Authorities have issued a safety warning over the danger of applying heat to sealed hydraulic cylinders.

In November 2019, a worker in SA was unable to remove a seized clevis pin at the bottom of a hydraulic cylinder.

The worker attempted to free the pin by applying heat using an LPG & oxygen torch after other methods failed.

Direct heat was applied over a short amount of time. When the worker heated the pin, a flash flame occurred, engulfing the worker’s head area before self-extinguishing.

A similar incident occurred in Western Australia in 2013 when a worker died when a hydraulic cylinder he was heating with an oxy-acetylene torch exploded.

Safe work authorities say there are a number of risk control measures, including ensuring that:

  • No heat-producing equipment, such as oxy-acetylene/gas torches and angle grinders to be used on any sealed hydraulic equipment (e.g. lines and cylinders)
  • Hydraulic fluid is totally removed from a system and cylinders are unsealed and left open to atmospheric pressure before applying any form of heat
  • A safe system of work is developed for any maintenance on hydraulic systems, including the removal of seized clevis pins