While Earl's hose & hose ends make a pretty foolproof combination, there are a few general rules to follow to make sure that you end up with a sanitary and trouble free installation :

1. Make sure that there is adequate clearance between the hose ends and anything that they might be able to contact. While the hose is flexible , the hose ends are not !

2. Do not allow the hose to contact a sharp corner, nut, bolt, rivet stem or anything else that might cause damage. At any point where a hose passes through a panel, install a grommet for chafe protection . 

3. Do not allow the hose to rub against anything - even if the surface on which it rubs is flat. The stainless steel braid is a very efficient low speed and will abrade through anything that it moves against . In order to prevent chafing and to keep your hoses where you meant them too be support the hoses every 18" or so with either a cushion clamp or ti-wrap.   

4. Do not force the hose into too tight a bend . Follow the minimum bend radius chart. Do not kink the hose, either by to tight a bend, by misalignment between the hose end and the part or adapter on short assemblies or by getting the whole assembly into a helix on long assemblies. Align the hose ends with the adapters so the hose  is not placing a strain on the hose end or on the adapter. The Swivel - Seal design reduces these problems, but only care in installation will eliminate them. We manufacture enough hose end and adapter configurations to allow a sanitary and sound solution to just about any installation problem.   

5. Keep the hoses as far away from extreme heat sources ( like turbo chargers and exhaust systems ) as possible. If you must run close to such things, use an air gap insulating panel and / or fire resistant sheathing. Do not run fuel lines in proximity of hot fluid lines ( or hot anything else ) or you will end up with either hot fuel and low power or vapor lock. Do not run hot fluid lines near cool fluid lines or near to the driver.   

6. Do not over tighten the hose ends onto the adapter fittings or parts. The seal is achieved by the design of the mating surfaces - not by muscle. It helps a lot to use the wrenches made for the job.

        Virtually no maintenance is required. Basically, maintaining Earl's high performance plumbing hose ends is a question of preventing abuse.

1. Inspect the plumbing installation frequently for signs of chafing, abrasion, kinking, crushing or seepage. 

2. Take care not to crush, stretch, kink or otherwise damage the hose assemblies when changing engines ect.

3. Keep both hoses and fittings CLEAN.

   (a) Before removing any hose end from its adapter or port, wash the assembly down with solvent and blow it clean and dry so that no grit can find its way into the threads or the sealing surfaces.

   (b) As soon as the hose end has been removed, install a CLEAN protective plug into the hose end and CLEAN cap onto the adapter. This will keep the fluid off the floor, the machine and you.

   (c) Always inspect both hose ends and adapters for dirt before reassembly.

   (d) Correctly assembled Earl's hose ends will not leak if they, and the adapters are undamaged, clean and properly tightened. The only way to be certain that every hose is properly tightened is to form the habit of NEVER leaving the adapter, hose end ( or anything else ) loose, finger tight or partially tightened. Even when you know that you are going to take the thing right off again, correctly tighten it - every time !  

     If it leaks, it has probably been assembled incorrectly or the sealing surfaces on the adapter and the nipple have been damaged - or just possibly someone has tried to assemble an AN 37 degree seat hose end into a 45 degree SAE cone. Damage to the cone or the seat can be caused by a multitude of sins - dirt and over tightening being the most common.