Bringing order to the rear of the tractor, profi readers share their tips for marking and labelling hydraulic hoses to the correct coupler.
The hoses are black and the couplers silver-grey – and there is a whole bunch of them. As the number of hydraulic functions increases, so does the number of oil lines and the risk of confusing them. Ever raised the tailgate of your tandem-axle tipper instead of the body? Hardly anyone needs an introduction to the topic of the big benefit of marking up the oil lines.
Today, many manufacturers will mark them by default, while suppliers such as Kennfixx are offering practical retrofit solutions. But with a little ingenuity, you can easily create you own solution, which is inexpensive, too. Our readers share their ideas on the following pages.
Do you have an idea along these lines? Or on one of the upcoming topics? Please write in.
Andreas Holzhammer
COLOUR-CODED CONTROLS
This reader has machined new aluminium levers for his tractor’s control levers and matched the colour with those of the dust caps on the couplers.
SPIRAL WRAP
Coloured spiral wrap that matches the colour of the tractor spool. The wrap on the Plus/extend spool is purposely longer than that on the Minus/retract side.
LASER MARKED
Here metal plates have the function and “+” or “-” laser cut into the plates, which are then fixed to the hose with cable ties.
PRINTED LABELS
This reader prints labels for the hoses. To ensure that the labels have some longevity he protected them with heat shrink hose — a long-lasting solution. These labels have been on a diet feeder for over ten years now.
PUNCHED LABELS
This reader marks his hoses with 2mm thick, 15mm wide aluminium plate. He cuts the strips to length, drills 5mm holes in each corner, removes the burr and uses a punch for the numbers and letters. Then he spray paints the plate and immediately wipes the paint off again so only the letters or numbers are painted. The little plates cost around 20 pence to buy, and, given a bit of practice, it takes less than five minutes to make one.
SPRAY PAINT
Frank Progel takes a double approach: firstly, he paints all the couplings the same colour as the corresponding tractor spool. Then he marks the Plus side hose with a cable tie.
CABLE LABELS
Nils Sprenger relies on cable labelling plates from an online shop. These are easy to attach with cable ties. Size, colour and text can be freely selected.
SINGLE OR DOUBLE
This operator likes to keep things simple: He uses coloured cable ties and fits two to the Plus side fitting and one to the Minus coupler. The colours match the spools on his tractor.
DURABLE GRIPS
Especially useful for machines with multiple users, Jakob Dorner recommends Kennfixx handle grips that can be be bought in various colours and with different descriptive text. Pictured are the hoses on the slurry tanker, which is regularly hired out.
CHICKEN RINGS
This reader uses spiral chicken rings to mark the hose. The rings are available in all common spool colours.
3D PRINTED
Johannes Hummer labels his hydraulic hoses with plastic markers made on a 3D printer. The material value is less than 10 pence, and a lost label is easily replaced.
POINT THE WAY
Christian Ritthaler marks the hydraulic pipes with impressive looking cable ties and arrows that are sourced from specialist retailers. These are inexpensive and quick to install. In his experience, they last for several years.
SELF PUNCHED
Julia Stelzner uses plastic discs that she cuts out of scrapped oil cans in matching colours and fastens them with cable ties. She punches four holes in a Plus plate and two in a Minus plate using a hole punch.
SYSTEMATIC
Christian Schappert marked the hoses with one or two cable ties — depending on whether they are on the Minus or Plus side and marks the tractor spools with a waterproof pen.
ADD COLOUR
Here heat shrink hose in various colours matches the spools of the tractor. In addition, the Plus shrink hoses are twice as long as the Minus hoses.
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