OEM Off-Highway Magazine

There seems to be widespread acceptance across the industry that hydraulic systems will eventually leak. The response typically has been to redesign products to reduce leakage or develop biodegradable fluids that won't harm the environment if leaking occurs.

"Companies don't like to have the leaks but it's accepted that they will occur," says Fritz J. Aichele, president of EPCO Products Inc., New Haven, IN, a manufacturer of marine products and hydraulic components.

Aichele notes many hydraulic components are touted as "virtually leak-free" and cites the banning of Freon to illustrate the general public's attitude. Freon was banned because chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) can damage the ozone if leaked into the environment. The answer to that problem was to create biodegradable refrigerants.

The patented NWD technology used in EPCO's Zero-Leak Gold port entry plugs forms metal-to-metal contact for the primary seal and has an O-ring in place to form a back-up secondary seal.

The same, Aichele says, is true in hydraulic systems. New biodegradable fluids are developed to reduce the harmful effects of leaks rather than eliminate leakage entirely.

Aichele says EPCO, awarded the U.S. Senate Productivity Award in 1988, has taken a different approach by designing a product it believes will eliminate the leaks associated with standard SAE straight thread plugs.

"There is a tremendous need in this industry to stop leaks for downtime and environmental reasons," Aichele says. "If a hydraulic system goes down in the field, you can't just cover it up. You have to do a full-scale cleanuup that can run into thousands of dollars."

EPCO's plugs have no leaks reported to date and the company guarantees its ZeroLeak Gold (tm) port entry plugs against leaks for the entire life of the product.

A risky business?

A guarantee like this could be a risky proposition but Aichele says EPCO's confidence in its product comes from a patented design that has stood up to rigourous testing - without leaks.

The fittings, used in diesel engine applications, manifolds, hydraulic brake systems, off-highway applications and wherever vibration and pressure spikes occur, were developed and patented by Nigel Williamson, Ph.D., M.E. He sought to develop a multiple seal system that didn't leak by eliminating the high torque
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