Efficiency and Effectiveness – How watching the Pressure Gauge, Tightening connections and keeping things “cool “will prolong the life of any hydraulic system.
Our engine or motor based hydraulic power units convert fossil fuels or electricity in to hydraulic flow and pressure which does the useful work of powering the rotation of the impeller in our submersible pumps or any other device fitted with a hydraulic motor.
As with any energy creator, system components which don’t help with doing work, hurt by creating heat. So, to insure the most efficient use of the primary fuel, careful attention must be paid to all of the components of the hydraulic system and how each hydraulic pump, motor, valve, fitting and piece of plumbing create inefficiencies by generating heat.
Once the design is done and the user puts the whole system to work, the two best ways to keep things cool are: making sure the hydraulic connections at the hoses and submersible pump are fully seated and only running the engine speed up to the point where the hydraulic system pressure shown on the pressure gauge is no longer climbing. When the pressure on the gauge stops increasing, this means that the system is doing all of the work it can do given the pumping conditions. Increasing engine rpm beyond this point does more harm than good. Specifically, running engine speed up beyond the pressure “sweet spot” does nothing for system effectiveness (no more work gets done) and wastes expensive fuel. In addition, efficiency is hurt because the excess hydraulic flow resulting from the engine mounted hydraulic pump turning faster dumps over the small orifices in the relief valve which in turn creates nothing but HEAT. This heat breaks down the hydraulic oil, creates blow by and generally does bad things to all the critical system pieces.
In the end taking two simple steps, keeping your eye on the pressure gauge and making sure things are tight will always result in a more efficient and effective pumping system.