Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eerAiTTnqcg (6 min)

About 40% of our customers have never owned an excavator, skid steer or other hydraulic machine before. In this video Mike from Rippa USA Sales explains, in plain terms, how a hydraulic system works and why it matters when you check the oil.

THE BASICS

- A holding tank stores the hydraulic oil.

- Depending on the machine, there is an oil cooler.

- A hydraulic pump, which on the smaller Rippa machines sits under the cover, pushes and pulls oil through hoses to the right cylinder.

- Cylinders do the work: boom, stick, bucket, thumb, quick connect, dozer blade, swing boom and more.

- When you move a joystick, you are telling the pump what you want. It sends oil to extend a cylinder and pulls oil back to the tank when the cylinder retracts.

WHY THE OIL LEVEL CHECK MATTERS

Oil moves between the tank and the cylinders as they extend and retract, so the level in the tank changes with the position of the machine.

- Check the oil with the cylinders retracted, as shown in your manual, and bring the level up to the mark (the red dot) rather than filling the tank to the top.

- If you overfill while cylinders are extended and then retract them, the returning oil has nowhere to go. It can blow out of the breather, damage seals on the cylinders or cause other problems down the road.

- A reading that looks very low with the cylinders extended may be normal once everything is retracted.

Questions? Call Rippa USA Sales at 817-382-3201 or visit RippaUSASales.com. We deliver nationwide with flat rate shipping, and you get 50% off attachments when you buy a machine from us.