Since World War I, gas masks have been an unfortunate necessity, and World War II saw a huge increase in their acceptance and popularity. Gas masks typically have an exhalation valve, filters, and a transparent viewing area and are worn on the face.
These gas masks are constructed from specialist materials and are intended to shield the users from dangerous airborne particles. When filters are fitted to a mask, the user’s breathing creates a negative pressure that forces air through the filters.
In some devices, referred to as PAPRs, a powered fan filter contaminated air in a body-mounted pack before delivering it via a flexible hose to the user’s face mask.
The hoses give the wearer pure oxygen without exposing them to biological, chemical, or radioactive agents (CBRN). These hoses have some characteristics in common with industrial hoses, but their design and manufacturing are different. We shall examine their differences in this section.
How Military Gas Mask Hose Is Different From Normal Hoses
- The function of gas mask hoses, which is to transport clean air from one location to another, is the same as that of hospital breathing tubes and hoses, but they differ in a number of ways that set them apart. You could better grasp it if you followed the advice below.
- Due to their demonstrated capacity to survive extreme environments, the following materials are used to make the gas mask hoses and tubes.
- The resilient synthetic rubber EPDM gives resistance to sunshine, ozone, and oxygen. Excellent electrical qualities, water, heat, steam resistance, and use from -60°F to +300°F are all features of EPDM hoses and tubing. It is suitable for CBRN applications that last just temporarily and can be made flame retardant.
- Hoses and tubing made of butyl rubber are resistant to chemical warfare chemicals and decontamination. The substance is strong yet also flexible enough to create a tight seal. In addition, in comparison to other materials, rubber hoses are significantly less porous. As a result, the industry standard for CBRN resistance is butyl.
- The hoses must adhere to CBRN/NBC standards. Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense is referred to as CBRN. In locations where those risks may be present, it refers to safety precautions should be taken.
- Users can breathe in cleansed air thanks to these hoses, which are attached to a filter cartridge.
- As military people must constantly travel between locations, the hoses are typically evaluated for mobility and secure attachment.
- To be portable and not restrict breathing, gas masks are typically durable yet lightweight.
- Most gas mask hoses have flexible designs, allowing users to join them with other hoses to build lengthy purification systems.
Compared to gas mask hoses, medical and industrial breathing tubing is typically lower in weight, more likely to be constructed of plastic, potentially disposable, and not required to offer the same level of protection from external airborne threats.
New Alternative to Gas Mask Hoses
Military gas mask hoses were a great invention. But with time, carrying hoses becomes troublesome as you also have to carry a gas container. But the modern gas masks used filters in places of hoses which filtered out the air and made it easy to breathe.
Many military combat troops use a gas masks instead of old hoses for the operation. However, the gas masks with hoses were still widely used among many troops for operations. So, even today, hoses with gas masks are quite useful. However, these items are limited, so you may not be able to find gas masks for sale at every other defense store.
