Hytec Fluid Technology (HFT) workshop foreman and technician, Tony Greef, talks about the company’s accumulator refurbishment, testing and recertification service on offer from the Bosch Rexroth company’s Johannesburg facility.
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As part of its part of its accumulator service package, Hytec Fluid Technology (HFT) conducts legal parameter conformance testing on hydraulic accumulators followed, where necessary, by refurbishments and recertifications. The offering proves bladder accumulator conformance to PER and SANS 347 standards. HFT is able to test, refurbish and recertify Bosch Rexroth, Olaer and Hydac bladder accumulators in the capacity range 1.0 to 50 ℓ.
Other bladder accumulator brands, if accompanied by design drawings and parameter specifications, can also be tested at the company’s accumulation certification centre in Spartan, Johannesburg.
To test accumulator vessel expansion, vessels are subjected to a hydrostatic pressure test to 1.25 times the vessel’s working pressure – overseen by the Authorised Inspection Authority (AIA). Certified accumulators conform to the OHS Act (PER and SANS 347) with accumulators classified for ‘Industrial & Factory’ use being certified for 36 months and those classified with ‘Mine Health & Safety’ certification for 24 months.
“Testing accuracy on all parameters of reference is done to six decimal points,” notes HFT workshop foreman and technician, Tony Greef. “This allows for extremely accurate parameters to reflect and, subsequently, the most on-point certificate to be issued.”
Vessel wall thickness is verified using a five-point ultrasonic thickness test. In addition to recertification, the accumulator service includes: accumulator stripping; double cleaning; and reassembly with a new bladder, seal kit and anti-extrusion ring. Protective paint also forms part of HFT’s vessel refurbishment and recertification service.
Three accumulator units can be bench-mounted, harnessed and tested simultaneously, facilitating an approximate 60-minute testing turnaround per vessel. All test work is carried out on the HFT onsite accumulator test bench, an R800 000-investment developed by fellow Group Company Tectra Automation. “Downtime prevented or minimised for our clients due to this swift turnaround is directly in line with our motto: ‘We move – you win’,” Greef says.
“All safety and legislative boxes are ticked before we release a serviced and compliant accumulator,” he adds. “This means we give our customers peace of mind along with their recertification certificate.”
He further points out that new regulations pertaining to accumulator certification compliance are under discussion by the relevant authorities. “HFT will guarantee compliance with all new or revised regulations when conducting certification testing.”
Hytec Fluid Technology, a member of the Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group of Companies, is an ISO-9001 accredited company.
Generally used for applications in the power generation, steam, marine, aviation, process and injection moulding industries, as well as in refineries, all hired equipment is available directly from HFT.
“Making this equipment available to plants for rental periods is another example of how we live our motto – ‘We Move, You Win’,” Bottyan concludes.
Hytec Fluid Technology stocks and supplies a wide range of fluid conditioning equipment backed by expert technical support. The company is ISO-9001 accredited.
www.boschrexroth.africa/company/hytec-fluid-technology
