Overview
Gum hose is the pressurized rubber tubing used inside pneumatic reversing edge systems on commercial garage doors. It inserts into the door’s bottom weather seal and connects to an air switch that monitors pressure changes. When the bottom of a closing door contacts an obstruction, the gum hose compresses, triggering the air switch to signal the door operator to stop or reverse — preventing damage to equipment, vehicles, and personnel.
Barron Equipment carries Action Industries gum hose in four inner diameters — .375″, .475″, .50″, and .750″ — to match the requirements of different pneumatic safety edge configurations and air switch systems. The .50″ ID is the most common size used in standard commercial garage door installations. All per-foot sizes are sold in exact footage — enter the desired length in the quantity field and the hose ships as a single continuous piece.
Available Sizes
- G2564-38-Z — .375″ ID, beige, sold per foot
- G2564-00-Z — .475″ ID, beige, sold per foot
- G2564-50-Z — .50″ ID, black, sold per foot
- G2564-50-Z-200 — .50″ ID, black, 200 ft bulk reel
- G2564-75-Z — .750″ ID, beige, sold per foot
The .50″ ID black gum hose is available in both per-foot and 200 ft bulk reel options. The bulk reel is designed for contractors, door service companies, and facilities with multiple doors that need pneumatic safety edge installations or replacements across an entire building.
How Gum Hose Works in a Safety Edge System
A pneumatic reversing edge system has three core components: the gum hose, the air switch, and the treadle hose anchor. The gum hose is the sensing element — it runs along the full width of the door inside the bottom weather seal. One end connects to the air switch via treadle hose, and the opposite end is sealed with a gum hose plug or treadle hose anchor.
When the system is pressurized and the door is closing, any contact between the bottom edge of the door and an object compresses the gum hose. That compression changes the air pressure inside the sealed system. The air switch detects the pressure change and sends a signal to the door operator to stop or reverse movement immediately.
The inner diameter of the gum hose determines the volume of air inside the system and affects sensitivity. Matching the correct ID to your air switch and system specifications is critical for reliable obstruction detection. Using the wrong diameter can result in false triggers or — worse — missed obstructions.
When to Replace Gum Hose
Gum hose is a wear component that degrades over time. Exposure to temperature cycling, UV, mechanical compression from thousands of door cycles, and contact with oils or chemicals on the garage floor can cause the hose to crack, harden, lose flexibility, or develop pinhole leaks. Any of these conditions can compromise the pressure integrity of the pneumatic safety edge system and reduce its ability to detect obstructions reliably.
Replace the gum hose if the safety edge system is triggering inconsistently or not at all, if the hose shows visible cracking, hardening, or deformation, or if the system cannot maintain pressure after the air switch and treadle hose anchor have been inspected and ruled out as the cause. When replacing the hose, inspect the air switch, treadle hose, and gum hose plug at the same time — these components wear together and should be evaluated as a system.
Selection Assistance
Start by identifying the inner diameter of the gum hose currently installed in your system. If you are replacing existing hose, match the ID exactly — .375″, .475″, .50″, or .750″. If you are unsure of the correct size, check the specifications of your air switch or the original safety edge kit documentation.
Measure the width of the door opening to determine how many feet of hose you need. Add a few extra feet to account for routing from the bottom seal to the air switch connection point.
For single-door replacements, order by the foot. For multi-door facilities or service companies stocking inventory, the 200 ft reel of .50″ ID hose offers the best value per foot and eliminates the need for multiple individual orders.
If you are building a complete pneumatic safety edge system from scratch rather than replacing a single component, consider the Action Industries Safety Edge Kit — available in 14 ft and 20 ft configurations — which includes the gum hose, air switch, treadle hose, and plug in one package. Contact the Barron Equipment team for help selecting the right approach for your installation.