmed up.
Several days later I hooked it to my 110v planer then to the dust collector. Within 30 minutes holes were beginning to appear in the creases of the hose. This product might make a great dryer hose with lint passing through but don't attempt to use it for woodworking it is much to delicate for its intended use. PSI Woodworking D50C 4-Inch by 50-Feet Clear Flexible Dust Collection Hose
I thought this clear hose was like that sold a Rockler but much less expensive.
The PSI version is a much thinner PVC material and as such I have to think its going to be very prone to tears and punctures especially in a woodworking shop when it constantly pulled around.
On the + side it does have a wire embedded as the spiral forming structure. And it collapses into a very small profile (due to its more delicate design). A 16' section will compress end to end to 18".
I am using it as a vacumm hose to reach around the shop when connected to the dust collector. Again its flexibility and small storage is nice, but even a short time of use Im beginning to see the beginnings of stress tears in the folds.
If it holds after a couple months of use, Ill update my rating to 5 stars.
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By the time I hung the tubing I had 6 holes in it. Anything that touches it puts a hole in it. I would have been better off using paper. Bad bad investment I was so mad I ripped it down and chucked in the garbage. I have had my other pipe up for about 5 years bought it from Rockler thought I would redo everything and reroute a few things wrong. I do not recommend this product.
I was very hesitant about getting this hose because of the negative reviews but I'm really glad that I got it after all. It just goes to show that some people will whine about anything and everything. I found it to be a very durable hose and it's nothing like a dryer hose. I dropped a 6' ladder on it and it didn't crush it at all. Why did the whiners buy plastic to begin with? They wanted rigid conduit at a plastic hose price. It's a very good hose and very easy to work with.
I am going to compare this hose with hose I bought from Harbor Freight Tools (HF), item #96478 $15 for a 10 foot length --[...] -- I'm not an employee of HF, just a long time customer. I bought my 2 HP Dust Collector (DC) from them and needed a lot of hose.
One reviewer mentioned that the box had more tape on the outside holding it together than hose inside. The 50' hose comes in a 4' long box and the box arrived torn in half with no tape holding the two halves together. Fortunately there was no damage to the center section of the hose.
I was shocked at how cheap and lightweight the PSI hose seemed compared to the HF hose I was already using. I buy from HF knowing their products can be of cheap quality, but for the price and quality, I highly recommend HF's hose. And the hose slices are $3.
The Facts:
The PSI hose has well defined interior peaks and valleys at each fold, adding to the air flow resistance. The HF hose is fairly smooth inside. PSI - the bare wire 'floats' loose inside a formed pocket. HF - has heavy insulation around the wire and is molded directly into the hose. PSI - I mic'd the wire at .048". This equates to about 16 1/2 a.w.g wire (lamp cord is 16 awg. HF - .059 (about 14 1/2 awg). PSI - I mic'd the plastic jacket at .006" and .012" thick. This is how it's made: half of each segment or fold is only .006" thick and where the jacket folds over onto itself to form the wire pocket, this half of the segment is .012" thick and the two halves are fused together forming a seam (and the interior ridges). This is the area where one reviewer says holes are developing, continued stretching or pulling on the hose could lead to separation at this seam. Dragging the hose on the floor should not cause a leak because a hole would first develop on the other edge of the wire pocket and the pocket is sealed from the interior. HF - the jacket mic'd at .021" uniform thickness. As a comparison, a 2 Liter soda bottle is .012 thick. PSI - 50' hose??? I measured each run I cut, stretching the hose moderately tight, and I only got about 35' of hose. I don't know how the manufacture gets its measurment (maybe during a tractor pull), but if you stretch the hose to an extreme, I think those seams will start to stress and pull apart.
I had 20' of HF hose which was enough to connect my DC from inside the garage up to the workshop wall. From there, I started running the PSI hose as the main truck line through out the workshop in the rafters. It's been about 2 months in use with no problems, but only time will tell. With the DC on, the hose wants to pull together with force with only one blast gate open and a 2 1/2" reduced fitting, so much so that hose pulled out of a support clamp screwed into a rafter. The HF hose dose not draw together like that. When released from the box, the HF hose extends to much of its lenght and stays like that. The HF hose is also pretty flexible but with a lot more weight/durability to the hose.
Bottom Line: Would I buy this PSI hose again? Yes. I will place another order after this review. Why? It is extremely flexible, great for runs between blast gate and machine. Easily collapses back to a small length if needed. I can push the machine back against the wall and the hose doesn't fight me. With 4" port connections at the machine, the hose dose not draw up. But with a 2 1/2" reducer fitting connected, the hose would draw up and pull the connector off the machine port. It can be a useful hose in your workshop if you understand its limitations. I see it as a lightduty hose. It may last many years. But in a year or so if the hose doesn't hold up then I will have made a $110 mistake, but I will move forward. - Blast Gate - Hose - Dust Collectors - Hoses'
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