In order to keep your Cat equipment running strong, you’ll want to engage in preventive maintenance techniques to get ahead of any potential issues that may arise. One easy process you can add to your preventive maintenance schedule is fluid sampling. When performed regularly, fluid analysis can help your organization avoid downtime due to breakdowns and can help extend the life of your machine. Watch our short video on fluid sampling:
Video Transcription
Hi, this is Dave with today’s Quick Tip.
We’re often asked how to take a good fluid sample without getting any contamination and today I’m going to show you how.
For this example, we are going to take a hydraulic oil sample.
First, you pop the cap off and wipe off the valve.
Before we take our sample we need to prep our two sample bottles.
Keep the final cap in the bag until you are ready to seal your clean sample so you don’t contaminate it.
Go ahead and start the machine up.
Insert the tube into the valve and take your clean out sample.
You don’t need to fill the bottle here. Just a little bit will do the trick.
Next, use the other bottle to take your sample that will be sent to the fluid analysis lab.
We want to fill this sample all the way up.
Place your clean cap on the bottle.
Label with your machine number and machine hours and send it off to the fluid analysis lab.
Regular fluid sampling is so important as it can help prevent unplanned downtime and extend the life of your machine.
That’s been today’s Quick Tip, thanks for watching.
Let’s take a deeper look at how fluid analysis can be performed on your Cat machine.
Fluid Sampling in Seven Simple Steps
Follow this easy, seven-step process to analyze the condition of your Cat equipment fluids:
- Pop the cap
- Wipe off the valve
- Prepare two sample bottles. While you do this, keep the final cap in a bag until you’re ready to seal the clean sample. This helps prevent impurities from contaminating your sample.
- Start up your machine.
- Insert the test tube into the valve for your first sample. You don’t need to fill the bottle all the way — just obtain a small amount of fluid.
- Take a second bottle sample, this time filling the bottle all the way. This second sample will be sent to the lab for analysis.
- Place a clean cap on the bottle and send it to the lab. Be sure to include a label that shows the serial number of your machine and the number of service hours at the time the sample was taken.
That’s it! This simple process can help you obtain fluid samples in an easy manner that doesn’t take up too much of your time.
Why Should I Engage in Fluid Analysis?
Your Cat machine is engineered to provide years of reliable service, but still needs regular maintenance to ensure proper operation and to avoid breakdowns. Fluid analysis can help you schedule downtime, anticipate future repair charges and establish a pattern of regular service history should you sell your machine later on.
Like oil changes at regular intervals for your automobile, maintaining awareness of your Cat machine’s fluid state is a smart way to ensure its long-term operation.
MacAllister Machinery: Fluid Analysis Experts
If you’re looking to establish regular fluid analysis intervals for your Cat equipment, MacAllister Machinery can help. With locations throughout Indiana and Michigan, we offer Cat equipment sales, rentals and service. Our expert team is well-versed in all facets of Cat maintenance. Contact us today to speak with a member of our team.