Determining The Health of Hydraulics Fluids
Fluid is the lifeblood of every hydraulic power system. Knowing what's in hydraulic fluid is crucial to keeping it in good health—and keeping systems at peak operating performance.

Vickers Fluid Analysis Service, offered by Eaton Hydraulics, is an industry leader, capable of detecting the fluid contaminants that cause up to 90% of hydraulic system failures.

Our Southfield, Michigan laboratory provides Eaton distributors and customers with comprehensive fluid testing and diagnostic services on demand.

Similar to Blood Testing
The lab analyzes hydraulic fluid samples in the same way as a medical lab tests blood samples. Just as a medical lab provides blood analysis that can help a doctor diagnose health problems, our lab pinpoints sources of contaminants that can be contributing to poor system performance.

Our analysis services can help reduce catastrophic equipment failure, maintain optimum component performance, and identify any substandard maintenance practices. Overall, the bottomline benefit is increased productivity for our customers.

ISO Certified
Vickers Fluid Analysis Service is ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 9002 certified, ensuring the lab meets stringent requirements for sound laboratory management and technical competency for fluid testing.

Getting Started
Eaton distributors and customers begin the analysis process by drawing hydraulic or lubrication system fluid using an Eaton fluid analysis kit. The two kits styles in the chart below allow users to choose different levels of testing.

Following kit instructions, users simply place the fluid sample in the kit's ultra-clean specimen container and send it to Vickers Fluid Analysis at the address on the container.

Upon receipt, lab technicians immediately go to work to determine the health of the hydraulic fluid, using sophisticated computer programs and laboratory diagnostic equipment.

Filtration Kit Features:

Testing may include:

• Photomicrography—
  Detects fluid contaminants, including size and type
• Viscosity Analysis—
  Measures fluid flow rate
• Water Analysis—
  Determines water content in a fluid
• Drawdown Particle Isolation—
  Detects insoluble contaminants in fluids, including insoluble particles and organic and inorganic matter
• Automatic Particle Count—
  Counts the number and size of particles in a fluid sample, then defines contaminants according to size distribution and quantities
• Spectrographic Analysis—
  Evaluates the condition of additives in a fluid, which aids in assessing fluid cleanliness levels
• Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ASTM 1508)—
  Pinpoints contaminant types, which aids in identifying their origin

24-Hour Turnaround
Within 24 hours, the lab provides users with an accurate fluid analysis that is covered in the cost of the kit.

Included in each analysis is a detailed report and photos of the contaminants in an easy-to-understand format, plus tips on improving or maintaining current fluid condition.