OH Fabricators Email Blasts - Hydraulic Filters

Model “IS” Pipe-Mounted Suction Screens

Suction screens can be used for straining oil, most chemicals and water. They are low cost but very effective strainers. They are made of stainless steel wire cloth, formed, and epoxied into the glass reinforced nylon connector end. Mesh sizes available are from 4 to 200 with both male and female npt threads. Pipe sizes available are up to 3” npt. They have use in almost all industries, including ones you may not even realize. For example, click on the links to go to the Application Bulletins on the OFCO website to see where they are used to see the broad range of applications. Water Utilities Application Bulletin, and Suction Screen General Application Bulletin. They are in stock and available for immediate shipment. To take a look at the specifications of all our suction screens click on the following link and it will take you there immediately – OFCO Suction Screen Catalog Page. Then you can scroll to the bottom of the page and download and/or print the sales sheet.

OFCO, Quality or Perfection?

How do you look at the way you approach your job and what you do throughout your day? Is it unrealistic to strive for perfection? Perfection means free of errors, faults, or mistakes. However, as long as a human has his or her hands in the mix, “mistake free” sometimes does not occur. Humans are not perfect. Humans make mistakes.

But what is important is that we always strive for excellence and when mistakes are made, we treat them as a learning experience and make sure we don’t make the same mistake again. So it isn’t the mistake so much as it is the attitude taken to correct it and move on. OFCO constantly strives for excellence in hopes we can keep building relationships that stay glued by keeping our customers satisfied and remain a valuable partner in their business.

Hydraulic Fluid and Pascal’s Law

The reason why a fluid needs to be non-compressible is because most hydraulic equipment works on Pascal’s Law. Now going back to Hydraulics 101, Blaise Pascal was a well-known French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher in 1647. This law states that pressure exerted in liquid which is at rest is the same in all directions. In other words, whenever pressure is applied on any part of a fluid contained in a vessel, it is transmitted equally in all directions. Hydraulic machines work on the basis of this law.If fluid used is compressible, it would decrease in volume upon application of such a force and it would not get transmitted to the other end. That is why hydraulic fluid is mostly used. Of course, it has other uses, too, which was mentioned in Newsletter 9. Studying Pascal’s Law helps enormously in understanding this.

Thoughts on Learning and Education

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

“The person who can read but doesn’t, has no advantage over the person who can’t read.”

“It’s impossible to learn what you think you already know.”

“A school is four walls with tomorrow inside.”

~ All Anonymous

A Simplified Study in Filtration

Part 7 of 10

We have one more place in our system that really needs attention.

We covered areas 1-4 where system filtration should occur. If you are scratching your head wondering where in the world could there be a 5th place, buckle up and stay tuned.

At this point, there is one more area where filtration is not thought of very often. It is the area called “off-line filtration,” or a “kidney loop.” This is when new oil is introduced to the system. In all systems the fluid will have to be replaced or replenished at one time or another, sometimes more frequently than others. The new oil, which is introduced to the tank into the filler location, must come from an outside source. It could be a larger reservoir somewhere in the vicinity of the system, it could be from a new drum, as mentioned earlier, or it could even come from some container, which was filled at some other location in the facility. This oil needs to be filtered as it is introduced into the reservoir. Even brand new, unopened barrels of hydraulic oil contain a host of contaminants. Just to give you an idea of the amount of contamination there is in 100 ml of standard new hydraulic oil (class 6), look at the following chart:

These numbers are taken directly from a standard particle counter and are consistent with drums of “new,” “clean” oil. Looking at these numbers tells us that new oil does need to be filtered before being introduced into the system. A portable oil transfer system is required to perform this task. There are quite a few on the market today to help with this action. I would like to stop here for a moment to explain an important point regarding portable transfer systems.

There are quite a few on the market today to help with this action. I would like to stop here for a moment to explain an important point regarding portable transfer systems.

In some plants, some equipment uses different types of oils in different machines. It is important that when you are transferring new, clean oil into a machine, it is the same type of oil that is being used in that machine already. Make sure the filter carts are painted different colors to indicate the specific type of oil that is being introduced into a specific machine. Make the same color notation on the machinery itself, too. If oils get mixed when introducing them into machinery, it could cause serious damage or destruction. New oil should be filtered to as low as 5-10 microns for minimal contamination introduction.

Filtration needs to be taken seriously when it comes to any hydraulic system. Not only must there be sufficient filtration but there must be proper servicing and maintenance, too. Remember, like what was mentioned earlier, if the filtration breaks down, the system is going to break down.

When sizing a filter to a system to ensure there is adequate filtration, there are certain key pieces of information that are needed to make this happen. Part 8 is up next time. See you then!

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News You Can Use: Issue 10