Most hydraulic equipment owners and operators are a canny group, but that fact doesn’t seem to wholly eliminate costly mistakes. The errors stubbornly persist. Hard-earned lessons, however, are for gamblers and speculators, not for smart hydraulic users. This latter faction doesn’t subscribe to a wild throw of the dice, not when there’s a way to predict and correct the mistakes before they extract an extortionate fee.
Stamp Out Extortionate Repair Charges
The information we’re about to lay down here could save hydraulic users substantial amounts of cash. Think of the following pointers as a preemptive repair strategy, if you will, a means of extending the life of the parts without engaging the services of an unscrupulous repair center. Certainly, there will be times when key components do legitimately age and wear, so a repair engineer will be required on that day. Until then, let’s use the time we have together to extend the operational lifespans of those parts and, not coincidentally, the entire system.
Fluid Management Mistakes
Like the heart of a mechanical beast, a hydraulic pump sends fluid energy through the moving gear. Hoses and metal tubes function as arterial networks, conduits that deliver power to the discrete mechanical actuators. On this occasion, fluid integrity is everything. Don’t lean heavily on an hours-in-service parameter, some performance rating printed on a packaging label. Test that fluid regularly. Test it and then replace it when the oily base begins to break down. Furthermore, consider a branded additive, a supplementary compound that’s designed to extend the life of the hydraulic fluid.
Thermal Misconceptions
Something is seriously amiss if the hydraulic equipment is running hot enough to fry an egg. Elastomers melt as the temperatures rise. If a mobile hydraulic vehicle is operating in the rain, there’s plain evidence of this heat loading effect, with the “ping” of the water droplets causing a hiss of evaporating water. The viscosity of the oil and the mechanical loading factor push this heat loading effect high, so keep the machinery within its operational limits. Alternatively, check the fluid reservoir’s fill level because thermal energy is dissipated here.
We could spend hours talking about clogged filters not being replaced, about low fluid reservoirs and poor oil maintenance methods, or we could sidestep all of these problems by establishing an effective means of eliminating the human factor, the cause of most of our problems. Checklists aren’t just for commercial airliners, no, they’re also a tool for eliminating operator error, including those costly mistakes that compromise formerly smooth-running hydraulics machinery.
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