How to Prevent the Damaging Effects of ‘Dieseling’ in a Hydraulic Cylinder

hydraulic cylinder failureOne of our members who works for a hydraulic seal manufacturer wrote me this recently:

“We receive many seal-failure complaints. And while most of these failures can be attributed to installation, assembly, poor hardware preparation or even misuse of the product, we always try to educate our customers as to the cause of failure and provide them guidance to prevent … Read more

The Only Ideal Mounting Arrangement for a Hydraulic Pump

Not an ideal pump mounting positionA pet hate of mine is hydraulic power units in which the pump has to ‘lift’ the oil into its intake. In other words, mounting the pump above the tank or more precisely, above minimum oil level. Like a suction strainer, it’s another ‘engineered in’ barrier which prevents the pump’s chambers from filling freely and completely.

According to most manufacturers, … Read more

Would You Pass This Hydraulics Troubleshooting Test?

Hydraulic excavator boom cylindersIn my series of weekly hydraulics bulletins that go out to anyone who opts in to receive them, there are two messages that always provoke a response.

The first of these two bulletins sets out to explain how a double-acting cylinder becomes a displacement cylinder when the piston seal leaks and the load is acting to retract the piston rod. … Read more