What is an Exhaust Hose?

An exhaust hose is a type of flexible hose used to extract vehicle exhaust fumes from an indoor automobile repair facility. A method of removing the automobile exhaust is necessary as exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which is highly toxic. Exhaust hoses is very easy to use and provides a safe method for the removal of exhaust fumes.

The basic purpose of an exhaust hose is to create a dedicated method for redirecting the exhaust fumes from a running vehicle outside, where the fumes can be vented off harmlessly. In order to be practical, the hose must be easy to connect and disconnect from the vehicle and be permanently attached to a venting point outside the building. Mechanics must be able to move the hose around with little effort and the connector on the end of the hose must be able to fit on the tailpipe for a wide range of vehicles. There are five different types of vehicle exhaust hose: exhaust extraction, manual hose, motorized hose, sliding suction rail and hose drop with balancer. The costs and benefits of the different types of hose vary based on the installation costs and size of the installation required.

The exhaust extraction hose systems have a motorized exhaust system designed to pull the exhaust from the tailpipe and push it to the outside of the building. The hose system itself is attached to the inside roof of the garage. Multiple hoses drops are installed at specific intervals, to correspond with vehicle bays. The hose can be set to different sizes, ranging from 3 inches (7.6 cm) to 8 inches (20.3 cm) in diameter.

A manual exhaust hose is a simple, insulated hose that is run from the tailpipe to a cutout in the garage door. The cutout is the same dimension as the hose and ensures that all the exhaust leaves the garage. This is the most cost-effective method of running the exhaust hose outside the garage. A rope and pulley method can be used to retract the hose when not in use, or it can be mounted onto a reel for safety and storage purposes.

Motorized hose can function on a retraction reel and work with various hose sizes and high levels of heat. The hose reel is made of steel components and are designed for use with a radio remote control. The motorized hose has a build in mechanism designed to lower the hose to any position.

A sliding suction rail exhaust system allows the user to install multiple exhaust hose drops, but reduces the fan size and power required through the use of a shared rail. This design provides improved energy efficiency, which saves on electricity costs. However, this sliding suction rail system requires a tighter seal to maintain the same levels of suction.

An exhaust hose drop with balancer is designed for a very large garage and provides all the functionality of a motorized exhaust hose system, but with load and air balancing. This feature ensures that the exhaust is continuously pressurized to flow outside the building, regardless of the number of exhaust hoses attached. It is the best type of system for a large garage.