Top Tips for Heavy Equipment Fluid Management

Best Practices for Fluid Management

Primary fluids in heavy equipment—particularly engine and transmission oils, coolants, and hydraulic fluids—are very important to keep filled to keep your machine alive.

When something is off with any of the fluids, the machine’s performance suffers. That means efficiency and productivity at the job site can decrease.

To avoid unnecessary maintenance expenses, look at the following tips to manage your machinery fluids.

• Refer to each piece of machinery’s operator’s manual to determine the right fluids and capacities, as well as the recommended service intervals.
• Never use out-of-spec fluids or fluid mixtures.
• Change fluids according to the schedule in the equipment manufacturer’s manual.
• Adhere to the manual’s oil viscosity grade recommendations based on current atmospheric temperatures.
• Ask Ranko Equipment for input about fluid management that is personalized to your specific machine based on your usage, as well as anything you need to know about how your warranty can be affected.
• Maintain a spreadsheet that identifies the oils needed for each type of equipment you own.
• Keep all the oils and other fluids your machines require in stock and label them accordingly for which equipment they go with.
• Clearly label which machines or components take any specialized fluids you have on hand.
• Store fluids in appropriate bottles, drums, tanks, or other containers as advised by the manufacturer to avoid any type of contamination.
• Pay close attention to storage instructions for diesel exhaust fluid, as it must be carefully protected against contamination, evaporation, and extreme temperatures!
• Flush machine coolant systems three times before changing coolants, as different types or brands of coolant should never mix.
• Only use de-ionized or distilled water when mixing coolant from concentrate to keep it performing at peak capabilities.
• Keep track of all fluid consumption and keep an eye out for irregularities.
• Contact Ranko Equipment promptly about changes to fluid consumption or conditions.
• Ask us about periodic fluid sampling tests that analyze the condition of liquid components; these can give early warnings about problems in a variety of systems and spare you major downtime and repair costs.