On new years eve, while I was out shopping, the flexi hose connecting the hot side of th kitchen sink decided to burst all by itself ! Came back to a kitchen full of steam and half an inch of water on the floor. The sink unit was soaked and wrecked - luckily it was still the temporary one i put in when we first moved here.
It got me thinking though, what is the expected lifespan of the hoses ? All taps these days seem to come with these, rather than the solid ones we used to use years ago. I put this sink in 15 years ago ( your definition of temporary may differ to mine.) and although the sink was reused from another part of the house, the taps and their hoses were new . So is 15 years the expected life span? Should I think about replacing others when they get to this sort of age?
Googling… I find folk reckon 5-10 years depending on the quality… so you are probably very lucky it lasted so long.
It’s a good question to ask…
The solid pipe was a case of do-it and forget it… the flexible is just rubber hose with a protective outer… so the rubber is bound to perish (or whatever).
I’m sure someone will chime in with facts and figures…
I suspect the all Gas Hoses have an expected-life… and would not want to be debating the unknown with an Insurance officer… so perhaps we need a professional to look into this… ???
I know we have the 3ft high gas tanks at the SdF and I’ll ask the question…
Erm … think it may be just one of those things. They’re everywhere - I’ve never known one fail. If angles were tight - it was straining or kinked then …but otherwise plumbing does fail so…
Chris… rubber does deteriorate over time, surely …???
I know of tyres, where the manufacturers recommend replacing the expanding-tyre-wheel every 10 years… before rigidity sets in and it doesn’t perform when required… ie in an Emergency. Many Mercedes cars use this sort of emergency spare-wheel… it sits, deflated in the bootspace, waiting to be called into action.
Flexible pipe that goes rigid… maybe risks cracking… I have no idea, but it is worth wondering about…
Everything deteriorates over time… ask my neck. Its plastic not rubber inside them so different
But they are sold with every single tap these days - if they “failed” after 5-10 years routinely no one would fit them and there’d be 20 posts saying ours did that…
So sometimes its fate / bad luck or poor fitting. They can be forced into tight angles and kink etc. which I’d suspect more than an intrinsic design flaw. Equally over tighten and squeeze the washer …
Given the same logic modern plastic pipe would need replacing every 5 years…
Ah… if you are talking about Taps… I know that many of them come with various guarantees of ??? years. That might be sufficient guide for the flexi…if the flexi is indeed sold as part and parcel of the whole thing.
However, Tom is talking about especially fitting flexis to his taps… ie not sold as part and parcel with the Taps… ???
Modern plastic pipe does have a “life” which will depend on the quality of its manufacture…
I can’t believe that the pipes would last any less time than the taps that they are attached to, they are fairly well engineered and don’t have a very taxing job. Mine have been going strong but one of my 20+ year old taps is leaking and I’ve got a replacement. When I fit the new one I will replace the pipes as well.
Quite so David… the complete unit would have a life-expectancy… hence the Tap literature will say… good for how ever many years…
but when bits are bought separately, from different suppliers/manufacturers and then put together… life-expectancy overall is only as good as the weakest link, I reckon no use putting cheap pipe and/or washers on an expensive tap (for example)
The last tap I fitted (for a friend) was expensive, it’s listed price was considerably over €1000 but she got it for a lot less because it had been on show in their showroom. I fitted it using new flexible hoses from a local brico, I’m confident that they will do the job. I have just had a huge overhaul of a 15 year car that’s cost more than most of the cars I’ve bought. The brake pipes on that, rigid and flexible were in perfect condition and considered good enough for the next 15 years.
I’m not deriding Brico Depot… simply that the question has been raised about how long “flexis” can be relied upon… and quality must surely play a part… as with so many bits and bobs…
Brico Depot have a good selection in my opinion… the trick is sorting the wheat from the chaff in all and any of their sections…
