Hydraulics Troubleshooting: Do This First!

hydraulic schematic drawingIn The Hydraulic Troubleshooting Handbook, I explain 12 principles which must be adhered to in order to solve any hydraulic problem effectively. Troubleshooting Principle #1 is: check and eliminate the easy things first. The benefits of this mandatory first step are clearly illustrated by a troubleshooting situation I was involved in recently.

The machine in question had a complex … Read more

How To Prevent Failures of Hydraulic Maintenance

gun_shaftWould you part with $87 to save $70,000? This is a ‘no brainer’ for most of us, right?. Well, here’s a story for you:

I recently conducted failure analysis and a reliability audit on a 300 kW hydrostatic transmission. The hydraulic system was running a synthetic ester, biodegradable hydraulic fluid. This $45/gallon hydraulic fluid had been destroyed in under 12 … Read more

What to Do About Too Many Hydraulic Oils

hydraulic oil drumHow many different types of hydraulic oil are taking up space in your oil store? If there’s more than one you’re not alone. I often get questions from members who’d like to consolidate their hydraulic oil inventory but aren’t sure how to go about it. This one is typical:

“We have a number of pieces of hydraulic equipment e.g., bucket Read more