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Emergency Response Systems for Water and Wastewater Fittings and Coupplings High Quality Hose for Water and Wastewater

How To Use A Lay Flat Hose The Fast And Safe Solution To Water Transportation

Lay flat hoses are designed as a temporary or permanent solution to above-ground water transportation. They are used in potable water, wastewater, flood, agriculture, mining, and energy industries for a variety of industrial applications. This post will show you how to use a lay flat hose as a permanent water transportation solution. 

Features And Designs Of A Lay Flat Hose

The right lay flat hose should be portable and durable enough to withstand any situation and be approved to transport potable water. They lay flat when not in use so that they can be rolled up and transported easily out in the field. 

A critical feature of a lay flat hose is the amount of bend it can endure without breaking, or the curvature limit. Any amount of curvature can affect water pressure, and possibly cause bursting. Be sure to check your manufacturer’s specifications before laying your hose. 

Watch A Lay Flat Hose Fail It’s Burst Test.

 

Industrial lay flat hoses such as the Mandals Aquaman are typically made of thermoplastic polyether-based polyurethane (TPU). This type of hose is a more flexible solution to transporting drinking water safely and effectively. 

Aquaman Lay Flat hoses are used in everything from water utilities, well projects, shipping sector to festivals and other temporary events. 

You may be more familiar with lay flat hoses made of Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These much cheaper and flimsier hoses are designed mainly for home use, such as transporting water from your drains into your pool. So, a PVC lay flat pipe would not withstand the strain of permanently replacing a water main or responding to a flood. 

Using A Lay Flat Hose During A Water Main Break

A lay flat hose suitable for potable water can fill in the gaps between water service breaks and repairs. We can wait for many things, but water isn’t one of them, and it’s critical to get sources flowing as fast as possible. 

How To Use A lay flat hose during water main break

The above diagram demonstrates how a lay flat hose can bridge a water main break and repair. Repair crews will install a lay flat hose to transport water in place of the broken water main until repairs are complete. 

With a quick response time, the public will hardly notice that water services were ever interrupted. And there’s no need to worry about unpredictable repair speeds. 

Attaching Fittings

In industrial and emergency applications, you should train and prepare to operate your lay flat hose. 

Below are the three major fittings/couplings that will go on the lay flat hose for wastewater.

Field Attachable Collar Hose Fittings For Lay flat hoses (Best)

Field Attachable Collars with Male Pipe Thread offers a stable connection and flexibility. You remove or add this fitting to any Female Pipe Thread connection as the shank easily slips into the hose and can be adjusted just by using an Allen wrench. 

These fittings can be used with Camlocks, Storz, and Bauer ends, allowing the user to have greater flexibility out in the field.

Fire Hydrant Fittings or Internally Expanded Hose Couplings (Good)

Fire Hydrant fittings, Camlocks, and Storz can be internally expanded but usually go only up to 6”, and once you internally expand your end couplers, they are permanently on. 

On the upside, the internally expanding hose is a very stable connection but offers no flexibility with mixing and matching couplings/fittings. 

For example, if you have nothing but Camlocks, you will not be able to remove them and put them on Storz. But, keep in mind that these hose couplings are typically only used to transport water and may not be suitable for other substances. 

Band-On Hose Couplings (Okay)

Band-On uses bans that tighten around the hose shank to secure a connection. They can be decent connections, but most people complain of leakage, and therefore they are not as common as they used to be. The pros are that it is the most low-cost solution and easy to get. 

The cons are they cannot handle as much pressure, do not offer flexibility, and have a hard time holding up if they are just lying around in your garage or yard.

Conclusion

Lay flat hoses are an excellent water supply option for your home or business. Not only can you use this type of hose to provide access to clean drinking water, but it is also perfect for emergencies. If you would like more information on how a lay flat hose works and what the different fittings and couplings look like, contact us today! 

Our team will be happy to help answer any questions about these types of hoses so that you know which one is right for your needs. We’re confident we have just the product – whether you need a permanent solution or something temporary.

Need more help choosing the right Lay Flat hose for your needs? Get a quote!

Water Distribution Hose
Emergency Response Systems for Water and Wastewater Fittings and Coupplings High Quality Hose for Water and Wastewater Resources

Water Distribution in California: What hose should you use?

Water Distribution Hose

An article for water distribution providers

Have you had a situation where providing potable water was critical?

Maybe the only way possible was thru a lay-flat hose. Many water distributors go thru this dilemma. This can happen via water main breaks, planned outages, pipe rehabilitation, or some contractor who thought the water main was 5 feet in the other direction.

As a water provider, you must do your due diligence on providing the safest and efficient method of delivery to your customers.

California Regulation On Water Distribution

In the state of California, it is suggested to use an “NSF-61 rated lay-flat hose for drinking water, due to its high-quality material and rigorous tests.”

According to the California Code of Regulations, “No equipment used in the generation process shall be in contact with a drinking water, or a chemical to be applied to drinking water, after March 9, 2008, unless the equipment has been tested and certified as meeting the specifications of NSF” (Title 22, Section 64591.CA Code of Regulations)

Hose For Water Distribution

It is important that you use the right lay flat hose for water distribution. As noted above, California requires you to use an NSF-61 potable hose for drinking water.

Check the requirements within your own state’s guidelines before making your purchase.

Fittings and Couplings

Furthermore, you must ensure your fittings and couplings are rated for water. Led free brass is usually available but on the expensive side. Plastic is usually the way to go, but they only go up to 2”. If you have a bigger diameter you need, you will have to go with aluminum fittings and couplings.

Most aluminum fittings start at 4” in the United States, you can get a 3” NSF hose, but you will be hard-pressed to find aluminum fittings in 3” that connect to NSF hose other than fire hydrant fittings. Typically, 4” 6” 8”10” 12” are the larger sizes that aluminum fittings have the capability for connecting to NSF hose via Victaulic couplings and fittings.

How To Use A lay flat hose during water main break
Emergency Response Systems for Water and Wastewater Fittings and Coupplings High Quality Hose for Water and Wastewater Resources

The Benefits Of A Lay Flat Hose

How To Use A lay flat hose during water main break

The public will wait for movies, dinner tables, and Black Friday but NOT water! As a water distributor, your response time to a break or disaster is constantly being monitored by the public. A lay flat hose program bridges the gap between break and repair, giving you back crucial time to repair your hard pipe.

Benefits Of Using A Lay Flat Hose

Response times using a lay flat hose are much faster than with a hard pipe, even though the lay flat hose is only a temporary solution. Having a flexible pipeline solution is critical to any situation when you aren’t sure where you will be working.

A lay flat hose pipe can transport a high volume of water quickly, efficiently, and without error so that you can focus on solving the issue at hand.

The lay flat hose will not solve all your problems but will definitely give you another tool out in the field, where things rarely go as imagined. When it comes to disasters or water main breaks, you’ll need any resource available to fix your problem.

In a flood, it is also better for first responders to utilize an above-ground water transportation system, as it is safer and more effective. Most people do not realize how dangerous a flooded area can be. Sending people in with buckets just doesn’t cut it.

  • Made of resilient materials
  • Extremely flexible making them perfect for unpredictable emergencies
  • Long life spans mean you get the most out of your investment
  • Accessible to store and transport
  • Lightweight

Water Distribution Systems

The best water distribution systems allow the user to go from a hydrant using NSF 61 potable hose for drinking water to a meter or hose bib. These systems allow you the flexibility to lay a pipeline down a block or many blocks. Proprietary road ramps are also used to enable efficient handling of hose across roads.

No system is perfect, and whether it be on the home or city level, things are bound to break down. However, the right above-ground water transportation system is critical for dealing with floodwater and wastewater.

Likewise, over 850 water main breaks across the United States every day, adding up to over 6.5 million total breaks. In each of these instances, not only will responders need to clear away water before it can deal more damage, but they will need a temporary water transportation system to keep everything moving.

Dealing with a water main break and cutting off water for an entire block are two completely different issues entirely. That’s why Lay Flat Hoses are made up of a highly flexible and resistant material that can go across streets and sidewalks alike.

How To Choose Between Lay Flat Hoses

There are plenty of heavy-duty hose solutions available online, but how do you choose a high-quality option? You want something better than the run-of-the-mill backwash hose at your local big-box retail store.

To put it in perspective, most people will go through a standard pool hose once a year through natural wear and tear. Chances are, these hoses are flimsy and won’t hold up to the pressure of backwashing their pool.

Something like a 50 ft hose kept by the pool section won’t stand up to a water main break, especially not as a permanent solution. Water main breaks especially espouse a higher volume of water and take longer to fix. So choosing the wrong hose in this situation could potentially damage your efforts and people’s health.

Emergency Response

Water main breaks and floods can cause damages to property and create dangerous environments. Nobody wants someone to get hurt because you don’t have the proper equipment to deal with a disaster.

For these critical scenarios, you’ll need a water hose designed to satisfy industrial applications. It should come equipped with the proper hose fittings and an emergency response transportation solution. Specialized distributors will offer customized hose assembly and are prepared to deal with water discharge.

lay flat hose system

 

With a pump or hose reel-mounted pump, you can bypass sewer lines or promptly remove water from flooded areas from point A to point B.

Not only is a lay flat hose effective at dealing with most natural disasters, but it is safe for both the user and anyone nearby, which is the most important goal in a disaster situation.

Lay flat hoses are even used to help combat deadly wildfires as they are perfectly designed to bypass the debris and chaos of the situation to get water where it needs to go.

Permanent Solutions

A lay flat hose can also be used as a permanent solution. In our company history, we have had several cases where utilities use their NSF lay flat hose as means to get water to people for months and even years. The most challenging aspects of providing NSF hose as a permanent solution are general safety procedures.

Likewise, if a utility does have to cross streets with the hose, they should have a good solution on how to do it. Without crossing roads with the hose, the most significant concerns are safety and making sure the hose will hold at the pressure you want. In general, NSF hose working pressures can hold pretty high. For example, 1″ has a working pressure of around 350 PSI and 4″ around 250 PSI with most NSF hose manufacturers.

Check Out Our Selection Of Lay Flat Hoses And Accessories!