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PLUMBING CONNECTION Winter 2022
F
our years ago, this magazine
described Flexi Hoses as a
product class in crisis, with 22%
of all water damage-related property
insurance claims blamed on faulty Flexi
Hose fittings. Average repair costs at
the time, based on 2016 data, were
cited as $4,818 per claim nationally,
according to NRMA Home Insurance.
Have conditions improved since then?
“In reality it’s probably become a little
bit worse,” says Michael Glover, General
Manager Aquaknect Flexibles (A/Asia)
P-L, one of Australia’s last remaining
local manufacturers of Flexi Hoses.
Aquaknect is a Queensland-based, ISO
9001-certified company with 33 staff.
More recent insurance claim data
supports this bleak assessment. As
reported by ABC Radio
1
in late 2021,
some 9,651 claims in Queensland
alone were lodged with RACQ in 2018 in
relation to Flexi Hose-related faults… at
an average cost of $14,145 per claim.
Clearly, there is something
fundamentally wrong with this product
class, despite it being subject to
stringent WaterMark quality controls
and rigorous Australian Standards. In
theory, Flexi Hoses sold and used in
Australia and New Zealand
should
be
reliably free from endemic faults as
a public health necessity, quite apart
from matters of property damage. This
article explores why the opposite is true.
(NB: for the purposes of this article,
we are dealing with water-carrying
hoses and not products designed for
gas markets.)
PROBLEMS DEFINED
Flexi Hoses are part of every plumber’s
toolkit, but their popularity sometimes
masks the complexity of these
products. Each Flexi Hose consists
of a flexible inner tube, a braided
metal sleeve, and nut-tightened end
fittings meant to provide a secure
and watertight seal. Inferior design
or material faults relating to any one
of the above elements can lead to
catastrophic product failure.
Australian Standard AS/NZS
3499:2006 Water supply – Flexible hose
assemblies
is the primary reference
governing the quality control of Flexi
Hoses. This Standard, in turn, informs
WaterMark performance benchmarks
for hoses up to 20mm diameter, though
a revised Standard is about to increase
this threshold to 50mm (more on this
revision below, see ‘New Revised Flexi
Hose Standard’). Most plumbers will
be familiar with the 8-10mm diameter
hoses used in typical domestic settings.
Not only does the Standard prescribe
minimum material and design
parameters, but it also includes a suite
of long-duration testing regimes
COVER STORY
FLEXI HOSES
FLEXI HOSES REPRESENTONEOF THE
MAJOR PRODUCTCLASSES INPLUMBING
– BUT INADEQUATEQUALITYCONTROL
CONTINUES TOTORMENT INSTALLERS,
PROPERTYOWNERS AND INSURANCE
COMPANIES.
JOHNPOWER
INVESTIGATES.
CHEAP PRODUCTS
CAN BITE YOU
FLEXI
HOSES