SNOWMAKING
• Storage – Hose should be rolled up clean and dry and
stored indoors, out of UV light. An old firefighter tradition
is to roll the male end inside to protect the threads. This
method will also protect the cam lock. If the hose is damaged
and in need of repair, a good practice is to roll it up
backwards and mark it with a tag.
• System pressure – Many snowmaking systems have pressures
well over the safe WP tested by the hose manufacturer.
Even though a safety margin is built into hose, that margin
is only for a new hose. Over time and with abuse, the safety
margin will decrease. Don’t use regular snowmaking hose
in areas that require pressures higher than the hose manufacturer’s
WP. Many resorts have switched to rigid hose with
cam locks that are rated for much higher pressures. Make
sure the cam locks used on the rigid hose are rated for the
higher pressures.
• Pressure testing – This can be a labor-intensive job, but
it must be considered. The first five years of life for a hose
can be expected to have a high safety margin, unless it’s not
well cared for. After five years, testing hose to the maximum
WP or the highest pressure plus 100 psi (not exceeding the
manufacturer’s maximum WP) should be done. Consider
every other year between five and 10 years and every year
after 10 years.
• Remove the hose from service – While fire hose is typically
removed from service at the 20-year mark, most
snowmaking hose doesn’t last 10 to 15 years due to extreme
weather conditions. Hose that doesn’t leak, but has
Accidents Happen, Quickly
Here is Jason Sawin’s story of an air
hose accident:
In the late ‘90s, one of my snowmakers shut
down a small portable snowmaking system
for a cross-country ski trail. He thought all of
the air pressure was bled off and he was just
rolling up hose. It was warming up quickly
and he took off his coat and hard hat. One
short section of hose still had air pressure
from an ice plug. When he disconnected
the cam lock, it hit him in the head and it
was lights out.
The accident wasn’t witnessed and the
employee didn’t know how long he was on
the ground. Most likely only a few seconds
and he didn’t have any major injuries.
He was lucky!
NFPA 1962 requires documenting every hose, pressure
testing once a year and even describes when to remove a
hose from service. These requirements are very strict, but
they are important to protect the firefighter at the end of the
hose. The snowmaking industry may not need to follow every
NFPA rule, although it may be wise to adopt some standards;
not reinvent the wheel. Here are some recommendations for
industry’s consideration:
• Documentation – Each manufacturer stamps a month
and year of manufacture on the hose. After five to 10 years,
these numbers fade, so use a black permanent marker to
keep it visible. With that same marker, snowmakers should
mark the date of when they received the hose. When the
hose is sent for repair, the repairer will put three letters for
the name of the resort, two numbers for the year and then
number the hose: CHS 19-01, as an example. The repairer
will document this on the repair form and scan it into the
resort or ski area’s file.
• Inspection – On a yearly basis, every hose should be inspected
for damage. Take a black marker and circle any
light-damage spots if they don’t leak. Also, mark around the
hose end of each coupling, this will show if the coupling is
slipping (a NFPA requirement). Wash the hose with a light
detergent and water to remove any build-up of dirt or other
foreign material. All brands of hose need to be tested to the same standard
Industry has taken the much lower compressed air pressure for
granted with snowmaking hose, but the danger from a blown
air hose is as much as, if not greater than, water pressure.
24 September 2019 | snowopsmag.com
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