Thoughts from a Hydraulic Shop: Proactive Maintenance

By CS Hydraulics • 11 Feb, 2020 • 0 Comments

Balancing Cost Savings while Maximizing Up-Time

Let’s face it - when we want something these days, we want it now. Amazon, Zappos, Wal-Mart, Costco, or name-your-big-retailer all deliver a huge variety of consumer goods in a short period of time. Heck, I just ordered a replacement battery for my Dyson vacuum from Amazon on Sunday afternoon, and it was delivered on Monday!

Many hydraulic components are readily available, and at Central States, we keep a huge inventory of chromed rod, honed tube, seals, hoses, couplings, and fittings. If a machine breaks a rod or blows out a seal or grenades a pump, there’s nothing you can do except react. In those situations, Central States is here to remedy the situation as fast as possible and for the right price. When you consider our inventory vs the time you need to ship a new component, we can have that hose made or that cylinder rebuilt before the postman can even dream about delivering your component.

However, given the costliness of downtime, it is best to be proactive whenever possible. We have several customers that keep spare machines or trucks, that way they can rotate out any unit needing maintenance and continue their operations. We have other customers that plan around jobs.

For example, a customer brought us a machine that needed the hydraulic pump rebuilt. That’s no problem for us. As we talked about the upcoming project the machine was bound for, the customer elected to also have us go through each motor - proactively. They didn’t believe there were any symptoms, but they also wanted to be sure their machine was ready to work hard when the time came. That was absolutely the right call. We found wear in two of the motors that was undoubtedly reducing performance and would only get worse over more time.

Another example, we had a customer bring us a machine and asked us to replace every hydraulic hose on the entire unit. They had a big project with a tight timeline, and they didn’t want to risk downtime or a blown hose making a mess.

Even the simple task of replacing your hydraulic fluid filters on a routine interval is an effective, proactive step towards limiting your downtime. As we've written before, contaminants are detrimental to hydraulic systems.

Whatever your situation, proactive or reactive, we’re here for you. Either way, let us help limit your downtime!


-The CSH Team

Thoughts from a Hydraulic Shop: 2020 Vision

By CS Hydraulics • 31 Dec, 2019 • 0 Comments

Reflecting on 2019 and looking at the year ahead! -Time

Happy New Year, friends!

Central States Hydraulics has experienced several exciting changes throughout 2019. We were able to bring on additional team members; procure new equipment; expand our inventory; and increase our service radius. Our commitment to quality, timeliness, and competitive pricing has helped us grow. We focus on these factors in order to deliver the best value to our customers and their businesses.

So, what do these team members, equipment, etc. mean for you in 2020?

We already had many unrivaled overall capacities (6000PSI, 100GPM, 450HP pump test stand; 50,000 ft/lb NutBuster; 2x Honing stations; 20,000 sq/ft shop with room for semis, cranes, heavy equipment, etc).... But we stepped up another notch with an ENORMOUS new Lathe which is capable of machining up to an astonishing 25” x 30’ rod or barrel OR 12.5” x 50’ rods & barrels when utilizing the spindle bore aka through-hole. Whatever cylinder you have - we can machine new components for it!

Dedicated to timeliness, we brought on board additional service and machinist team members. We know your equipment needs to stay up and running, so we strive to have the manpower to maintain effective turnaround times. Machines can’t make money when they’re broke down!

Also motivated by timeliness, we have increased our inventory and continue to bring in more parts and products. We don’t like to wait on shipping and neither do you. We do what we can to mitigate the unpredictability of the freight industry. Chromed rod in metric and standard; honed tubing for barrels; cast iron for pistons and glands; more seals in our seal room than you could shake a stick at! Where we’ve really grown inventory lately is in the hose & fittings department. We now carry even more fittings, step sizes, metric, and CAT flanges in addition to code 61 & code 62 flanges. Still more, we are stocking an expanded line of Stucchi couplings; including their line of VEPHD couplers which are found on CATs, DEEREs, and more. If you might need it, we want to have it on our shelf!

Do us a favor in 2020 and tell your friends about us! Another great option is to leave us a Google or Facebook review for all to see! We are always looking to serve those in need! You know the drill - cylinders, pumps, motors, hoses, fittings, hot water pressure washers, soaps, steel line, couplers - all kinds of fun stuff. 2019 was a good time, but we are excited for 2020! Our vision is to tackle big, challenging pumps, cylinders, and motors; to continually refine our procedures in order to deliver our promises to our customers; and to abide by the golden rule - treat others as we wish to be treated. What are your visions for 2020? 

Wishing you & yours a happy and healthy 2020!

-The CSH Team

Thoughts from a Hydraulic Shop: Why We Specialize in Fluid Power

By CS Hydraulics • 20 Nov, 2019 • 0 Comments

Thank you for trusting us with your hydraulic needs

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we want to express our gratitude for all of our customers who have helped us grow over the years. We appreciate the opportunity to serve each and every one of you! We are thankful for where we are today, and we look forward to the future.

Hydraulics are a unique ecosystem within heavy machinery, manufacturing systems, OTR vehicles, and numerous other applications. The diagnostics of which are often complex.

So, why are we a hydraulic shop? We got into the hydraulic space because we saw a need for expertise in the industry. And you, our great customers, have validated our dream by bringing us a variety of problems to solve and equipment to repair. You are the reason we specialize in hydraulics.

It’s hard to be a jack-of-all-trades. Being that ‘jack-of-all-trades’ but a ‘master-of-none’ can lead to costly oversights due to lack of knowledge. Is it reasonable to expect a diesel technician to also understand the intricacies of a tandem, closed loop, hydrostatic pump with open loop load sense auxiliary plus an external charge pump plumbed to multiple motors, valves, and cylinders? We think not. At Central States, we steer clear of things outside our wheelhouse and focus on what we know - hydraulic pumps, motors, valves, hydrostats, cylinders, fittings, hoses, and steel line.

We started with a fascination for fluid power. The shear strength produced by Pascal’s law allowing relatively small components to move mountains of concrete, dirt, snow, and debris. After 2 years of training, we got our feet wet with cylinders and some machine work, gradually increasing our capacities. We expanded into repairing pumps, motors, and valves. Every step of the way, we were learning and evolving. We now proudly maintain in-house capabilities that are unrivaled. 6000 PSI, 100 GPM pump testing facility; multiple lathes with capacity for any size cylinder; massive inventory to ensure the quickest turnaround possible; and a team of experts dedicated to our customers.

Thank you for your patronage! We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Holiday Season.

Cheers!

-The CSH Team