Routine maintenance on your hydraulic system can alleviate performance problems and downtime, prolong hydraulic component life and reduce operating costs.
We’re confident that we’ll be able to help if things go wrong, but we’d rather help you get things right in the first place. Following these six simple steps and routines for a healthy hydraulic system below will be time, and money, well spent.
Step 1
Maintain optimal temperature and viscosity of the hydraulic fluids
You need to know the appropriate (minimum and maximum) fluid operating temperature and viscosity ranges for the ambient environment in which your hydraulic system is operating and then select a hydraulic fluid with a suitable viscosity grade and additives.
Take a look at our Hydraulic Oil Guide here.
Step 2
Keep your hydraulic fluid clean
Contamination is one of the most frequent causes of hydraulic equipment failure or malfunction. Therefore, selecting the right hydraulic filter is absolutely vital to ensure that particle contaminants are removed from the hydraulic fluid before components are jammed or damaged through abrasive wear. Remember that air is a contaminant too!
Step 3
Maintain the manufacturer’s system settings
Maintain hydraulic system settings according to manufacturers’ specifications and build this into your own maintenance schedule as a minimum.
Step 4
Follow the correct hydraulic system commissioning procedures
Don’t try and cut corners or you could inadvertently damage hydraulic components during their initial start-up, even though this damage may not always be apparent at the time.
Step 5
Replace proactively
Always replace hydraulic components before they fail and cause further problems elsewhere in your hydraulic system.
Step 6
If things do go wrong…
Conduct a full failure analysis to ensure that you learn from your findings and change your procedures accordingly. Don’t make the same mistake twice, or again after that.
Hydraulics Online’s repair service includes a free assessment where we will strip down your faulty unit and fully diagnose the extent of hydraulic repair work needed, providing an itemised quotation and details of how many parts can be salvaged and re-used before any work commences. Got a challenge? Get in touch!
We’re a hydraulics ‘hub’, offering thousands of possibilities and trusted in 130 countries worldwide… how can we help?
Discover more free Educational Content from our Fluid Power Technical Knowledge Hub…
Troubleshooting Hydraulic Systems: the Reservoir, Breather and Fluid Contaminants
The hydraulic reservoir plays an important part in hydraulic circuit design – storing hydraulic fluid when it isn’t being pushed through the hydraulic system.
While a “fluid storage tank” might seem like a very simple concept, the design and implementation of the reservoir is very important.
Learn more
Top Tips for Safe Hydraulic Cylinder Storage
Taking the necessary precautions for hydraulic cylinder storage. Prevention is better than cure. Fact.
Read on to discover our tips to help ensure that your hydraulic cylinder storage procedures are up to scratch.
Learn More
Advantages of Helical Hydraulic Actuators in Heavy-duty Applications
Hydraulic actuators cause engineered equipment to move, slide, rotate and lift by converting energy from pressurised fluid and hydraulic power units.
Depending on the type of machinery involved and the desired movement needed, there are a variety of linear and rotary actuators available to best match the needs of the designer.
Learn More
