So I screwed up..took the hydraulic fill plug off to de-pressurize the tank as I was working on a cylinder. I stopped work and left the fill plug off - it was partially covering the hole but not completely. It rained twice in the last day since I went back and noticed I left it off. I'm not sure how much rain got in. I turned on the excavator for about 10 seconds and then shut it down when I realized the plug was off. Looking for some advice on what I should do now. And yes, totally pissed at myself..
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Rain in Excavator Hydraulic Tank?
- Thread starter Mike007
- Start date
Ronsii
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2011
- Messages
- 3,464
- Location
- Western Washington
- Occupation
- s/e Heavy equipment operator
You probably didn't get too much rain in there from just a couple days open... however depending on how it is parked/leaning any water may still be in the low spot.... if you can get a siphon hose with a stiff end on it you may be able to aim it for the low spot and see if you get anything out... other than that I guess you see by how milky the fluid gets after use. I am sure others with more experience in this area will chime in with much better ideas than I can offer.
RZucker
Senior Member
Drain it. Change ALL the hydraulic filters. Did you operate any controls while it was running? Do you see any milk in the oil now? High pressure piston pumps do not like water in the oil. I would rather be safe than sorry if it was my machine.
BladeManBob
Active Member
Same thing happened to me, except it was the fuel tank cap left open during a pretty good rain. After shooting myself in the foot, I drained water from the sediment bowl several times over the next two days. Then the water cleared and clean red diesel appeared. Lucy for me, there was no water emulsified in the fuel as I did not initially start the engine. I subsequently put around 200 hours on that dozer without a hiccup.
Several years ago somebody was offering a service to recirculate hydraulic fluid and drop water and other contaminates out. Don't know whatever happened to that effort.
Good luck.
Several years ago somebody was offering a service to recirculate hydraulic fluid and drop water and other contaminates out. Don't know whatever happened to that effort.
Good luck.
I turned on the machine and picked up the boom about 3' then shut it down immediately. Left the boom up. It was on for I'd say less than 20 seconds. I think my hydraulic tank is about 25 gallons? I would think any water would settle to the bottom, what do you think? I thought about pulling the drain and letting about 5 gallons out and then putting the plug back. That would be messy. Also thought about draining the whole thing into a big container and then letting it settle, putting top 20 back in. Any thoughts on that? Total pain in the ass either way and I'm still mad at myself..
Ronsii
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2011
- Messages
- 3,464
- Location
- Western Washington
- Occupation
- s/e Heavy equipment operator
Better to make a mess or pain than a few 5K bills come up soon!!! call it insurance but if you have a drain on tha tank I would get yourself some clean 'white' five gallon pails and start draining. water usually settles out pretty fast, but remember it's only a 3 inch opening... at most so I doubt much water got in there.
Try a little experiment and fill a clear glass half full with hydro fluid then put a spoon of water on it.
Try a little experiment and fill a clear glass half full with hydro fluid then put a spoon of water on it.
Welder Dave
Senior Member
See if you can rent a filter cart with a water filter and you can likely save your oil. Donaldson has filters for water.
mitch504
Senior Member
20 gallons of oil wouldn't pay for the cart rent and your time.
So I ended up draining part of the tank. The drain plug was an adventure in itself, wouldn’t budge with a 4’ breaker bar. Had to use the big red wrench. I drained about 2 gallons and not one drop of water in there. Then 5 more and nothing. So all for naught I guess. Thanks for the tips.
Welder Dave
Senior Member
Didn't say what size of excavator or how much oil it held. Here's place that rents a filter cart for $50/day plus elements.
https://southernfp.com/services-and-solutions/rental-equipment/
https://southernfp.com/services-and-solutions/rental-equipment/
mitch504
Senior Member
Well, he said his hyd. tank held 25 gallons, so not a very big hoe...
RZucker
Senior Member
Not necessarily, some of those tanks have a boss for the drain that sits 1/4" to 1/2" above the floor of the tank. My biggest worry would be about dirt being washed in while the cap was off.
I had to deal with a 9020 Case that some how got some water in the system and it was a total b!tch to clean out. I suspect the water came from a bucket that some old school operator felt had to be "spike vented" to pour into the tank. I see that stuff all the time, and I am not very popular when I tell those guys what I think.
Don't sound like Mike007 got to much water in the hydraulic system .
Change the oil & filters as stated up thread ….
Or run the machine with the hydro tank cap loose and whatever little water is in the oil will leave the system in the form of steam .
Change the oil & filters as stated up thread ….
Or run the machine with the hydro tank cap loose and whatever little water is in the oil will leave the system in the form of steam .
RZucker
Senior Member
Be even better if you could pull 30" of vacuum for the steam, unfortunately the pumps wont like that. Plus a lot of the more modern machines don't work too well without pressure in the tank.
Welder Dave
Senior Member
Missed the 2nd post that said 25 gallon reservoir so I'd guess the whole system would be 30-35 gallons. I'm not sure if Donaldson or another brand would have a water filter element that could be used in place of the existing element. If so could run the run the machine for a few hours to catch any water and then go back to the standard filter.