Hydraulic Fluid Temp

Lee,

A lot depends on the type of hydraulic fluid in your system. Normally, a hydraulic system will operate between 110 and 120 F. This is based on using mineral based oil on a standard system inside a building. If the oil gets to 130F you should stop your system and look for problems. If you run your system to 140F your system should automatically shutdown. At 140F and above you will start to breakdown your oil and you will begin to see problems with your system. As for the low side, operating an industrial system at too low a temperature can cause damage also. We ran several large forging presses and established minimum and maximum operating temps. The minimum temp was established to avoid undue damage or wear to our pumps, they were an axial piston pump. The max was to avoid damage to the system. Our low temp setting for starting the pumps was in the very high 90s. We wanted to reach 100F but production always started as quick as possible. We had a warning light come on at 130F and the system shut down at 140F. We were using a high viscosity fire-resistant oil. Your temps will vary depending on what you are running. I hope this gives you a starting point. There is a good book on hydraulic fluids called Hydraulic Fluids A Guide to Selection, Test Methods and Use by M. Radhakrishnan It will give you a good deal of information. I hope this helps. Good luck.