{"id":3378,"date":"2026-06-28T11:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T03:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/?p=3378"},"modified":"2026-06-28T11:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T03:36:26","slug":"the-2-ways-to-get-a-hydraulics-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/all\/the-2-ways-to-get-a-hydraulics-education\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2 Ways to Get a Hydraulics Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-392 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/split_cyl2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"hydraulic cylinder failure\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/split_cyl2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/split_cyl2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/split_cyl2.jpg 1224w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>A couple of questions I received from members in the past week got me thinking about how people divide into two groups when it comes to information: those who are willing to pay for it, and those who are not.<\/p>\n<p>The first member explains how he has just paid $10,000 for an old crawler tractor that needs works. He says: <em>&#8220;\u2026what about us hackers that buy an ancient piece of equipment and then need to incrementally fix it up on a shoestring?&#8221;<\/em> He then proceeds to explain how he would like some &#8216;tips&#8217; on how to service and maintain the hydraulics properly and how and where to buy replacement hydraulic parts on the cheap.<\/p>\n<p>So I write back to him and say: &#8220;look, &#8216;hacker&#8217; or not, you&#8217;ve got $10K invested in this machine&#8211;PLUS whatever amount you plan or need to spend on it. At a measly $19.95, my book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/0958149356?ref=blog\">Insider Secrets to Hydraulics<\/a>, which covers what you&#8217;re looking for and a whole lot more, is a no-brainer for you.&#8221; I hit the send button knowing he won&#8217;t part with his hard-earned.<\/p>\n<p>The second member has just paid $36,000 for a skid-steer loader. He&#8217;s in a quandary about what hydraulic fluid to use. He&#8217;s done enough research to know that engine oil, ATF and AW hydraulic oil are all possibilities. He ends with: <em>&#8220;\u2026what type and brand of oil do you recommend and where can I get it locally?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To him I say: &#8220;\u2026the fact of the matter is, this question does NOT have a simple answer&#8230;&#8221; and I direct him to my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/the-right-oil.html\">How to Select the Correct Hydraulic Oil ebook and video<\/a>. I point out it IS a $49 investment, but one that for him, as a proud owner of a $36K hydraulic machine, is definitely worth it. Once again I hit &#8220;send&#8221; knowing this guy is unlikely to become a customer anytime soon. (I was correct on both counts).<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it is difficult for me to recommend my own information products without appearing to be self-serving. But to be fair, in both cases, I prescribed a modest investment of less than $50, when in fact, what both of them ought to get is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/maintenance-handbook.html\">The Hydraulic Maintenance Handbook<\/a> (a whopping $87 investment!). If it was for a replacement hydraulic component, they&#8217;d have no choice. But for information that&#8217;ll improve their bottom line, that&#8217;s optional.<\/p>\n<p>But one thing I do know for sure, based on my long experience in the hydraulics repair biz, is ALL hydraulic equipment owners DO indeed pay for their education one way or the other.<\/p>\n<p>Upfront, from someone like me. Or at the repair shop later.<\/p>\n<p>And this means failing to invest in your hydraulics education can be a costly mistake. To discover six other costly mistakes you want to be sure to avoid with your hydraulic equipment, <strong>get &#8220;Six Costly Mistakes Most Hydraulics Users Make&#8230; And How You Can Avoid Them!&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/smr\/\">available for FREE download here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A couple of questions I received from members in the past week got me thinking about how people divide into two groups when it comes to information: those who are willing to pay for it, and those who are not. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/all\/the-2-ways-to-get-a-hydraulics-education\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22,24,16,17],"class_list":["post-3378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","tag-fluid-power","tag-hydraulic-oil","tag-hydraulics","tag-hydraulics-maintenance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378","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=3378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3379,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378\/revisions\/3379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hydraulicsupermarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}