Clean Hydraulic OIl

[Nige]

In general there are two methods of producing an anti-wear additive package in a hydraulic oil. One is to use zinc, the second is to use a combination of other elements, mostly calcium, phosphorus, & sulphur to achieve the same end result. The latter group is what's usually known as "ashless" or zinc-free oils, because surprisingly enough they don't contain zinc. One of the downsides to using zinc as an anti-wear additive is believe it or not corrosion, basically it attacks all yellow metals to a greater or lesser extent depending on the level of zinc additives in the oil. There's a lot more chemistry to it than that, but effectively that's the short version.

It's generally not recommended to use an oil with a zinc-based anti-wear package in a system that was designed by the OEM from the get-go to use ashless oil.

 

[td25c]

Like the Old Man would say …. " Pour something that's slick in the hydro tank " .

It will be OK with the filters & screens in the system of the machine .

It's just an excavator …. Pour some oil in it and move on . LMAO !

If ya want to get all technical …. White phosphorus will flat make them move real quick !

 

[CatKC]

If ya want to get all technical …. White phosphorus will flat make them move real quick !

WP incendiaries are a pretty sight to see. . . long as you're not under them.

 

[kshansen]

Like the Old Man would say …. " Pour something that's slick in the hydro tank " .

It will be OK with the filters & screens in the system of the machine .

It's just an excavator …. Pour some oil in it and move on . LMAO !

Sounds like he learned from the same school one of the old guys at the quarry went to. When asked by someone "What oil did you put in that machine?" His replay was "Oily oil."

 

[td25c]

Sounds like he learned from the same school one of the old guys at the quarry went to. When asked by someone "What oil did you put in that machine?" His replay was "Oily oil."

Good point Ken . The Old Man could have very well attended the same school .

4 years at Purdue University .

Basic training at Fort Knox . https://www.knox.army.mil/

Advanced training at Fort Sill OK . https://sill-www.army.mil/

And then an all expense paid trip in to Tan Son Knut air base . https://www.flickr.com/photos/aodcurator/sets/72157616028429781/

After that round engine & hydraulic oil type & filtering is pretty trivial .

" Pour something slick in and move on "

I agree with the Old Man on this one .

Shell Rotella 15W-40 will work in anything .

 

[John C.]

Probably a little bit of difference between getting something running because it is raining a lot of blunt objects through the atmosphere looking for something to stop in and making a hydraulic system last as long as possible
I've made a pretty good living on people putting something slick in and get the machine moving again. I really don't need to work anymore so would rather go after the really tough troubleshooting projects. Failure because of dirty oil is pretty easy to diagnose.

 

[td25c]

Failure because of dirty oil is pretty easy to diagnose.

Good point John .

I realize your selling a service and none of us want dirty oil in the system .

My point is oil and equipment manufacturers went to great lengths to satisfy people years ago and here we are …..

Oil is good and equipment has filters on it …

What's the problem ?

Higher head pressure on new systems ? This is a give and take type situation ….


They aint gonna last as long as a low pressure system and it not the oils fault .

They gonna fail faster with the high pressure .

 

[John C.]

I know where you are coming from and agree to a certain point. The issue with this repair is the costs associated and the lack of maintenance in the past. The pump is right around $20K. The labor to swap it plus all the new hydraulic oil and checking out the other components is going to add another $5K to $8K to that and then there is down time in the form of lost rent. They have been messing with the machine for just short of a month first trying to figure out what was wrong and then trucking the machine to the rental outfit for the repair. I'm guessing rental on a 40 ton machine might be in the range of $15K to $20K a month in lost revenue. So to put it another way, a lack of $5K in maintenance costs ended up in close to $40K or more of money out of pocket.

That other comment on how long low pressure systems last compared to high pressure machines is a long way off the mark. I did appraisals on a logging shovel feeding a mill up by Anacortes, Washington. They figured on trading it when the hour meter hit 20K hours. I looked at it again when it hit 30K hours and again when it hit 40K hours. It still had the original engine, hydraulic pump, both travel motors and the swing motor. The dealer performed all the maintenance on the machine from delivery until it was taken on trade. It was sold to a logger out in the Port Angeles area who ran the engine another year and then swapped it out. There were some problems with the swapped engine and the original was put back in while the other engine was fixed. I looked at that machine again when the machine hit 48K hours and the original engine and pump were still there working everyday. I've worked on a lot of low pressure systems over the years and it was rare to find any pumps, gear or vane that lasted more than 5K hours.

 

[Lagwagon]

I have been scouting machinery auctions for half used 1000L (~250gal) pods of hydraulic oil. They are usually ex-mining stock, some are labelled mfg date some are not. They go cheap compared to new. After reading this thread I’m now unsure if this is wise, having no guarantee of cleanliness and age, how, where its been stored. I was thinking of making up a basic filtering device post hand pump that I use on 44gal drums. Goal was just to save money, I need to do a full change and purge which would require at least 250l of oil, it’s a 20 tonne class machine, oil is very milky I’m guessing from condensation as it has sat for long periods. Any advice? Just go new?

Machine is rarely used for agricultural jobs, old and operated like a grandma
Cheers

 

[John C.]

Just a quick update on the machine that is the subject of this thread. The dealer obtained an exchange hydraulic pump from the Komatsu dealer, installed it and put the machine back to work. No problems since put back to work.