Sports field managers and outdoor professionals require a higher quality hose.
Here to help us understand what that quality is, is Dave with the Kochek company.
Dave, what makes up a commercial hose?
Well, Jim, we manufacture so many different types of hoses for many different industries,
but in the sports turf industry and outdoor managers or outdoor professional industry,
these hoses are designed and engineered with raw materials to be able to withstand the
daily rigors of those industry professionals.
Jim Barbuto: So Dave, I notice you have four different style hoses here.
I was wondering if you could give us a little information about each one of them.
Sure, Jim.
Let's give you Kochek's good, better, best philosophy.
This is our clear braided hose.
The clear braid is a standard in the industry.
The pressure rating on this hose in 125 PSI.
Widely used by sports field managers.
Not so much in golf, because the pressure rating isn't adequate enough, so what we did
is we wound tighter another PVC hose and gave it a greater pressure rating of 150 PSI.
That threshold makes this hose durable enough to withstand golf system pressures.
We also added a pigment to it, which gave it a better UV degradation protection, so
it will not break down like the clear braided hose will break down in the sunlight.
Lastly of the PVC hoses, we have our Dura Flow hose.
The pressure rating on that product is 250 PSI, which is over engineered for both golf
and sports turf.
Advantage being it's much more durable.
It's going to last longer.
Outdoor professionals want the highest quality product.
They'll buy the Dura Flow hose.
So Dave, tell me a little bit about this hose.
It is light.
I've never felt anything like this before.
Dave Mihailides: Jim, that's our Ultralight hose.
The hose has a high pressure rating of 300 PSI.
We call it our Kochek booster hose, because we use it in fire service also.
The way it's manufactured, it has a cloth exterior with infused rubber interior.
It is very light, so sports field managers and golf course superintendents alike love
the product, because it's very easy to handle and to carry around with them.
So, diameters and lengths for all of these hoses similar?
All the same with the PVC.
Each of the PVC hoses comes in sizes 3/4, and lengths 50, 75, and 100 foot.
Sizes one inch, lengths 50, 75, and 100 foot.
The Ultralight hose only comes in one inch and lengths of 50, 75, and 100 foot.
I should also mention that you can buy in bulk the three PVC hoses up to 300 feet in
length, and the customer can cut and make his own lengths of whatever he wants.
How about care for these hoses?
Is there any particular care that we need to do?
Very important.
Taking care of the hose so it'll last you longer.
Make sure before you store it, you make sure that it's empty, there's no water in it.
Roll it up well, just the say you see them here.
Not neatly, as tightly wound, but you can take them and put them in a cool dry place.
You don't want to leave them out in the sun, and you don't want to leave them full of water.
Those are the types of things that'll cause the hose to blister or to de-laminate and
to fail over time.
Dave, I noticed a interesting quick coupler key out here in front.
That is Kochek's version of a quick coupling key, Jim.
We've made it 18 inches long, which a standard key in length is 12 inches, so it's got six
inches longer where if a valve gets recessed, you'll still be able to actuate it if it's
too deep in the ground for a standard key.
We've also put our valve handle design on it, where we have valves in fire service,
so this would cause the operator to have to turn the valve on and off using two hands.
When they turn it off, they won't be able to kick it as they would with a standard quick
coupling key, which could cause a potential failure.
At the top, you'll see our flexible PVC hose, composed of the same PVC as these other three
hoses, but that has a stainless steel coil in it, increasing its pressure rating to up
over 300 PSI and making it very flexible.
At the base of it is stainless steel ball bearings, so it will always swivel, even under
pressure, where sometimes the brass gooseneck swivel from a standard key won't spin all
the way around.
I notice something interesting on the side of the quick coupler key.
Can you explain that?
That's a pressure relief valve, not to be confused with a shut off on and off valve.
That pressure relief valve allows the operator, if the nozzle is shut off at the other end
of the hose and the system is completely under pressure.
They can open up that pressure relief valve, releasing the water and releasing pressure
so that that valve can be turned off without causing blow back.
Blow back could cause it to shoot up in the air and hit somebody and cause someone some
harm.
Lastly on the product, we have a removable lug, which can be replaced if it does fail.
On other keys, on the older style keys, they were welded on.
When they broke, the key was unusable and had to be thrown away.
Well, thank you for your time.
Great information on these hoses and the quick coupler key.
If you would like more information about all these products, please stop by your local
Ewing store or visit us online at ewingirrigation.com.