Insane Hydraulics

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Bust-a-Pump Competition

Introduction

There hardly is a hydraulic shop in the world that doesn't know what a Rexroth A10VO pump is. Cheap and reliable, these series are an extremely widespread pumping solution for medium pressure/duty applications. Due to this fact, InsaneHydraulics.com decided to hold the first in the world "Rexroth Open Circuit Bust'a'pump Competition".

Prticipants

Three Bosh Rexroth A10VO45 series 31 open circuit hydraulic pumps.

Objective

To achieve the maximum amount of pump damage before the operator of the machine notices that "something's wrong..." and shuts the system down.

Conditions and Hardware

Mining equipment, total lack of preventive maintenance, sufficient cooling, operator care, or any other care whatsoever.

Evaluation Criteria

The condition of the swashplate, retainer, and pistons after the shutdown.

Competition Results

All of the three participants successfully managed to condition the operation of the attached machinery by failing the pumping action. However, it was not difficult to distinguish between places. Here you can see the parts used to define the 3d, the 2nd, and the 1st places.

The pump that got the 3d place did cause some damage to the swashplate and did separate the brass piston heads from the pistons, however, the retainer plate shamefully remained in one piece.

The 2nd place holder managed far more distinct swashplate damage and even disintegration of the retainer plate, however, the separated piston heads kept a somewhat recognizable shape.

The winner overwhelmed the judges with huge amounts of swashplate damage, the piston slippers were crushed into unrecognizable chunks, and the remaining steel piston heads were either separated or smashed down into beautifully tapered stumps. The depth of the groove that piston remains carved into the swashplate was considered to be exceptional.