If you’ve been working with hydraulics for a while, you probably consider a hydraulic system with a variable displacement pump to be more efficient than its fixed displacement counterpart. As a generalization this is true. But like most things in hydraulics, it depends. And in the case of a variable-displacement pump, it largely depends on the type of control used … Read more

A new client, a hydraulic repairer, consulted me about the failure of one of their piston pump rebuilds. The pump was not installed by them, but when the failed unit came back for inspection, it was obvious the drive coupling had been hammered onto the pump’s drive shaft.

For the uninitiated, this is a really dumb thing to do. If … Read more

A very frustrated member sent me this recently:

“I have done all but beg the company I work for to buy a portable oil filtration cart, but I cant seem to get my point across to them. The company is a government contractor and everything is done on a cost basis at the moment. So it’s cheaper to mix oils … Read more