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When was the last time you tested your hydraulic fluid cleanliness? It might be low on your list of priorities, but testing for contaminants is one of the most important things you can do to keep your hydraulic systems running efficiently. Studies have found that particle contamination in the oil causes 80% of mechanical wear. Here are three things you can do to keep your oil clean and increase the service life of your components.
1. Never Assume Your Hydraulic Fluid Is Clean
Just because your fluid looks clean doesn’t mean it is. The dirt particles that make it past your filter and wear down pumps and cylinders are too small to see. They must be viewed through a microscope. Over time, contaminants smaller than a red blood cell (8 microns) will decrease the service life of your system.
A teaspoon of dirt particles in a 55-gallon drum could cut your pump life in half. In one year, a 50-gallon-per-minute pump will circulate 1,500 pounds of dirt through your system!
Where Does Contamination Come From?
Most contaminants are generated internally. The day-to-day action of the hydraulic pump, motor, and cylinders shed small particles of metal, rust, and dirt. These particles are only 2 to 3 microns in size, but each particle generates more particles creating a snowball effect over time accelerating wear and causing premature component failures.
Water from condensation or seal leakage is also problematic. Water causes the oil to oxidize and raises your fluid's total acid number (TAN). Acidic oil running through your machine causes components to wear out prematurely, and you could find yourself replacing expensive parts before their service life is up.
New Oil Is Not Clean Oil
New oil is not necessarily clean oil. Anti-wear and anti-foaming additives from the manufacturer make it too dirty to go directly into a system. Always filter new oil and store it properly if it’s not going into the system right away.
2. Set Up A Testing Schedule
Before you can do something about contaminants in your oil, you have to know exactly what you’re dealing with. Send a sample of your fluid to a lab for testing. The lab results will come with an ISO Cleanliness Code that tells you how much dirt is in your fluid and the size of the particles.
The ISO 4406 (c) standard is a series of three numbers like 18/17/15. The first is a range code representing how many particles are 4 microns or larger, the second number is how many are 6 microns or larger, and the third is 14 microns or larger.
Setting up a consistent testing schedule means you can track lab results and make adjustments based on data. If your test results show the number of smaller particles went up, adjust your filter size. When it’s time to retest you can see if the change made a difference. Replacing a filter is much more cost-effective than a new $8,000 servo valve and its associated downtime. If you have the budget, we recommend testing your hydraulic fluid quarterly.
3. Assign an ISO Cleanliness Code to Each Hydraulic System
Assigning a target ISO code to each hydraulic system is a great way to monitor each machine’s performance and make adjustments to achieve the target and extend the service life of the system. A target code should be based on the sophistication of the components and how critical the system is to your organization. If it’s a machine you depend on every day and the lead time on replacement parts is over two months, you can set your target lower than you normally would to keep the dirt load low and protect your investment.
MFP Is Your Fluid Power Partner
Not sure what your ISO targets should be? We can help you figure out what makes sense for your system and come up with a plan to increase the service life of your components. Let us know if you have questions about hydraulic fluid cleanliness or if you have other challenges we can solve.
