Some principles to remember when troubleshooting problems with your hydraulic pump. Hydraulic pumps create flow-not pressure Resistance to flow creates pressure Pressure determines cylinder force and motor torque Flow determines cylinder or motor speed Fluid under pressure always takes path of least resistance When liquid moves from … [Read more...]
Diagnosing Pump Noise
Noise is never a good thing in a hydraulic system, this is especially true if the noise changes between when the pump is on or off stroke. Most likely the pump is experiencing some degree of cavitation, which is causing the noise. The life of the pump, and the operation of the system are negatively affected by this situation. One cause of … [Read more...]
Hydraulic Maintenance Tip: Changing Filter Elements
Question: How often should I change the filter elements on my hydraulic system? Answer: Many filter housing have an indicator which shifts from Green to Red when it is time to change the filter element. Sometime this is a needle pointing to a red or green area of a gage, other times it is a pop-up button which changes color. While waiting … [Read more...]
Hydraulic Maintenance Tip: Find the Noise. Fix the Problem.
Noise is never a good thing in a hydraulic system. This is especially true if the noise changes between when the pump is on or off stroke. Most likely the pump is experiencing some degree of cavitation, which is causing the noise. The life of the pump, and the operation of the system, is negatively affected by this situation. One cause of … [Read more...]
Dispelling The Myth: New Hydraulic Oil Is Clean Hydraulic Oil
You may think that new hydraulic oil is automatically clean, but that’s not really the case. New hydraulic oil straight from the drum has a typical cleanliness level of ISO 4406 23/21/18. Now that number may not mean a lot to you, but it's four cleanliness code levels below that considered ideal for a high pressure, high performance hydraulic … [Read more...]