Was using empty oil buckets to drain hydraulic oil and found this.

[Blocker in MS]

That stuff in the bottom is not all the REALLY good stuff? Huh. I use a good spoon to scoop all that stuff out of the bucket. I count that as time toward my front end loader experience. Maybe I can wipe of that spoon in my tool and put it back in the draw at home

 

[Nige]

These filters ran 24/7 cleaning the oil in our bulk tanks. OEM recommendation is a target of ISO 16/13 or better. Our hydraulic oil regularly came out of the nozzle in the shop at 14/11 or 13/10, and everything else was within target. The proof that the investment was worth it is that generally our component lives went up by anywhere up to 50%. The other win by having clean fill oils was that we could run ultra-high efficiency filter elements as a service element. These were normally regarded as clean-out elements in normal operations. That kept the oil in the machines cleaner for longer.

 

[Nige]

I forgot to add that in most cases we increased (doubled in some cases) oil life between changes in powertrain & hydraulic systems. The reduction in oil used more than paid for the filtration system, IIRC the payback period was somewhere around 2 years.

 

[Sberry]

I think the guys with the yellow buckets might be in trouble for putting crap in. I got some from other vendors was spotless.

 

[Nige]

A common misconception. Most “clean” (spotless) oil is nowhere near clean.

 

[Tenwheeler]

Let me re-phrase that. Almost all new oil IS "dirty" (not though to be) in that it does not meet OEM minimum cleanliness standards of ISO 16/13 or better right out of the box. That is irrespective of the jug size from 1 gallon up to 55 gallon, 250-gallon totes, and bulk.

We came across this just after the Millenium when Contamination Control started to become a buzzword, and the situation has not really changed much since then apart from the fact a lot more people are aware of it. It was surprising at that time how few samples of new oil met OEM standards, or even came close. The manufacturers all indicated they could provide oil that met OEM Cleanliness standards, but at a price - and of course nobody was prepared to pick up the tab for the extra cost. So what most large job sites do is kidney-loop their oils while they're still in the bulk tank to get them to acceptable cleanliness levels before they are dispensed. For example our bulk SAE10W hydraulic oil is generally supplied by the oil company to us at somewhere around ISO 17/14 or 18/15. We kidney-loop it down to at least ISO 14/11 and sometimes to 13/10 or 12/9. From 18/15 to 13/10 is a reduction by a factor of 32 in the amount of particles in the oil. Even 17/14 to 14/11 is a reduction in the particle count by a factor of 8.

I had a family connection that was in the oil dispensing equipment business. Sometimes I would help out doing large installations.
The main man was offered a job by a major power company. He impressed them while doing a job there. Told him don't look back.
Then I got asked to fill in for a while. Well OK. Grayco, Alimite, Star, Lincoln, Balcrank, Astro and probably some others.
Some meter guns have a screen in the meter gun. Others actually have a filter. When those stop up some shop guys check it out and throw them in the trash. Rock on! Others with a new reel and meter installed call a month later. The filter is stopped up and they do not understand because they have not had this problem for 25 years.
Nige is above and beyond but that is interesting to see. Thanks!

 

[Cat977]

I was thinking about building a filter cart that could filter fuel and oil or two separate carts. Paying $2400 for a parker cart doesn't work for me. Norman equipment gave me a quote on a set up with a pump originally meant for diesel. Bu says can only go up to a 20 weight oil. they have a slew of filters, even ones that absorb water. Has anybody built their own?

 

[Tenwheeler]

I was thinking about building a filter cart that could filter fuel and oil or two separate carts. Paying $2400 for a parker cart doesn't work for me. Norman equipment gave me a quote on a set up with a pump originally meant for diesel. Bu says can only go up to a 20 weight oil. they have a slew of filters, even ones that absorb water. Has anybody built their own?

Not exactly but a company I worked for years ago had something similar to that. They had them in many shops all over the country. They were made on a common hand truck. On the bottom was an electric motor connected to a fuel pump for a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel. Above that were two large canister filters, Raycor I thank. All of the engine oil pans had quick couplers. They had three hoses. One for the oil pan and two that went in the fuel tank. They pulled oil from the pan, fuel from the tank, heated it and put it it the tank.
I used a motor off a pressure washer we junked and made a waste oil pump. Bought an adapter from a tool truck that mated up to a Detroit pump. Down side is they are not self priming.

 

[Cat977]

Tenwheeler thanks for the help! I would want self priming pump but you've given me a good idea on the repurposing. I have a 1959 Int. TD 15 crawler parts machine with a 3 stage water and oil filter set up. The glass bowl is the ruff and tuff type and maybe maybe the canisters. They are big and fat from like WW 2.

Did they just use their cart just for draining engine oil or did thy filter it and put it back in? Do you know why they heated the fuel?

 

[Tenwheeler]

It had two filters with replaceable cartridges. Housings were about 5" OD and 2 feet tall. I do not know the flow path or micron ratings. Heater I was told helped to blend the oil and fuel together as it was put into the fuel tank.
You will want to add a pressure relief valve with a positive displacement pump.
Would thank you would want a large micron filter on the suction side and a smaller one after the pump.

 

[Cat977]

I haven't really looked at that many systems. Talking to the Tec guy at Norman the fuel or oil is supposed to be from a basically clean system. That fluid goes through the pump first then to the 2 filters. My idea was to get the filter of a larger micron rating that holds a lot of dirt and water. Then a 3 micron. I'm not sure if I can use one pump and switch back and forth between 2 sets of filters.