The owner, an authentic and quite indignant farmer, quickly said: “Listen here, in this lecture of yours, are we going to see anything about hydraulics and gearbox oil?” And the answer also came from Talagaço: “Look, you..., if we wouldn't see; Let's go now. We will discuss all doubts and seek the best solution.” To which the farmer replied: “then it’s good.” And, still in doubt, he raised his eyebrows and with a low voice he commented to whoever was next to him: “I just want to see.”
The use and application of hydraulic force is increasingly present in agricultural machinery, a visible reality throughout rural areas, where human manual strength is removed from the scene to give way to rods, cylinders, levers and hydraulic motors, which, through linear and rotating movements, multiply forces and perform services more quickly and agility with fewer people involved. Tasks such as carrying, lifting, turning, overcoming obstacles, which used to involve five or more people and take an entire morning, are now performed by one or two people in just a few minutes. Likewise, when preparing the soil, planting and harvesting, the implements all rely on the power of the hydraulic system. Hydraulic systems are very simple and efficient resources which, in many cases, end up being forgotten and require maintenance and operational care.
Operation and maintenance go hand-in-hand in the various day-to-day services and tasks on the rural property. The preparation and operational technical capacity of operators must be the basis for the correct performance of the machinery.
It is the operator who spends most of the time with the machine, it is as if it were an extension of his arms and legs. Mastering commands and controls becomes something so natural that it ends up leading to automatism, which can lead to risks and damages. Therefore, the operator must be in a permanent state of alert and always execute the commands in an attentive manner, being aware of everything that is happening around them and whether there was in fact the expected result of the action of the executed command.
Hydraulic controls have evolved a lot, from levers and metal rods, which act directly on the control valves, to remote controls through remote controllers, through electro-hydraulic controls and joystick-type controls and central control manifolds. There has been a very significant evolution in hydraulics, but the end result is always the application and multiplication of forces.
If we compare an operator handling a lever where the control acts directly on the valve, making him perceive the displacement and passage of oil under pressure, with current control procedures, where he moves a light joystick in an air-conditioned and acoustic cabin and has no the same perception of oil displacement, there is a considerable difference in the perception of the effort of the assembly. However, the hydraulic system is present and even with higher pressure, and therefore with greater multiplication of forces and results, or damage, if care and attention are not present. It has greatly improved in comfort, facilities, speed and results, but it also requires much more agility and perception capacity from the operator. I have seen cases of serious accidents with machines that tipped over or collided with obstacles, where the operator reports that he did not see or realize the risks because he was in a comfortable and distracted position. Permanent surveillance, lots of guidance and teamwork, and support from the management and operational sectors.
What about maintenance? Let's take it the way it is for as long as we can stand it? Maintenance of hydraulic systems is quite simple when compared to other mechanical assemblies. Of course, preventive maintenance, as corrective maintenance is another approach, more expensive and requires specialized tools and work teams. Next, we will discuss some preventive maintenance items for hydraulic assemblies.
Replacing filter elements must be carried out within the periods recommended by the machine manufacturer, or depending on working conditions, change them in advance, but never postpone them. It is important to highlight the observance of the filtering capacity specifications of the elements, as if this capacity is not in accordance, it could compromise the entire system, or the filtration process simply not take place, causing damage to the system components. Normally the hydraulic filter change service is included in conjunction with other preventive services, and the recommended number of hours may vary, ranging between 300 and 1.000 hours of operation, depending on the brand or model of the equipment or a maximum of one year of operation. use. In cold and humid climates the period must be shortened.
This is where one of the main items of preventive maintenance resides, and as paradoxical as it may seem, it is where it is most neglected in the execution of the fluid change service. Perhaps due to the cost or lack of knowledge of the importance of replacement, as the appearance of the oil often does not demonstrate the need for change. But it is one of the services that we have witnessed non-compliance on several occasions, as the visual aspect of the oil is very deceiving, although its appearance may be good, in fact it no longer has the same physical-chemical characteristics necessary for correct performance for the which it was designed. And, therefore, the final result of applying hydraulic force will no longer be the same, in addition to the loss of performance, it will also lead to other problems with the system valves and, mainly, in the manifold control centers.
Therefore, it is not worth delaying changing the hydraulic fluid, even though it is relatively expensive. The resulting costs, due to non-replacement, will undoubtedly be higher.
Another important item to highlight is following the specifications recommended by the manufacturer and not mixing different oils. Here there is a huge problem in rural areas, as the implements attached to the tractor, in many cases, work with oils of different specifications, but use the tractor's hydraulic system. It is easy to see how much oil mixing takes place “out in the field” in this immensity of machines, implements and services to be carried out. The vast majority of implements use one of the following three ISO VG specifications, which is an international standard for the viscosity level of hydraulic oil, with the oldest implements using the well-known “68”, then “46” and currently the “32”, all according to the ISO standard. However, tractor manufacturers do not always adopt such a standard, but there is an equivalence table, which is not always observed. And then comes the operation and maintenance problem.
What happens when the tractor oil has a different specification than the implement? Example, the tractor uses the “68” and the implement was sized for the “46”. Most operators would say to use it anyway and there will be no problem. It will be? It may not cause an immediate problem, but maintenance will soon have repair services, in addition to the implement not performing correctly.
But what would be the solution? When purchasing the implement, check whether it matches the tractor. Of course, we know that this is not our reality. There are several types of implements and therefore with different oil specifications, as well as the tractors on the properties are also diverse. We have a long way to go to resolve these nuances of hydraulic fluid in agricultural implements. Perhaps one of the solutions would be for the implement to have an exclusive system with its own reservoir, a fact that already occurs in larger implements, where it uses the traction bar and the tractor's power take-off and not the hydraulics.
Hoses and connections are components that are normally exposed and therefore suffer the action of climate change and various types of services where there is the presence of dust and abrasive and corrosive products used in rural areas. Therefore, the physical conditions of the hoses must be periodically checked, especially regarding the presence of ruptures and cracks in the flexible material, as well as the presence of leaks at the connections. In the event of any of these facts, replacement must be provided, as there is no pre-determined period for replacement, so the operation and maintenance teams must frequently inspect such components. What is certain is that if this is not done, the problem of hoses or connections breaking will occur when the system is performing services, and then the damage will be greater, including the risk of accidents, in addition to the delay in execution, the costs for corrective maintenance, which are higher. .
Up-to-date preventive maintenance and trained operators, this is the direction to follow, or we will have permanent problems with the tractor and its mechanical assemblies, including the gearbox and hydraulics. Concrete facts of good maintenance planning are already possible to be observed in some rural properties and we are moving in this direction.
Training and qualification combined with professional ethics. How to apply it in rural routines? There is no ready-made formula, as the peculiarities change according to each reality, but we can draw a guideline of basic guidelines for operators. We list a few:
• Show and identify to operators the various structural assemblies and their functioning on the machine. The more the operator knows the structure and operation, the more he will know how to perform and recognize the machine's limits.
• Train operators to carry out the daily inspection of the machine as recommended by the manufacturer and/or maintenance teams, as an inspection carried out correctly before starting the daily journey prevents many breakdowns and problems throughout the day and the consequent loss of performance. Carry out the inspection and take the necessary measures to solve detected problems.
• Permanently guide teams on the importance of ethical and professional behavior appropriate to the performance of tasks. This is an aspect that we highlight with great emphasis in our current reality, as our society is going through a crisis in these values. Those who deal with machines, if they do not have these behaviors, become a threat to everyone around them. In addition, of course, to being a destroyer of equipment – a “grinder” of a machine.
Article published in the Magazine Cultivate Machines #201
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