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.

Do you have desiccant breathers on your hydraulic and lube oil systems? (Here's where we pause with baited breath for you to answer.)

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.

Static electricity is an amazing thing. It can cause hairs to stand on end when rubbed with a balloon, which can cause it to then stick to a wall. (It’s a fun trick, especially for kids). Unfortunately, when it comes to interaction with filters, static can have devastating results.

Here at Hy-Pro, we understand the importance of selecting target ISO Cleanliness Codes. That’s why we’ve put together this set of instructions for selecting target codes in case you’re in need of a little help.

If you didn’t happen to catch last week’s blog or want to jog your memory, click here. 

Last week we discussed how new oil picks up contamination on its way to your facility. This week we’ll continue our investigation of how your new oil isn't really clean. Let's take a look at a three more reasons your new oil continues to be contaminated as it reaches your distributor.