Key to the Maintenance of Hydraulic Oil

30 March, 2010- With the oil prices soaring all time high, the owners of poorly maintained hydraulic equipments surely have a thing to worry about. The leaky hydraulic machineries would cost the owners much more for the gas and diesel than for the hydraulic oil but even then, nobody would like to shell out any more for it than one needs to. So here the question remains, how can one make the hydraulic oil last longer?

Following are few pointers which can be considered to use the oil up to its utmost optimization.

Fix Leaks on Time

One of the most basic and obvious thing to do is to maintain the oil within the hydraulic system. The hydraulic leaks, no matter how minor, should be attended immediately. At the pace with which the oil prices are rising, one can really not afford to let the leaks make the costings drown away with it. Thus, in order to maintain the oil within the machine and use it to the utmost, it is wise to fix the leaks as soon as possible.

Maintain a Cool Temperature

There are more than one valid reason to maintain proper operating temperature of every matter as according to Arrhenius's Law, the rate of reaction doubles with every 10 degree Celsius increase in temperature. The equation remains the same for oils and fluids too. With hydraulic oil, the shelf life of oil is adversely effected by mainly two reaction processes i.e Oxidation and Hydrolysis. Oxidation occurs in the presence of air while Hydrolysis takes place due to the presence of water. Needless to say, that the hotter the oil would be, the faster the rate of these reactions would be. Hence, the coolness of oil should be maintained by all means.

Avoid the Inception of Water

Another source of oil contamination is water as it can chemically compromise (hydrolyze) the additive package for example- ZDDP, the antiwear additive, gets instable in the presence of water. It is this particular repelling characteristic of the oil-water combination that the oil is recommended to keep dry. Dryness can definitely help in enhancing the shelf life of hydraulic oil.

Cleanliness is Important

It is a known fact that even a slight contamination within oil can affect the oil life. There are few metals which act as catalysts to increase the the rate of oxidation and hydrolysis in oil. Besides, particle attachment to the additive can also result in additive depletion while trapping in the hydraulic system's filters.

Consequently, if one wants to wring the most out of each drop of hydraulic oil, one has to follow the basic simple steps of maintenance quite religiously.