Braided Hydraulic Hose

Wire-braid reinforcement goes over the inner tube as an interlaced lattice, one braid or two, separated by a thin rubber layer on two-braid hose. The braid angle is chosen so the hose neither stretches nor shortens much under pressure, and because the wires cross rather than run parallel, the sleeve flexes without collapsing.

That lattice makes braided hose the workhorse of a hydraulic shop. It bends tighter than spiral hose of the same bore, weighs less, crimps with common dies, and costs less, while still covering the pressures most circuits see. SAE 100R1 and 100R2 describe the single- and double-braid constructions, with EN 853 1SN and 2SN as the related European types; two braids is the default wherever a line does real work.

Where it's specified

• Tight routing — the braid flexes without kinking, so a line takes a frame or boom path a stiffer hose will not
• Return and case drain legs — single-braid R1 carries low-pressure flow at less cost and weight than a heavier build
• Machine pressure lines — two-braid R2 or 2SN covers pump and implement circuits on most loaders, tractors and skid steers
• Lines remade in the field — braid and its crimp specs are the most widely held combination, so a burst line gets rebuilt the same day

Range and materials. Synthetic rubber inner tube, one or two braids of high-tensile steel wire, and an abrasion-resistant cover, in dash sizes from small control lines up to main pressure runs. Covers come in standard and high-abrasion grades; ends crimp to JIC 37°, ORFS, NPT, BSP and metric.

Ordering notes. R1 and R2 are not interchangeable, so check which the original line was before rebuilding it — the layline on the cover usually still says. Match fitting and ferrule to the construction and crimp to the diameter published for that combination, not a general figure. Read the layline again on installation to confirm the hose has not been twisted.