Cool Factor

Expo guests given first-time look at Thermaflow hydraulic cooling system.
Cool Factor
Tom Klingbeil (right), production manager with STAC, explains to an Expo attendee how Thermaflow hydraulic oil cooling systems can save on equipment maintenance.

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A first-time exhibitor at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo, STAC was looking to acquaint visitors with its Thermaflow hydraulic cooling system. “They have to drive a blower or vacuum pump, and most of them are driven with a driveshaft,” says Tom Klingbeil, production manager with STAC. “We tried to explain to them how it could be driven hydraulically. And how hydraulics can save maintenance and [reduce] breakdown issues, as well as the actual handling of the unit itself when you’re loading and unloading.”

Following up on several leads from the show, Klingbeil says STAC will be back in 2014. “People really didn’t know what we had; they had never seen it before,” he says. “The fact that we had it on a rolling truck frame made it stick out; people were looking and wondering what it was.”

The stainless steel mobile hydraulic systems are available in three models (675, 932 and 500P) and mount behind the cab. The cooler can be mounted when the truck is built or added later.

The 100-pound model 675 is 12 inches wide, 34 inches tall and 34 inches long. It has a maximum flow rate of 50 gpm, standard psi of 3,000 and optional psi of 5,000. Reservoir capacity is 7.2 gallons.

The compact model 934 weighs 77 pounds and is 9.25 inches wide, 20 inches tall and 22 inches long. It has a maximum flow rate of 30 gpm, standard psi of 3,000 and optional psi of 5,000. Reservoir capacity is 4 gallons. Both the 675 and 934 have 1 1/2-inch NPT male suction porting and No. 12 JIC male pressure and return.

Designed for the propane bobtail market, model 500P uses a small amount of propane to cool the hydraulic system. The propane is pumped back into the bobtail tank, where it helps stabilize the tank to maintain higher flow and increase pump life by reducing cavitation. The unit has a maximum flow rate of 30 gpm and standard 3,000 psi. Weighing 52 pounds dry, the cooler is 7 inches wide, 17 1/2 inches tall and 13 1/2 inches long. The reservoir holds 2.5 gallons. The cooler has 1 1/2-inch NPT female suction porting and No. 12 JIC male pressure and return.

“Whenever you have a system running on hydraulics, the oil heats up, and heat is an enemy of oil,” Klingbeil says. “You have to remove the heat, and that’s what these [coolers] are designed to do. We can design the whole hydraulic system, use our coolers to cool the system and keep the weight down with a smaller reservoir.”

Klingbeil says the coolers can be used on anything that has a continuously operating motor. Maintenance generally involves checking the oil and filter and replacing the oil once a year. 800/334-7699; www.thermaflow.com.



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