One of our members wrote me with this question:

“I’d like to hear your opinion about isolation valves on pump intake lines. Within our company there is an ongoing debate over whether we should use a more expensive ball valve or a cheaper butterfly valve?”

At the root of this question is the negative effect of turbulence in the pump … Read more

Old hands know this, but I am often asked why Teflon tape should NOT be used on tapered-thread hydraulic adaptors. Here, one of our members explains why:

“I had a big handful of trouble on a ship because incompetent yard mechanics (they are abundant!) used Teflon tape to seal connections. The tape got into the check valve of the control … Read more

The issues which can arise when switching brand and/or type of hydraulic oil, is a question I get a lot. And the crux of this problem, is:
1.    You can never completely drain ALL of the original out of the hydraulic system; and therefore:
2.    There WILL be some mixing of the original and the new oil, so how do … Read more