Top Five Most Commonly Occurring Hydraulic Mistakes and Solutions
Your hydraulic system has ended up with a problem, and everything has come to a standstill. The modern hydraulic system appears to be extremely complex and finding out the problem behind its improper working is the key to accurately troubleshooting the hydraulic system. Here we list down some of the top hydraulic mistakes and their best solutions:
1. Poor Troubleshooting Techniques
In a hydraulic workshop, it is to be learned that the safest and easiest way oftroubleshooting a machine is by using a hydraulic schematic. When a hydraulic machine stops functioning, information must be gathered to know which component
is causing trouble. The hydraulic schematics are normally located inside the machine manufacturer's manual, which is normally found in a maintenance office or storeroom. For troubleshooting effectively, your crew must go through proper training
making them eligible to solve the problem immediately.
2. Poor Hydraulic Reservoir and Oil Maintenance
While most of the plants keep the hydraulic line filters in a good shape, the reservoir is usually not given much attention. The hydraulic reservoirs need to be cleaned at least once in a year in order to allow some of the heat in the oil to be
released to the atmosphere. The reservoir that has not been cleaned for many years will act as an incubator instead of dissipating the heat. Adding unfiltered oil to the system can also lead to the misfunctioning of the hydraulic system. Using a
standalone filter cart can ease the trouble of removing contaminants from the oil while refilling the tank.
3. Lack of Hydraulic Safety Procedure
The accumulators normally store hydraulic energy in the form of high-pressure fluids. Most of the hydraulic systems contain a manual dump valve that will allow the fluid to dump to the tank from the accumulator, thereby dropping the pressure to zero. At times, the dump valves can fail closed which will make the pressured oil to be in the accumulator itself. This can lead to serious injury to an individual where he can get
injected with high-pressure fluid. To avoid such incidents to happen a gauge must be installed at or near the accumulator, making the person know if the pressurized fluid has been released or not.
4. Wrong Filter Locations
In the hydraulic system, there are mainly two filter locations that do harm when used and can rapidly destroy many of the system's components. These locations that need to be avoided are pump inlet, and piston pump, and motor case drain lines. As
per the research studies, restricted intake of oil can reduce the service life of a gear pump by 56 percent. It is always best to check each of your hydraulic machines and if there is a suction strainer on the pump inlet, remove and discard them as soon or
get a second opinion from the hydraulic filter manufacturers.
5. Failed Hydraulic Components
When the system fails, usually it will be due to its failed components. It is essential to match the part numbers between the new and old components of the system. Hydraulic pumps and valves might not be the same as they look alike. There will be
numbers or letters on each of the pumps or valves that indicate a feature about them making them easy for the alignment.
Final Thoughts
Effectively troubleshooting the hydraulic systems needs a combination of skill and experience. Take time to correctly identify the problems, studying the schematic, understand the fundamental laws of hydraulics, and seeking help from the experts
can solve the problems to a greater extend.