Solving BHP’s Reeling Hose Issues
We were approached by SGC Australia in 2024 to help resolve ongoing reeling hose issues affecting BHP operations. Their existing long-length hoses were developing a pronounced “banana” effect at each individual join, creating problems when winding and unwinding on stackers and reclaimers.
With 24 hoses replaced every four years across these machines, the issue was creating unnecessary maintenance costs, downtime, and operational inefficiency.
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Client
BHP
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Engineer
SGC Australia
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Commodity
Coal
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Location
Western Australia
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Value
$600k Ongoing
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Total hose supplied
4,000mt Ongoing
The Problem
Joining already-cured hose into long continuous lengths is highly specialised work, particularly when metal joiners cannot be used. In stacker and reclaimer applications, hoses must reel smoothly over drums and guides, meaning the hose needs to remain continuous, concentric, and free from protruding metal connections that can create catch points.
When joins are poorly executed, the hose can lose its concentricity through the splice area, causing the hose to bend or twist at each join. This creates the common “banana” effect, leading to:
- Poor tracking during reeling and unreeling
- Increased stress on hose carcass and reinforcement
- Premature wear at joins
- Reduced hose service life
- Higher maintenance intervention
Our Solution
To solve the problem, we supplied our Stackertech XL Series Long Length Reeling Hose, a solution already proven across multiple mine sites throughout Australia.
Our design focused on eliminating the root causes of previous failures:
- Over-engineered splice joins designed to maintain concentricity
- Continuous rubber-moulded joins with no metal catch points
- Spliced every 120 metres, significantly reducing total join numbers
- Double the tensile strength of the existing product
- Built for constant winding and unwinding cycles on heavy-duty equipment
By reducing the number of joins and increasing structural integrity, the hose delivered a far more reliable reeling solution.
The Outcome
We have now supplied multiple reels to BHP as part of the changeout program to replace the problematic hoses. Since installing our Stackertech solution:
- Improved winding and unreeling performance
- Longer hose service life
- Reduced shutdown frequency
- Lower maintenance demand
- Increased plant efficiency across WA operations
This project demonstrates how correct hose engineering and specialised long-length joining technology can significantly improve reliability in stacker and reclaimer applications.
