Although far from new, global warming is a real and present issue right now. And whether you believe the science or not, we’re currently witnessing evidence of what climate-change scientists have been warning us about for some time: increasing incidence of extreme weather events.

This apparent trend towards wider extremes in temperature has implications for anyone who designs, operates or maintains hydraulic equipment: the real possibility of machines having to operate at much lower cold-start temperatures and/or much higher maximum ambient temperatures, than the long-run average.

In other words, more hydraulic machines may find themselves operating in temperature extremes for which they are not equipped.… continue reading »

In a previous blog post, I talked about the importance of reliability and how it affects life-of-machine ownership cost (LOMOC).

But to minimize LOMOC, having a reliable machine is not enough. A highly efficient, reliable machine is required. So this begs the question: how efficient are your hydraulic machines?

As a hydraulics consultant advising clients in a diverse range of industries, the issue of efficiency is one I deal with a lot. Let me illustrate this with a couple of examples:

One client, the designer of a three-wheeled vehicle, approached me to design a hydraulic drive. He wanted to power at least two wheels, ideally three.… continue reading »

Long-time ‘Planet Brendan’ inhabitant Owen Williamson, a farmer from New Zealand, sent me this troubleshooting story from ‘the coal face’:

“I have considerable mechanical aptitude, but at the time of this problem I had little knowledge of hydraulics — something I have since fixed. Anyway, I purchased my first ever brand new tractor. And shortly after the warranty ran out, the tractor suddenly ceased to move forward when in gear and engine revs dropped to low RPMs.

At the time the dealer had shut up shop in my nearest town and my closest dealer was a long way away. So I asked a local tractor mechanic to attend to the problem.… continue reading »