The secret is out, its easy and cost effective. Increase your hoselife, reduce operating cost.

Important ingredients

85% Glycerol (CAS 56-81-5)
10% Propylene glycol (CAS 57-55-6)
5% Water

Foodgrade color – if you like to make it look special.

Why Lubricant?

Hose pump lubricant/cooling mixture promotes heat transfer from the hose to the pump casing to maximise hose life. It is important that the lubricant/cooling mixture is reaching all areas where the hose is compressed. The heat of compression, the friction heat, and the product temperature are effecting the quality and the hardness of the rubber.

Observations and results

The rubber hose expands when it gets colder! This seems counterintuitive because most materials expand when they are heated and contract when they get cold. This occurs because of the unusual polymer structure of rubber. When the long chains get hotter and vibrate, they actually shorten, causing the material to contract. When the chains cool down, they relax and stretch out, causing the material to expand. The best performance for hoses in hose pumps is between 10 and 40 deg C.

About the ingredients

Glycerol is a colorless, odorless liquid with a sweet taste. It is viscous at room temperature and non-toxic in low concentrations. Glycerol is easily soluble in water, due to the ability of the polyol groups to form hydrogen bonds with water molecules. Glycerol is slightly denser than water with a specific gravity of 1.26. This means that when glycerol is poured into a container of water, it will sink to the bottom. However, due to its solubility, over time and with mild agitation, glycerol will form an aqueous solution.

Propylene glycol (1,2-propanediol) is an organic compound (a diol alcohol), usually a tasteless, odorless, and colorless clear oily liquid. Propylene glycol is a synthetic liquid substance that absorbs water.

Water is used to lower the viscosity of the Glycerol.

The mixture of Glycerol, Propylene glycol and Water ensures that the heat transfer is optimal for the cooling of the hose in the hose pump. With that you are able to increase the overall cycle life of the peristaltic hose.

Why making your own hose pump lubricant?

Simply, to reduce overall cost.