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General Installation Guidelines

Your Rotary Systems rotary union is a precision component which, when installed properly, will provide a long, leak free life. Please follow these general guidelines when installing your union:

Connections

  1. Rotary Systems unions should always be installed using flexible connections.  To avoid damage to the bearings, the union needs to find its center during operation.  It is imperative that either the shaft or the housing is not hard-piped.  
  2. The housing of the union should be held in a vise and the flexible connection should be installed before installing the union to the machine.
  3. Clean female threads and face of shaft prior to installation. Use Teflon pipe tape or pipe sealant on NPT threads. As a guideline, NPT threads should be hand tight plus 1- 3 turns to seal the threads. When installing parallel threads, appropriate gaskets or o-rings should be used.
  4. There should be a slight, kink-free curve in the hose when installed on the equipment. It is essential the housing or shaft is allowed to float to compensate for any eccentricities and/or misalignment.

 

Anti-rotation

In many instances, the flexible hose connections are used for anti-rotation. Other applications require an external device for anti-rotation such as a fork around the fittings, pin, yoke or bracket.  Anti-rotation devices need to “float” to prevent damage to the union.  

Filtration

To prevent damage to the shaft or the seals, Rotary Systems requires filtration to 10 microns or less.  Failure to do so may invalidate your warranty and cause premature failure.

Lubrication

If your union has grease fittings, lubricate union with no more than two pumps of appropriate grease per fitting.

See your specific series page for more information.