Reduce unplanned downtime and maximize the fuel efficiency of your diesel engines

Diesel engines are widely used today. You can find them inside buses and tractor trailers traveling our roads, humming along in construction equipment and drill rigs, submerged in marine environments and helping save lives in hospital generators, amongst many other applications. Diesel engines are popular for good reason. Not only do they have cleaner exhaust emissions, they are also known for more reliable starts in extreme temperatures.

Most people are familiar with diesel engines and how they work, which includes a rapid compression of air. When you inject a fuel source, it creates an explosion. Did you know that micro-dieseling is similar? A front-end loader that runs a diesel engine is a macro-level (or big picture) of what it does on the micro (or smaller) level in a hydraulic pump.

If you deal with phosphate ester (PE) based hydraulic and lubricating fluids, then you likely understand how important it is it to keep it under control. Millions of dollars and thousands of downtime hours are wasted each year by power plants, military and industrial users who need solutions to properly maintain PE fluids. If they're not managed, major damage can take place to your equipment and to your fluids. Let's take a look at what really happens when phosphate ester is out of control.

If controlling phosphate ester seems about as elusive as lassoing a bucking bronco, then you've come to the right place. Put on your cowboy hat and let's talk about real solutions to getting it under control.

If the hydraulic, lubricating, compressor or gear oil you use is not made of a water base in formulation , then water is considered a contaminant and must be recognized and managed. 

There are three types of water in a typical system: free water , emulsified water and dissolved water. The water saturation point of most oil, that point above which water is in a free form, is 200-400ppm, depending on age and condition. 

Using 100ppm for an upper water limit for most systems using mineral base oils, this means all free and emulsified water and a significant portion of dissolved water must be removed.

A vacuum dehydrator is one of the very few methods to remove dissolved water from oil. Let's take a look at these three types of water in your system. It will give you a solid foundation for how the vacuum dehydrator works in the end.

Proper filtration keeps control valves from becoming faulty and failing.

Most people have at least heard the term control valve, even if they don't know exactly what it does. For those of you caring for hydraulic systems, you likely work intimately with these parts. Did you know that if you're not using proper filtration in front of said control valves that you're likely doing your operation a disservice? (It's true.)

If you’ve been following our blog, you probably have a pretty solid understanding of ISO fluid cleanliness codes (if not, click here). You know that ISO codes quantify levels of particulate contamination at three different micron sizes (4μm/6μm/14μm), but how big is a 4μm particle? Watch the video below for a brief explanation of micron size.