Hi everyone, We are operating Hitachi EX-300LC excavator for a mining project. The nature of work requires the machine to be operated with a hydraulic breaker for about 80% of its total working hours. Currently, we are using ISO 46 hydraulic oil (Total Parco Azolla 46) but are unsure about the hydraulic oil change interval given the significant breaker usage. Considering the frequent breaker operation, what would be the ideal/recommended oil change hours to maintain optimal pump health. Any advice from experienced members would be greatly appreciated, thank you
For a bucket attachment I think the recommendation is 2000 hours. For breaker it should definitely be lower than that but not sure what the exact recommendation is
Good to have you stop by, MKF1. How is your Hitachi EX300LC-1 doing after installing the breaker on it? How’s the mine doing?
The best answer is to start a scheduled oil sampling routine and use that data to determine when the hydraulic oil needs attention. Plus, the added benefit of being able to catch small issues before they become catastrophic.
Hi Coaldust, hope you are doing well. Yes, both the EX300-1 and the mining project are doing well. We finally decided to replace the ISO 68 hydraulic oil with ISO 46 as recommended by everyone and also replaced the NPK breaker with a Chinese one. With the pumps, we decided to clean the system rather than fixing the pumps first, which appears to have worked as pumps stopped screaming and have now been working well for the past year or so. Over all however, putting the machine to work on the mine was quite eventful for the first six months or so, as you had correctly predicted back then. It really is quite a severe duty cycle. Though I feel it has started to stabilise a bit now.
@Fahad24 Sorry to hijack your thread. Coming back to your question, I agree with Coaldust regarding the oil sampling. Would be useful to have that data provided you have the facilities available at your location. Interestingly, quite a few websites selling breakers are suggesting a 600 hour replacement interval when using the breaker excessively since a lot more debris enters the hydraulic system, even through the seals. Seems a bit more frequent than I would have thought.
Have a look at this thread regarding maintenance intervals for excavators which also confirms the hydraulic oil change recommendation at 600 hrs of continuous breaker use: HeavyEquipmentForums
Thanks for the update !