Silicone hoses are commonly described by their ply count, which refers to the number of reinforcement layers inside the hose. More reinforcement layers generally increase the hose’s strength and pressure resistance. It will also make the hose stiffer and less flexible. However, ply count alone doesn’t determine overall quality and strength. The reinforcement fabric used in each ply and overall construction quality also have a large impact on a hose’s strength and pressure resistance. The reinforcement layer fabrics are discussed in more detail here.
A typical example you will see are 4-ply hoses. This hose will have a liner layer of pure silicone, 4 layers of reinforcement fabric within the silicone, and an external layer of pure silicone. Total layers will be 6 but only 4 will have the reinforcement fabric. Some manufacturers will cut corners to reduce costs and count the layers of pure silicone as a ply. So, they would claim our example hose is a 6-ply hose, or they would only use two layers of fabric reinforcement and still consider it a 4-ply hose. All of our hose’s plies are counted by the number of reinforcement layers and not the total number of layers.
Construction quality also plays a huge role in a hose’s strength. A well made 3-ply hose will be stronger than a poorly made 5-ply hose. Most silicone hoses are made by hand. It is very important that each layer of reinforcement has the correct amount of overlap with the previous layer. It is also vitally important that the layers are wrapped tightly to prevent air bubbles getting in between the layers. Finally, hoses must be taped tightly and fully cured to ensure proper layer adhesion. Cheaper hoses are often rushed through the manufacturing process to cut down on labor costs. This increases the likelihood of mistakes occurring in between the layers, which can lead to a higher probability of having a hose burst or split. Our hoses are manufactured with multiple quality control measures in place to ensure these types of manufacturing defects don’t occur.