It would be convenient if every silicone hose had one temperature rating, and it would also be misleading. Continuous service temperature is not a property of silicone alone. It is a property of a specific construction carrying a specific medium in a specific position, and changing any of those three changes the answer.
So rather than publish a single figure that may not apply to your application, we would rather give you a number that is actually correct for the hose you are buying.
Four things move the ceiling up or down:
For specific products we do state a range. Our charge air cooler hose, for example, is specified from -76 degrees Fahrenheit to +437 degrees Fahrenheit, and is rated to hold structural integrity under boost across that range.
That figure belongs to that product. It is not a universal figure for every hose we make, and it should not be applied to a different construction in a different position.
The number people usually ask for is the continuous rating - the temperature the hose can live at, not just survive briefly.
A hose can tolerate a short excursion well above its continuous limit without failing: a heat soak after shutdown, for instance, where coolant stops circulating but the engine bay is still hot. Repeated excursions are a different matter, and that is where a hose with less margin will harden, lose elasticity and eventually leak at the clamp.
So when you tell us your operating temperature, tell us whether that is a steady number or a peak you see occasionally. It changes the recommendation.
Three things let us confirm the right construction rather than guess: the operating temperature, whether it is steady or intermittent, and the medium the hose carries.
Send those and we will tell you which construction suits your application. You can see the ranges on our performance silicone hose, heavy duty silicone tubes and Nomex reinforced silicone hoses pages. If nothing standard fits the temperature and routing you need, our custom service can work from a drawing or a sample.
