There are different kinds of contamination’s fluids, insoluble, hard and soft particles, air , water or any other kind of dirt that stops the flow of fluid. If you have air contamination it can harm the hydraulic components by not having enough grease, cause overheating and diminishing the capacity of the seal.

Water contaminates the hydraulic components by corrosion, cavitation, changing the fluid viscosity and lessens the grease film strength. If you have hard fragments it will speed up the wear of your components. The damage that is does to your system depends on different kinds of debris that goes thru the internal clearances of said component. The size and how much of debris will affect the fluid and operating pressure.

If the debris is bigger than the clearance of a component it can alter the grease drilling and orifices. And if the debris is the same as the clearance of the component, it may cause wear and tear on the said component. The smaller or real fine debris that is 5 micron or less are erosive. And since they are so small, they can cause extensive damage before you know it because you are not paying attention to that type of debris.

There is a chart to tell the clearances for certain types of units to what size debris may travel thru it.

If you need further help with this, call us at 800-361-0068

sales@hydrostatic-transmission.com