Purple Snake hose aids compliance with ATEX requirements

Recent legislation, such as ATEX, governing the use of plant and equipment in explosive atmospheres, has led to concerns and a review of operating practices within the distilling and related industries to minimise the risk of sparks from static build-up.

Many hoses use steel wire reinforcement to provide strength and to act as an electrical conductor within the assembly. However, such assemblies are easily damaged by crushing and breakage of wire, which would render the assembly unsafe and therefore unfit for use.

Contitech, the manufacturer of the Purple Snake hose, has developed an innovative answer to the problem. By including carbon impregnated conductive material into the reinforcement of the hoses, they can offer the electrical continuity required while still maintaining the non-crush properties of the product and enabling the same long-life properties that are a feature of the conventional Purple Snake hose.

The extremely strong reinforcement and smooth heavy-duty outer cover ensure that an assembly produced from this material will give very long service life. The smooth chlorobutyl rubber liner provides very high resistance to alcohols and is essentially inert to brewery and distillery ingredients, imparting neither taste nor colour to the products passing through. The carbon impregnated material, coupled with the mechanical properties of the Purple Snake, makes it an excellent choice for use in the brewing and distilling industries.

Kelly Newell of FlexRite comments: "The new product line from Contitech will enable FlexRite and its associate in Scotland, AB Specialist Hose, to provide the benefits of the traditional Purple Snake hose to the distilleries while at the same time enabling compliance with the ATEX regulations".