Hydraulic Safty

So I finally got around to changing my hydraulic oil today. I drained the pump and measured the amount I removed. After replacing the old oil with the new, I extended the rams to check the level. While raising the bucket to my loader, I got almost to full stroke when... POW... line blew and shot hydraulic fluid about six feet out. The bucket wasted no time falling to the ground. Luckily for me I wasn't standing near or under the loader arm at the time.  So monday I get to go buy a new line. Good times. Like my boss at work would say, "This is a good example of why we practice safe working habits."

Brian.

Money is tight this moth, but I will when the tax return comes, They are all pretty rough.

Seems as though it'd pay to develop the habit of never leaving arms, heads, feet or other body parts where something heavy can fall on/crush/pinch them.....imagine it's too easy to get complacent about the power of hydraulics....until they fail. Then it must get really exciting really quickly. Stay safe.............

Danny, I work at a foundry and we deal with a lot of high pressure hydraulics. Our furnaces' tilt is controlled by two rams that are 12" diameter and 10 foot tall. We also have push rams, high lows, and wedgers that all work under hydraulic pressure. I am amazed that this safety issue has never been addressed, considering the close proximity these rams work to molten iron. I am going to give this link to our safety coordinator. Hopefully we can implement hydraulic safety into our training course.  Thank you for the link.

Brian

r chancellor i believe it will kill you if you dont take care of it. something else you guys should know and i am sure brian jasperco. knows this but the brake fluid from some of these abs systems on cars can inject the fluid in your skin and that will kill you if not taken care of soon.

Most hydraulic systems are failure rated around 2:1 like most other things. However, wear and use can take it's toll on hoses and other components so you never know when a failure can take place. The single most safety thing that anyone can do is not place thier body parts around something supported by a hose. There are pilot pressure operated safety devises made for cylinders so if you loose pressure the load cannot drop. The second safety issue is to not allow ANYONE to change the relief valve of a hydraulic circuit. The relief valve should be preset for maximum safe pressure for the engine, pump, valve body, lines, and cyl. as well as the metal frame of the component. Anything over that is just asking for trouble.