Hydraulic components can fail or prematurely wear as a result of thermal shock. In the context of a hydraulic system, thermal shock occurs when hot hydraulic fluids are directed to cold hydraulic components. The rapid localized heating of the cold components can cause individual subcomponents of the hydraulic system to expand at different rates and undesirably contact each other.
A known method of preventing machine failure due to thermal shock is to gradually warm the components of a hydraulic system by manually directing hydraulic fluid through the entire system even before activating the cold components. This method avoids hot fluid being delivered to cold moving components. The effectiveness of this method is limited by the machine operator's ability to recognize the conditions that may cause thermal shock, and to remember to warm up the various hydraulic components before using them. There is a need in the art for improved, and more reliable, methods and systems for preventing machine failure due to thermal shock.