If you work in a factory, chances are good that you are going to be dealing with hydraulic seals and cylinders on a regular basis. Here are some common hydraulic cylinder mistakes and how you can avoid them to make sure that your factory operates as efficiently as possible.

1. Not Using Lubrication

If you don't use lubrication on your hydraulic cylinders, you are going to have the unfortunate experience of having parts grate together and degrade over time. You don't want this to happen because it will cost your company a lot of money and time to replace the cylinder and re-do the seals, since the seals can be damaged due to the increased heat that the friction will cause. You can avoid this by simply making sure that you always lubricate cylinders manually that are not self-lubricating. Be sure that you open the intake isolation valve before you starting running the cylinder once you have put the lubricating oil in because this is the only way that the oil will be able to get to the cylinder. 

2. Letting Your Cylinder Overheat

The next problem that you want to take care of is making sure that your cylinder does not overheat. You can do this by checking the viscosity of the oil in the cylinder throughout your shift or at every shift change. By doing this, you can make sure that you the viscosity is high enough to be considered normal. If it is too low, then this is a clear sign that your cylinder is overheating. This is because heat causes oil to decrease in viscosity. Essentially, if your oil is not fluid or flexible, then you are likely running your cylinder at too high of a temperature and will need to take steps to cool it down.

3. Changing the Oil Too Frequently or Not Frequently Enough

Without the right amount of oil, your hydraulic cylinder will not be able to function correctly. However, you can't add oil randomly because you will be wasting a great deal of money and likely not making any potential problem better. Instead, perform analysis by measuring the base oil level and the additive package regularly. This will allow you to predict the next time either of those two factors becomes depleted, thus allowing you to add oil at the perfect time.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in hydraulic seals and cylinders.