Questions to ask yourself before changing fluid during hydraulic equipment repairs

8 October 2017
 Categories: , Blog

Share

Hydraulics are increasingly part of the daily lives, from cars to wind turbines. In most cases, people ignore hydraulics until it gets to a point where the machine stops operating. For any machine, good maintenance is significant. When doing the repairs, one of the critical areas that one has to concentrate on is the changing of oil. In many cases, machine users change oil based on time and give little attention to the condition. Therefore, to prevent future machine failures and blunders during repairs, there are critical questions that one has to ask themselves before changing fluid during hydraulic equipment repairs. Here are some of the questions:

How critical is the machine and what is the size of the sump?

When doing the hydraulic equipment repairs, one has to ask themselves about the critical level of the machine and the size of sump before commencing. Having the answer to this question will help inform if one has to take out the oil sample first and then do lab analysis or if one has to switch the fluid. For instance, if the machine is not in a critical condition, it does not make sense removing the oil sump instead of just a sample during the hydraulic equipment repairs. It wastes time and resources backing up the system.

If changing of oil is necessary during hydraulic equipment repairs, is it meaningful to maintain the fluid product?

After getting the lab analysis result, one has to consider whether they are satisfied with the performance of the current oil. One aspect that is addressed in this case is the level of deterioration of the oil. Does the oil deteriorate to a point that it interferes with the budget? During this time, the viability of oil and its threat to equipment life must be considered. Without establishing these issues, hydraulic equipment repairs will be done often as at times the oil affects the durability and the operations of the machine.

What adjustments do you need to avoid same problems in future?

Some people often go for the hydraulic equipment repairs and sort out the problem at that moment. In most cases, they ignore that certain issues that if not fixed at that time may turn out to be tragic. When changing oil, lubricants are important especially if one is not satisfied with the hydraulic fluid performance. Identifying the problems that need to be adjusted during the hydraulic equipment repairs will help in extending the life of the fluid and that of the machine. For instance, one can consider changing from monograde to multigrade oil or even increase the anti-wear additives.

By asking yourself the above critical questions, oil changing as part of the hydraulic equipment repairs will be done above board.