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A common problem with hydraulic solenoid valves

I got this question from one of our members:

"Could you explain heat generation in hydraulic valve solenoid coils? If the temperature of the coil
increases what will happen to the directional control valve's function?"

The short answer to this is: the solenoid coil will fail and therefore the hydraulic valve itself will cease to
function.

In AC electric coils the resistance or impedance of the coil is lowest when the solenoid is open, i.e. when
the plunger is out. Impedance increases as the plunger is pulled into the closed position.

As a result, the current draw of an AC solenoid is highest when the solenoid is open (plunger out) and
lowest when the solenoid is closed (plunger in).

The high current draw of an open AC solenoid is known as inrush current. And the current draw when the
solenoid is closed is called holding current. AC solenoids can only dissipate the heat generated by their
holding current. This means it's very important for the plunger to close completely when an AC solenoid is
energized.

In other words, the high inrush current generates more heat than can be continuously dissipated by the
solenoid. So if the plunger is not able to be completely pulled into its coil - due to a mechanical problem
with the valve for example, then the insulation around the coil windings will burn and the coil will short out.

But what could go wrong with a hydraulic valve that would stop the solenoid plunger from being pulled in
completely? Well, contamination is a common cause. When hard or soft particles invade the clearance
between the spool and its bore, the solenoid may not have enough power to fully shift the valve's spool.
This is often referred to as "silt-lock".

If silt-lock is the problem, then replacing the solenoid is a waste of time. Replacing the entire valve will
BUY some time - until it too becomes 'silt-locked'. The solution of course, is to get the contamination
problem under control.

Another problem presented by the inrush current characteristics of AC solenoids, is the possibility of
overheating due to rapid cycling. Each time the solenoid is closed it is subject to the heating affect of the
high inrush current. If the solenoid is switched on and off too rapidly, the successive inrush currents can
generate more heat than can be dissipated, leading to failure of the solenoid.

Still, an AC solenoid can be cycled quite rapidly. To give you some idea, a class H solenoid, which has
insulation rated to 180C, can be safely switched twice per second. But a DC solenoid with class F
insulation rated to 150C can be cycled four times per second without any fear of overheating. And the
nice thing about DC solenoids is they don't burn out if the plunger doesn't completely close - due to silt
lock or any other reason.
Hydraulic cylinder failure caused by the 'diesel effect'
I was recently engaged by a client to conduct failure analysis on a large (and expensive) hydraulic
cylinder off an excavator. This hydraulic cylinder had been changed-out due to leaking rod seals after
achieving only half of its expected service life.

Inspection revealed that apart from the rod seals, which had failed as a result of the 'diesel effect', the
other parts of the hydraulic cylinder were in serviceable condition.

What is the 'diesel effect'?

The diesel effect occurs in a hydraulic cylinder when air is drawn past the rod seals, mixes with the
hydraulic fluid and explodes when pressurized.

How does this affect a hydraulic cylinder?

When a double-acting hydraulic cylinder retracts under the weight of its load, the volume of fluid being
demanded by the rod side of the cylinder can exceed the volume of fluid being supplied by the pump.

When this happens, a negative pressure develops in the rod side of the hydraulic cylinder, which usually
results in air being drawn into the cylinder past its rod seals. This occurs because most rod seals are
designed keep high-pressure fluid in and are not designed to keep air out. The result of this is aeration -
the mixing of air with the hydraulic fluid.

Aeration causes damage through loss of lubrication and overheating, and when a mixture of air and oil is
compressed it can explode, damaging the hydraulic cylinder and burning its seals. As you have probably
gathered, the term 'diesel effect' is a reference to the combustion process in a diesel engine.

In the example described above, the cause of the aeration was a faulty 'float' valve. The function of a float
valve on a hydraulic excavator is to allow the boom or arm to be lowered rapidly under its own weight.

When activated, this valve connects the ports of the hydraulic cylinder together allowing it to retract under
the weight of the boom or arm. The fluid displaced from the piston side of the cylinder is directed with
priority to the rod side, before any excess volume is returned to the hydraulic reservoir. An orifice controls
the speed with which the hydraulic cylinder retracts.

If this valve malfunctions or is set incorrectly, a negative pressure can develop on the rod side of the
hydraulic cylinder, causing air to be drawn past the rod seals, leading to failure of the cylinder.

How can this type of failure be prevented?

This example highlights the importance of checking the operation and adjustment of circuit protection
devices at regular intervals. As in this case, if the faulty float valve had been identified early enough, the
failure of this hydraulic cylinder and the significant expense of its repair could have been prevented.
The top four causes of hydraulic seal failure in cylinders
By Jerry Whitlock

Hydraulic cylinder seals cost the manufacturer pennies. They are usually purchased on a low bid basis.
But that simple, inexpensive hydraulic seal can cost you thousands in downtime and loss of production if
it fails. If you have a problem seal, focus on these four points to help determine the cause of failure.

No. 1 - Improper installation is a major cause of hydraulic seal failure. The important things to watch
during seal installation are: (a) cleanliness, (b) protecting the seal from nicks and cuts, and (c) proper
lubrication. Other problem areas are over tightening of the seal gland where there is an adjustable gland
follower or folding over a seal lip during installation. Installing the seal upside down is a common
occurrence, too. The solution to these problems is common sense and taking reasonable care during
assembly.

No. 2 - Hydraulic system contamination is a another major factor in hydraulic seal failure. It is usually
caused by external elements such as dirt, grit, mud, dust, ice and internal contamination from circulating
metal chips, break-down products of fluid, hoses or other degradable system components. As most
external contamination enters the system during rod retraction, the proper installation of a rod
wiper/scraper is the best solution. Internal contamination can be prevented by proper filtering of system
fluid. Contamination is indicated by scored rod and cylinder bore surfaces, excessive seal wear and
leakage - and sometimes tiny pieces of metal imbedded in the seal.

No. 3 - Chemical breakdown of the seal material is most often the result of incorrect material selection in
the first place, or a change of hydraulic system fluid. Misapplication or use of non-compatible materials
can lead to chemical attack by fluid additives, hydrolysis and oxidation reduction of seal elements.
Chemical breakdown can result in loss of seal lip interface, softening of seal durometer, excessive
swelling or shrinkage. Discoloration of hydraulic seals can also be an indicator of chemical attack.

No. 4 - Heat degradation is to be suspected when the failed seal exhibits a hard, brittle appearance
and/or shows a breaking away of parts of the seal lip or body. Heat degradation results in loss of sealing
lip effectiveness through excessive compression set and/or loss of seal material. Causes of this condition
may be use of incorrect seal material, high dynamic friction, excessive lip loading, no heel clearance and
proximity to outside heat source. Correction of heat degradation problems may involve reducing seal lip
interference, increasing lubrication or a change of the seal material. In borderline situations consider all
upper temperature limits to be increased by 50 degrees F in hydraulic cylinder seals at the seal interface
due to running friction caused by the sliding action of the lips.

Here's a secret - it is not necessary to buy replacement seals from the hydraulic cylinder manufacturer.
Many hydraulic seal suppliers have the same exact seals that are used in most hydraulic cylinders and
can easily cross reference or match up a replacement. In many cases, if there is a recurring problem with
a seal, your seal specialist can recommend a solution and increase the life of the seal.
Hydraulic cylinders - checking rod straightness
As a product group, hydraulic cylinders are almost as common as pumps and motors combined. They are
less complicated than other types of hydraulic components and are therefore relatively easy to repair. As
a result, many hydraulic equipment owners or their maintenance personnel repair hydraulic cylinders in-
house. An important step in the repair process that is often skipped by do-it-yourself repairers, is the
checking of rod straightness.

How do bent rods affect hydraulic cylinders?

Bent rods load the rod seals causing distortion, and ultimately premature failure of the hydraulic cylinders
seals.

Allowable run-out

Rod straightness should always be checked when hydraulic cylinders are being re-sealed or repaired.
This is done by placing the rod on rollers and measuring the run-out with a dial gauge. The rod should be
as straight as possible, but a run-out of 0.5 millimeters per linear meter of rod is generally considered
acceptable.

Straightening hydraulic cylinder rods

In most cases, bent rods can be straightened in a press. It is sometimes possible to straighten hydraulic
cylinder rods without damaging the hard-chrome plating, however if the chrome is damaged, the rod must
be either re-chromed or replaced.

Hydraulic cylinder rods turn black


Black nitride is a relatively recent alternative to the hard-chrome plated hydraulic cylinder rod. With
reports of achieved service life three times that of conventional chrome, longer seal life and comparable
cost, black nitride rods for hydraulic cylinders are an option that all hydraulic equipment users should be
aware of.

Black nitriding is an atmospheric furnace treatment developed and patented in the early 1980's. It
combines the high surface hardness and corrosion resistance of nitriding with additional corrosion
resistance gained by oxidation. The process begins with the cleaning and super-polishing of the material
to a surface roughness of 6 to 10 Ra. The steel bars or tubes are then fixed vertically, and lowered into an
electrically heated pit furnace.

The furnace sequence involves nitrocarburizing the steel at temperatures up to 1150?F in an ammonia
atmosphere. The steel's surface is converted to iron nitride to a depth of typically 0.001". Atmospheric
oxidizing is employed to produce a black, corrosion resistant surface film.

The process generates a thin (0.001") uniform and extremely hard (64 to 71 Rc) iron nitride layer infused
with a film of iron oxide. Beneath the iron nitride layer is a nitrogen-enriched, hardened diffusion zone.
The diffusion zone functions as a lightly hardened case with a hardness gradient ranging from around 55
Rc just below the iron nitride layer to approximately 40 Rc at a depth of 0.015". Testing has verified that
black nitride bar machines and welds as well as hard chrome plated stock.

Available in standard diameters up to 5" (127 mm), black nitride hydraulic cylinder rods offer the following
benefits over conventional hard chrome:
 Superior corrosion and wear resistance
 Better oil retention (longer seal life)
 Dimensional uniformity
 Dent resistant - without the need for induction hardening
 No pitting, flaking or micro-cracking
 Environmentally friendly process

Why you should keep track of your hydraulic oil top-offs


According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), more than 700 million
gallons of petroleum products enter the environment each year - around half of which is through
irresponsible and illegal disposal. But hydraulic industry experts estimate that when it comes to hydraulic
oil, between 70 and 80 percent of that lost to the environment is through leaks, spills, line breakage, and
adaptor failure.

One of our members, who is a maintenance planner for a large coal mine, recently told me his mine
purchased 447,000 liters of hydraulic oil last year. It's hard to believe planned hydraulic oil changes
accounted for much more than a third of this volume. So where is all the rest going? I bet the coal from
this mine burns better than most. And it's safe to assume hydraulic oil leaks are not the least of their
problems.

With this in mind, here's a question for you:

Do you know how much hydraulic oil each of your machines consumes each year?

The only way you can know this for sure - particularly if you have more than one hydraulic machine under
your supervision, is if you measure and record all top-offs.

In my experience, most hydraulic equipment users don't do this. But when clients have done so at my
urging, they are often shocked at how much hydraulic oil a particular machine is actually losing over a
year.

Yeah, I know, it's one more thing to do. But it's almost impossible to control anything you don't measure.
And as the late management guru Peter Drucker once said: "What gets measured, gets managed."

Of course, it's not just the cost of make-up fluid you need to consider. There's the environmental cost,
which like carbon emissions, is not yet fully factored into - in this case - the price of a gallon of hydraulic
oil. Stay tuned for this one.

Then there's the cost associated with clean-up, proper disposal and the potential safety risks posed by a
leaky machine. Plus, where hydraulic oil can get out, contamination can get in. And as you're reminded
each time you buy a hydraulic filter element, it costs money to remove contaminants. And even more if
you don't.

The downtime required to fix hydraulic leaks can be an issue. But this is often just used as an excuse for
laziness. And these days, there are many innovative solutions available to eliminate problem leaks.

Perhaps now is a good time to reassess those annoying hydraulic oil leaks that "aren't worth fixing"?
Adding hydraulic oil - without the dirt
Hydraulic fluid straight from the drum, has a typical cleanliness level of ISO 4406 21/18.

A 25 GPM pump operating continuously in hydraulic oil at this cleanliness level will circulate 3,500
pounds of dirt to the hydraulic system's components each year!

To add hydraulic oil, and not the dirt, always filter new oil prior to use in a hydraulic system.

This can be accomplished by pumping the oil into the hydraulic reservoir through the system's return filter.
The easiest way to do this is to install a tee in the return line and attach a quick-connector to the branch
of this tee. Attach the other half of the quick-connector to the discharge hose of a drum pump.

When hydraulic oil needs to be added to the reservoir, the drum pump is coupled to the return line and
the oil is pumped into the reservoir through the return filter. As well as filtering the oil, spills are avoided
and the ingress of external contamination is prevented.

The benefits of carrying out this simple modification are well worth the minor cost involved.

Hydraulic pump life cut short by particle contamination


I was recently asked to conduct failure analysis on a hydraulic pump that had an expected service life of
10,000 hours. The pump had been removed from its machine after achieving only 2000 hours in service.

Analysis revealed that this hydraulic pump hadn't actually failed - it had been 'worn-out' through erosive
wear caused by contaminated hydraulic oil.

What is 'contaminated hydraulic fluid'?

Contaminants of hydraulic fluid include solid particles, air, water or any other matter that impairs the
function of the fluid.

How does contamination affect a hydraulic pump?

Particle contamination accelerates wear of hydraulic components. The rate at which damage occurs is
dependent on the internal clearance of the components within the system, the size and quantity of
particles present in the fluid, and system pressure.

Particles larger than the component's internal clearances are not necessarily dangerous. Particles the
same size as the internal clearances cause damage through friction. However, the most dangerous
particles in the long term are those that are smaller than the component's internal clearances.

Particles smaller than 5 microns are highly abrasive. If present in sufficient quantities, these invisible 'silt'
particles cause rapid wear, destroying hydraulic pumps and other components.
How can this type of hydraulic pump failure be prevented?

While the type of failure described above is unusual in properly designed hydraulic systems that are
correctly maintained, this example highlights the importance of monitoring hydraulic fluid cleanliness
levels at regular intervals.

As in this case, if the high levels of silt particles present in the hydraulic fluid had been identified and the
problem rectified early enough, the damage to this hydraulic pump and the significant expense of its
repair could have been avoided.

How And Why To Monitor Hydraulic Filter


Condition
Posted on 25 November 2015 by Brendan Casey

Continuous monitoring of the filter elements in a hydraulic system can


provide valuable clues to the performance of the filter and the condition of the system. But
before discussing this, let’s consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of common filter
locations in a hydraulic system.

Pressure filtration

Locating filtering media in the pressure line provides maximum protection for components
located immediately downstream. Filtration rates of two microns or less are possible, due to the
positive pressure available to force fluid through the media. Filter efficiency may be reduced by
the presence of high flow velocities, and pressure and flow transients, which can disturb trapped
particles. The major disadvantage of pressure filtration is economic. Because the housings and
elements (high-collapse type) must be designed to withstand system operating pressure, pressure
filtration has the highest initial and ongoing cost.

Return filtration

The rationale for locating filtering media in the return line is this: if the hydraulic reservoir and
the oil it contains start out clean and all air entering the reservoir and returning oil is adequately
filtered, then fluid cleanliness will be maintained. The other advantage of the return line as a
filter location is that sufficient pressure is available to force fluid through fine media – typically
10 microns, but pressure is not high enough to complicate filter or housing design. This
combined with relatively low flow velocity, means that a high degree of filtering efficiency can
be achieved at an economical cost. For these reasons, return line filtration is a feature of most
hydraulic systems.

Off-line filtration

Off-line filtration enables continuous, multi-pass filtration at a controlled flow velocity and
pressure drop, which results in high filtering efficiency. Filtration rates of two microns or less are
possible, and water removal filters and heat exchangers can be included in the circuit for total
fluid conditioning. Off-line filtration has a high initial cost, although this can usually be justified
on a life-of-machine cost basis.

Filter condition monitoring

Warning of filter-bypass is typically afforded by visual or electric clogging-indicators. These


devices indicate when pressure drop (delta P) across the element is approaching the opening
pressure of the bypass valve (where fitted). In the case of a return filter for example, if the bypass
valve opens at a delta P of 3 Bar, the clogging indicator will typically switch at 2 Bar.

Advanced filter condition monitoring

Replacing standard clogging-indicators with differential pressure gauges or transducers enables


continuous, condition monitoring of the filter element. This permits trending of fluid cleanliness
against filter element pressure-drop, which may be used to optimize oil sample and filter change
intervals. For example, the optimal change for a return filter in a particular system could be
higher or lower than the clogging indicator switching pressure of 2 Bar.

Continuous monitoring of filter pressure drop can also provide early warning of component
failures and element rupture. For example, if the delta P across a pressure filter suddenly
increased from 1 to 3 Bar (all other things equal), this could be an indication of an imminent
failure of a component upstream or a major ingression of contamination. Similarly, a sudden
decrease in delta P could indicate a rupture in the element – something that a standard clogging
indicator will not warn of.

Bottom line: not monitoring the condition of hydraulic filter elements can be a costly mistake.
And to discover six other costly mistakes you want to be sure to avoid with your hydraulic
equipment
Hydraulic press failure illustrates the importance of scheduling change-
outs
A manufacturing company recently hired me to check the performance of four piston pumps operating a
large hydraulic press. The hydraulic pumps had clocked over 10,000 hours in service and the customer's
concern was that if pump performance was down, production would be too.

My test results revealed that the performance of all four pumps was within acceptable limits. In my report,
I advised my client that there would only be a minimal increase in productivity if the pumps were replaced.
I further advised that the change-out of all four pumps should be scheduled urgently.

The foundation for this recommendation was that the pumps had exceeded their expected service life and
in the absence of an effective condition-based maintenance program, the probability of an in-service
bearing failure was significantly increased.

When a hydraulic component fails in service, large amounts of metallic particles are generated. These
particles circulate in the hydraulic fluid, often causing damage to other components before the system's
filters can remove them. In extreme cases, the contamination load can clog the hydraulic filters, which
results in unfiltered fluid being circulated through the system.

A component that fails in service is almost always more expensive to rebuild than a component that is
removed from service in a pre-failed condition. A failure in service usually results in mechanical damage
to the internal parts of the component. As a consequence, parts that would have been serviceable have
to be replaced. In extreme cases, components that would have been economical to repair become
uneconomical to repair, increasing the cost of component replacement by up to 40%.

The client took my advice, but unfortunately, a bearing failed in one of the pumps before all of the
change-outs were completed. A piece of cage from the failed bearing found its way into the main
hydraulic cylinder, causing $6,000 damage. The pump that failed cost 50% more to rebuild than the three
units that were removed from service in pre-failed condition. Not to mention the downtime cost of the
hydraulic press.

The additional repair costs in this case were significant and could have been avoided, if the pumps had
been changed-out once they achieved their expected service life.

To minimize the chances of hydraulic components failing in service, the machine manufacturers'
recommendations on expected service life should be used to schedule component change-outs. It may
be possible to safely extend service life beyond that recommended through careful application of
condition-based monitoring techniques, such as oil analysis (wear debris analysis). But unless an
effective, predictive maintenance program is in place, running hydraulic components beyond their
expected service life is false economy.

Hydraulic hose failure costs and prevention


Hydraulic hose has a finite service life, which can be reduced by a number of factors. From a
maintenance perspective, little or no attention is usually paid to the hoses of a hydraulic system until a
failure occurs.

Hydraulic hose failures cost more than the replacement hose. Additional costs can include:
 Clean up, disposal and replacement of lost hydraulic oil.
 Collateral damage to other components, e.g. a hose failure on a hydrostatic transmission can
result in loss of charge pressure and cavitation damage to the transmission pump and/or motor.
 Possible damage caused by the ingression of contaminants.
 Machine downtime.

What causes hydraulic hose failures?

Focus on the following points to extend hydraulic hose life and minimize the costs associated with
hydraulic hose failures:

External damage

Hydraulic hose manufacturers estimate that 80% of hose failures are attributable to external physical
damage through pulling, kinking, crushing or abrasion of the hose. Abrasion caused by hoses rubbing
against each other or surrounding surfaces is the most common type of damage.

To prevent external damage, ensure all clamps are kept secure, pay careful attention to routing whenever
a replacement hose is installed and if necessary, apply inexpensive polyethylene spiral wrap to protect
hydraulic hoses from abrasion.

Multi-plane bending

Bending a hydraulic hose in more than one plane results in twisting of its wire reinforcement. A twist of
five degrees can reduce the service life of a high-pressure hydraulic hose by as much as 70% and a
seven degree twist can result in a 90% reduction in service life.

Multi-plane bending is usually the result of poor hose-assembly selection and/or routing but can also
occur as a result of inadequate or unsecure clamping where the hose is subjected to machine or actuator
movement.

Operating conditions

The operating conditions that a correctly installed hydraulic hose is subjected to will ultimately determine
its service life. Extremes in temperature, e.g. high daytime operating temperatures and very cold
conditions when the machine is standing at night, accelerate aging of the hose's rubber tube and cover.

Frequent and extreme pressure fluctuations, e.g. rock hammer on a hydraulic excavator, accelerate hose
fatigue. In applications where a two-wire braid reinforced hydraulic hose meets the nominal working
pressure requirement but high dynamic pressure conditions are expected, the longer service life afforded
by a spiral reinforced hydraulic hose will usually more than offset the higher initial cost.

Hydraulic fitting selection the key to leak-free hydraulic plumbing


Hydraulic fitting leaks are often considered to be an inherent characteristic of hydraulic machines. While
this may have been true 30 years ago, advances in sealing technology and the development of reliable
connection systems means that today, leak-free hydraulic plumbing is readily achievable.
Reliable Connections

Leak-free reliability begins at the design stage, when the type of hydraulic fitting is selected for port, tube-
end and hose-end connections.

Ports - Connectors that incorporate an elastomeric seal such as UNO, BSPP and SAE 4-bolt flange offer
the highest seal reliability. NPT is the least reliable type of connector for high-pressure hydraulic systems
because the thread itself provides a leak path. The threads are deformed when tightened and as a result,
any subsequent loosening or tightening increases the potential for leaks. In existing systems, pipe thread
connections should be replaced with UNO or BSPP for leak-free reliability.

Tube and Hose Ends - ORFS tube and hose end connections feature the high seal reliability afforded by
an elastomeric seal but, due to its cost, ORFS is not as widely used as compression fittings and JIC 37-
degree flare.

Flared connections have gained widespread acceptance due to their simplicity and low cost. However,
the metal-to-metal seal of the flare means that a permanent, leak-free joint is not always achieved,
particularly in the case of tube-end connections.

Leaking flare joints can be eliminated using a purpose-built seal developed by Flaretite. The Flaretite seal
is a stainless steel stamping shaped like a JIC nose, with concentric ribs that contain pre-applied sealant.
When tightened, the ribs crush between the two faces of the joint, eliminating any misalignment and
surface imperfections. The combination of the crush on the ribs and the sealant ensure that a leak-free
joint is achieved.

Incorrect Torque

A common cause of leaks from flare joints is incorrect torque. Insufficient torque results in inadequate
seat contact, while excessive torque can result in damage to the tube and fitting through cold working.
The following is a simple method to ensure flare joints are correctly torqued:

1. Finger tighten the nut until it bottoms on the seat.


2. Using a permanent marker, draw a line lengthwise across the nut and fitting.
3. Wrench tighten the nut until it has been rotated the number of hex flats listed in the following
table:

Tube Dash Size Hex Flats

4 2.5

5 2.5

6 2.0

8 2.0

10 1.5 - 2.0

12 1.0
16 0.75 - 1.0

20 0.75 - 1.0

24 0.5 - 0.75

Vibration

Vibration can stress plumbing, affecting hydraulic fitting torque and causing fatigue. Tube is more
susceptible than hose. If vibration is excessive, the root cause should be addressed. Ensure all
conductors are adequately supported and if necessary, replace problematic tubes with hose.

Seal Damage

Having outlined the benefits of hydraulic fittings that incorporate an elastomeric seal, it is important to
note that their reliability is contingent on fluid temperature being maintained within acceptable limits. A
single over-temperature event of sufficient magnitude can damage all the seals in a hydraulic system,
resulting in numerous leaks.

Conclusion

A leak-free hydraulic system should be considered the norm for modern hydraulic machines - not the
exception. But the proper selection, installation and maintenance of hydraulic plumbing are essential to
ensure leak-free reliability.

Hydraulic pump control problem highlights the value of testing


A client recently engaged me to design and build a hydraulic power unit for a specific application. The unit
comprised a diesel engine driving an axial piston pump fitted with load sensing, power limiting and
pressure limiting control.

What is a hydraulic power unit?

A hydraulic power unit comprises a prime mover (usually an electric motor or combustion engine),
hydraulic pump, tank, filters and valves.

What is hydraulic pump load sensing control?

Load sensing control is so called because the load-induced pressure downstream of the directional
control valve is sensed and hydraulic pump flow adjusted to maintain a constant pressure drop (and
therefore flow) across the valve.

For example, let's say we have a hydraulic pump driving a winch thru a manual, directional valve. The
operator summons the winch by moving the spool in the directional valve 20% of its stroke. The winch
drum turns at five rpm. For clarity, imagine that the directional valve is now a fixed orifice. Flow across an
orifice decreases as the pressure drop across it decreases. As load on the winch increases, the load-
induced pressure downstream of the orifice (directional valve) increases. This decreases the pressure
drop across the orifice, which means flow decreases and the winch slows down.
The load sensing control senses the load-induced pressure downstream of the orifice and adjusts
hydraulic pump flow so that pressure upstream of the orifice increases by a corresponding amount. This
keeps the pressure drop across the orifice (directional valve) constant, which keeps flow constant and in
this case, winch speed constant.

Because the hydraulic pump only produces the flow demanded by the actuators, load sensing control is
energy efficient (fewer losses to heat) and as demonstrated in the above example, provides more precise
control.

What is hydraulic pump power limiting control?

A constant power or power limiting control operates by reducing the displacement, and therefore flow,
from the hydraulic pump as pressure increases, so that the power rating of the prime mover is not
exceeded. The advantage of this type of control is that more flow is available at lower pressures, so that
the actuators can operate faster under light loads. This results in better utilization of the power available
from the prime mover. The power limiting control overrides the load sensing control.

What is hydraulic pump pressure limiting control?

Pressure limiting control limits the maximum operating pressure of the hydraulic pump. Also referred to as
a pressure compensator or pressure cut-off. The pressure limiting control overrides both the load sensing
and power limiting controls.

Hydraulic pump control problem

A new hydraulic pump was ordered for the project from a leading manufacturer. When the hydraulic
power unit was commissioned, the power limiting control was not functioning.

When advised of the problem, the manufacturer maintained that the pump had been tested prior to
delivery and that the cause of problem therefore must be elsewhere in the circuit. Possible external
causes were quickly checked and eliminated. While waiting for the manufacturer to respond to the
problem, I checked the schematic diagram of the pump's control and noticed that a vital part was missing.

Plug-in hydraulic pump controls

The power limiting control on this particular hydraulic pump is a modular, screw-in cartridge fitted to the
standard pump with load sensing and pressure limiting control. The power limiting cartridge is a relief
valve with a link to the swash plate that increases spring bias as swash angle decreases. This relief valve
limits load signal pressure depending on swash plate position. When the allowable power setting is
reached, the relief valve intervenes to reduce the load pressure signal to the load sensing control. This
results in a decrease in swash angle and therefore flow. The lower the swash angle and therefore flow,
the higher the load signal pressure and therefore operating pressure permissible. Because power is a
product of flow and pressure, this limits the power draw of the hydraulic pump.

If you examine the two hydraulic pump schematic diagrams closely, you will notice that other than the
addition of a power limiting relief cartridge, there is a second difference. An orifice is shown just below the
load sensing signal connection or X port. Without this orifice to limit the flow from the load sensing line,
the power limiting relief valve cannot effectively limit the load pressure signal. This means that the power
limiting control cannot function.

I checked the pump fitted to the hydraulic power unit and it did not have this orifice fitted. I advised the
manufacturer and requested that they dispatch one of these orifices urgently. I was astonished by the
manufacturer's reply - the required part was on back order. To minimize any further downtime, I
manufactured an orifice, fitted it to the pump and handed the hydraulic power unit over to the customer.

Test for success

Thoroughly testing new or rebuilt hydraulic components prior to dispatch ensures that the component will
work the way it should and will perform within its design parameters. It is possible that the manufacturer
tested the hydraulic pump discussed above - but only its load sensing and pressure limiting controls. Had
the functionality of the power limiting control been tested, the pump would not have been dispatched
without the necessary orifice. This would have avoided an embarrassing mistake for the manufacturer
and many hours of downtime for the customer.

Solving hydraulic system overheating problems


I was asked recently to investigate and solve an overheating problem in a mobile hydraulics application.
The hydraulic system comprised a diesel-hydraulic power unit, which was being used to power a pipe-
cutting saw. The saw was designed for sub-sea use and was connected to the hydraulic power unit on
the surface via a 710-foot umbilical. The operating requirements for the saw were 24 gpm at 3000 psi.

Why do hydraulic systems overheat?

Heating of hydraulic fluid in operation is caused by inefficiencies. Inefficiencies result in losses of input
power, which are converted to heat. A hydraulic system's heat load is equal to the total power lost (PL)
through inefficiencies and can be expressed as:

PLtotal = PLpump + PLvalves + PLplumbing + PLactuators

If the total input power lost to heat is greater than the heat dissipated, the hydraulic system will eventually
overheat.

Hydraulic fluid temperature - how hot is 'too hot'?

Hydraulic fluid temperatures above 180?F (82?C) damage most seal compounds and accelerate
degradation of the oil. While the operation of any hydraulic system at temperatures above 180?F should
be avoided, fluid temperature is too high when viscosity falls below the optimum value for the hydraulic
system's components. This can occur well below 180?F, depending on the fluid's viscosity grade.

Maintaining stable hydraulic fluid temperature

To achieve stable fluid temperature, a hydraulic system's capacity to dissipate heat must exceed its
inherent heat load. For example, a system with continuous input power of 100 kW and an efficiency of
80% needs to be capable of dissipating a heat load of at least 20 kW. It's important to note that an
increase in heat load or a reduction in a hydraulic system's capacity to dissipate heat will alter the balance
between heat load and dissipation.

Returning to the above example, the hydraulic power unit had a continuous power rating of 37 kW and
was fitted with an air-blast heat exchanger. The exchanger was capable of dissipating 10 kW of heat
under ambient conditions or 27% of available input power (10/37 x 100 = 27). This is adequate from a
design perspective. The performance of all cooling circuit components were operating within design limits.
Pressure drop means heat

At this point it was clear that the overheating problem was being caused by excessive heat load.
Concerned about the length of the umbilical, I calculated its pressure drop. The theoretical pressure drop
across 710 feet of ?" pressure hose at 24 gpm is 800 psi. The pressure drop across the same length of 1"
return hose is 200 psi. The formula for these calculations is available here. The theoretical heat load
produced by the pressure drop across the umbilical of 1,000 psi (800 + 200 = 1000) was 10.35 kW. The
formula for this calculation is available here.

This meant that the heat load of the umbilical was 0.35 kW more than the heat dissipation capacity of the
hydraulic system's heat exchanger. This, when combined with the system's normal heat load
(inefficiencies) was causing the hydraulic system to overheat.

Beat the heat

There are two ways to solve overheating problems in hydraulic systems:

 decrease heat load; or


 increase heat dissipation.

Decreasing heat load is always the preferred option because it increases the efficiency of the hydraulic
system. In the above example, the heat load of the umbilical alone was nearly 30% of available input
power, a figure that would normally be considered unacceptable. Decreasing this heat load to an
acceptable level would have involved reducing the pressure drop, by replacing the pressure and return
lines in the umbilical with larger diameter hoses. The cost of doing this for what was a temporary
installation meant that, in this case, the most economical solution was to install additional cooling capacity
in the circuit

Continuing to operate a hydraulic system when the fluid is over-temperature is similar to operating an
internal combustion engine with high coolant temperature. Damage is guaranteed. Therefore, whenever a
hydraulic system starts to overheat, shut it down, identify the cause and fix it.

Understanding Hydrostatic Balance


Hydraulic components are unique in that it is often possible to offset or balance hydrostatic forces to
reduce loads on lubricated surfaces. By reducing surface loading, the maintenance of full-film lubrication
is improved and therefore boundary lubrication conditions are less likely to occur.

Hydrostatic force is the product of pressure and area. Expressed mathematically: F = P x a. The
balancing or offsetting of hydrostatic force is achieved by exposing opposing areas to the same pressure.
The double-acting cylinder in Figure 1 illustrates this concept.
Figure 1. Hydrostatically balanced cylinder loading two lubricated surfaces.

The rod-side area of the piston, area B, is 80% of area A. This means that the force exerted on the
lubricated surfaces at the end of the cylinder rod is 20% of the force developed by the pressure acting on
area A. This is due to the balancing or offsetting force developed by the same pressure acting on area B.
Assuming the speed of the rotating surface (C) and fluid viscosity are adequate, full-film lubrication of the
sliding surfaces is achieved.

Figure 2. Typical cross-section of an axial design piston.

The same principle applied to a typical axial design piston is illustrated in Figure 2. Area A is exposed to
system pressure during outlet (pump) or inlet (motor) and the force developed is transmitted to the
lubricated surfaces of the slipper and swash plate. System pressure also acts on area B, the balancing
area of the slipper, via the drilling through the center of the piston. Area C is the sliding (lubricated) area
of the slipper. While the ratio of these three areas varies, in this particular piston, area B is 50% of area A
and area C is 140% of area A. This means that the force transmitted to area C is half that developed by
area A and is spread over 1.4 times the area, further reducing the load on the lubricated surfaces.
Figure 3. Loss of hydrostatic balance increases load on the lubricated surfaces.

If the hydrostatic balancing force is lost, that is there is no pressuring acting on area B (Figure 3), the
force exerted on the lubricated surfaces at the end of the cylinder rod will be 100% of the force developed
by the pressure acting on area A. If full-film lubrication was dependent on the hydrostatic balance of the
cylinder, boundary lubrication conditions will eventuate and two body abrasion is likely. To learn more
about the construction of hydraulic components, their modes of failure and how to prevent them, visit this
page.

Hydraulic equipment reliability - begin with the end in mind


During a recent Hydraulic Breakdown Prevention Blueprint seminar, one of the attendees, a maintenance
manager for a large open-cut mining operation, mentioned that he was considering upgrading the filtration
on their fleet of hydraulic mining shovels - to achieve a higher level of fluid cleanliness.

There's lots of documented evidence to suggest that increasing hydraulic fluid cleanliness increases the
service life of hydraulic components - all other things equal. Whether such an initiative would yield an
acceptable return on the investment required, for the machines in question depends on a number of
variables, which I don't have room to go into here. But this got me thinking about a bigger issue.

The maintenance routines I teach in my books and Workshops are about equipping people with the
knowledge the need today to optimize the reliability and service life of the hydraulic equipment they have
right now. And that's fair enough - it's rarely helpful and not very instructive to tell someone what they
should have done yesterday. With this is mind, one of the exercises we do during my one-day Workshop
is carry out a maintenance and reliability audit on an existing hydraulic machine.

Even though equipment design and equipment maintenance are often viewed in isolation, the reality is,
certain aspects of hydraulic machine design have a significant impact on the machine's operating cost
and reliability, and ultimately, its life-of-machine cost.

Over lunch, the same maintenance manager mentioned that his mine is starting to think about the
replacement of their aging fleet of hydraulic shovels. And it occurred to me, the best time to carry out a
maintenance and reliability audit on a piece of hydraulic equipment is BEFORE you buy it.

By starting with the end in mind, you get the maintenance and reliability outcomes you desire - before the
machine even gets delivered. For example:
You specify the contamination control targets you want to achieve based on your reliability objectives for
the piece of equipment. And instruct the manufacturer to deliver the machine appropriately equipped to
achieve these targets.

Based on the weight and viscosity index of the hydraulic oil you plan to use, you determine the minimum
viscosity and therefore the maximum temperature you want the machine to run at. And instruct the
manufacturer to deliver the machine equipped with the necessary cooling capacity, based on ambient
temperatures at your location. Rather than accepting hydraulic system operating temperatures dictated by
the machine's 'design' cooling capacity - as is the norm.

If you don't think the viscosity/temperature issue is this important - you're mistaken. Lubrication failure
resulting from low fluid viscosity is one of the biggest causes of premature failure in hydraulic
components. If you're not on top of this issue it could be costing you big.

And we could continue by specifying things like flooded inlet for all pumps and so on. But you get the
idea.

So the next time you or the company you work for are looking to acquire hydraulic equipment, begin with
the end in mind. Define your maintenance and reliability objectives in advance and make them an integral
part of your equipment selection process.

Hydraulic equipment reliability - begin with the end in mind - Part II


In a previous article, I wrote about the advantages of defining your maintenance and reliability objectives
for a piece of hydraulic equipment before you even order it. In response to this article, I received the
following from one of our members:

"As an engineer for a heavy equipment manufacturer, I have to take exception with your advice in the last
newsletter. I believe selecting a hydraulic fluid, and then requesting the equipment manufacturer to
design around that is putting the cart before the horse.

It makes much more sense for the equipment manufacturer to design the system for temperature, life,
component availability, cost, and the million other things that go into machine design.

Would you tell Ford that you have a set of brake pads, and would like a car designed that could use
them? No, you rely on the manufacturer to provide a system, and take their recommendation."

Hmmm... looks like I'm in trouble - again. I feel a bit like David, being pounded by Goliath. This member
didn't reveal which OEM he works for... but the mind boggles with possibilities.

Needless to say, I don't agree with my colleague's assertion that the reliability-based strategy I advocated
in last month's newsletter is "putting the cart before the horse". Let me explain with an example:

Say I am about to acquire a 25 ton hydraulic excavator. And let's say for example, this machine is fitted
with Rexroth pumps and motors.

According to the pump manufacturer, optimum performance and service life will be achieved by
maintaining oil viscosity in the range of 25 to 36 centistokes. I also know that in my location I expect to
use a VG68 weight hydraulic oil and the brand of oil I use has a viscosity index of 95.

This being the case, Rexroth are telling me - indirectly of course, that if my new machine runs any hotter
than 70 Celsius the performance and reliability of their pumps and motors will be less than ideal. Not only
that, with 70 Celsius as the maximum operating temperature, the oil will last longer, the seals will last
longer, the hoses will last longer and almost every lubricated component in the hydraulic system will last
longer.

So being the sophisticated buyer that I am, I say to the OEM - before I order the machine: "I expect
ambient temperatures at my location as high as 45 Celsius and under normal conditions (no abnormal
heat load in the system) I want this machine to run no hotter than 70 Celsius. If you deliver it to site and it
runs at 85 Celsius (or whatever) on a 45 Celsius day, then you'll have a problem on your hands."

I'm not suggesting this is in the interests of the OEM - clearly it's not. It's going to make their life more
complicated and cut into their after sale revenue. No, it's totally in the interests of the guy signing the
checks to keep the machine running. Luckily for all the OEM's out there, very few machine buyers will
approach a new equipment acquisition with this level of sophistication.

A strange hydraulics problem - but true!


A few months ago, I was involved - in a supervisory capacity - in the planned change out of components
on a hydraulic machine.

The design of the machine's hydraulic power unit was the all-too-common, cheap and nasty, everything
mounted on the tank lid variety. You know the ones - electric motors mounted vertically, with pumps
submerged in the tank. They're cheap and easy to build, but an eternal pain in the butt for anyone who
has to work on them. I could rant about this ? but I'll save it for another day.

The scope of work included changing out a tandem gear pump submerged in the tank. On this machine, a
15 minute job - after you've spent two hours disconnecting everything to enable the tank lid to be lifted.

I was offsite when this pump was changed, but the technician doing the work was experienced and knew
what had to be done. After the shut down was completed, the same technician was scheduled to re-
commission the machine. But due to conflicting commitments he became unavailable.

It was early in the afternoon when I got the call requesting I go to site to supervise start-up. Thinking this
would be a case of push the button and watch everything behave as it should, I left the office in my
'civilian' clothes, took my good car and no tools. BAD mistake.

Commissioning didn't begin well. The rear section of the tandem gear pump that had been replaced,
charged an accumulator. But we weren't getting any charge pressure on start-up. The direction of rotation
of the electric motor was correct. But what about the rotation of the new pump? Bit hard to tell when it's
submerged in the tank.

After speaking with the technician on my cell, I was reasonably confident the new pump's rotation was
correct. But just to be sure, I decided to try reversing the rotation of the electric motor. No change.

Now what? I don't have a flow-tester with me and it's a major job to lift the tank lid. It appears that new
pump is either faulty or not priming. Unlike a vane pump which needs a head of oil on its outlet for the
vanes to 'throw' and start pumping, a gear pump is normally considered self-priming - especially when its
submerged in hydraulic oil.

To give the new pump the best possible chance of priming, I topped off the oil level at maximum. Still no
charge pressure after running for a minute. In the absence of a flow-meter, I decided to lift the electric
motor off its bell housing, disconnect the pipes from the pump's outlet penetrations in the top of the tank
and turn the pump by hand.
This was revealing. The front section was pumping, but the rear section wasn't. Joy. The rear section was
faulty. I continued turning the pump by hand, while I wondered what the chances were of this happening,
and contemplated the work involved in lifting the tank lid.

Just as I was about to give up and call for reinforcements, I noticed oil was being displaced from the rear
pump's outlet penetration in the top of the tank. It WAS pumping. I reconnected the plumbing, dropped
the electric motor back into position and bingo. We had accumulator charge.

Had I been told this story about a gear pump that wouldn't prime itself - I would have struggled to believe
it. Yes it IS strange ? but true.

Troubleshooting hydraulic cylinder drift


A popular misconception about hydraulic cylinders is that if the piston seal is leaking, the cylinder can
creep down.

Fact is, if the piston seal is completely removed from a double-acting cylinder, the cylinder is completely
filled with oil and the ports are plugged, the cylinder will hold its load indefinitely - unless the rod-seal
leaks.

What happens under these conditions - due to the unequal volume either side of the piston, is fluid
pressure equalizes and the cylinder becomes hydraulically locked. Once this occurs, the only way the
cylinder can move is if fluid escapes from the cylinder via the rod seal or its ports. Watch this 8-minute
video to understand how this happens.

If you grasp the theory at work here, you'll probably realize there are a couple of exceptions. The first is a
double-rod cylinder - where volume is equal on both sides of the piston.

And the second is when a load is hanging on a double-acting cylinder. In this arrangement, the volume of
pressurized fluid on the rod side can be easily accommodated on the piston side. But as the cylinder
creeps a vacuum will develop on the piston side - once again due to the unequal volumes - and
depending on the weight of the load, this vacuum may eventually result in equilibrium that arrests further
creep.

This is not quite the end of the story though, but it's important to at least grasp this theory before we move
on.

Notwithstanding the two exceptions mentioned above, if a double-acting cylinder's service ports are
blocked - by a closed-to-actuator or cylinder spool and the piston seal does bypass, pressure will
eventually equalize on both sides of the cylinder. As already stated, at this point a hydraulic lock is
effected and no further creep can occur - unless fluid is allowed to escape from the cylinder or the
cylinder circuit.

But because of the loss in effective area - due to pressure now acting on the rod-side annulus area, the
static pressure in the cylinder must increase to support the same load.

For example, if the load-induced pressure on the piston side of the cylinder was 2,000 PSI and zero on
the rod side when the DCV closed, assuming no leakage past the spool, the equalized pressure may be
3,000 PSI - depending on the ratio of the areas.

But what if this circuit has a service port relief valve set at 2,500 PSI? As pressure starts to equalize
across the piston seal and the increasing static pressure on the piston side of the cylinder reaches the
cracking pressure of the port relief, the cylinder WILL creep down.
While the root cause of the problem IS the leaking piston seal, the physics that applies is fundamentally
different to what many people believe. And if you understand the theory, you can see how the humble
pressure gauge can be extremely useful when troubleshooting cylinder creep.

Confessions of a hydraulic equipment manufacturer


In a previous article I suggested hydraulic equipment users should get smart and lift their game when
dealing with equipment manufacturers - by specifying up front what they expect from their equipment -
from a maintenance and reliability perspective.

This article generated a lot of mail and I was, among other things, accused of "OEM bashing". But then I
received this message from an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) insider:

"It is rare to see a manufacturer truly interested in the bottom line of cost per unit loaded in the case of a
hydraulic excavator or shovel.

With one hydraulic excavator OEM we insisted on double hydraulic coolers and enlargement of the
hydraulic tank. The idea was rejected and we received more than one detailed letter from Sales and
Engineering why this was not necessary and a waste of good money.

In addition we also received a letter from the VP of Marketing advising that in addition to all the technical
reasons we had been offered, if they were to do as we had requested, our machine would look ugly and
sales would be more difficult.

Anyway, in the end money talks and we waited for our best chance which came along in the form of an
order for three units in the 300 ton class of excavator. So many millions of dollars and we went to visit the
OEM with the order in hand.

Quite easy... you want the order, you will make following changes. Not just for this order but for all
machines coming our way in the future.

Yes, of course it went our way and the changes made huge differences to the life of hydraulic
components. The changes even became standard issue some time later due to word of mouth between
users.

Why did we demand more cooling and more time for the oil to spend in the tank?

Because we saw a lot of high temperature damage and signs in pumps that indicated aeration. Believe it
or not, we soon saw main pumps achieving 20,000 operating hours repeatedly on the modified machines
where previously the OEM appeared to be satisfied to get 12 to 15 thousand hours.

However, it is this attitude at the OEM that you have pointed out that gets them into a BOAT load of
trouble.

Some examples:

We need an electric power source for a mobile excavator. The OEM chooses a manufacturer, looks
through his available motors and orders what they believe will do the job. Result - repeated failures,
millions of dollars spent on trying to rectify the situation. Finally after years of two OEM's blaming each
other we stepped in and made the following agreement:
Give the motor manufacturer ALL the required criteria including G- forces, vibration analysis, shock
loading and every thread of information we had gathered. Take this to the motor designer and say, sell us
a motor that will run 30,000 hours under these conditions and in this environment with next to no
maintenance requirement other than a spot of grease every 1000 operating hours.

Guess what - we got what we wanted. Sure it cost more. But the big picture was: No downtime due to the
power source and no money spent on warranty, air freight, technicians visiting site and offering a bunch
of lies to protect their employer.

Same thing on diesel engines. Why is it that these same OEM's employ engineers that are too damn
proud to listen to experts in their field. Same OEM discussed above obtains the manuals from diesel
engine manufacturers, chooses the engine for a particular model and places the order for that engine
without ever obtaining a dime's worth of input from the engine manufacturer.

So we ended up with machines in the field that were under powered, over taxed with duty cycles in the
mid 90's and life expectancy between rebuilds under 10,000 hours.

All this could be avoided if the OEM visits the engine manufacturer, lays out the requirement and lets the
engine manufacturer select which model to go with. Yes, if you don't speak the same language take a
couple of independent translators with you. But hell, communicate.

Yes, the customer should take every opportunity to use his experience and get the machine equipped the
way it serves him best. Some astute OEMs might even get over their own people's pride and enhance
their product by learning from the knowledge that is available from outsider's experience."

Hmmm ... Of course, not all OEMs are like this. And to err is human. But I see a lot of end users who put
the OEM on a pedestal. The logic seems to be: They built the machine, they must know best - so we
better do what they tell us. And yet these same end users whine on the other side of their face about how
much the machine costs to run.

There are two sides to every story and so I don't get accused of "OEM bashing" again, here's a view of
the world from an OEM's perspective, sent in by another of our members:

"For the last 13 years I was technical manager for a major hydraulic equipment manufacturer. And I
KNOW there's a SHOCKING amount of IGNORANCE in the field of hydraulics: oil sampling, oil viscosity,
filtration, component change-out schedules and cooling systems are often blatantly ignored or
misunderstood and the dealer is then put under pressure for warranties."

As neither an OEM nor an end user, I've seen both sides of this coin first hand and from somewhere in
the middle. And I can assure you there's PLENTY of room for improvement in both camps.

Hydraulic troubleshooting basics


One of our readers wrote to me recently regarding the following problem:
"We have a hydraulic system that operates two cylinders. The maintenance staff recently reported that
the pump (piston-type) had failed - for reasons unknown at this time. The tank, valves and cylinders were
cleaned and a replacement pump installed. The new pump is delivering a maximum pressure of 1,000
PSI and appears to be creating heat. Can you suggest some tips to find a solution to this problem?"

In any troubleshooting situation, no matter how simple or complex the hydraulic system, always start with
the basics. This ensures that the obvious is never overlooked. In order for the 'obvious' to be obvious, the
fundamental laws of hydraulics must be kept in mind:
 Hydraulic pumps create flow - not pressure.
 Resistance to flow creates pressure.
 Flow determines actuator speed.
 Pressure determines actuator force.
 Fluid under pressure takes the path of least resistance.
 When fluid moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure (pressure drop)
without performing useful work, heat is generated.

Theory is great, but it always makes more sense when put into practice. So let's apply these
fundamentals to the above situation in a way that ensures the obvious things are not overlooked.

"The new pump is delivering a maximum pressure of 1,000 PSI..."

We know that a hydraulic pump can only produce flow (pressure is created by resistance to flow). It
follows that if the pump can't get oil it can't produce flow. So check that the reservoir is filled to the correct
level, the breather is not clogged, the suction strainer or filter (if fitted) is not clogged, the pump intake
isolation valve is fully open and the pump intake line is otherwise unrestricted.

If the pump is producing flow, then an absence of pressure indicates an absence of resistance to flow.
Knowing this, and that fluid under pressure always takes the path of least resistance, the task now is to
find the point at which pump flow is escaping from the circuit. If you're skilled in reading and interpreting
hydraulic symbols, the system's schematic diagram (if available) can be useful in identifying possible
locations.

"The new pump... appears to be creating heat."

Because heat is generated when there is a pressure drop, using an infrared thermometer to check the
temperature of individual components will quickly lead us to the hottest part of the system - and the
probable location of the internal leakage. Note that in a properly functioning system fitted with a piston
pump, it is not unusual for the pump case to be the hottest part of the circuit.

The above checks should have taken less than 10 minutes. If nothing conclusive was revealed, I would
continue the process of elimination using a flow-tester to conduct a direct pump test.

Conclusion

The type and variation of problems a hydraulic system can encounter are infinite. But as you can see
from this example, a solid understanding of the fundamental laws of hydraulics can be applied in any
situation, and is the foundation of effective troubleshooting.

If you have to change your hydraulic oil - then do this ...


Bill Vogel, one of our members from California sent me this ripper, recently:

"Brendan, here's a suggestion for a newsletter topic: Changing a mobile hydraulic system from petroleum
to biodegradable fluid."

"We would like to change a piece of mobile equipment from petroleum hydraulic fluid (AW46) to a
biodegradable Ester-based fluid. In general, what steps should we take and what precautions should we
observe? Can you recommend a fluid?"
"We are leaning towards HEE (ester) fluids as recommended by the OEM, but what are the relative merits
of HETG (vegetable-based) and HEPG (poly-glycols) fluids? There seem to be differences between the
different manufacturer's fluids."

"Some imply no sheen on water and not hazmat. While others mention there is a sheen and clean-up and
reporting of spills the same as oil. We'd prefer the most environmentally friendly fluid (that's the whole
point) that performs as needed and is readily available."

Hmmm? well firstly, with respect to Bill, this ain't an idea for a newsletter topic - it's more like a subject for
a book. With that said, I'm going to start by answering a question with a question:

Why?

Why does Bill want to change from mineral based, anti-wear hydraulic fluid to a biodegradable?

The most common reason, in this day and age, is because he has to. That is, some regulatory authority
has mandated that if you want to use hydraulic equipment in our patch of pristine wilderness it must be
filled with biodegradable oil.

Of course the law makers are smart enough to know that most hydraulic equipment users are lousy at
looking after their machines and so they leave a trail of oil everywhere they go. You reap what you sow.

When you think about it, why else would a hydraulic equipment user, most of whom are cheap to the
penny, want to pay between 3 and 10 times the cost of mineral oil to replace it with a biodegradable? If
the reason is not mandated by regulation, then based on my experience with end users, it's unlikely to be
founded on a highly sophisticated maintenance or reliability objective.

Anyway, my first piece of advice to Bill is: if you don't have to - then don't. And it's not about the price of
oil. As you'll see in a moment, Bill only needs a couple of 20 liter drums of the stuff, which ain't gonna
send him broke.

No, the reason is, when I think of biodegradable hydraulic fluid, I think of my wife. Because they're both
high maintenance. And most hydraulic equipment users I come into contact with are just not sophisticated
enough in their maintenance practices to take care of a biodegradable oil. If this high-maintenance lube
isn't looked after, the eventual result is a maintenance disaster - read: catastrophic failure.

You see, no one told these biodegradable oils they're not suppose to break down until they've managed
to find their way out of the hydraulic system. No, given the right (wrong) conditions, they're just as happy
to break down while they're still in the hydraulic system.

So unless the user has a proper oil analysis program in place - and by this I mean he knows what to look
out for and so is able to specify an appropriate test slate, then changing to biodegradable oil is a disaster
waiting to happen. You can get away with a lot of things with a mineral oil that you won't with a
biodegradable. They are NOT "fill and forget".

So here's my second piece of advice to Bill: If you DO have to change - get an appropriate oil analysis
program in place. And for the uninitiated, taking regular hard particle counts doesn't constitute an oil
analysis program.

With that off my chest, let's look at the specifics of Bill's application:

"The machine is used in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. The manufacturer recommends Fuchs
Plantohyd S46 or Mobil DTE16. At air temperatures from -10 to +40 degC VG68 is recommended (it's
required above 0 degC), and below -10 degC VG32 is recommended. The importer recommends VG46.
Even though this area gets a lot of snow, typical winter temperatures are not very severe. Our normal
temperature range is from -5 to +5 degC."

These vague and general viscosity recommendations are misleading at best and will be plain wrong in a
significant number of applications. Following them without qualification can cause a heap of trouble. Most
hydraulic equipment manufacturers are clueless when it comes to getting this issue right, but they don't
let that stop them from publishing this nonsense.

The whole issue of temperature and viscosity becomes even more important when changing to an exotic
oil - it's essential to do your homework. I spend nearly two hours explaining and discussing this whole
issue, including a worked example, in my 'Hydraulic Breakdown Prevention Blueprint'. But I've neither the
space nor the inclination to go into it here.

So my third piece of advice for Bill is: Invest in my 'Hydraulic Breakdown Prevention Blueprint' - to avoid a
costly mistake (yeah, I know, many of you will be horrified at the very idea of investing in your own
technical education - but the fact is, if you don't know all this stuff you're leaving a lot of money on the
table).

"The machine has two 18 liter hydraulic reservoirs. One is dedicated to the hydrostatic drive (axial-piston
variable pump and variable motor operating at 300 bar nominal, 350 bar maximum). The second reservoir
feeds a 14cc pump operating at 180-190 bar shared by the hydraulic steering and implement lifting &
control (spool valves controlling cylinders and a small intermittent-use vane motor). Each circuit is
equipped by the OEM with a 100 micron suction screen in the reservoir and a 25 micron (absolute)
pressure filter."

Sheesh, the machine manufacturer needs another kick up the ass. Do YOU know why?

To be continued ...

If you HAVE to change your hydraulic oil ... part 2


In my previous article, I started to discuss an application in which Bill Vogel, one of our members from
California, is (was?) considering changing out a mineral hydraulic oil for a biodegradable.

This article generated a lot of mail, but before I summarize that, let's pick up where we left off.

"The machine has two 18 liter hydraulic reservoirs? Each circuit is equipped by the OEM with a 100
micron suction screen in the reservoir and a 25 micron (absolute) pressure filter."

Bill's read all my books, so he knew this bit would arc me up. As an aside, last week someone sent me a
link to a post on a message board where my advice to remove and discard suction strainers was being
discussed. One poster asserted that to make this recommendation, I must own shares in all the major
pump manufacturers "because it's a lot cheaper to replace a suction strainer than it is to replace a pump".

You have to laugh. Inadvertently though, this not-so-sharp hydraulic equipment owner may have
uncovered the reason why some hydraulic pump manufacturers also actively manufacture and market
suction strainers.

So no prizes for guessing what my fourth piece of advice to Bill is. Particularly if he were to select a
triglyceride (vegetable-based oil), which have peculiar pour point characteristics (flow at low temperature)
compared to mineral oils.
Moving on, Bill sent me this in response to last month's instalment:

"Fortunately we do have a choice; we aren't mandated to go biodegradable hydraulic oil. (Two of) the
reasons I'm considering it are:

1. OEM's recommendation, and


2. The obvious 'good stewardship' in the mountain environment in the event of an inadvertent spill."

With respect to number 1, I've seen this before from European Manufacturers. They seem to think they
are taking 'green' leadership by recommending an 'environmentally friendly' lube as the first choice.

But how 'green' are these oils really? Consider this, sent to me by Hans Storeboe from Norway:

"In the Swedish county of Goetheborg, they have removed regulations against mineral hydraulic fluids. It
was found that breakdowns and leaks were ten fold with biodegradable fluid - resulting in an overall
increase in oil spill. And biodegradable hydraulic fluid is not harmless to nature. Continuous production of
new spare parts isn't either."

"Not harmless to nature ?" indeed, the US EPA (Clean Water Act) takes a similar position:

"Like petroleum-based oils, non-petroleum oils can have both immediate and long-term adverse effects
on the environment and can be dangerous or even deadly to wildlife. For example, non-petroleum oils
can deplete available oxygen needed by aquatic organisms, foul aquatic biota, and coat the fur and/or
feathers of wildlife. For example, when a bird's plumage is coated with non-petroleum oil, their feathers
lose their insulating properties, placing them at risk of freezing to death."

"Birds that are covered with non-petroleum oils also can smother embryos through the transfer of non-
petroleum oil from the parents' plumage to the eggs. Birds and wildlife can ingest oil directly and may
continue to ingest the oil as they eat if the source of their food consists of fish, shellfish, or vegetation that
also are contaminated with non-petroleum oils. Other adverse effects of spilled non-petroleum oil on bird
and wildlife include drowning, mortality by predation, dehydration, starvation, and/or suffocation."

Thanks to Bill Patnode from Algonquin Power for bringing the above to my attention.

So biodegradable doesn't mean eco-friendly. And if machine reliability is compromised in any way - and it
will be without due care and attention, then the environment may actually be worse off with non-mineral
than with mineral oil.

The ironic thing is these non-mineral lubes are the hydraulic fluids of the future. On the 9th of January
2008, the head of car giant General Motors publicly warned that the switch to bio-fuels such as ethanol is
now inevitable.

If he's right, then it's safe for me to predict that in the not too distant future, we won't have a choice. We'll
all be filling our hydraulic tanks with a non-mineral oil. And when this happens effective maintenance
practices, like those I advocate, won't be optional - they'll be mandatory.

But for the time being at least, Bill does have a choice. And my advice is to change to a biodegradable
hydraulic oil - when the cheap supply of mineral oil runs out.

How to consolidate your hydraulic oil inventory


How many different types of hydraulic oil are taking up space in your oil store? If there's more than one
you're not alone. I often get questions from members who'd like to consolidate their hydraulic oil inventory
but aren't sure how to go about it. This one is typical:

"We have a number of pieces of hydraulic equipment; e.g., bucket trucks, cranes, backhoe, rollback
wrecker, dump trucks, scissors lifts, etc. It seems like each piece of hydraulic equipment requires a
different hydraulic fluid. I'd like to know the compatibility or interchangeability of the different products
before I do irreversible harm. I'm confused by all the different hydraulic oil we're currently using. For
example, Warren R&O, Conoco MV-22, NAPA AW-46, AW-315, etc. Is there a primer on oil; a guide that
tells me what goes where?" Bob Bauman

The first step is to decipher all the different abbreviations and numbers to understand what you've got, so
you can compare "apples to apples".

This task is complicated by the different standards used. And some abbreviations and numbers used by
individual manufacturers aren't standard at all. So looking at Bob's array of oils:

R&O or RO stands for rust and oxidation - hydraulic oils with improved anti-rust and anti-oxidation
properties. The ISO classification for these oils is HL.

AW stands for anti-wear - RO hydraulic oils with an anti-wear additive package. The ISO classification for
these oils is HM.

MV stands for multi-viscosity. To the best of my knowledge, this is not a standard abbreviation. In theory
MG (multi-grade), MW (multi-weight) or HVI (high viscosity index) could all be used to mean the same
thing. Regardless, these oils contain viscosity index improvers which modify the rate of change in
viscosity with temperature. The ISO classification is HR for VI improved RO oils and HV for VI improved
AW oils.

Now to the numbers. 22, 46 and 315 refer to the viscosity grade (VG) of the hydraulic oil. 22 and 46 are
ISO standard grades - and refer to the oil's kinematic viscosity in centistokes at 40 degrees Celsius - plus
or minus 10 percent. So an ISO VG46 oil has a viscosity of between 41.4 and 50.6 centistokes at 40C.
315 is a now mostly obsolete ASTM viscosity number - 315 SUS at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is
roughly equivalent to ISO 68.

As you can now see, Bob has both RO and AW hydraulic oil in three different viscosity grades - one of
which is high VI. On the surface, my hunch would be that a single oil - probably AW-46, could cover his
entire fleet. But to confirm this, each piece of hydraulic equipment needs to be assessed individually. The
procedure and worksheets for doing this are included in my advanced hydraulic maintenance blueprint.

Once this has been done and the appropriate type and grade of hydraulic oil chosen, the next issue to
consider is how to go about changing equipment over to the "standardized" oil. The first thing to
understand is you ain't going to get any peace of mind from the oil companies. It's highly unlikely that any
oil blender will tell you it's OK to mix their oil with a competitors. And for good reason too. When oils with
different additive chemistry are mixed, there is always a risk of additive 'drop-out'.

At the very least, you should be doing a thorough oil drain and filter change as part of switching oils. But
unless it's practical or possible to drain every part of the system, a small percentage of the original oil will
remain and be mixed with the new oil.

So before making the switch, it's a good idea to mix equal parts of the original and new oil in a glass jar
and shake vigorously. Wait half an hour and observe the solution. Look for changes in color, clarity,
viscosity and sediment.
If in doubt, or for extra peace of mind, filter 100 milliliters of the old, new and mixed oils through a patch
filter - noting the time taken for each. If nothing abnormal is observed, then it should be safe to proceed.

How to make your hydraulic oil last longer


The price of oil sure is defying gravity at the moment. And unlike previous oil shocks, the experts are
telling us the days of cheap oil (and gas) are gone forever. Only time will tell.

But unless you're the owner of a lot of poorly maintained (read: leaky) hydraulic equipment, the price of
gas and diesel is likely hurting your wallet more than the price of hydraulic oil. Regardless, you sure don't
want to be shelling out for any more of it than you have to.

So this begs the question: how can you make your hydraulic oil go further; last longer? Here's a few
pointers to consider:

Keep it in

The first and most obvious thing is to keep it in the hydraulic system. Those couple of slow hydraulic
leaks that you've been putting off fixing are costing you more per day, week and month every time the oil
price lurches up. There's always been a cost associated with leaks. But the economics of not attending to
them is changing rapidly.

Keep it cool

There's a lot of good reasons to maintain appropriate and stable operating temperatures. Oil life
extension is not the least of them. According to Arrhenius's Law, for every 10 degrees Celsius increase in
temperature, the rate of reaction doubles. The chemical reactions we're concerned with in so far as
hydraulic oil life is concerned are oxidation - due to the presence of air; and hydrolysis - due the presence
of water. So the hotter the oil, the faster the rate of these reactions - and exponentially so.

By way of illustration, if you pour some cooking oil into a glass, it'll take days, even weeks before it
darkens in color - a sign of oxidation. But tip the same amount of cooking oil into a frying pan - which
gives the oil a large contact area with air - then heat the begeezez out of it, and the oil will go black in a
very short space of time.

Keep it dry

Water too has a number of negative effects on the oil. In so far as oil life is concerned, it can chemically
compromise (hydrolyze) the additive package. For example, the antiwear additive ZDDP is prone to
instability in the presence of water.

Keep it clean

Unless you've been living in a cave, you know when it comes to hydraulic oil: 'cleanliness is next to
Godliness'. But particle contamination also affect oil life. Certain wear metals act as catalysts which
increase the rate of oxidation and hydrolysis. Particles can also attach themselves to additives in the oil,
resulting in additive depletion when these particles are captured in the hydraulic system's filters.

So to wring the most out of every drop of your hydraulic oil, keep it in; keep it cool; keep it dry and keep it
clean. And ONLY change it when base oil degradation or additive depletion demands it be changed.
It's just good maintenance. And good maintenance is good business.

Hydraulic troubleshooting tools


This question is relevant to hydraulic machine owner members and pretty much everyone else too:

"What is the most effective and efficient method to diagnose internal leakage on mobile hydraulic
construction equipment; e.g Backhoe or Skid Steer Loader - without the aid of diagnostic tools, such as
pressure gauges and flow meters."

It's not a bad question, but upon deeper analysis it smacks of 'silver-bullet' seeking. The revealing
phrases are "most effective and efficient method" and "without the aid of...pressure gauges and flow
meters".

It's human nature to seek maximum gain from minimum effort. Even if it's not realistic. And since my job
here is to entertain as well as inform, I'll give you my 'silver bullet' answer first:

I've developed and patented a special troubleshooting paint. So now when a hydraulic problem arises, all
you have to do is shake said can well and spray any hydraulic component you suspect might be faulty.
After a couple of minutes faulty components turn red and serviceable components turn green.

It's a nice fantasy. About my early retirement I mean.

So to qualify the question before I answer it, until I perfect my magic spray paint: the most efficient
method of troubleshooting may not be the most effective, and the most effective not the most efficient -
which I assume is the reason for excluding pressure gauges and flow meters when posing the question.

But there are other tools and techniques we can employ when troubleshooting. One of these is the
infrared thermometer or heat gun. The equipment required is inexpensive, its application is quick and
non-invasive and the results can be very revealing.

It's usefulness in hydraulic troubleshooting comes about because when hydraulic fluid moves from an
area of high pressure to an area of low pressure (pressure drop) without performing useful work, heat is
generated. For a more detailed explanation of this concept, watch this video clip.

This means components with abnormal leakage generate abnormal heat. So a double-acting cylinder with
a leaking piston seal or a relief valve that is passing usually become hotter than the rest of the system.
And an infrared thermometer will quickly reveal them to you.

But like most other tools, an infrared thermometer is only as good as the person using it. And so you do
have to be careful of false positives. The objective of every troubleshooting exercise should be to prove a
component is faulty before it is changed-out. This is normally accomplished through a logical process of
elimination.

An infrared thermometer can certainly speed up this process, but if the data coming from it doesn't make
sense or is not conclusive, then other tools should be employed to eliminate any doubt.

For example, a recent client came to the conclusion that a solenoid valve was the cause of his problem -
based on temperature measurement alone. But there were two problems with this diagnosis: Firstly, a
solenoid valve tends to absorb heat from its coil when energized - which could explain its temperature
rise. And secondly, in the context of the particular system it didn't really make sense.
I explained we should note his observation but continue the troubleshooting process - using other tools as
necessary - to prove the diagnosis one way or the other. Because a false positive is just as bad as a blind
guess - it results in the unnecessary change-out of serviceable components. Something you want to
avoid.

Thermal expansion and pressure intensification in hydraulic cylinders


If you were tuned in last month, you know about my lucky escape when a support tower snapped on the
Blackcomb gondola. A great number of members sent their good wishes in response. So many in fact, it
was not possible for me to reply to them all individually. And although it's largely inadequate, I'd like to
acknowledge and thank those members here.

A few were quick to point out the failure wasn't anything to do with hydraulics. Actually it was. Not fluid
power hydraulics. But the failure was hydraulic in nature.

The support pylon was a hollow cylinder or tube - designed to be hermetically sealed. But water leaked
into the cylinder - and froze. The expansion in volume as the water froze created enough hydrostatic
force to cause the tensile failure of a butt-weld joint - effectively jacking the top off the tower.

The fluid power hydraulics lesson to take away from this is very well summarized by one of our members
who's used to working in freezing conditions:

"It seems that hydraulic principals and Mother Nature led to the failure of the tower. It definitely shows the
raw power of a contained fluid under pressure in an enclosed cylinder and the effects of temperature on
fluids.

We have seen a similar problem occur in our Snowcat fleet that happens when a tiller is brought in from
the cold and removed. If the tiller is left in the warm shop and some hydraulic oil is not drained via the
quick couplers, pressure rise caused by expansion of the warming fluid can ruin the motor seals, coupler
seals and on a couple of occasions has split one of the motor cases."

Although not related to thermal expansion, another problem associated with contained fluid and which
can arise in cold conditions is pressure intensification.

If the cap end of a double-acting hydraulic cylinder is pressurized and fluid cannot escape from the rod
end - due to the oil being so cold it is below its pour point (or any other reason) this potentially dangerous
phenomenon can result in catastrophic failure of the cylinder.

To demonstrate why pressure intensification can be so dangerous - and why we normally use meter-in
flow control to control the extension speed of double-acting hydraulic cylinder, I've made a 6-minute video
of a simulated model. It's explosive.

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