{"id":3155,"date":"2025-03-10T06:37:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T22:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/?p=3155"},"modified":"2025-03-10T06:37:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T22:37:54","slug":"troubleshooting-truth-4-reasons-why-hydraulics-pros-never-use-a-hand-pump-when-troubleshooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/all\/troubleshooting-truth-4-reasons-why-hydraulics-pros-never-use-a-hand-pump-when-troubleshooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Troubleshooting Truth: 4 Reasons Why Hydraulics Pros Never Use a Hand Pump When Troubleshooting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"<\/a>Here are 4 reasons why hydraulics pros rarely if ever use a hand pump when troubleshooting a hydraulic machine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. A hand pump requires routine opening of the system<\/li><\/strong>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    A hydraulic system is a sealed, fluid-filled system. And one that is sensitive to ingress of dirt, water and air. In addition to the contaminant ingression risk, there is always a safety and oil spill risk whenever a hydraulic system is opened. This means a hydraulic system should only ever be opened when there’s no other alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In a troubleshooting situation it means all applicable, non-invasive or minimal invasion checks, tools and tests must be considered and exhausted BEFORE any invasive test that requires opening of the system is deployed. For example, the installation of a flow meter. A troubleshooting by hand pump approach is the antithesis of this because it requires that the system be opened as a matter of routine. Such an approach to hydraulic troubleshooting is fundamentally flawed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. A hand pump is a contamination source<\/li><\/strong>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      A hand pump contains a reservoir of fluid without filtration. In practical use, the type of oil and the amount of dirt and water it contains, is unlikely to be monitored or controlled. This means connecting a hand pump to a hydraulic system is itself a contamination risk. A contamination risk that could result in component damage and\/or failure. For this reason alone I wouldn’t connect a hand pump to my lawn tractor, let alone a complex hydraulic machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. A hand pump does not replicate system effects<\/li><\/strong>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        A hand pump does not and cannot replicate system effects. For example: flowrate, pressure ripple, vibration, temperature, viscosity, friction, hydraulic resistance, back pressure, component dynamics, etc. This means troubleshooting by hand pump is guaranteed to result in a LOT of false indications. False indications that lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary component change-outs. Read this post<\/a> and this post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        1. A hand pump is a method not a principle<\/li><\/strong>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          The 19th century industrialist Harrington Emmerson once said: “As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          A hand pump is nothing more than a method. So deploying it without regard to principles, eliminates the opportunity to use other, less invasive, more reliable and more efficient troubleshooting methods. This is like handing a golfer a single club with which to play 18 holes — and she doesn’t get to choose the club! It’s ridiculous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Hydraulics pros who understand principles, and are therefore able to select their own methods, rarely if ever use a hand pump when troubleshooting. And for the reasons explained above, folks who try using a hand pump while ignoring principles, are sure to have trouble sooner or later. You have been told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          BOTTOM LINE: hydraulic troubleshooting by hand pump can be a costly mistake. And to discover 6 other costly mistakes you want to be sure to avoid with your hydraulic equipment, get “Six Costly Mistakes Most Hydraulics Users Make… And How You Can Avoid Them!” available for FREE download here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Here are 4 reasons why hydraulics pros rarely if ever use a hand pump when troubleshooting a hydraulic machine: A hydraulic system is a sealed, fluid-filled system. And one that is sensitive to ingress of dirt, water and air. In … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22,29,16,18],"class_list":["post-3155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","tag-fluid-power","tag-hydraulic-pump","tag-hydraulics","tag-hydraulics-troubleshooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3155"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3171,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3155\/revisions\/3171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}