Frozen Flat-face Couplers

[BB64]

The boss has done this to me twice this week, I'm sick of it. He's been running a low-flow blower on his Gehl 4640 Turbo, drops the blower for the snow bucket and then can't get the female coupler to latch when he tries to swap back... I'm sure the combination of warm oil and powdery snow is the culprit -- what can I do to cure it, permanently?

First time, I ended up taking the coupler off and warmed it in the truck -- second time I just put on a spare (quite a bite to have to carry a $50 part).

What works for you gents? Fluidfilm the snot out of it? Soak them in something? Small thermonuclear devices? I appreciate any thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

[bobcatmechanic]

coupler on the machine or attachment

 

[BB64]

D'oh! Should have said "Coupler on the attachment both times". Sorry!

Hmmm, forgot that a female on the secondary coupler set (machine side, low on the frame between the lift arms) also froze up last week, but I wasn't there to deal with it myself, I think he used a heat gun to free it up.

Thanks for any hints!

 

[bgirls]

I would spray with somthing like wd40 to melt the ice. Maybe cover them with a plastic bag.
We have several attachments for our Kanga loader and the staff will change the attachment and instead of pinning the hose bracket to the attachment to keep them clean they just drop them in the mud. The main culprit is my wife, the owner of the business.

 

[dgr]

we carry a small butane torch ,just heat them for a second

 

[KSSS]

I doubt it has anything to do with them freezing. He is not clearing the lines on the machine before disconnecting the blower. Before disconnecting the lines, shut the machine off and actuate the hyd. petal or switch on and off before disconnecting the hyd. lines. This would be for a machine with mech aux. hyd. activation.

I am not familiar with Gehl but if the machine utilizes an electric over hyd. activation switch off of the control handle, then you likely will need to sit in the seat, pull the lap bar down, turn the ignition switch to on but don't start, hit the release button (assuming it has one) like you would if you were going to move the machine, and lastly actuate the switch that turns the hyd. on and off. That will clear the lines and make putting them back on much easier.

I have run in minus 40 below zero and have never had a coupler freeze up.

 

[BB64]

Sorry for the delayed response -- was off yesterday towing and blowing; never took the blower off, so the couplers weren't a problem.

bgirls -- I'll have to keep some spray lube warm in the truck and give it a try... Certainly seems like wishful thinking to keep those couplers clean (it took a couple years to convince him to keep some rags handy to clean them off before coupling)!

dgr -- a little butane torch sounds good, that ought to be a lot cheaper than a spare coupler, too.

KSSS -- coupling and uncoupling is done with the engine off (don't know if he always cycles the aux valve or not) but once the coupler was removed from the hose, it would still slide up onto a male but would not "latch" until warmed, leading me to believe it is a moisture issue.

Thanks to everyone for all the ideas!

 

[TriHonu]

If the hoses are long enough, back the loader up to the attachment and hold the couplers in the exhaust. It won't take long to thaw them out.