Why It Pays to Pay More Attention to Your Equipment’s Hydraulic Fluid

00:00:00:09 - 00:00:20:03

Bryan Furnace

Hi everybody. Welcome back to Equipment World. You're watching the dirt. I'm your host, Brian. And today we're here to talk about a fluid that you don't pay attention to. Let's be honest, guys. Hydraulic oil. You check it maybe once a year.

00:00:20:03 - 00:00:36:10

Bryan Furnace

Unless you see dripping under the machine. Turns out there's a lot more to it than just having a fluid that you check once a year. Here to discuss it with us is Ken Long with Chevron.

00:00:36:12 - 00:00:49:07

Bryan Furnace

So for starters, for for guys who are really ignorant on fluids, can you kind of break down at a high level? What makes hydraulic fluid special? What's different about hydraulic fluid from other fluids?

00:00:49:09 - 00:01:32:23

Ken Wong

Hydraulic oils are very gentle but very useful fluids for a machine. Their primary functions is to transfer to power, but they also have a vital role in keeping your parts operationally efficient. They protect against rise. It can get frozen, prevent all oxidation, reduce wear and heat. And I mean performance wise they minimize this. All right. Then also making sure everything's smooth and lubricated properly a good quality kind of oil that I mean you kind of all recognizes I mean our Randolph products and also our line of torque forces which can be used in our jobs and other aspects, new job training.

00:01:32:23 - 00:02:00:19

Ken Wong

They provide, the benefits I just talked about and and more. If we talk about other oils out there and what makes hydraulics different from other oils, I mean, there's one engine oils on one going to much, but they're specifically designed to lubricate and protect your engine. And, and then we talk about the transmission going from engine, the transmission, the formula is cool and lubricate, very detailed, intricate parts.

00:02:00:23 - 00:02:15:19

Ken Wong

So you get that smooth gear selection. And one more is differential fluids. I mean, they're designed to cool. I mean, they're designed to provide web protection so that you can transfer that energy from your transmission over into the wheels.

00:02:15:21 - 00:02:31:22

Bryan Furnace

Gotcha. So on older machines, this is this is going back in the day in our industry. But on older machines, there were some machines that could use engine oil in the hydraulic system. Is that still the case. What's what's kind of the big differentiate are there. And why can't you anymore.

00:02:32:02 - 00:02:53:19

Ken Wong

So I hear about this I mean from some folks, from our customers. And for me in my journey, yes and no ride generally is not recommended. I mean, while it's common for people to use engine oil instead of hydraulics because it's just easier to find a Walmart target and just those big box stores and drawers aren't designed for that purpose.

00:02:53:19 - 00:03:32:02

Ken Wong

So, I mean, they have the same properties, the basic properties, they lube and provide some of that performance properties as well. But engineers they contain added they formulated it contain additives I could harmed hydraulic hydraulics, specifically formulated to handle the high pressure and the temperature fluctuations that we see. And they're made to transmit power. So we need a specific hydraulic fluid engine oils and, and having that engine on hydraulics that also can increase the wear and may also damage your seal components.

00:03:32:07 - 00:03:43:07

Ken Wong

And that could potentially lead to more issues and reduce efficiency. So I always say to folks, I mean, just follow your, OEM recommendations.

00:03:43:07 - 00:04:11:10

Bryan Furnace

Gotcha. So on newer machines, this is something I've always been curious about. Our skid steer, for instance, the OEM actually recommends automatic transmission fluid to go in the hydraulic system. Should we take that? Is hydraulic oil. And ATF fluid can kind of be substituted for each other, or is there a specific reason for that?

00:04:48:23 - 00:05:16:19

Ken Wong

I mean, you do see some OEM is recommending using ATF instead of hydraulic birds. And I wouldn't say I mean, one generalization. I mean, there's systems that are likely evaluated to handle these has contain detergents that contain modifiers, and they keep the system clean and protect against the wear. But if the equipment doesn't specifically call for ATF, I wouldn't recommend using it.

00:05:16:19 - 00:05:47:00

Ken Wong

I mean, has had different additives and the viscosity levels may not be suitable for all the hydraulic systems. Like I said about engine oils, they could affect the seals and the pressure requirements that you guys need and using the wrong fluids. I mean, you guys may void all the warranties out there. So as I kind of alluded to earlier, it's always best to follow OEM recommendations.

00:05:47:02 - 00:06:16:10

Ken Wong

We Chevron I mean, we have an entire line of products that can keep your equipment running at as best, just because your friends, your neighbors, your grandparents, and anyone telling you that was using a product that was not designed for that system, doesn't mean that we should continue to do so. Right? Systems these days very advanced. And the changes to any of this fluid dynamics may cause issues, which I alluded to earlier.

00:06:16:10 - 00:06:31:15

Ken Wong

Of all, the message I've mentioned is that Chevron, we're proud of our technology and continue to lead an history of, durability, reliability and efficiency when it comes down to our product.

00:06:31:17 - 00:06:48:02

Bryan Furnace

Excellent. Well, thank you again for the time and thanks for all the information. Well, thank you again to Ken for coming on the show to discuss hydraulic oils with us and kind of break down what the differences between hydraulic oil and other fluids and why it's important to choose the right one. As always, I hope this helps you and your business.

00:06:48:05 - 00:06:49:22

Bryan Furnace

We'll catch you on the next episode of The Dirt.