Hydraulic systems often use offline filtration circuits to keep hydraulic fluid in the reservoir. These circuits use a small recirculating pump that draws fluid from the reservoir and routes it through a high-efficiency filter. The clean fluid then flows back into the reservoir but often is first routed through a heat exchanger to reduce its temperature. They’re called kidney loops not because of their shape, but because they perform the same function as our own kidneys, which remove toxins and other contaminants from our bloodstream.
Kidney loops are known for their effectiveness and achieving and maintaining target fluid cleanliness levels. In fact, offline filtration systems are often mounted on portable carts that can be travel from one machine to another. This allows many machines in a plant to reap the benefits of offline filtration without the expense of specifying a dedicated kidney loop for each machine.
APSCO Inc., Tulsa, Okla., introduced a new spin on the kidney loop with its ARC-30, a hydraulic reservoir that incorporates an offline filtration and cooling loop. The ARC-30 is a 4-gal reservoir rated for flows to 30 gpm. An important benefit is its compact design: It’s less than 20-in. tall, just over 20-in. deep, and less than 8-in. wide. This small size makes it easy to tuck away the ARC-30 in unused space of a machine, but its brushed-stainless-steel finish and clean look fits right in with many of today’s tech-look designs.
APSCO officials say the ARC-30 provides greater heat rejection per inch of frame space than alternative products. They also point out that it is designed for low maintenance, and filter elements and all other components can be serviced without removing the unit from equipment.
Standard features include SAE ORB ports for suction, return, case drain, high-pressure line (up to 4,000 psi), and pressure gauge, hydraulic fan drive for the oil cooler, 10-µm tank-top filter with 25 psid bypass, bullseye sight glass, and 60 psid heat exchanger bypass for cold startup. Also included is a relief valve that can be adjusted from 500 to 3,000 psi.
For more information on the ARC-30, call APSCO at (918) 622-5600, or click here.
