Top Loading" means the bladder can be taken out from the top of the accumulator if bladder repair is ever necessary.
   
Don't let the above photo happen to you.
See how easy it is to change a NACOL
"Top Loading" accumulator bladder.
Also see competition's design.
This bank of accumulators is typical of
NACOL accumulator installations.
See small size top loading accumulators
only made by NACOL
 
"Top Loading" is an accumulator specification that will save you the most maintenance time and money.

The basic idea behind the design of the top loading accumulator is that the bladder can be replaced without removing the accumulator from the hydraulic line. That saves maintenance time.

However with the competitor's "Bottom Loading" accumulators, the entire accumulator must first be removed from the system. The larger size accumulators weigh over 300 lbs., so removing the accumulator from the system is no easy matter.

In addition to the weight of the accumulator to consider, it is also often necessary to drain the entire hydraulic system so all of the oil does not leak out of the tank once the accumulator is removed.

After all of that is done, the difficult job of removing the bladder from the bottom of the accumulator has just begun.