Tech Talk 4: Hydraulic fluids

Risk advisory | August 2018
Most industries use hydraulic systems and hydraulically operated equipment. A large percentage of metal and plastics forming equipment has some form of hydraulic system. The development of such systems saw the replacement of water with mineral oil based systems. Mineral oils are excellent hydraulic fluids in that they are stable, lubricate well and can be custom blended for a variety of uses. They do not corrode equipment and generally are inexpensive and in plentiful supply. The down-side is that mineral oils burn. In fact they burn particularly well especially when under pressure and forming an atomized spray leaking from a hose, gasket or pipe joint.
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