Now that summer has finally arrived, you might be spending a lot of time thinking about all of the warm weather activities you’ll be participating in—but there are some functional considerations for your hydraulic equipment that you should focus on first. If you noticed that your hydraulic issues seemed to vanish last year as the weather cooled down, you should be especially aware of summer maintenance needs. As ambient temperatures increase, so do hydraulic issues, as a result of the increased strain placed on your equipment by higher temperatures. To avoid major summertime malfunctions, make sure you take care of preventative hydraulic service in Minnesota as soon as possible:
- Reservoir maintenance: Start your summer maintenance by cleaning your reservoir. In general, it’s a good idea to take care of reservoir cleaning on an annual basis, but more frequent cleaning might be necessary if your equipment is under a larger demand. You don’t have to throw away your oil entirely when you drain your reservoir, but you should filter it to remove as many particles as possible.
- System flushing: Once you’ve drained the oil from your reservoir and cleaned it, you should flush your entire system to purge it of built-up residue and debris that might decrease its efficiency and performance. After you have replaced the oil in your system, rig your inlet and outlet lines for a complete system flush. Keep your system running this way for several hours to achieve the best results.
- Temperature and oil level switch calibration: Your oil level and temperature switches are designed to protect your system in the event that something goes wrong. Unfortunately, the default calibrations on these systems aren’t always set appropriately. Your temperature switch, for example, likely won’t shut your system off until your oil gets to about 80°C, even though your oil will start breaking down at 60°C. Setting your temperature switch to shut off the system once the oil has reached 60°C allows you to prevent temperature-related oil deterioration before it starts.
- Leak inspection: When ambient temperatures increase during the summer, your oil actually begins to thin out. The decreased viscosity makes it more likely for your oil to leak out and can increase the severity of existing leaks. It’s always worth it to get a preventative inspection from a company that specializes in hydraulic service in Minnesota before the summer to catch leaks and other problems early on.
Get your equipment taken care of with professional hydraulic service in Minnesota that you can rely on from M & M Hydraulic Company. We are proud to be a local, family owned business with decades of experience in hydraulic repair and part replacement. Our extensive experience and vast industry knowledge allows us to assist our customers with repair and maintenance projects of any size and scale. We would be happy to walk you through our services and tell you about the replacement parts we offer. No matter what your specific needs may be, our team is here to help you every step of the way.