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Diffrence between expensive and cheap hydraulic oil?

check

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in the mail
Beware of "recommended for use in" or "recommended for the following specifications" you'll see those on the back of the cheaper grades of hydraulic/transmission fluids.

That's one of the first distinctions I draw....whether it uses the language "recommended for" (which means nothing) or "meets specifications for" which actually means something. Napa, TSC and other farm supply and auto parts stores are famous for selling "recommended for" oils. You see this a lot in farm tractor oils.
 

icestationzebra

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Multigrade oils have more viscosity improvers in them which break down leaving you with a little thinner oil. There is usually an initial drop as the oil breaks-in then a slow decline over time. If someone really needs the cold weather protection it may be worth it. The other alternative is full synthetic. In the end what multiviscosity and synthetic give you is a high viscosity index. The higher the VI the less the oil changes viscosity with temperature, which is a good thing. It also makes a quick gauge of an oil's worth because higher VI base stock costs more to make. http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28956/lubricant-viscosity-index

The other thing I'll throw in is ALWAYS filter your oil before you put it in the machine. A dirty little secret of the oil world is that drums are not clean. In one case I was filling with high end Mobil hydraulic oil out of brand new barrels and I could see hundreds of particles on the bottom with a poor flashlight - convinced me and I've seen it several times since. From what I've heard CAT and Deere are making their dealers install proper filtration after their storage tanks.

ISZ
 

check

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A dirty little secret of the oil world is that drums are not clean. In one case I was filling with high end Mobil hydraulic oil out of brand new barrels and I could see hundreds of particles on the bottom with a poor flashlight - convinced me and I've seen it several times since. From what I've heard CAT and Deere are making their dealers install proper filtration after their storage tanks.

ISZ
Quart jugs and 5 gallon pails don't get refilled so therefore have less likelihood of contamination. In my experience, much contamination occurs getting oil from the drum to the engine using dirty funnels and containers, especially if employees aren't concientious. Another source of contamination is storing drums vertically outdoors letting rainwater work it's way in. Personally, I think the cost savings of buying in drums is not justified unless you're equipped to store them indoors and pump them in engines without adding dust, grit and water.
 

daddy2kids

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For me, I always ask other drivers who are experienced driving all kinds of heavy equipments.
 

frodomocho1

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Recommended for: Allison C-2,C-3 and C-4 Caterpillar TO-2 Clark Transmissions Oliver Type 55 Renk 874 A/B Allis Chambers PF821,272843 Internationl Harvester B-6 Deutz-Allis Power Fluid 821 XL Sunstrand Hydrualic- Transmission Fluid Hesston-Fiat AF87 White Farm Q1722,Q1766,Q1826- Type 55 J.I. Case JIC-143, TFD JOIC-144,TCH JIC-185, MS-1206, 1207 and 1230 Ford New Holland M2C134-D, M2C53-A,M2C41-B,M2C-159C Massey Ferguson M-1127A/B,129A M-1110, M-1141, Pematan John Deere J-20A/C, Type303, Quatrol J21A,J20C,J148/C J.I. Case/International Harvester MS-1207,MS1210
This is the Ace Hyd oil info I could get. Its hard to say who manufactures it for them You would think they wouldn't sell junk?
 

GregsHD

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Keywords there are "recommended for" higher quality oil will say "meets or exceeds the following specs" or warranty approved for such and such.

By the way, ace hardware makes lots of money selling lots of junk!!
 

frodomocho1

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Well I don't want to kick a dead horse but this is the latest info on Ace Hyd Oil I could find I just don't know what the numbers mean specifically 40.00$ vs 90.00$ is a lot of $!
"Meets or exceeds Cincinnati Machine (formerly Cincinnati Milacron) P-68, P69, P-70 Denison HF-O,HF-2 U.S.Steel 126,127, 136 Vickers M-2950-SW,I-286-S

This is the Ace Hyd oil I bought/buy by the 5 gallon pails, Just wondering what it is?
 

Delmer

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I don't know what any of those are off hand. What's it for? what kind of system and machine is it going in?
 

Nige

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G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
Well I don't want to kick a dead horse but this is the latest info on Ace Hyd Oil I could find I just don't know what the numbers mean specifically 40.00$ vs 90.00$ is a lot of $!
"Meets or exceeds Cincinnati Machine (formerly Cincinnati Milacron) P-68, P69, P-70 Denison HF-O,HF-2 U.S.Steel 126,127, 136 Vickers M-2950-SW,I-286-S

This is the Ace Hyd oil I bought/buy by the 5 gallon pails, Just wondering what it is?
Now we're geting somewhere....
Denison HF-0 & HF-2 specifications, along with Vickers M-2950, are some of the many "test house" specifications which all half-decent hydraulic oils will meet. Another is the (Eaton) Vickers 35VQ25 vane pump test. See here for more info...... http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/753/hydraulic-fluids-operating

I still can't understand why people go cheap on oils when in truth the difference in price between cheap and top quality oil is the best & cheapest insurance policy a machine owner can buy...
 

frodomocho1

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Well heres my story, Where I work we use about 30 to 40 500lb welding wire rolls a year. well we got a better deal on some other brand of wire so our Co. switched. Then 99% of the welders started belly aching "the burn back" "use more tips" To much spatter" "this wire is ####" and many other unprintable words. WELL the boss says OK we are going to test it. They along with welders welding lab and the boss who learned how to weld, did some tests spatter, tip usage, weld appearance etc etc and low and behold the biggest bellyacher a few days after, I ask so what did you find out about the bad wire? Oh he said there um well there really isn't any difference, the burn backs pretty good spatter not bad ..umm pretty good wire we found out! SOOOOooo John Deere doesn't refine their own Hyd Oil, Caterpiller doesn't refine their own Hyd Oil, They all get it from some where I bet the same place! How many refinerys are there in the world that make Hyd oil? Not that many as far as I can figure. I bet the Hyd oil Cat JD NH and who ever "make a deal" mark up the price and we like like a herd of cattle say Well Cat oked it so I'll pay double the price No Problem! I don't want to hurt my equip but I don't want to get took either That's my story and I'm stickin to it LOL;)
 

Tones

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I have been told to stay well clear of Valvoline hydraulic oils. Aparently it's so bad that it loses it's viscosity and lubricating quality's when it gets hot. Danfoss will no longer honour any warranty on their pumps or motors if it's found , I have been told some sad tales of companys going bust because of oil failing. Goes to show 'good'and "cheap" don't belong in the same sentence.
 

lantraxco

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I have been told to stay well clear of Valvoline hydraulic oils. Aparently it's so bad that it loses it's viscosity and lubricating quality's when it gets hot. Danfoss will no longer honour any warranty on their pumps or motors if it's found , I have been told some sad tales of companys going bust because of oil failing. Goes to show 'good'and "cheap" don't belong in the same sentence.
Hydraulic manufacturers seldom if ever honor any warranty anyway, it's too easy to blame some other factor for failures. I have had factory reps admit to as much when put on the spot. Distributors will sometimes kick in though if the failure is obviously due to a defect.
 

lantraxco

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TexAcoon

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lantraxco
I do not work for Tractor Supply but dumb founded on not using Tractor Supply Traveler oil ...
It meets or exceeds manufacture oil recommendations for varous tractor and hydraulics companies .. My question is why would you not use the Tractor Supply oil if it meets expectations of it's use?
I've been using it in my hydraulic for tractors, skid loader and case dozer. I will say that I do hit it with a touch of dextron transmission oil.
 

Delmer

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... dumb founded on not using Tractor Supply Traveler oil ...
It meets or exceeds manufacture oil recommendations for varous tractor and hydraulics companies .. My question is why would you not use the Tractor Supply oil if it meets expectations of it's use?
.

The difference is who is making the claim? Ace hardware has been mentioned, I'm not associated with Ace but I have enough knowledge of their products and business to trust a claim by Ace much more than TSC, just my opinion. Nige and/or others have mentioned "major oil companies", to us Americans that means an oil distributor with a name that you recognize as an international oil company. Possibly including Texaco(venezuela) and/or Sinopec(china).

The other question is what is being claimed, "recommended for use where xyz is specified" means it doesn't "meet xyz specification".
 

lantraxco

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lantraxco
I do not work for Tractor Supply but dumb founded on not using Tractor Supply Traveler oil ...
It meets or exceeds manufacture oil recommendations for varous tractor and hydraulics companies .. My question is why would you not use the Tractor Supply oil if it meets expectations of it's use?
I've been using it in my hydraulic for tractors, skid loader and case dozer. I will say that I do hit it with a touch of dextron transmission oil.
I just went by the information at the link posted, there are no specifications I could see other than generalities. The lack of "AW" which is supposed to mean "Anti Wear" and the disclaimer not to use this oil in gear or brake applications tells me it in fact does not have the needed anti wear additives of an AW 46 oil. YMMV, I am willing to be corrected but I wouldn't put in anything that wasn't a simple gear pump setup.
 

StanRUS

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I just went by the information at the link posted, there are no specifications I could see other than generalities. The lack of "AW" which is supposed to mean "Anti Wear" and the disclaimer not to use this oil in gear or brake applications tells me it in fact does not have the needed anti wear additives of an AW 46 oil. YMMV, I am willing to be corrected but I wouldn't put in anything that wasn't a simple gear pump setup.
Tractor Supply Super Trac 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid has been field tested and suitable as a replacement for the following OEMs...basically every OEM.
Fine print on rear label: 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid has NOT been recommended by any OEM for use in equipment later than 1974!!! For equipment built after 1974 requiring 'multi-functional fluid', use Super S Premium.
Front label claims Anti-Wear Properties, Brake Chatter, blah, blah...
 

TexAcoon

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Cool!! ... I'm definitely learning more about the hydraulic fluids for our equipment .... I have been using the TS Super S in my machinery...
May start switching over to Orscheln's Universal Heavy Duty Hydraulic & Transmission Fluid 5 gallon.
Multi-viscosity, all-season Universal Heavy Duty transmission/hydraulic fluid manufactured to meet or exceed OEM requirements for farm, logging and construction equipment. Outstanding wear resistance, anti-chatter performance, oxidation, resistance, water separation characteristics and resistance to foaming. Outstanding flow at low temperatures and resists thinning at high temperatures. OEM approved additive system for machinery where transmissions, hydraulics, wet brakes, power steering and final drives all utilize a common fluid.
 

TexAcoon

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StanRUS did show it in his post "303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid has NOT been recommended by any OEM for use in equipment later than 1974!!!"
YUP all of mine are before then ..LOL! .... Can't afford the newer stuff so I guess I'm safe ...LOL! (Have Wife - nag nag nag when I want to buy something like a tractor...)
 
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