ATCO had helped me with a ford 555 I was having trouble with. Ended up replacing the pump. I was pretty sure I was going to start blowing hoses as a result of the pump change and guess what,,,,it happened. Where I live this 555 has turned out to be a turd for getting hydraulic hoses etc done for it. I can get what I need but have to drive an hour one way to do it. I just blew the dipper bucket hose. It and what appears are several others were 5/8" hoses (not the most common sizes). All pressures are 3500 and below with the exeption of the lift cylinder that runs about 4400. My question is this. I can find the ready made 1/2" hoses rated at 3500 all day long. I could easily put a fitting on to make these work, so how much speed am I going to lose realistically in using the 1/8" smaller hose? I can get these hoses much cheaper than it would cost to have larger ones made custom. I was just working at about 1/2-3/4 throttle digging a hole on a farm. It is not an every day money, making hoe so a cheaper hose would be benificial, but not at a tremendous gpm loss
This is common to old machines esp. Internationals , on those there is no noticeable difference - even dealers used 1/2" hose- as most hose crimper's did not ship with 5/8 dies Ford Construction equipment was not popular in my area
4400 psi sounds very high, even 3500 psi. I've seen many gear pumps worn bad from overloading, as the pump shafts flex. I'll check my 550/555 Ford manual and see if it recommends those same pressures. Haven't been following your pump problem though. But getting back to your hose question I can only answer that from some downsizing I've done. I've used many 1/2"hoses in place of 5/8" and never noticed any difference. There is a general recommended speed for oil flow through these lines and that's why the oil lines are sized the way they are. Better see what ATCOEQUIP says. Phil
If I remember correctly from my days in industrial supply, going from 5/8" to 1/2" will cut your flow volume by more than 30%. We sold 5/8" hoses rarely, and usually it was fitting availability that limited us. If the correct fittings weren't available, we always advised customers that if volume and/or speed was important, and if physical space was available, to step up to 3/4" hose. Otherwise, 1/2" was a common substitute. Many agricultural machines in this area were retrofitted with 1/2" in place of the original 5/8. I don't ever recall hearing a complaint, but then again, who really cares how fast a farm implement lifts?
I'm going to agree with the general consensus here. There's no denying that reducing any hose or pipe to a smaller size will reduce flow, possibly affect operating speed, and can even create heat. But I think this would be most noticeable on a machine working 8 - 10 hrs a day every day. With the occasional use on a farm that tx swordguy is referring to won't make a whole lot of difference. My only question is; how are you finding ready made hoses? Are they ready made hose assemblies made the specific lengths you need?
Apologies for jumping in, just wanted correct myself. After reading my manual this morning I see these pressures are correct and are for circuit relief valves, boom and dipper I believe. I see the pump relief valve is set to 2350psi. I had an old excavator once that I replaced all boom, dipper and bucket hoses with a smaller size. Went to 3/4" from 1" hose after blowing several, never had a problem again. I believe it was a little slower after that though. Phil
Ready made as in an acceptable length with male npt on both ends. I would then just keep some jic / npt fittings on hand to put on. The fittings appear to be 3/4 but hose that blew was 5/8. It was plenty fast at 5/8
Hose data Hey guys just for interest sake this is data comparison chart with various hose sizes. I used a 5/8 hose as my base value, the chart shows the effect on a system with a larger diameter or smaller diameter hose. Thought you might find it interesting you can try the application for this online at http://www.gates.com/industrial/pressure/fluidFlow.cfm :drinkup
Well, if you can make it work and your OK with it, sounds good to me. Another thing you might consider is identifying your hose, fittings, and length, then call your hose supplier (some miles away) and have them make them with the correct fittings and ship it to you. Just a thought. Pretty neat stuff Gil. Kinda confirms my instinct that it wouldn't be wise to drop hose size on a machine that's working long hours.
surpluscenter.com had a great many premade hoses at one time at a really great price. not so many left now but you can check it out.