Flexible hose for the mixer - features of choice and

Flexible hoses for the mixer are the liner that allows you to connect the faucet to the water supply. Therefore, the durability and tightness of the connection depends on their quality. In this article we will look at what flexible hoses are, what to look for when choosing them and how to connect the mixer with them.

General information

So, the flexible eyeliner is made in the form of a hose of a certain length with a metal braid. Fittings are available at both ends of the product for connection to the pipeline and the mixer.

Using such an eyeliner, you can connect a mixer located anywhere, for example, on the bathroom, sink, wall, etc. Most often, flexible hoses come complete with a mixer, however, their length is not always enough to connect a crane, besides drain connections are not always of high quality, so sooner or later you will definitely have to face their choice.

Merits

I must say that there is an alternative to flexible connection for the mixer - rigid pipes. For example, a shower faucet with a flexible hose, which is usually mounted on a wall, is most often connected to a water supply system in this way. However, despite this, the products in question remain more in demand.

This is due to the following advantages:

• Compact, which saves space under the plumbing. This is especially important if the space is used with benefit, for example, if the sink is installed on a cabinet with shelves or a washing machine is located under it.
• Thanks to the flexibility, the connection allows you to move the plumbing. For example, a sink with a cabinet, to which a kitchen faucet with a flexible hose is attached, can be moved aside if necessary. However, for this connection with sewage must be made using soft corrugations.
• Easy to connect, as the special equipment is not required. Thanks to this work can be done independently.
• Resistance to water hammer.
• Reliability and durability (subject to the use of high-quality hoses).
• Resistant to vibrations and minor damage..
• Low cost.

disadvantages

The main disadvantage of flexible liner is that its choice should be given special attention. This is due to the fact that a poor-quality hose can very quickly be ground or start flowing water at the joints of the fittings.

For this reason, it is believed that flexible hoses are short-lived. In fact, a quality eyeliner can last no less than a hard one.

Kinds

Depending on the materials from which the flexible liner is made, it can be divided into two types:

• Reinforced;
• Bellows.

Below is a detailed look at the features of products of each type.

Reinforced

Reinforced hoses are the most common type of liner. However, before opting for these products, it should be borne in mind that their quality depends largely on the materials from which they are made:

Note! Poor brass can oxidize from moisture. Therefore, you should not purchase products from questionable manufacturers.

The popularity of reinforced hoses is related to their low cost and durability. Of the minuses, we can distinguish a fixed length and the presence on the market of a large number of low-quality products.

Bellows

The bellows is a metal corrugated hose, which also has fittings on both sides.

This product is more expensive, however, has several advantages:

• It works reliably in low and high temperature conditions.
• More resistant to external mechanical stress, such as compression and fracture.
• It has the ability to withstand more pressure and water hammer.
• Longer service life.
• It has the ability to stretch.

Thus, the bellows is more reliable and durable. Therefore, experts recommend not to save and install it. However, it should be noted that this connection is more noisy, since it has a corrugated surface.

Tip! To reduce the bellows noise, install hoses with a diameter greater than the diameter of the pipeline.

What to look for when choosing

The main requirement for liner is tightness, i.e. when properly connected, it should not let water through. In addition, the important point is environmental friendliness.

To select a product that meets this requirement, you need to pay attention to the following points:

• The package should indicate the main characteristics, as well as the designation that the product can be used for drinking water.
• The price should not be too low.
• Seals should be made of high-quality, flexible material.
• The thread on the nut and fitting must be uniform, deep enough and without damage.
• Braid should be smooth, intact.
• The sleeve of the fitting, which inhabits the reinforced tube, should be tightly fixed.
• The product must be elastic, otherwise it will quickly break.
• The eyeliner should not have a sharp smell of rubber, which indicates that it is made of technical toxic rubber.

Note! If the hose weighs a little, then, most likely, the braid is made of aluminum, and the fitting is silumin. Such a connection will have to be replaced very quickly.

Mixer installation

As mentioned above, installation of the mixer using flexible hoses is quite simple, however, before proceeding to work, you should familiarize yourself with some of its nuances.

So, the installation instructions are as follows:

• It is necessary to start the installation from connecting the hoses to the mixer, since after its installation it will be more difficult to do. Fittings are simply screwed into special holes in the mixer. After they are screwed all the way in, it is necessary to tighten the connection slightly with a key or pliers, and you should not over-tighten it too much so as not to damage the rubber seal.

• Next, you need to skip the hoses in the hole for the tap and put the mixer in place.
• The next step is to fix the tap.. For this, a clamping bracket is installed at the bottom and tightened with nuts.
• Then connect the hoses with hot and cold water pipes.. To do this, a small amount of fum-tape is carefully wound on the thread, after which the union nuts of the eyeliner are wound with their own hands and slightly tightened with a key.
• Then you need to turn on the water supply and make sure that there are no water drops at the connection points.. Otherwise, you need to slightly tighten the nuts or fittings mixer.
• If the faucet is mounted with a shower net on a flexible hose, after the installation of the faucet itself, it must be connected to the shower hose. At this installation process can be considered complete.

Here, perhaps, is all the basic information that will allow you to choose a high-quality flexible hose and install it correctly.

Conclusion

Using a flexible connection is the easiest way to connect the mixers to the water supply. However, in order for these products to be durable and not leaky, it is necessary to correctly approach their choice and correctly carry out the installation, in accordance with the above recommendations.

From the video in this article can be found with some additional information on this topic.