I have a small amount water in my hyd system that dosen't cause me any problems except when it is cold it plugs up my suction filters on my hydrostats. Once I get the fluid warm I'm ok. Is there an antifreeze for hyd fluid? thanks pointrow
I suspect you have a bit more than a small amount of water in hyd system. Is your hyd fluid a milky color?
No it's clear. When it sets a couple days the water settles to the bottom and it draws off the bottom so it sucks enough into the suction filters to slow the flow to the charge pump. No drain on bottom of tank and I have used a pump to suck out the water before but enough condensation forms to give me problems on freezing start ups. Change filters and it is ok for the day but same problem next cold am. later pointrow
That is an unusual problem if your oil is clear. Typically when water gets in hyd tank, it will go through the pump along with oil. The pressurizing of the oil and water together by the pump will cause water to emulsify with the oil. Seems odd that you have this recurring problem of free water in the bottom of your hyd tank unless you're getting an ingress of something like rain water at tank when machine is not running. If that were to happen, water would go straight to the bottom and simply sit there, not necessarily get mixed with the oil.
I think the problem would be nil if I didn't have suction filters before the charge pumps. Just hate to do away with them. An antifreeze of some sort would do the trick! Guess I should just shut down when it gets cold and go South !!! thanks pointrow
What type and model excavator do you have? Seems strange not to have some kind of drain on the bottom of the tank. Maybe take the tank off and install a drain port. But like willie said, there must be a way that water is getting in from the outside. Fill cover loose, a bad o-ring or a crack somewhere on the top of the tank. I've used water absorbing socks before, you drop them in the tank and tie them off to anything solid. They will absorb quite a bit of moisture but you would still have to find the problem.
I have not heard of absorbing socks. I'm sure the water is condensation and it doesn't take much to slush up the suction filter. I do a search for the sock idea, thanks
If it is condensation then you have a problem with the breather on the tank. A hydraulic tank shouldn't develop water like a fuel tank does. I don't know of anything I would feel safe putting in there as antifreeze. In the long run it would be better to find the source of water and fix it.
It's likely that your problem is with water vapour in the air above the hydraulic oil in the tank condensing from operating temperature to ambient temperature when the machine cools overnight. I certainly would not advise to do away with the suction filter, it was put there for a reason and although it's causing you grief with this water in actual fact it's doing its' job and preventing damage to the really expensive parts of the system. Does the hydraulic tank have a breather that's open to atmosphere ...? If so try replacing the regular tank breather element with a dessicant breather. This may involve a few plumbing modifications if the threads are different. The dessicant breather will remove the moisture from the air in the tank and thus solve the condensation problem. Stauff make good breathers, that's what we use. As Willie says above, it's not normal for the oil to be clear if you have a water issue, but you may have an underlying problem with your oil despite the fact you don't think you have one. This is what I posted on another thread about "milky" hydraulic oil ............. first you have to remember that hydraulic oil is hygroscopic like brake fluid, just not quite as bad. So it absorbs water right from the get-go. Some of the additive package is designed to absorb this water and maintain it in suspension. Generally you'll find 3 types if water in hydraulic systems: - 1. Water absorbed by the additive package - invisible. 2. Water mixed with the oil and emulsified by the pump thrashing it around - milky hydraulic oil. 3. Water lying in the bottom of the tank. We know that you have #3 in your system and I would bet money that you have #1 also. When the additive package absorbs water it gets depleted, therefore you might have an oil that although it looks OK could have exhausted or almost exhausted its' additive package. If you go the dessicant breather route on the tank I would also suggest you consider changing the oil if it is a feasible proposition and not too much of a financial strain.
Thanks to all replied. I will check on new breathers and probably have to change oil [all 220 gal]. Be nice to find how the water is getting in there before I spend $2000. on new JD oil. I have to confess this is not on an excavator but a Wheel Trencher that has 6 hyd motors but this is the forum I see the most and know there is a lot of knowledge on here. later pointrow
Personally I would sort out the water issue before you start changing your oil. Here's a link to Stauff's breathers. I've just installed them on a couple of Hitachi excavators where we had issues of water contamination in hydraulic oil because of our climate. http://www.stauff.com/index.php?id=1491