Hydraulic Hose Repair Cost?

Grouse · Jun 15, 2018

We have a 14.8 ton 360, the hose on the boom burst, so on the recommendation of a friend I contacted a local mobile hose repair Service who visited us with a van, he was on site for 20 to 25 minutes.

The repair comprised of a short 0.7m length of 3/4” hose, 2 fittings - a 90 degree flange, straight flange and 2 ferrules. I would assume all high pressure stuff.

I offered to pay the chap there and then and wondered why he avoided the subject saying they would send a bill on.

I have just received a bill for £218 ex vat. Including £25 travel, we are 10 miles away.

The total bill is £262.00 Incl Vat.

I was expecting a charge of around £75 - £85 ex Vat, not £218 ex vat. The last hose I had made cost me £40 on a small trailer.

Have I been ripped off ? Or are these charges normal for a mobile service the pipe fittings and installation for an excavator of that size ? Many thanks.

David. · Jun 15, 2018

Sadly, for on site plant work, I bet that is the rate.
Do you not have a reputable firm that do hydraulic repairs in town, to whom you can take hoses? The problem with them is usually oddball bends, fittings and slow moving stuff that they have to get in, with the delay that brings.

Zebbedee · Jun 15, 2018

A dear hose I agree but break it down to an hourly charge (it is an emergency service remember) and cost of hose which is much dearer than normal agricultural 2wire hose and it kinda adds up.

roscoe erf · Jun 15, 2018

I’m afraid you going to have to take the hit and In future ask up front costs before engaging them to do the work sounds f**king dear to me

Badshot · Jun 15, 2018

Wouldn't think it was out of this world for on site repairs.
I bet pirtek would have been half as much again.
And they charge the same for on site as if you take it to the shop!!!! Or they used to, haven't used them for a couple decades now, and then only got caught the once.

Kevtherev · Jun 15, 2018

That hose would have cost approx £80
Daylight robbery

Grouse · Jun 15, 2018

Thanks Kev, that was the cost I was expecting - and thanks everyone else for the prompt responses - I did ask for a price and offered to pay there and then. The response I got was that he couldn’t work it out as he didn’t know any of the prices and it was automatically generated in the office.

He was also the bosses son so should have known the prices or been able to give a rough estimate.

tepapa · Jun 15, 2018

I used a mobile guy last year. Had QuickBooks on an iPad and did invoice in the yard, emailed over there and then.

I wouldn't be grudge the £25 call out it costs money to run a specialist van in running costs and driving around, but the cost of the hose should be competitive.

john432 · Jun 15, 2018

You could have bought all the bits needed for that hose for probably less than £35 . A meter of 3/4" four wire hose @£9.10 ,ferrules @£1.25 each, 90degree flange fitting about£10 plus the other ,which should be less!
It looks like theres good money to be made from hydraulic pipes, but one will soon spend a couple of thousands and still not be able to stock a fraction of all the different fittings available.
£218? That is one heck of a margin, 2 pipes a day and he'd have a good living!

lostdog · Jun 15, 2018

Pirtek, won't be making that mistake again. Cheaper to buy a bloody swaging machine and do it myself

Badshot · Jun 15, 2018

john432 said:
You could have bought all the bits needed for that hose for probably less than £35 . A meter of 3/4" four wire hose @£9.10 ,ferrules @£1.25 each, 90degree flange fitting about£10 plus the other ,which should be less!
It looks like theres good money to be made from hydraulic pipes, but one will soon spend a couple of thousands and still not be able to stock a fraction of all the different fittings available.
£218? That is one heck of a margin, 2 pipes a day and he'd have a good living!

You've hit the nail on the head there, it's the cost of holding a large stock of parts.
Anyone can look online and order for next day delivery, but having someone local come out and do it there and then is a premium service.

james ds · Jun 15, 2018

I have a very good mobile guy who I get for my repair work, I have a 13 ton komastu and he has never charged me over €90 for a mobile repair , he lives 12 miles away .

john432 · Jun 15, 2018

Just a money saving tip from a tight fisted Welshman. If anyone is thinking about buying their own hose crimper and fittings, go for the 2 piece type,with the seperate outside ferrule, ( most original machines use that type) then just stock pipes ,ferrules and some common fittings. It's not approved ,but I have many times cut carefully the ferrule in half, and after checking the inner diameter of the fitting reused them. Never had a problem. In the case of @Grouse , he would be going again at a cost of a £tenner, with the option to order new fittings and replace at a later date.

Cowcalf · Jun 15, 2018

thats were having your own crimper can be an advantage, but only suits certain folk

john432 · Jun 15, 2018

Cowcalf said:
thats were having your own crimper can be an advantage, but only suits certain folk

I know that I'm an "od bod" but one I guess needs a bit of knowledge, and common sense, being able to identify alll the different threads and fitting types, even the metric have two versions of fitting for a given thread type. Most important is knowing the crimed dimentions of a given ferrule. All the info is easily obtainable if a person has an intrest.

Pheasant Surprise · Jun 15, 2018

Like most things it’s horses for courses!

If you’re making up a fair few of your own, and they’re all fairly well standardised ends then yeah get your own crimper and dies.

Last week I had to get three sets of little metre long 1/4” hoses made up, NPT on one side and JIC on the other. All done by my local guys at the trade counter while you wait for £8 each. They even crimped on some woven hose protector.

Muck Spreader · Jun 15, 2018

I hadn't realised that hydraulic hoses only have a safety life cycle of 5 to 7 years. I wonder how many folk on here routinely replace hydraulic hoses.

czechmate · Jun 15, 2018

Muck Spreader said:
I hadn't realised that hydraulic hoses only have a safety life cycle of 5 to 7 years. I wonder how many folk on here routinely replace hydraulic hoses.

Yep, but every 4 years to be sure

john432 · Jun 15, 2018

Apparently unused hose gets out of date on the reel! Bit like tyres? What next?

manhill · Jun 15, 2018

What's wrong with the screw together type fittings?
Do they all have to be crimped these days?

Hydraulic Hose Repair Cost?

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

Share this page