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Hydraulic pressure skin piercing

I'm also trying to wrap my head around how you would have this kind of failure in a way that you would be in the line and close enough for a problem. It seems like a sudden pressure spike, say a mechanical overload failure, wouldn't be very likely to result in a pinhole rupture
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Hydraulic tamper is the first thing that comes to mind, you have to have them close to your body to be effective...im 6ft4 and they are neck high to me in use
 
A plant was breaking 2.5" 2000psi hydraulic header pipes from shock. Spikes were in the 10s of thousands of psi. They would break at the weld on flanges. The operators would tie rags around it to stop it from spraying far and keep running. Lucky they were, and had no idea how dangerous it was.

I welded them a bunch of new headers and installed accumulators to fix it.
 
It is a very real possibility and its nasty. Had a friend that was injected in the left hand in the crook of the thumb. It went up his wrist and arm. They scraped and cleaned. It was able to heal with time, but he had long term affects from some amount of oil reaching his heart. He had much trouble after that...
 
I had a friend that lost 3 fingers while operating the controls on a flatbed tow truck. The line ruptured very close to the control valve and cut them off clean.
 
I'm also trying to wrap my head around how you would have this kind of failure in a way that you would be in the line and close enough for a problem. It seems like a sudden pressure spike, say a mechanical overload failure, wouldn't be very likely to result in a pinhole rupture

My experience is mainly automotive and heavy equipment related but as mentioned, flexible hydraulic hoses will typically have 2 failure modes: leaks from abrasion and leaks from age. In both instances it's quite common for a very small pinhole to develop initially, sometimes it's so small it's difficult to detect so the "run your hand over the hose" may give you a quick trip to the emergency room. As other have mentioned, a 3x5 card or something similar is a much safer alternative to determine where the leak is.

Another failure point can be at fitting due to leaking o-rings, loose connections, or monkeys cracking hydraulic lines under pressure. The latter being the most dangerous by far for a wide range of reasons. The same precautions should apply for the 2 former instances.
 
I think it was probably a more common injury per-capita at one time, just like electric shock and falling from great height, because more people were willing to do shit for themselves and were less scared of their shadow. This, of course, led to more people doing things that they shouldn't with their intellect and experience, but a small price to pay for the majority of people having some kind of experience evaluating cost/benefit and risk/reward. Things that are lacking today.



I would worry less about a hose and more about a crack in a fitting, hardline, bulkhead, or housing. I've seen more of the magic rainbow oil stream (or flame thrower depending on where it occurs) come out at high pressure from one of these than a hose, but it does happen, especially in an environment where you mix weld splatter and hydraulics.
Have you seen a fitting failure generate a pressure stream thtmat would cut you though, that wasn't obvious
 
Guy I used to work with told me he saw a young guy die this way looking for a leak on a tomato harvester. I know 3rd or 4th hand story, but I believe him. Hydro fluid to the heart isn't good. :laughing:
 
Alright, so more xommon than it seems to me, but I'm still in the camp that people are overly paranoid based on how often it is mentioned and it shouldn't be enough of a deterrent to keep people scared of working with hydraulics:rasta:
 
My experience is mainly automotive and heavy equipment related but as mentioned, flexible hydraulic hoses will typically have 2 failure modes: leaks from abrasion and leaks from age. In both instances it's quite common for a very small pinhole to develop initially, sometimes it's so small it's difficult to detect so the "run your hand over the hose" may give you a quick trip to the emergency room. As other have mentioned, a 3x5 card or something similar is a much safer alternative to determine where the leak is.

Another failure point can be at fitting due to leaking o-rings, loose connections, or monkeys cracking hydraulic lines under pressure. The latter being the most dangerous by far for a wide range of reasons. The same precautions should apply for the 2 former instances.
ive seen them leak internally, through the liner through the brade and sweat out of the outter hoses.

Outer hoses doesnt take pressure it backs the wire braid and provides protection from the elements so they are porous

There is also injuries from complacency, you think its not under pressure but it is. You think the fitting is old and corroded that why its not finger tight after breaking it loose.

Its the case of most female fittings the nut is loose so as you break it loose you open your own gap up and create the pin hole.

case in point-ish. About 2 years ago i was taking the holding valve off a 5 boom articulating bucket truck. the unit was in the rest and off pressure. I had the unit off and i had moved all the valves to relieve residual pressure.
The valve did not leak at all before it came out..no seep no nothing.

When it finally got to the last thread it shot across the parking lot about 100ft and sparked off the concrete, i was pulling the valve to reseal it and it chipped the end of it off..

i was off probably a 8th inch in my last articulation, the boom was in the rest but not all the booms were completley folded.
 
A 3500 psi pressure washer will peel you like a banana.

Cut the shit outta me one time.


I could only imagine a pin hole on a hydraulic system.
 
Have you seen a fitting failure generate a pressure stream thtmat would cut you though, that wasn't obvious
I've seen both swivel and solid fittings crack, and considering how far they launched the oil through such a small opening with a working pressure of 2400psi I can only imagine what would happen if you were within 2 feet of it with soft tissue. Usually in heavy equipment when they crack carrying a load over rough ground when the crack finally opens up. Again, the stream doesn't stop until the load is off or the valve is off.

Alright, so more xommon than it seems to me, but I'm still in the camp that people are overly paranoid based on how often it is mentioned and it shouldn't be enough of a deterrent to keep people scared of working with hydraulics:rasta:
You don't have to be scared to be cautious. Take precautions. Depressurize these systems before working on them. Be wary of equipment that utilizes an accumulator.
 
Don't remember who it was and it was a while ago, talking about auto brake hydraulics and somebody chimed in "don't mess with those, hydraulic pinholes will cut and could kill you". That sort of attitude is distracting bad to me.

But I feel better knowing that people actually have been hurt and killed from it
 
While brake hydraulics can reach high pressure, it's usually dependent on you pressing the pedal (unless you are working on something modern enough to be able to bleed with the ABS system) I'd rate the brake system injection risk way lower than a dedicated hydraulic system risk.
 
While brake hydraulics can reach high pressure, it's usually dependent on you pressing the pedal (unless you are working on something modern enough to be able to bleed with the ABS system) I'd rate the brake system injection risk way lower than a dedicated hydraulic system risk.
The most recent comment was speaking about General equipment from a guy does not work with General equipment, so it was just another example of why it seems like an our of place warning that "the public" seems to have.
 
Do you know of anybody who actually got a pierce or injury from it though?
Not on my watch, however my dad worked maintenance at a place that didn't have the brightest people. One guy noticed a hydraulic leak on his forklift and had somebody move the controls while he used his bare hand to feel for it. Instantly pierced into his hand and he had to be rushed off to get the hydraulic oil drawn out of his hand before the infection hit the point of no return.

So yes I know about it. That's why in equipment safety videos they always tell you to use cardboard or something to find a leak while keeping yourself clear.
 
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The most recent comment was speaking about General equipment from a guy does not work with General equipment, so it was just another example of why it seems like an our of place warning that "the public" seems to have.
ive heard of more accidents from unsecured equipment, shit not cribbed and causing deaths far more than hydraulic injection.

swear it happens like twice a year far enough to make it to the news. guy is working on dump truck with the bed up...doesnt put the safety bar in and the fuckin thing comes crashing down like a big ass mouse trap
 
Yeah of all the ways to get ducked up or die, injection seems low on the list...but at least on the list it needs to be
 
I can understand burns, the shit gets hot.

I know the threshold can be low, but will a 1.5 or 2.5k psi system in what is likely a 3.5k+ rated hose sustain a pinhole effective to cause damage? Aside from happening to have your hand right on top of the pinhole right when it ruptures, is it possible ?

Will 5k pierce with a larger than pinhole stream?

It doesn't work like that, pin hole can happen at whatever pressure and as it builds the hole will enlarge and no longer be a pin hole. I've been 2' from a guy that got his calf sliced through his coveralls by steam. He just happened to be standing in front of a pipe that ruptured, it was super small at first but by the time he'd moved it was quite a bit bigger. Lost half his calf muscle due to infection caused by the fabric.
 
ive heard of more accidents from unsecured equipment, shit not cribbed and causing deaths far more than hydraulic injection.

swear it happens like twice a year far enough to make it to the news. guy is working on dump truck with the bed up...doesnt put the safety bar in and the fuckin thing comes crashing down like a big ass mouse trap
I'm sure you are correct, though most of these seem more 'real' to you and me as these are the most likely way to be hurt by hydraulics so are perhaps easier to plan for. As most people aren't thinking of injection injury, it probably comes as more of a surprise and they don't understand the risks of not treating it when it happens.
 
A 3500 psi pressure washer will peel you like a banana.

Cut the shit outta me one time.


I could only imagine a pin hole on a hydraulic system.

I saw a guys foot after a swipe with a 3k pressure washer, it screwed it up good. Would not like to try it.
 
And yet I still have all my toes...
A normal home gamer 3k pressure washer with the red tip will take off a few layers of skin but won't pierce the flesh unless you hold it there. Put a .030" pin hole tip on it and you're in for a bad time doing the same thing. Pressure goes up with restriction but volume goes down so it's only dangerous within inches.
 
A normal home gamer 3k pressure washer with the red tip will take off a few layers of skin but won't pierce the flesh unless you hold it there. Put a .030" pin hole tip on it and you're in for a bad time doing the same thing. Pressure goes up with restriction but volume goes down so it's only dangerous within inches.
There's that and also I've never had a pressure washer fail via pinhole at a fitting or hose
 
Working on naval gunnery and industrial hydraulic systems I’ve always been warned of injection injuries and that they can stop your heart. In all the hydrafuckery I’ve seen, never an injection injury. I’ve seen the atomized fog explosion/fire leak, but not the puncture wound.
 
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