To say the United States is an oil-producing nation is quite the understatement. In fact, it’s estimated that there are nearly 2.5 million miles of pipelines in the U.S. which transport oil from its source to markets where it can be refined.

But getting oil to market isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s produced in remote locations and must then be moved to market, whether by ship, by truck by rail or by pipeline. Once it arrives it must be refined in a refinery. In many cases, power cylinders play a big role to keep fluid systems running during the refining process and it’s essential that power cylinders systems be kept clean to keep everything running smoothly. With that in mind, here are three tips for proper power cylinder maintenance:

• Clean the oil: One of the most important things is the keeper oil clean the last thing you want is to have dirt particles get into your piping equipment and make its way into your cylinder, which can cause all sorts of problems. By having filters in your hydraulic system, refinery jobs will be a lot smoother. Using tools such as a pressure gauge and pop up indicators can alert you to when a filter is clogged and that way you can change it before anything catastrophic happens.
• Inspect: Another thing you can do to keep your power cylinder functioning correctly is to inspect it regularly. Look at the condition of the cylinder from time to time and look for signs of corrosion or uneven wear. Corrosion could mean you got excessive moisture within the oil that’s being filtered and that could potentially be a very bad thing for your hydraulic system. Uneven wear likely means that you got something misaligned.
• Rotate: Another helpful tip it’s periodically rotate your power cylinder. This keeps it fresh and helps minimize the risk of particle contamination or operating fatigue.
• Check everything: Another helpful thing you can do is to service the accessories you might use with your power cylinder in addition to the cylinder itself. For instance if pivot points or a clevis is worn that could contribute to misalignment and rapid wear of the parts. Your power cylinder is a highly precise machine and you want to make sure it’s functioning at its absolute best by servicing all the parts that contribute to the function of a power cylinder, you’ll be doing yourself a great service.

Power cylinders, air eliminators, pipe strainers, vane meters and gear meters all play an important role in machining and in the refining of oil. By taking time to clean oil, inspect your machinery and regularly checking accessories associated with said machinery will ensure that jobs go much more smoothly.