Flushing excavator hydraulics

[sandymark]

Hi
Have an Volvo EC240 excavator with water contaminated hydraulic oil , looks like milk. Any tips on flushing the system ?

 

[jonno634]

First, I’d try to find out how water was introduced... no good to get it clean if it will happen again. Also, after it sits for a few days, crack bottom drain plug on hyd tank, did clear water come out? Do this a couple of times and it should get the majority of the water out.

 

[funwithfuel]

Please see attached. More to follow.

 

[funwithfuel]

As mentioned above, find sources of water intrusion, otherwise this is just a very expensive bandaid. I have posted recommended flush/fill procedures as well as bleeding. As always, be careful. If you are unsure, ask. If you aren't confident , contract it out to someone who is.
Something not mentioned. Before starting, swing the house 90* to the tracks. It gives you unrestricted access to the bottom of the hydraulic tank. When you're system is empty, I always recommend to pull all the tank covers and the lower cover as well as sump plate. You want to swab out everything. Clean the ledge that the filter sits in as well. Debris has the potential to hide on the ledge.
Good luck.

 

[funwithfuel]

Oh and BTW, maybe swing by the introduction thread and make an introduction for yourself. Let folks now what you do and what brings you by.

 

[John C.]

There is no good way to get it all out. I don't even know of a filter buggy system that will pull it out. All I've ever been able to do was drain it and pull hoses, flush with diesel and reinstall. Go to next hose and do the same for as many as possible. Refill the system and run the machine for awhile and then do it all over again.

Water origins; someone refilled the system with contaminated oil, someone left something open to the weather, machine has been sitting in a wet climate for a very long time, leaking boom cylinders and the machine sitting for a long time. I'm sure others will chime in with other places and scenarios. I usually swing the house just enough so the hydraulic tank drain is in between the track frames. On most of the machines I've dealt with in the last few years, the drain plug is right at or covered up by the tracks when the house is at ninety degrees to the carbody.

 

[Birken Vogt]

If John says there is no good way then listen to him but I thought this was pretty impressive when I saw it:

 

[John C.]

I like that! Any idea what kind of filters were inside those canisters? I'm wondering if they can drain the water out the bottom of them over time? Who supplies that? We have filter carts here but nothing i've worked with or even seen does that.

 

[excavator]

I like that! Any idea what kind of filters were inside those canisters? I'm wondering if they can drain the water out the bottom of them over time? Who supplies that? We have filter carts here but nothing i've worked with or even seen does that.

That is impressive, I've never seen a good water removal filter unit.

 

[Welder Dave]

Several hyd. filter carts on the market. Bigger hyd. shops will rent them. Donaldson, Parker and probably others have filters specifically to remove water.

https://www.donaldson.com/content/d...draulic/F111375-ENG/Hydraulic-Filter-Cart.pdf

https://www.parker.com/Literature/EMHFF/HFD_Catalog/HFD_Catalog_Filter_Carts.pdf

 

[John C.]

The Parker site mentions Par-Gel Technology. Says it only removes free water. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[excavator]

Most all filter manufacturer's sell a water absorbing filter. However, a 12" tall filter will only remove less than a tablespoon of water. They're made more for preventative maintenance than clean up after the fact.

 

[Welder Dave]

I think what you'd want to do is drain the old oil, clean as much as you can in the reservoir and easily accessible areas and run a filter cart with new oil to remove as much of the remaining water as possible. Changing filters a few times if necessary is a lot easier and a lot cheaper than replacing hyd. components. Some filter carts tell you when the filters need changing and have test ports so the oil can be tested to get the required cleanliness level.

 

[John C.]

My original experience with filter carts is that the differential pressure gauge is for filter plugging and the filters are made of cellulose. Cellulose expands with water and shuts off flow through it. If those were paper filters in the video, that gauge would have pegged over in a couple of minutes. What ever was in the cart in the video had to be using a coalescer which is like a screen that stops large molecules from passing through. My problem with what I saw is that the water drops to the bottom of the canister and has to be drained out. Now I had coalescers on the ships for fuel when I was in the navy. I've never heard of it for hydraulic oil so would be very interested in whatever was in that piece of video.

 

[Welder Dave]

Talking with Donaldson/Parker and/or a hyd. shop experienced with the latest filter carts and cartridges would likely provide some good insight. The people making the filters should know the most of what they are capable of cleaning.

 

[LACHAU]

I like that! Any idea what kind of filters were inside those canisters? I'm wondering if they can drain the water out the bottom of them over time? Who supplies that? We have filter carts here but nothing i've worked with or even seen does that.

Here you are, Sir.
https://www.precisionfiltration.com/product/phoenix-membrane-oil-purifier/

 

[John C.]

I sent an email for information. I will report back on what I find out.

 

[Nige]

Good job, because you’re not the only one who is interested in the reply.

 

[Ronsii]

I'll be very interested in what you find out also John.

 

[Ronsii]

This equipment has been around since at least 2012... and this is the first I've heard of it