Hose Diameter

Hi! I could use some advice.

I do not like the plastic enema hoses I have so I'm looking for replacement.

I have been told that silicone is best for enema hoses.

I have tried to measure my old hoses and they seem to be around 8 or 9 mm inside diameter. I have looked online and on the forum and I've found 5/16 inch mentioned but also 3/8 inch. First would be 8mm and second 9.5mm.

I can get silicone hose 8mm inside/12mm outside and 10mm inside/14mm outside,so 2mm thick wall. Or 10mm inside/16mm outside, so 3mm thick wall. So I am not sure what to get!

I think silicone hose can stretch a lot so it would fit on everything I have if I take 8mm?

Does it make a difference for the flow? I also have a cleanstream bag with a hose connector which I have noticed seems to have a small inside hole, about 4mm, seems a bit too small??? My enema bucket has a bigger hole. Outside connectors are about 10/11 mm, would a 10mm hose come off too easily?

There is so much variation on the likes of particular hose diameters and degrees of stiffness, you could write a book on it.

You have to try several and see what you like.

The flexibility and stretchability of silicone is determined by the type of silicone polymer it is made of. There are MANY.

I think a 3/8" or 8mm inside diameter will give very good flow rates and not be too heavy to move around and will fit most hose clamps and hose barbs you describe.

Haha, lets not start writing books then, I'll just go get some and will enjoy trying it out :-D

thanx!

I was on the 5/16 vs. 3/8 kick for several years. At the same time I was on a kick of high bag placement and doing hand stands for a real fast fill. Found that hose diameter wasn't all that important.

Now I enjoy a slow fill and hand-pump most of my high volume enemas, 2 or 3 ounces per squeeze. I alternate pump squeezes with abdominal massage to move the fluid where I wish.

As you express, connection reliability and dependability is important. I will sacrifice flow rate (how fast my hand pump refills) to avoid having an "unfortunate" accident. My pet peeve is spilled coffee.

An advantage to silicone is the ability to see when the bag runs out. Valuable for those 24 oz. Balch-coffee enemas.

My preference is for latex hose because it is so flexible and easy to manage. It also has enough stretch to work on larger connectors than the hose's I.D. The down side of latex is that it has a fairly short lifespan before needing to be replaced. For me, the versatility of the latex hose makes it worth the expense of replacing it as needed.

The three most common sizes I've encountered so far are (I.D.) 1/4", 5/16", & 3/8"

Perhaps you should by a small section of each and see which ones are best suited to install and detach from your equipment.

Latex is easiest to use, but needs to be replaced periodically.

I'd use a 6mm inside diameter hose for enemas, Flow is good and it is easy to remove the air from it. Larger inside diameters tend to be difficult to expel all the air.

Pay attention to the wall thickness. Choose a hose that has a thin wall. It will be be more flexible and easier to clamp shut.

The 8mm inside diameter tubes won't snugly fit on standard enema bags and nozzles.

I've replaced all my hoses with 8mm I.D. food grade silicone hose about 2 years ago. I recall spending a lot of time finding it for a decent price. Worth it though!

@uncle0: 8mm seems to fit just fine with my gear.

What is the size of the old standard enema hoses that came with the kind of bags Mother used to use? Anybody know? They worked just fine..

You can use 8mm.I.D. hose.5/16I.D.=0.312, 8mm.=0.323.Latex surgical tubing will fit.If you need to clamp either end,I use small wire bundle ties (nylon),or small auto hose stainless steel hose clamps at bag or can.Most U.S.A. enema gear is 5/16"ID. For hose size .Adapters are easy to create/make to your specific needs.R.I have more ideas if you so desire.

What is the size of the old standard enema hoses that came with the kind of bags Mother used to use? Anybody know? They worked just fine..

The old standard stuff used 1/4" ID tubing.

5/16 and more preferably 3/8" ID tubing is better these days.

Thanks, Susie.... larger right?

Yes, to a point. 3/8" will give a good flow rate, be easy to clean as I have described in other posts and connect well to barbs and adapters.

Half inch ID would be as big as I would go because the hose starts to get heavy and unwieldy.

The truth is, size doesn't really matter, the larger diameter may look more threatening, but it isn't going to pass anymore water than whatever the inside diameter of your nozzle is. Even if your nozzle has a 1/4" bore where the hose attaches, chances are, the 1/4" bore doesn't go straight through, it probably goes down to a smaller diameter, or there may even be multiple holes. I think it would be reasonable though to use a hose with an inside diameter as the bore through your nozzle, as the nozzle is going to me the major limiting factor on flow. The height of the bag of course will be the main determining factor, the weight of water is .445 pounds per foot, no mater what the diameter of the hose is or how large the enema bag is. It's a good question though, let's see, 1/4" is about 6.35mm, so going up, at least 7mm, or whatever your supplier can deliver. And like switchablesuzie says, it has to fit the barbs on your nozzle too.

the hoseman1 - silicon rubber is my favorite, easier to clean, but love the smell of latex

Take the nozzle off the present hose, and go to Lowe's and, while no one is looking, find the right sized Nalgene tubing. This is clear, and very strong. Should last forever.

@tarragon: I don't think we have a place called Lowe's here and what is Nalgene tubing? I found some hits about Nalgene (PVC?) bottles using google

I don't think latex hose is used a lot nowadays? Or maybe in the US only, I can't seem to find it. Is it cheaper?

@dutchghost: Do you remember where you got it?? I wanted to order some yesterday but turned out I had to buy at least 25m, way too expensive for me. another webshop I could buy per meter but for 2m hose with shipping it would cost about 25 euro. I looked in local shops but they have rather stiff transparent PVC hoses only, very cheap though.

I have soft silicone hoses that are 5/16" and the flow is very good. Sometimes the hose is too soft and can easily twist. Next time I'll get a host that is not so soft, maybe a 3mm thick wall?

IIse -- You may find 8mm ID suits most equipment--Bags & irrigators....As with yourself we are metric & I have various equipment from across the globe...probably with the greater percentage being US product....but I do work using both standards.....For some time now there has been an auction disposal liquidator selling sealed pre-packaged 2 Metre / 6Ft 8" (white) streamaster hoses on E-pay @ around 8 USD ea.

wny_liquidators or Western New York liquidators:

1) http://www.ebay.com/itm/STREEM-Master-Mens-Womens-6-Silicone-Enema-Douche-Anal-Gay-Hose-Red-NIP-714H-/390767538495?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5afb8f713f

2) qcare another supplier in both latex & silicone tubing in various lengths & diameters with reasonable intl shipping rate...no tax's as far as I know.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-FEET-5-16X1-16-LATEX-SURGICAL-RUBBER-TUBING-7-16-A-/220768881560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3366d9cb98

3) Cleanstream product --There is a 6 foot (72inch) x 9mm ID x 11mm OD silicone colon tube that can double as a hose--shipping not exorbitant !!

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Grade-Comfortable-Painless-PurEnema/dp/B00AY4IFFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424942284&sr=8-1&keywords=colon+tubes+36+fr

You may also try www.lindemannsilikon.de/ or maybe www.fraudoktor.com as they have red latex rubber hoses @ 5.20 Euro per unit,but are 5 Footers in length--product code A07.

Thanx for the tips. I have looked in webshops from the US like klystra and optimalhealth before but shippingcost is crazy and probably have to pay import taxes too so 😢

Germany is not cheap shipping either, often something like 17 euro.

I've bought the silicone hose online, don't recall the URL for it, I can look it up for you if you still want it. I ordered 50m though, so I could get the best price per meter. Some friends started experimenting with home beer brewing and needed food safe hoses for that, I got them a bargain and me an even better one. I have a piece left over, don't know how long exactly, but at least 5m. If you are interested just send me a PM.

I've got my Mom's old Rexall Victoria Combination syringe and Susie you are right.. 3/8's inch is the size and it worked fine when I was younger and I think it still would if I chose to use it.

Just to give some feedback.

I've tried the 8mm inside diameter silicone hose and it is great! Whole lot better compared to the standard hoses I had. Maybe I'll order some latex tube in the future when I have some more money to spend.

Thank you all for the good advice and provided links!

Either 8 to 10 mm should be good, just make sure the material is pliable enough to go over the fittings. Reenforced hose like automotive hose has fibers in it which will not let it stretch. Most hardware stores should have rubber or latex hose available.

For years I was given or I took enemas with the standard hose that came with a douche or enema bag, until I acquired an E-Z-Em Super Set-up with large diameter hose.

For many enemas I loved the volume one of those bags can deliver, even at lower heights when it is volume not pressure. Of course, hung high, you can empty that bag a lot quicker. For that reason, when we were seeing just how many enemas one person could take in an hour (at an E-Fest), that was the bag of choice for me.

Does anyone else have a similar enjoyment of a system of high volume delivery?

I now use a fairly standard (whatever that means) enema set up which I bought from an online shop and I designed specifically for enemas. The tubing is reasonably low diameter. However, when I was younger, poorer and less able to buy real evens gear I used to make my own. This consisted of a garden hose as the main tubing. Obviously the diameter of this was much wider and it allowed much greater flows of water. Enemas used to take seconds not minutes that they do now. Good times!

It's more about flow rate than about actual diameter.

I have found that about a quart per minute is a good flow rate. Fast enough to "feel like an enema" Slow enough that my body retains the full 1 minutes, and Fast enough that the second round is usually able to start in less than an hour

I also have an EZEM setup for barium enemas. The tubing is 1/2 inch inside diameter and can empty the nearly 3 quart bag in about 30 seconds. The first time I used it I didn't have time for cramps. It was like flushing the toilet! The delivery is just too fast for me to use all of the time so I usually use a 2 or 4 quart bag with a nice slow flow. I still use the EZEM as it is very exciting to take a very fast flowing kind of high pressure enema every once in a while. For me a balloon nozzle is a requirement!

Getting all the air out of the larger diameter tubing is challenging, however. I never managed to accomplish that with the barium enema bag I had obtained in the 1970s. The other issue with that vinyl bag was that it held a lot more liquid that the graduations on the side indicated. Air bubbles and more water than I was used to taking made for challenging enemas when I used that bag.

The Seeking Health four quart bag I am using now has the same problem and requires a bit of attention to get it ready to use.

See this regarding flow rate and pressure.

A high flow rate at lower to moderate pressure is preferred.

The newer (less than ten years old) Klystra bags have a supplied hose barb that acts as a reducer because it will accept a good sized hose, but has a narrow internal bore. The older bags had no such hose barb reducer and my husband has removed the reducing barb from our newer Klystra bags and replaced them with nylon hose 7/16" ID and 9/16" OD diameters. We just hook a 7/16"ID hose to the custom nylon hose barb and the water flows like there's no tomorrow.

With our bag hung so the BOTTOM of the bag is five feet off the floor, the bag when filled to the very top (9 pints), will empty in 27 seconds.

https://www.zity.biz/index.php?mx=forum;ox=display;msg=872305

I generally use a 3/8"ID hose because it is lighter, more flexible and easier to move around with. Also, speed is not my main consideration with enemas--how many orgasms I have during the process is much more exciting to me.

I too, have an EZM 3 liter BaE bag, with their balloon nozzle. A large diameter hose was necessary in order to deliver the thick BaSO4 solution into the patient in a reasonable amount of time. When using these bags for water enemas, you need to keep the bag at a much lower height, or risk severe cramps. I keep mine at about 2 ft. above the level of injection (bottom of the bag).

Our family enema can boasted of "rapid flow' tubing, with a fairly wide spout to attach it to. Today's tubing can't do the job.