“Rhinoback”
“Urethane Flex Medium-Duty”
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty WS”
“Urethane Flex Light-Duty”
“Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty”
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty”
“Thermoplastic Flex Heavy-Duty”
“Neoprene Flex – 2 ply Heavy-Duty”
“Neoprene Flex – 2 ply”
Screw Clamps
Street Sweeper Hose
Table of Contents:
1. What Is a Street Sweeper?
2. How Does a Street Sweeper Machine Work?
3. The Importance of Abrasion Resistance
4. How Do Street Sweepers Hoses Wear Down?
5. What Are Rhinoback Flex Hoses?
6. What Are Klear-Flex Street Sweeper Hoses?
7. Can I Use Polyurethane Hoses on a Street or Parking Lot Sweeper?
8. Black Thermoplastic Rubber Hoses
What Is a Street Sweeper?
A street sweeper is a machine designed to clean streets, parking lots, and other public paved areas. The primary function of street sweepers is to keep roads and public spaces clean by removing debris, dirt, leaves, and any other material accumulated on the streets. Street sweeping has derived from a need to increase cleanliness and public sanitation efforts in urban areas. As such, the earliest forms of street sweepers were horse-drawn carts with rotating brushes attached. However, that all changed in the 19th century when C.S Bishop invented the first motorized street sweeper, and ever since its invention, motorized street sweepers have revolutionized and optimized how we approach public sanitation. Fast forward to today; multiple classes of street sweepers are roaming the streets and cleaning up anything and everything along their paths.
How Does a Street Sweeper Machine Work?
There are three main types of street sweepers: mechanical, vacuum, and regenerative. Mechanical street sweepers are one of the simplest designed street sweepers as they use one or more large brooms to sweep debris towards the middle of the sweeper, where it gets collected into a hopper. These brooms can be adjusted to different angles to take account of curbs, gutters, and hard-to-reach areas in urban settings. Some mechanical sweepers also have small water sprays that try to control and move sticky debris from the streets. Vacuum street sweepers operate similarly to a large household vacuum where they use suction to remove debris from the street’s surface and deposit it into a hopper. Vacuum street sweepers are particularly effective at removing fine dust and debris, making them ideal for urban areas in windy and desert-like climates and environments. Meanwhile, regenerative street sweepers are the most advanced model of street sweepers due to their closed-loop air system to remove debris. The closed-loop air system utilizes a large fan and two flex hoses to create a recirculated internal airflow that dislodges debris from the surface, carries it to the hopper, and the air is circulated back to the two flex hoses, where it repeats the process. As a result of this design, regenerative air street sweepers are considered one of the most environmentally friendly models out of the three that contribute to urban sanitization and environmental protection.
“Urethane Flex Medium-Duty”
“Urethane Flex Medium-Duty”
- Great abrasion resistance & high tear strength
- Superior chemical resistance
- Excellent flexibility
- Designed for applications with wide temperature ranges
The “Urethane Flex Medium-Duty” is a polyurethane duct designed for abrasives, dust, and material applications. These dust collection hoses are made from medium-weight polyurethane wall material reinforced with a bronze coated spring steel wire helix. The polyurethane hose materials used in this product give it excellent protection against chemicals and abrasion (external and internal).
This is our best selling polyurethane duct because it combines flexibility, chemical resistance, and abrasion resistance. The high tensile strength of polyurethane also assures reliability and durability when using this product. Because polyurethane duct is tough, it can have thinner gauged walls when compared to rubber or vinyl. This polyurethane duct also has excellent resistance to hydrocarbons, chemicals, ozone, bacteria, fungus, moisture, and skin oils. This material handling hose is available in clear, which utilizes FDA acceptable materials (ideal for food and drug applications).
“Urethane Flex Medium-Duty”
“Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty”
The Importance of Abrasion Resistance
Abrasion resistance refers to the ability to withstand the wear and tear of friction caused by mechanical parts or the interaction of abrasive materials. There are several ways to test and measure the abrasion resistance of a material, such as the Taber Abrasion test, the Martindale Abrasion test, and the Falling Sand Abrasion test. The Taber Abrasion test utilizes a machine with abrasive wheels to wear down a sample material and determines the abrasive resistance of the material based on the loss of weight and thickness after a specified number of cycles. The Martindale test subjects a material to be rubbed against an abrasive surface with a set amount of force until the material shows noticeable wear and tear. Lastly, the Falling sand Abrasion test involves a stream of sand poured onto a material until the stream wears away a considerable amount of the material. In relation to street sweepers they require abrasive-resistant flexible ducting that can withstand the daily rigors of cleaning urban environments and be sturdy enough to handle vacuuming the variety of debris they encounter. From basic dirt and dust to sharp materials and oddly shaped debris, a street sweeper hose must have a high abrasive resistance level to handle its day-to-day operations.
“Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty”
“Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty”
- Designed for applications with wide temperature ranges
- Ideal for severe service applications
- Very good low temperature flexibility
The “Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty” material handling hoses are designed to work in severe abrasive and material transfer applications. This flex duct is made from polyurethane duct materials, making it very durable and flexible. The diverse properties of polyurethane make it the leading choice for engineers looking for long-lasting materials for their high load, high stress environments. Polyurethane routinely outperforms plastic and rubber in its overall ability to resist harsh environmental factors such as abrasion, heat, solvents, oil and acid. Because of the PU material used in these material handling hoses, these products feature fantastic tear strength while maintaining excellent flexibility.
This flex duct is also available in a clear color that is made with FDA acceptable materials. This flexible ducting’s heavy wall makes it an ideal choice for heavy-duty applications involving abrasives. The “Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty” material handling hoses are designed to work within wide temperature ranges. This dust collection hose works in temperatures ranging from -65 to +225 degrees Fahrenheit. Even when working in low temperatures, this dust collection hose maintains excellent flexibility.
“Urethane Flex Heavy-Duty”
“Urethane Flex Light-Duty”
How Do Street Sweepers Hoses Wear Down?
Street sweeper trucks can suck up any and almost all items that they encounter on highways, roads, and parking lots. Just like other parking lot sweeper parts, like flaps or curtains, wear and components will eventually be damaged. Since vacuum or regenerative air sweepers move dirt and debris through their hoses into their collection chamber, the flexible ducts employed by the vehicles see a lot of abusive and rough debris. Street sweeper hoses will also eventually wear from this continuous collection of abrasive materials and require replacement, much like other sweeper truck parts. Wear resistance is important when selecting a flexible hose for a road or parking lot sweeping truck. Street sweeper tubes must be flexible since they continuously move up and down with the sweeper head. This continuous flexing of the ductwork will cause the flexible ducts to wear from “flex fatigue.” Abrasion is not the problem in this case, but general wear from this continuous movement of the hoses is, unfortunately, a natural course of life for the sweeping industry. When exposed to outside wear, weathering, and constant flexing, flexible hose materials will crack and rip over time. Therefore, selecting a hose which has long life is important if reducing the downtime of a sweeper truck is important. Having your sweeper truck sidelined even for one day is costly if your clients count on your services. Buying durable hoses is imperative and stocking hoses in your stock room is highly recommended!
“Urethane Flex Light-Duty”
“Urethane Flex Light-Duty”
- Clear is manufactured with FDA acceptable materials
- Available in Metric sizes
The “Urethane Flex Light-Duty” is a lightweight flexible polyurethane hose designed for air, dust, and light material applications. This product is made from polyurethane hose materials and is recommended for industrial air movement, fume control, and dust collection applications. The polyurethane wall and spring steel wire helix reinforcement gives the “Urethane Flex Light-Duty” excellent compressibility, abrasion resistance, and chemical resistance. This ultra flexible dust collector hose is the thinnest walled polyurethane hose we offer. The thinner wall permits this polyurethane hose to have excellent compression ratio (5 to 1), lower weight per linear foot, and great flexibility.
The “Urethane Flex Light-Duty” lightweight hoses come in a standard size of 25 feet with a plain cut end finish. Custom lengths up to 50 ft and custom cuffed ends are also available. This flexible polyurethane hose is available in either clear or black, and ID sizes range from 2 inch to 18 inch. For hoses up to 8 inches ID, the tolerance level is -0.00 to +0.125 inches, and over 8 inches is -0.00 to +0.250 inches. Metric sizes are also available with a 200 ft minimum per ID size. These lightweight hoses are designed for light-duty air, dust, and material applications such as landfill venting, leaf collection, ultra violet dryers, pharmaceutical work, and paint spray extraction
What Are Rhinoback Flex Hoses?
“Rhinoback” flex hoses are material handling flexible hoses specifically designed for applications requiring abrasive material transfer. It is one of the few flexible hoses specifically designed for commercial sweepers as it takes into account the inside diameter (I.D.) sizes that are frequently on the most popular street sweeper models. Made with a hard durometer-reinforced rubber and double-ply synthetic fabric reinforcement, “Rhinoback” flex hoses can withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -40 to +280 degrees Fahrenheit. While the duct materials offer limited flexibility and low elasticity, the “Rhinoback” flex hose provides superior durability and resistance to outside elements, making it an excellent option for many commercial sweepers. Additionally, “Rhinoback” flex hoses can be used for regenerative air sweepers that utilize both positive and negative pressure applications and are considered the go-to flexible hose for regenerative air sweeper models.
“Rhinoback”
“Rhinoback”
The “Rhinoback” is a material handling hose designed for gravity or positive and negative pressure applications in bulk material handling. The intake hose is specifically made for use on street and parking lot sweeping machines. This material handling hose is made to meet the individual ID sizes and lengths of specific street and parking lot sweeper models. The intake hose is made with a hard durometer reinforced rubber, which offers superior durability and resistance to outside elements. These duct materials offer limited flexibility and low elasticity.
The “Rhinoback” street sweeper hose wall is 0.375 inches thick and reinforced with double-ply synthetic fabric. These durable duct materials give the “Rhinoback” a wide temperature range of -40 to +280 degrees Fahrenheit. The collection hose has a compression ratio of 1.5 to 1 to allow efficient operation. The durable materials of the intake hose allow the “Rhinoback” hose material to function efficiently in a broad range of environments and situations.
The “Rhinoback” collection hose is available in a wide range of sizes to fit specific makes and models of street and parking lot sweepers. Each material handling hose features 3-inch cuffs. The 3-inch cuffed hose comes standard on all available sizes and allows the material handling hose to be easily clamped for user convenience. Each cuffed hose comes in black and is available in a variety of sizes. While a wide range of sizes are available for specific street and parking lot sweepers, custom sizes are available with a 12-week lead time.
“Klear Flex”
What Are Klear-Flex Street Sweeper Hoses?
The “Klear-Flex Sweeper” flex hose is another abrasive handling flexible hose specifically designed for street sweeper applications. Most importantly, “Klear-Flex” hoses are transparent and can help you identify clogs. Made in medium-duty and heavy-duty versions, they are constructed from polyurethane film. Polyurethane is composed of polymer and carbamate (urethane) links, and these links are known for their elasticity and transparency and as an excellent hose wall for abrasion-resistant applications. Backed with a reinforced coated spring steel wire helix, “Klear-Flex Sweeper” flex hoses showcase excellent resistance towards abrasions, chemicals, oils, solvents, and extreme temperature ranges from -65 degrees to +225 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it ideal as a street sweeper hose requiring industrial strength to clean standard highways and severely dirty streets. If you are looking for a flexible hose that can withstand the rigors of heavy-duty street cleaning, then the “Klear-Flex Sweeper” flex hose will be the one best suited for the task.
“Klear Flex”
“Klear Flex”
- Excellent compressibility
- Offers maximum combination of flexibility and abrasion resistance
- Cut, gouge, and chemical resistant
“Klear Flex” sweeper hoses are made-to-length hoses for commercial street sweeping machines. Streets, roads, highways and parking lots continuously accumulate trash and waste. Pollutants, including sediment, debris, road salt and various other materials are reduced or removed through air powered street sweepers. The “Klear Flex” is a reinforced industrial grade street sweeper hose strong enough to withstand the rigors of regular highway cleaning. These sweeper hoses are made for vacuum sweepers that utilize constant air movement to transfer debris over to a suction nozzle on one side of the sweeper. Abrasion is constant and the need for a vacuum hose that can withstand the environment is of the utmost importance.
The sturdy flexible hose is constructed using heavy-duty clear polyurethane. The reinforced walls of the extraction hose are made to support a coated spring steel wire helix. This reinforced steel spring in the street sweeper hose provides maximum flexibility, abrasion resistance and efficient flow characteristics. The spring design allows the multifaceted abrasion resistant hose to compress easily during its use. Each hose comes complete with three-inch black polyurethane cuffs located on either end of the flex duct hose. Each extraction hose comes with standard polyurethane cuffs making for easy installation onto the sweeper head.
“Neoprene Flex – 2 Ply”
Can I Use Polyurethane Hoses on a Street or Parking Lot Sweeper?
Polyurethane flex hoses should be considered for street sweeper ductwork because of their durability and resistance to various external factors. Polyurethane hoses are at the top of the class of materials that flexible ducting is made from in terms of abrasion resistance. Similar to the “Klear-Flex Sweeper” flex hose, Polyurethane flex hoses are composed of polymer and carbamate links that give the body of this polyurethane ducting a natural resistance to abrasion, chemicals, heat, solvents, oils, and acids. This makes it ideal for street sweeper machines requiring a long-lasting flexible hose for constant high-load, high-stress urban environments. Polyurethane flex hoses also showcase a high level of flexibility and compressibility that is perfect for street sweeper models that require it in their application. However, it is essential to mention that the level of flexibility and compressibility decreases as the flexible hose’s wall thickness increases. In doing so, polyurethane flex hoses with thick hose walls show substantial durability while being less flexible than those with thinner walls. If you are looking for a durable, flexible duct that consistently outperforms PVC and rubber, Polyurethane flex hoses are the best option for street sweepers.
“Neoprene Flex – 2 Ply Flex”
“Neoprene Flex – 2 Ply”
- Good crush resistance and tensile strength
- Neoprene coating offers excellent abrasion and chemical resistance
- Good flexibility
- More durable than double ply cotton hoses
The “Neoprene Flex – 2 ply” industrial duct is recommended for dust control and material transfer applications. The large diameter flexible pipe is made using a strong double-ply neoprene coated polyester fabric with a spring steel wire helix. The intelligent construction and durable 2-ply neoprene wall allows these flex hoses to withstand abrasive dust and other harsh materials. This hose is recommended for use in a vast list of harsh conditions including dust collection, grinders, woodworking and furniture industries.
Each “Neoprene Flex – 2 ply” industrial duct has good crush resistance that allows it to be used in harsh environments. The flexible pipes tensile strength, or the maximum tension the material can withstand without tearing, is complemented by the excellent abrasion and chemical resistance offered by its neoprene coating. The “Neoprene Flex – 2 ply” flexible duct has good flexibility and is more durable than double ply cotton hoses. The flex hoses can handle both positive and negative pressures. Each industrial duct has a working temperature range of -40 F to +250 F and is listed as a UL 94 V-0 flame retardant product.
“Thermoplastic Flex Heavy-Duty”
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty WS”
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty”
Black Thermoplastic Rubber Hoses
When choosing a flex duct for your parking lot sweeper parts department, “Thermoplastic Flex” hoses are a reliable and sturdy choice for all your street sweeping ducting needs. “Thermoplastic Flex” hoses are excellent general-purpose flex ducts made from thermoplastic rubber. Thermoplastic rubber is a class of copolymers made from plastic and rubber with thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. As a result of its general all-purpose nature, “Thermoplastic Flex” hoses can come in different weight classes, lengths, and inside diameter (I.D.) sizes. The thicker the wall, the less flexible the ducts are, but as you go up in the continuum of wall thickness, you add abrasion resistance. We stock the Medium-Duty version of this class of hoses, and their price point and wear resistance are perfect for the parking lot sweeping market. In addition, the material found in “Thermoplastic Flex” hoses exhibits outstanding resistance to chemicals, moisture, UV rays, and extremely hot and cold environments, and once they are thoroughly used, these flex ducts can be recycled. Due to their natural resistance to various external factors, “Thermoplastic Flex” hoses are generally an ideal alternative to a street sweeper hose that requires a standard general-purpose flex duct that can handle the daily rigors of street cleaning.
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty WS”
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty WS”
- Great general all-purpose hose
- Designed for applications with wide temperature ranges
- Smooth interior assures minimal friction loss and efficient air flow
“Thermoplastic Flex Medium-Duty WS” is a thermoplastic rubber duct designed as a great general-purpose material, air, dust or fume handling hose. This product is unique from other thermoplastic rubber duct products because it features an external wear-strip that offers additional external abrasion protection and drag resistance. The external wear-strip extends the product life by protecting the hose from external wear, which is often forgotten by end-users. This is one of our best selling products!
Thermoplastic rubbers are a class of copolymers that possess both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties, generally made from a mix of plastic and rubber. The thermoplastic rubber material gives this rubber hose great chemical resistance and also provides a longer life in extreme hot and cold environments over standard rubber. Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) have been proven to be dependable polymers for flexible engineered parts that require long-term performance. This hose is recommended for applications that require good chemical and abrasion resistance, such as dust and abrasives collection.
