Seasonal maintenance tips for your workshop equipment

By Pavan Jheeta

Good workshops know the value of keeping their equipment in top condition.

But the best workshops are looking ahead as things change — preparing their kit for the cold and warm months and the drastic effect they can have on their tools.

It’s especially important for workshops in the UK, where cold and warm spells can arrive without warning outside of the usual expected routine.

Here are the plans you should be putting in place to keep your equipment healthy and your workshop running smoothly:

 

Spring and summer

As the weather warms up and the harsh winter fades, the extra heat and moisture can have an effect on your workshop equipment.

And that means the mild months in spring are the best time to prepare for the heavy heat that’s coming in the summer months ahead.

 

1.  Checking fluid levels

Warmer weather causes fluids to expand, which ‘thins out’ the fluid by reducing its viscosity.

That can have an effect on a huge range of your workshop tools and equipment — especially hydraulic systems like vehicle lifts and hydraulic presses.

So as temperatures start to climb, make sure you’re regularly checking your:

  • Hydraulic fluid levels
  • Oil levels
  • Lubricant levels
  • And any hoses and reels for damage and wear.

 

2.  Adjusting lubrication

Hotter weather has an effect on your lubricating fluids. But it also has an effect on the solid components in your equipment, too:

As temperatures rise, metals expand — changing the shape and size of the moving parts inside your equipment.

This can lead to higher friction inside your equipment, especially with equipment that uses pistons, bearings, and rollers.

With reduced lubrication and the same stress and loads, your equipment can suffer more wear and tear or could even become damaged and fail completely.

You may need to use more lubricant than your equipment normally needs — or you may need to switch to a lubricant with a higher viscosity for the warmer summer months.

 

3.  Checking electronics

It’s not just fluids and parts that suffer from the heat. The electronics in your equipment can be affected, too:

As components heat up and expand, their properties and efficiency can change. Any heatsinks or fans that keep circuitry cool can struggle to keep up with the warmer weather — and this can have an effect on the results your workshop gets.

So during the warmer months, you should be:

 

Autumn and winter

When the cold weather hits and temperatures drop, your workshop equipment can run into a whole new set of issues.

Just like spring, autumn is the perfect time to start preparing for the worst of it — putting measures in place to get your workshop ready for the cold.

 

1.  Check for cracks and faults

In the same way metal components can expand in the heat, they contract in the cold.

This contraction can lead to an increase in ‘brittleness’ — or the likelihood of parts suffering from fractures and failures.

So as the temperatures drop, you should be regularly inspecting your structural equipment — especially heavy-load equipment like your vehicle lifts and hydraulic presses.

But it’s not just the big-ticket items that need attention:

Even smaller tools can suffer from cracks and failures — which means you should be regularly checking your tyre changers and manual handling tools.

 

2.  Switch to low-temperature fluids

During the summer months, fluids expand and ‘thin out’, reducing their viscosity and their efficiency inside the equipment.

But in the colder months, the opposite happens:

Lubricants, oils, and hydraulic fluids can contract in cold temperatures, increasing their viscosity and becoming thicker and less fluid.

This can mean your equipment becomes sluggish and slow — or it could lead to an increase in friction that creates extra wear and tear on components and systems.

For some types of equipment, you can switch to lubricants and hydraulic fluids that are designed for colder temperatures — helping them maintain their fluidity and viscosity at the right levels for the equipment they’re used in.

 

3.  Keep your equipment stored safely

Some workshop equipment is designed for outdoor use — like our Mobile Column Lifts or our Mobile Brake Testers.

But that doesn’t mean you should leave them to fend for themselves in the cold outdoors of the winter months.

When they’re not being used, your outdoor mobile equipment should be safely stored indoors at a temperature and humidity that minimises damage and harm to their components.

And the same goes for any fluids you have in storage:

To keep your oils and lubricants at the perfect temperature for the right viscosity, they should always be stored at the right temperature — so they’re ready to go when you need them most.