Farm Equipment

An agricultural implement manufacturer makes a piece of equipment that requires a manifold to be stacked on top of another. There are several ports in the manifolds that are not part of the design application and therefore must be plugged. Standard SAE J514 straight thread plugs presented various problems. The system's pressure spikes were instrumental in causing the SAE plugs to back out causing the hydraulic fluid to leak. Fluids reaching the soil was unacceptable from an operational, environmental and liability standpoint. The fluid leaking from between the stacked manifolds was also unsightly and messy. There was a production issue that involved the stacking of the manifolds and their being placed in a size restrictive area. The high profile of the head of the SAE plug required that the top of the port to be counter-bored to lower the external profile of the head. Furthermore, the bottom of the top manifold had to be recessed to accommodate the head of the SAE plug installed in the manifold below.

Socket head Zero-Leak Gold plugs were installed.

No more leaks were reported. No more soil contamination or unsightly hydraulic fluid on the equipment or manifolds. Maintenance costs were greatly reduced. Manifolds no longer needed to be taken apart to replace leaking plugs. Over all cosmetic appearance improved. The low profile of the Zero-Leak Gold plugs made it possible to eliminate the deep counter bore on the bottom of the top manifold, which resulted in reducing manufacturing costs.

The hydraulic valve block/cylinder combination is used on agricultural machinery.

The NPT ports were replaced with the SAE J1926 straight thread port. Zero-Leak Gold -06 socket head plugs were installed.

The ZLGP eliminated the leaks, and the sealant wasn’t necessary in making them easier to remove and reinstall.

Used as drain fill plug with a magnet to pull metal particles out of the system.

Installed Zero-Leak Gold M22 x 1.5 socket head metric plugs with flush-mounted magnets.

Solved leak and contamination problems. No chemical sealant required.

The NPT hex head plugs were used in hydraulic cylinder ports. The plugs were installed with a permanent type of chemical sealant. The NPT plugs had to be heated in order for them to be removed. Cleaning of the plugs and ports after removal and prior to reinstallation was a concern.

The cylinder ports were changed to the SAE J1926 straight thread configuration so that -06 and -08 socket head Zero-Leak Gold plugs could be installed.

The Zero-Leak Gold plugs have provided a higher-quality product with a low-profile plug. The ZLGP eliminated the leaks, as well as the need for a chemical sealant making removal and reinstallation a non-issue.