Overheating is a common, constant issue for hydraulic equipment, especially when working in scorching summer conditions. Over time, this can have negative consequences for critical machinery:
Overheating accelerates oil degradation, causing varnish and sludge to coalesce in the system and cause blockages and reduce operating efficiency.
Shortened oil lifespan forces more frequent oil change-outs, increasing both downtime and oil-related expenses for new purchases and recycling.
Oil degradation products can damage system components and force the equipment’s engine to overcompensate.
Keep Cool and Collected with the FTC
Schroeder’s new Filter Tank Cooling Unit (FTC) is a compact solution for mobile fleet vehicles that combines a hydraulic tank assembly and cooling unit in one complete package.
Condensed, efficient footprint ideal for the space limitations of mobile vehicles; most optimized tank/cooler combination currently available
Integrated cooling unit maintains safe operating temperature, extending fluid life and preventing overheating in the hydraulic system
Reduces weight, space utilization, and oil usage; provides associated cost savings
Air Fusion Technology filtration and a robust, rotomolded 7-gallon TNK design to reduce weight and increase the efficiency of the reservoir’s performance and deaeration capabilities
Schroeder Success: FTC Unit Increases Machine Space on Mobile Fleet Vehicles
An OEM producing mobile fleet units sought a lighter, more space-efficient alternative for their 25 gallon hydraulic unit and separate cooling unit, which took up considerable room on the mobile unit.
Schroeder Industries engineered the FTC unit to utilize space as efficiently as possible while delivering optimal performance from the hydraulic reservoir and cooling unit, allowing OEMs to further streamline and improve their equipment designs.
Here’s how this customer benefited!
Tank + Cooling Assembly Footprint Substantially Downsized
18 Gallon Reduction in Reservoir Size; Reduced Oil Usage Per Unit
Increased Machine Space for Further Design Improvements
Can the FTC Unit help you beat the heat? Ask the experts!
The product experts at Schroeder Industries can help you find the optimal solution for your application. Let us know how we can help!
Over the last decade, users of hydraulic systems noticed a sharp increase in unusual failures and contamination within their equipment, including:
Burned and discolored filter elements
Rapid oil degradation
Prematurely worn, damaged components
Electrical arcing outside of the system
The culprit? Electrostatic discharge, also known as ESD, was becoming more frequent within hydraulic equipment. Static buildup is already a known issue, but why was it suddenly happening more often, and to greater extremes?
Behind the ‘Electrifying’ Increase in ESD
Fundamentally, static discharge in a hydraulic system is caused by friction—just like how shuffling across carpet in thick socks allows you to lightly zap someone else with static electricity. Oil may be a lubricant, but there is still some friction between hydraulic fluid and the filter media it passes through, and thus, static buildup can occur.
In a system with highly conductive hydraulic fluid or oil, this static buildup is more easily absorbed and evenly distributed. This prevents the worst effects of electrostatic discharge. However, environmental standards driving changes in oil composition meant that low conductivity oil was becoming more widespread.
Group I ‘Lightly Refined’ Oils were once the most common class of hydraulic fluid.
These oils contained aromatics and heavy metals. Due to the presence of heavy metals, Group I oils have high electrical conductivity.
However, the heavy metals within Group 1 oils are mostly toxic. Due to this toxicity and the potential threat to the environment, Group 1 oils do not comply with newer, international environmental standards.
Group II & III ‘Hydrocracked’ or ‘Synthetic’ oils are replacing Group I oils as a more eco-friendly alternative.
Group II and III oils contain no toxins or carcinogens, as the toxic heavy metals have been removed.
Due to the lack of heavy metals, these oils have much lower electrical conductivity than Group 1 oils.
Between 2012 and 2020, the global market share of Group 1 oils fell by half, from 51% to roughly 26% of hydraulic oils in use. This trend is expected to continue. While moving away from Group I oils is much better for the environment, the proliferation of low conductivity oils led to more electrostatic discharge in hydraulic systems.
Effects of Electrostatic Discharge on Hydraulic Systems
Electrostatic discharge and static cause a variety of serious issues in hydraulic systems, including:
Damaged elements. Scorched, degraded filter elements are a hallmark of static buildup in a hydraulic system.
Increased contamination. When damaged, filter elements become unable to filter out contamination as intended, and the filter element itself may become a source of contamination as it degrades.
Reduced oil and component life. The increase in contamination and compromised filtration drastically reduces oil life and increases component wear.
Formation of sludge and varnish. As oil rapidly degrades, varnish is deposited in the system, affecting system function.
Fire risk. High amounts of ESD can potentially cause deflagration, or combustion of gas within the hydraulic reservoir.
Arcing and discharge outside of the system. In extreme cases, the electrostatic discharge can become so intense that it becomes an electrocution hazard to workers, as well as damaging to surrounding equipment.
Anti-Static Solutions from Schroeder Industries
Anti-Stat Premium and Anti-Stat Media from Schroeder industries are engineered to combat static buildup while providing robust filtration. Because levels of ESD can vary based on factors like fluid type and temperature, two levels of protection are available.
Both offer virtually the same efficiency as Schroeder’s standard, exceptionally powerful microglass media. For superior protection from both typical particulate contamination and the effects of electrostatic discharge, look no further!
NEW: Anti-Stat Premium
Anti-Stat Premium: Supercharged Static-Busting Capabilities For Extreme ESD
Specially formulated media dissipates electric charges before they can begin damaging your system
Eliminates all static buildup at the source
Effective for even the most critical cases of ESD, tackling conductivity values lower than 100 pS/m
See how these customers benefited from the static-suppressing characteristics of Anti-Stat Media!
When a paper mill was experiencing a shortened filter element life of just 30 days, Schroeder Industries stepped in to extend the filter life, reduce oil waste, and reduce unscheduled downtime.
A Schroeder expert immediately identified the signs of static discharge in the hydraulic system. As the elements were burned and degraded by the electrostatic buildup, they failed prematurely, forcing the customer to swap out elements much sooner than usual.
Switching to Anti-Stat Media took the shock out of their system, extending their filter life and leading to substantial savings!
An automotive plant contacted Schroeder Industries when, after switching to a new hydraulic oil, their oil lifespan dropped by as much as 80%.
The customer’s new oil blend was zinc and ash-free, meaning its conductivity was lower than their previous hydraulic oil. As we’ve discussed, the lower a hydraulic fluid’s conductivity, the more likely static buildup is to occur!
Burn marks and varnish on the customer’s used elements confirmed that electrostatic discharge was building up in the customer’s system. By switching to Anti-Stat Media, the customer was able to get the most out of their oil and more!
Rising oil and fuel costs, trends towards electrification, and overall concerns about sustainability across virtually every industry are driving an increased push for improved efficiency in the designs of hydraulic equipment.
One area where great opportunities for improvement lie is with the hydraulic tank. Due to inefficient designs, many machines operate with oversized hydraulic tanks containing more oil than needed.
Many benefits can be realized through tank optimization, including:
Increased energy efficiency
Overall machine weight savings
Steel and oil savings per machine
CO2 emission reduction
Tank downsizing
Additional machine space for other features
Read on to learn more about the benefits of optimizing your hydraulic reservoir, and how Schroeder Industries can help:
What Is Tank Optimization?
The goal of hydraulic tank optimization is to reduce the reservoir size and thus reduce its fluid volume. Two main factors determine how much a tank can be optimized:
Volume Utilization. In a suboptimal reservoir design, ‘dead zones’ can appear, where fluid stagnates and is not effectively utilized by the system. In a properly designed tank, every cubic inch of the hydraulic fluid should circulate within the reservoir. Dead zones can be detected by digital simulations, and are a strong indicator that tank optimization is needed.
Fluid Velocity. Fluid velocity impacts how well a tank can de-aerate, or release trapped air from within the fluid, and prevent new air from entering the fluid due to splashing. Increased air contamination causes a variety of issues within hydraulic systems, decreasing operating efficiency and component lifespan. Fluid velocity can be reduced through improved in-tank filtration and adjusting the structure of the hydraulic tank itself.
The Benefits of Hydraulic Tank Optimization
Here’s some of the ways optimizing a hydraulic tank design can benefit both OEMs and end users:
Cost Savings. Downsizing a reservoir with tank optimization means less steel and oil are needed upon initial construction, reducing up front manufacturing expenses for OEMs. Additional savings are passed on to end users, who will need less hydraulic oil to run the equipment over its lifetime.
Improved Energy Efficiency. A smaller reservoir with reduced fluid volume reduces the overall weight of the equipment, translating to improved energy efficiency. Lower fluid volume also reduces warmup time in cold start conditions. Any improvements in energy efficiency are especially important for electric-powered equipment, which relies on more limited battery power.
Increased Machine Space. A smaller hydraulic reservoir can allow overall downsizing of the equipment or make way for additional improvements to the design. Larger batteries or fuel tanks, cooling units and other beneficial modifications can be made when space is freed up within the machine.
Sustainability Benefits. Tank optimization reduces the carbon footprint of an operation in several ways:
1. By downsizing a reservoir, less hydraulic oil must be produced and then disposed of, reducing the emissions from both the initial manufacturing of the oil and lowering the amount of waste oil per machine.
2. The carbon footprint of initial construction is also mitigated by the reduction in materials needed to create the reservoir itself.
3. Improvements in fuel efficiency for diesel and other fossil fuel-powered equipment reduces CO2 and other harmful emissions overall.
4. Finally, the increase in energy efficiency and available machine space can open up avenues for electrifying equipment, or improving the performance of electric-powered machines, which are at the forefront of sustainable equipment.
The benefits of optimizing your tanks are clear, and the filtration experts at Schroeder Industries can help you get the most out of your reservoir.
Tank Optimization Services from Schroeder Industries
Schroeder Industries is leveraging our extensive experience in hydraulic system filtration components towards tank optimization. Through cutting-edge flow simulations, our experts can identify dead zones and inefficiencies in hydraulic tank designs and work with your company to develop a solution that suits your specific application.
The benefits of optimizing your hydraulic tank are more than just theory. In the following case study, learn how one OEM saw substantial savings with Schroeder’s tank optimization services:
An OEM customer producing stump grinding machines for the forestry industry came to Schroeder Industries searching for updated filtration solutions.
An engineering analysis of their fabricated tanks found that not only were they heavy and prone to weld cracks: The volume utilization was subpar.
Further testing concluded that the existing Schroeder TNK12 would provide equivalent deaeration performance to the customer’s current tanks with a 40% reduction in tank volume.
This resulted in substantial savings on both oil and tank production cost in their stump grinder manufacturing:
Schroeder’s tank optimization services are backed by expertly crafted reservoirs and filters. Learn more about these premium products:
Lightweight tanks, heavyweight performance! The Schroeder Industries series of rotomolded HDPE tanks are lighter than traditional steel tanks, but built to take a beating in the field with no risk of corrosion. Available in five performance optimized sizes, with custom options available, there’s almost certainly a TNK for your application.
Engineered with baffling that improves deaeration and cools returning oil by creating settling zones, these tanks are designed to assist in the ever-important degassing of hydraulic fluid.
Specifications:
Tank Materials:
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Tank Volumes:
4 gal (15L) 7 gal (26L) 12 gal (45L) 18 gal (70L) 25 gal (100L)
Operating Temperature:
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)20°F to 180°F(-29°C to 82°C)
