The OilShield Air Hose is the lightest, strongest, most flexible 100% rubber hose. Before the introduction of OilShield, rubber hoses were heavy and stiff, which allowed the introduction of Hybrid hoses into the market. Hybrids are a combination of rubber and PVC. Unlike PVC and Hybrid hoses, BluBird's OilShield hose is resistant to spilled oil and, more importantly, to welding spatter and sparks. The OilShield hose withstands these, whereas the PVC or Hybrid would get punctured and eventually burst. The Lighter demo is a perfect example.

The hose industry knows that rubber is the best material to use.  Even the hybrid manufacturers use a certain % of rubber in their hoses because of the advantages rubber has over PVC.  PVC is light and flexible but doesn’t perform well in cold temperatures.  Rubber outperforms PVC in cold weather, maintaining flexibility and strength. Nitrile rubber is also resistant to spilled oil, and welding spatter and sparks. PVC and Hybrid hoses are not.

The warranty covers manufacturing defects.  Should a fitting blow off, a leak occurs at the crimped ends or a hose burst for no apparent reason, the hose needs to be returned and inspected. If a defect is present, it will be self-evident and fully covered by warranty.  Wear and tear and misuse are not covered by the warranty.  Three  years is the best warranty in the market for a Class A, oil resistant hose.

There are three Categories of high-pressure air hoses: Oil Resistant Class A (High Oil Resistance) or Class B (Medium Oil Resistance) and Class C (Non-Oil Resistant and Limited Oil Resistant).  The Lower Pressure Hoses are Generally Used for Applications such as air guns, industrial air lines in industrial facilities, service stations, and many others. The more resistant a shop hose is to oil and solvents, the longer it will remain in service.

Aluminum fittings are lighter than brass but are very soft, and easily crushed if a hose is run over.  Brass is slightly heavier but much more durable, overall a better fitting.

Some manufacturers spiral braid their hoses, and that process doesn’t have the same effect on the strength of the hose.  Braiding helps the core pressure rating as it is placed over the core of the hose before the cover is added.  Woven braiding is the best.  It’s done using machines that weave the braiding over the middle (core) and add strength to the hose. 

300psi is the standard working pressure for most hoses.  The standard is to divide the burst pressure of the hose by 4, and that will give you the working pressure.  Some manufacturers cheat and say their hoses are 300psi when they aren’t, as their burst pressure is less than 4:1 (1200 psi).

The industry standards have always said that a hose should have a factor of 4 to 1.  This means that if a hose says it’s a 300-psi hose, the pressure that will cause it to burst should be 4x the working pressure. 

The pressure ratings for a hose are based on testing at an ambient temperature of 70°F.  As the hose is exposed to warmer temperatures above 70°F and lower temperatures, it will affect the performance of the hose.  Loss of pressure rating and hose integrity.  We test all of the hoses to the highest and lowest temperatures where the hose maintains its integrity and pressure ratings.  Ours is the best in the industry for either warm or cold temperatures.  -30°F to +190°F for the OilShield hoses.

Abrasion resistant hoses are suitable to convey concrete, plaster, grout, sand and gypsum. The OilShield Air Hose is designed to handle abrasive mediums and consequently will maintain a longer in-service time.

Rubber has no memory, so it lays flat and doesn’t kink.  Kinking is a bend in the hose that restricts the airflow. Kink-Memory, as it is referred to in the industry, affects most hoses. The cheaper the hose, the lesser the materials, and the more memory a hose will contain. Hoses produced with plasticized PVC are the worst, while rubber ones are the best. All hoses are affected by a phenomenon called "compression set." All hoses tend to have some memory when first uncoiled. The coil's size is small to save on shipping costs. To have the best results and less memory, we suggest that the coil be opened and laid flat and then when it is to be stored, make a bigger coil.

The bend restrictor is put on each hose end to protect the end fittings.  The ends are the most vulnerable parts of the hose.  Without the bend restrictor, the fittings can be damaged when bent.  We developed the four-finger grip to conform to the user’s fingers, making the hose easier to hold and handle.  This bend restrictor is proprietary to us.

Our primary offering for the OilShield Air Hose is ⅜”, ½”. These are all I.D. (internal dimension) sizes.

We don’t manufacture fittings.  We source them from fitting manufacturers to meet the specs for our hoses.