When Did You Last Change Your Oil?

It’s no secret that hydraulic fluid contamination leads to increased wear and corrosion, and decreased fluid life and system performance. At the same time, you want to maximize the life of your oil to reduce costs and downtime. It’s a balancing act.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of your hydraulic fluid:

• Don’t skimp on quality. Use a good quality hydraulic fluid from a reputable manufacturer following the specification recommendations from the pump and system manufacturer.
• Keep hydraulic fluid clean, cool, and dry. Maintain filtration and use clean lines to transfer hydraulic fluids into your equipment.
• Proactively analyze both your used fluid and your in-service fluid for contamination, oxidation, and to assess wear on the system.

Increasing the frequency of fluid changes may prove to be particularly cost effective in the long term. Research by the British Hydromechanics Research Association (BHRA) and National Engineering Laboratory indicated potential life extension factors of 10 - 50 times were possible on a variety of hydraulic equipment depending on oil contamination level.