The door goes up.  The door goes down.  The door goes up.  The door goes down.  The door refuses to go back up and now you’re cremating blindly because you have an issue with your hydraulic cylinder, or line that raises and lowers your door.  According to Kyle Lewis of Cylinders, Inc., “not only is this frustrating, but hydraulic leakage can pose both a danger to machinery and staff.”

“Dangers of leaking hydraulic fluid include oil consumption increase, reduced machinery efficiency of hydraulic systems, damage to the environment, risk of personal safety, machine component malfunction and lower financial efficiency.”  He went on to state, “Hydraulic leakage can also pose a risk to personnel in the form of fires, as there are often ignition sources in these facilities. Petroleum-based fluids, exposure to heat, and a high-pressured spray of leaking fluid create a perfect combination to produce a dangerous fire.”

While hydraulic fluid is not necessarily flammable, it is combustible in the presence of a source of ignition.  “The problem of loss caused by combustible hydraulic fluids has increased as a result of widespread use of hydraulic equipment. In a recent 10 year study, 346 fires were reported, causing more than $26 million in total losses,” as stated by Great American Insurance Group.  There are some fluids that are more hazardous and less hazardous.  “The less hazardous fluids are not entirely nonflammable, but their fire hazard has been greatly reduced.”

We had a fire on top of one of our cremation units at East Tennessee Cremation Company due to a slow hydraulic cylinder leak. Thankfully, we were able to mitigate any damages or losses, but the lessons we learned may be beneficial to others in the future.

It’s a best practice to perform frequent and competent inspections on all components of the hydraulic system, so you can detect leaks immediately and have them repaired. Contact your cremation unit manufacturer with any questions you may have.