As the weather turns colder I have noticed my Elliott boom truck getting slow till it warms up I talked to dealer and they suggested changing hyd oil,filters, and possibly add an emmersion heater.I dont want to take the chance of causing any damage from lack of oil flow.Looking for some advice. Regards
you could try one of those cheap magnetic oil pan heaters, just leave it plugged in at night when the trucks parked. it should keep the hydraulic fluid a little bit warmer at least.
I have a pair of heaters in the oil tank for my cone crusher..... set the thermostat's and don't worry about it again.
are they 12 v or do they run off engine coolant ?
Mine are three phase 480v
don't think I can get that out of my altenator :beatsme
Maybe you can use a diesel tank heater that runs off of coolant? or did they have something else in mind? I always thought a coolant/oil/fuel heater run off exhaust would be nice some days, but it might be more practical to get the 480v out of your alternator, it's already three phase.
Stick on a oil pan heater to the bottom of the tank. Or two if its a BIG tank.
I'd check with these people: http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/heating_technology/
110v magnetic heaters work ok, but next time you change your hydro oil weld a couple 1'' bungs in the tank that accept 110v probe style heaters. 1 will keep things warm and 2 will do it in a hurry. how bigs the tank 100 gallons or so?
You could also run some glow plugs in the tank, then you could run them off the trucks electrical system.
checked the sight and they own artic fox which my crane saleman suggested I have decided on a coarse of action 1- change oil to shell tellus s2 v 32 its a high performance oil that is good for a wide range of temp.(its time for an oil change anyway) 2 - new set of filters 3 - a couple magnetic tank heaters for the short term (just to take out the early season chill in the morning, I will put them on timers set for mid night) 4 - I talked to a local guy this morning that works on a lot of log trucks he is going to install a artic fox immersion heater for me that runs off engine coolant, but he can't do it for several weeks. Stumper 120 the tank is 300 litres ( I think 120 us gal. ) Thanks for the imput, feel free to tell me if you think i,m heading down the wrong road I feel this should be easier on all components on the crane including pump seals Regards
the immersion heater is the best plan by the time you get to the job site the engine coolant will have warmed the oil. just remember than by the time you push out the outrigger beams and jacks and scope the boom out all the way there is probably less than 30 gallons of oil in that tank. so to prevent the oil from overheating when you actually operate the crane and overtaxing the oil cooler if crane is so equipped it is a good idea to have a provision to turn the oil heater off. either a flow valve or circulator pump switch.
Did my first job today the heater worked well. The tank was 0 deg. C. when I left the shop and twenty minutes later when I was set up and ready for my pick it was 14 deg. C. I cycled all functions once and all was good.
Grandpa, does the power cord have a plug or adapter that is fixed on the tank or do you take them out each time you start the engine? I have a block heater installed on most equipment but they are the ones that go directly in antifreeze.
Oh just quit it. Do it the hayseed way, like I did in Northern Nebraska. Find or I should say requisition concrete blanket from contractor. Wrap hydraulic tank with new blanket=WIN
They are hardwired in,, http://www.warrenelectriccorp.com/literature/default.asp?brochure=hl100
Actually, pure hydraulic oil doesn't change THAT much from hot to cold. If your machine slows down considerably when it gets cold out (like the outriggers won't deploy or deploy so slowly as to be unusable) you run a real risk of ripping the splines out of your PTO and pump shafts, especially on a boom truck with a 7/8"-13 spline. The problem seems to be more evident on roofer's booms because they typically run harder (and hotter) than other vocations. The advice to change the oil is sound- most boom truck makers want it changed at least annually, and after 30 years fixing on these machines, I could count on one hand the people I have met who actually follow that. If your oil hasn't been changed since last year, either change it twice or get all of the old oil purged (easier said than done), and don't buy the cheapest oil you can find. My 2¢