In the interest of becoming the best that I am able to be, is there a good fundamental book that connects the principles of hydraulics to real-world scenarios, and gives definite answers to whether its the pump thats bad, or a valve? At todays prices for components, we cannot afford to be wrong, eh? Same question on electronics and electrical.....Thanks :Banghead
A book can only deliver the generalizations on a whole or specifics on single systems. The thing with what you are asking is that requires experience and critical thinking skills that are developed over time. There are a few books on general hydraulics but the specifics have to be found in the associated service manuals of what you are working on. Even then you are likely find find a manufacturer's bias toward their own equipment when providing the basics. A good example is the John Deere FOS series. Their hydraulics book is as good as any for general hydraulics. However it focuses mostly on the systems that John Deere actually uses and doesn't relate much to other manufacturers such as Cat, Komatsu, Hitachi and so on. To be blunt to answer your question, if you are working on a Cat, you will need the Cat service manual and a lot of experience to troubleshoot problems in the hydraulics or electronics.
The one thing I learned a long time ago in diagnosing hydraulics is to "follow the oil". Now that may sound stupid but when you think about it how many times do you jump into diagnosing a hydraulic system at the control valve or a cylinder, or whatever...? The oil starts from the tank, usually goes through some sort of strainer via a suction line to a pump, then from the pump via various control valves to the business end of the system, finally returning back to the tank via the return line filters. I know a lot of hydraulic systems are more complex that that but basically all of them work that way. IMHO if you want to properly diagnose a hydraulic system then you need to start where the oil starts (in the tank) and then follow the circuit from there, finally finishing up back in the tank again. Even if a lot of the things you check are simply ticking boxes at least if you follow the oil round the system you know that the system is/was correct up to the last point at which you put a tick in the box and your problem must be further downstream. My 2c FWIW.
http://www.gpmhydraulic.com/mhtmanual.php I came across this book, and wanted to see if anybody else had used it, and if its a good investment, or a waste of money, I suppose if I learned one concept that saved the day, it could be rewarding. anybody familiar with it? "Maintenance Hydraulic Troubleshooting manual" Thanks. Joel Martin, Service Dept. KMI, Inc. Buttonwillow, CA All Systems Go!
That's a good place to start: http://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/trouble-shooting.html
The guy is real proud of that book. I've seen it advertised before but never seen a copy of it. I'm always a little skeptical of people who say their product will solve all my problems so I would be a bit wary for that price. Then again any college class book is going to run at least that. Let us know what you think if you get it.
Ya I figured mebbe its good for a sawmill or a factory with complex systems, I wondered how much would apply to ag and construction equipment. I agree there is no substitute for 20 years experience. Thanks
It doesn't matter what industry a hydraulic system is working in, they all have to comply with the same physical laws and they all contain the same components. Only the size and number of the components, and therefore the complexity (or not) of the system will vary.
I think he speaks a lot of sense, such as ..... 1. Troubleshooting is a science, not a black art. 2. It's a skill that can be taught. 3. It's all about procedures. Whether I'd shell out $500 or anything else for that matter for it is debatable, but I wouldn't mind having a read of a copy if someone had one lying around.
Actually the book I refer to is around 80 with shipping so just checking if other book be more applicable. Thanks to you all. QUOTE=Nige;489669]I think he speaks a lot of sense, such as ..... 1. Troubleshooting is a science, not a black art. 2. It's a skill that can be taught. 3. It's all about procedures. Whether I'd shell out $500 or anything else for that matter for it is debatable, but I wouldn't mind having a read of a copy if someone had one lying around.[/QUOTE]
The JD FOS manuals are great for basic theory, I have a whole set from my apprenticeship and use them pretty regular as visual aids when helping my younger mechanics. John Deere University has some pretty good online courses available too. http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/services_and_support/training_and_safety/university_technician_training.page?
Check out the Internation Fluid Power Society, for $75 or so you can join. They have 12-15 different certifications and study manual for most of these. As a member you can download any of their manuals free. Material will range from basic to fairly complex.
I like the Eaton Mobile Hydraulics manual. I use it as the text book for my courses. I'm not a big fan of the FOS book for hydraulics at all anymore. I teach 150 hours of hydraulics to students before they begin an apprenticeship. 3/5ths of those hours are spent in the shop working on components and machines. If someone wants to be the best.... that's the way. I can't imagine someone grasping this info with no "live" guidance. However, I would say the most important skill is to be able to interpret the schematic and relate it to the iron. Knowing ISO symbols and line types and especially how DCV envelopes work on a schematic is valuable to understand what a machine is supposed to do. But wow... there's a lot know. I'm still learning and I've been teaching mobile hydraulics for 20 years.