I need a hydraulic flow tester to test pumps on my bobcat excavator. I am most likely never going to use this tool again or at-least very rarely. OTC makes the tools for right around $3000 and just seems unjustifiable for me to spend that much on a relatively basic tool I will never use again. I found a flow tester on ebay for about 600 but it does not have the restrictor dial. Has anyone ever made there own flow tester or modified the cheaper version to have a restrictor?
A little off the wall...Home made flow meter... a hose with pressure gauge teed and a valve at the end. Valve as variable restrictor will govern the output pressure, indicated at the gauge. Plumbed into a bucket, marked with gallons, pints, or liters. If you need to test for an extended time, put a drain in the bucket to recycle the oil back to the tank. The bucket, valve, gauge, and stop watch will provide a flow rate at X pressure. cheap too ..
Thats the method I've used for checking case drain because who wants a 0 to 3 gpm flow meter
Another thought... When you plumb to the bucket, make sure the outlet is terminated with a tee below the surface of the oil. This is for two reasons... don't want to aerate the oil and prevents the hose end from whipping around.
Do what hosspuller mentions in post #2, but instead of a bucket, plumb it through the flow meter attached below (or one similar based on GPM) right back into the control valve, or back into the reservoir. https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_36723_36723 .
I have a Hedland flowmeter in that range and use it often in proportional circuits.
Can't see anything thrown together working on any kind of higher flow hydraulic pump. A bucket is a sure way to make a mess and likely get hurt trying to handle pump flows. Better to hire someone that already has a flow meter to do what you want. Cost of the flow meter isn't the only cost either. You have to purchase all the fittings and connection hoses in order to hook the thing up to your pumps.
Why do you need to test the flow? Is there something wrong or is it to see how much aux. flow you have for an attachment or something along those lines? It would help to know what model your excavator is to know how big of flow tester you need.
Some times us poor peoples got to ball on a budget