Hose lifter for suctioning and transporting loads by means of suction force using a suction base arrangement, which suction base arrangement can be acted upon by a vacuum formed in a vacuum chamber via an operating unit, which operating unit is operatively connected to a geodesically lower end of a lifting tube, the operating unit, in order to vary the vacuum, comprising a manually operable valve unit which is accommodated in a housing body and which has a channel arrangement that is formed in a valve body and is in flow communication with the vacuum chamber for the supply of external air, and the external air volume flow being able to be regulated via a closing element which is manually actuatable by means of an actuating mechanism counter to the force generated by an energy accumulator and which can be moved between a closed position and an open position in order to change the flow cross-section of the channel arrangement, the closing element being held in a manually unactuated idle state by means of the force generated by the energy accumulator, the closing element being held in the open position for the external air supply by means of the force generated by the energy accumulator in the manually unactuated idle state, the suction base arrangement assuming its lower position in the idle state, and the vacuum chamber extending via a flow channel portion in the longitudinal direction through the housing body of the operating unit from an upper connection side facing the lifting tube to a lower connection side facing the suction base arrangement, and the valve body being attached as a separate part to or formed in one piece on a wall, which surrounds the flow channel portion and which is provided with at least one opening to the channel arrangement, so as to protrude transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing body with wall structures, at least one through-opening of the channel arrangement for the external air being formed in the wall structures, characterized in that the closing element is sleeve-shaped and surrounds the wall structures with the through-openings of the channel arrangement in a sealing manner in the closed position and, in the open position or in the case of a partially open position, completely or partially releases the region of the channel arrangement for the supply of external air. the vacuum chamber extending via a flow channel portion in the longitudinal direction through the housing body of the operating unit from an upper connection side facing the lifting tube to a lower connection side facing the suction base arrangement, and the valve body being attached as a separate part to or formed in one piece on a wall, which surrounds the flow channel portion and which is provided with at least one opening to the channel arrangement, so as to protrude transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing body with wall structures, at least one through-opening of the channel arrangement for the external air being formed in the wall structures, characterized in that the closing element is sleeve-shaped and surrounds the wall structures with the through-openings of the channel arrangement in a sealing manner in the closed position and, in the open position or in the case of a partially open position, completely or partially releases the region of the channel arrangement for the supply of external air.