priming tractor hydraulic pump pricelist
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During my two decades working in the hydraulics industry, I’ve been in the fortunate position of being able to observe, and learn from, the mistakes and omissions hydraulics users make when maintaining their equipment.
There are only two conditions that mandate a hydraulic oil change: degradation of the base oil or depletion of the additive package. Because there are so many variables that determine the rate at which oil degrades and additives get used up, changing hydraulic oil based on hours in service, without any reference to the actual condition of the oil, is like shooting in the dark.
Given the current high price of oil, dumping oil which doesn’t need to be changed is the last thing you want to do. On the other hand, if you continue to operate with the base oil degraded or additives depleted, you compromise the service life of every other component in the hydraulic system. The only way to know when the oil needs to be changed is through oil analysis.
A similar situation applies to hydraulic filters. If you change them based on schedule, you’re changing them either too early or too late. If you change them early, before all their dirt-holding capacity is used up, you’re wasting money on unnecessary filter changes. If you change them late, after the filter has gone on bypass, the increase in particles in the oil quietly reduces the service life of every component in the hydraulic system – costing a lot more in the long run.
Few equipment owners or operators continue to operate an engine that is overheating. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when the hydraulic system gets too hot. But like an engine, the fastest way to destroy hydraulic components, seals, hoses and the oil itself is high-temperature operation.
How hot is too hot for a hydraulic system? It depends mainly on the viscosity and viscosity index (rate of change in viscosity with temperature) of the oil, and the type of hydraulic components in the system.
As the oil’s temperature increases, its viscosity decreases. Therefore, a hydraulic system is operating too hot when it reaches the temperature at which oil viscosity falls below that required for adequate lubrication.
A vane pump requires a higher minimum viscosity than a piston pump, for example. This is why the type of components used in the system also influences its safe maximum operating temperature.
Apart from the issue of adequate lubrication, the importance of which cannot be overstated, operating temperatures above 82 degrees Celsius damage most seal and hose compounds and accelerate degradation of the oil. But for the reasons already explained, a hydraulic system can be running too hot well below this temperature.
The oil is the most important component of any hydraulic system. Not only is hydraulic oil a lubricant, it is also the means by which power is transferred throughout the hydraulic system. It’s this dual role which makes viscosity the most important property of the oil, because it affects both machine performance and service life.
Oil viscosity largely determines the maximum and minimum oil temperatures within which the hydraulic system can safely operate. If you use oil with a viscosity that’s too high for the climate in which the machine must operate, the oil won’t flow properly or lubricate adequately during cold start.
And despite what you might think, you won’t necessarily get the correct viscosity oil by blindly following the blanket recommendations of the machine manufacturer. How Do You Know if You"re Using the Right Hydraulic Oil? will provide you with additional information about choosing the right oil.
Any filter is a good filter, right? Wrong! There are two hydraulic filter locations that do more harm than good and can rapidly destroy the very components they were installed to protect. These filter locations which should be avoided are the pump inlet and drain lines from the housings of piston pumps and motors.
This contradicts conventional wisdom: that it is necessary to have a strainer on the pump inlet to protect it from "trash". First, the pump draws its oil from a dedicated reservoir, not a garbage can. Second, if you believe it’s normal or acceptable for trash to get into the hydraulic tank, then you’re probably wasting your time reading this article.
If getting maximum pump life is your primary concern (and it should be), then it"s far more important for the oil to freely and completely fill the pumping chambers during every intake than it is to protect the pump from nuts, bolts and 9/16-inch combination spanners.
Research has shown that a restricted intake can reduce the service life of a gear pump by 56 percent. And, it’s worse for vane and piston pumps because these designs are less able to withstand the vacuum-induced forces caused by a restricted intake. Hydraulic pumps are not designed to "suck".
A different set of problems arises from filters installed on the drain lines of piston pumps and motors, but the result is the same as suction strainers. They can reduce service life and cause catastrophic failures in these high-priced components. You"ll want to read Hydraulic Filter Location Pros and Cons before addressing this.
You wouldn’t start an engine without oil in the crankcase – not knowingly, anyway. And yet, I’ve seen the same thing happen to a lot of high-priced hydraulic components.
The fact is, if the right steps aren’t followed during initial start-up, hydraulic components can be seriously damaged. In some cases, they may work OK for a while, but the harm incurred at start-up then dooms them to premature failure.
You can’t pat yourself on the back for filling the pump housing with clean oil when you forgot to open the intake isolation valve before starting the engine!
The purpose of this article is to show that if you own, operate, repair or maintain hydraulic equipment and you aren’t aware of the latest hydraulic equipment maintenance practices, a lot of money can slip through your fingers.
Trapped air in hydraulic systems can adversely impact performance because air is compressible and hydraulic fluid is not. This means that the density and volume of hydraulic fluid remain the same with changes in pressure. The stability of hydraulic fluid in response to pressure changes is demonstrated when an excavator operator moves a directional control valve to open a flow path to an actuator used to move the excavator’s arm. Fluid pressure on the actuator increases and leads to movement. Because the fluid is incompressible, the opening of the directional control valve instantly transmits fluid pressure through the system to the actuator; the result is an immediate and precise movement. When the actuator has completed the desired movement, the operator moves the directional control valve to an off position. This closes the flow path to the actuator, stops fluid flow and pressure, and causes the actuator movement to stop immediately. There is instant, accurate, and precise movement and efficient use of energy.
When air is present in a hydraulic system, the desired instant system reaction is slowed and results in a slower actuator response or a “spongy feel.” This is due to the compressible nature of the trapped air.
Air pockets can also interfere with system startup/priming and may cause NVH (noise, vibration, and harness) problems. This occurrence, coupled with wasted energy and system inefficiencies, can result in customer complaints and overall customer dissatisfaction.
There are two prevalent examples of air found in hydraulic systems: trapped air and dissolved or entrained air. Trapped air inside a fluidic system is typically an air pocket that is difficult to flush out or remove. It can occur during an initial green run (following new production), after system maintenance, or during a key-off event (such as system shutdown); it can also accumulate over time during system operation. Dissolved or entrained air consists of small air bubbles suspended or contained in a fluid; the entrained air bubbles flow through the system in the hydraulic fluid. When the system is stopped, the air can migrate upwards and collect in system passages, creating additional pockets of trapped air.
The drilled hole method aims to machine the smallest diameter hole inside the housing that may be reliably and economically fabricated—about 0.5 mm (0.020 of an inch). The intent is to allow the trapped air to escape back to the sump and minimize the amount of fluid that flows out of the system. However, there remains a constant fluid flow that results in significant hydraulic losses, inefficient system performance, and wasted energy. The larger the size of the hole, the greater the amount of wasted energy.
To compensate for these hydraulic losses, customers may need to run their pumps at higher speeds, thus consuming more energy. Alternatively, they can install a larger pump, but that will also consume more energy and add size and weight to the system. In some systems, there are multiple areas where trapped air accumulates. This requires additional drilled holes and results in increased inefficiencies. Customers may also attempt to machine holes of even smaller diameter, but this can result in frequent tool breakages during the manufacturing process. Machining smaller holes would necessitate reductions in tool feed and speed rates to compensate and would in turn increase fabrication costs.
The Air Bleed Orifice contains a small precision flow orifice with an integral safety screen for contamination protection. The orifice allows trapped air to escape back to the sump and is small enough to restrict most hydraulic fluid from passing; this minimizes continuous system losses. Typically, these orifices are installed in high spots where small air pockets can form during system operation. They are also used in spots where the air is difficult to remove during the initial evacuation and fill process after manufacturing.
The Air Bleed Orifice offers significant improvement in reducing wasted energy and flow: reductions of up to 99% less hydraulic loss as compared to the traditional methods.
Air that enters a hydraulic system can cause many problems that could subsequently lead to system failure. Here FPE Seals discusses how to spot these potential problems and why it is so important that air is bled from a system as soon as it is detected.
Essentially, hydraulic pumps are not designed to pump air because when compressed air generates heat. When air contaminates a hydraulic fluid, usually via the pump’s inlet, aeration, cavitation, or foaming can occur.
Aeration is bad news, as it degrades the hydraulic fluid causing damage to the components of the system due to loss of lubrication, resulting in overheating and burning of the seals. Overheating is particularly dangerous as dieseling can occur when the hydraulic cylinder oil mixes with the air, causing an explosion under compression.
Abnormal noise is often a tell-tale sign that there is trapped air in a hydraulic system. As air circulates through the system it compresses and decompresses, creating a banging or knocking noise.
It is also important that displacement hydraulic cylinders are bled before installation as any air trapped in the system would work like a gas shock absorber. For this reason, displacement cylinders have a breather at the top, to disperse any air.
And lastly, when testing a new cylinder, it is important to check for potential air contamination, as this can result in blowing the dirt wiper and the hydraulic seal out of its housing extruding past the rod.
We have a 1256 that was doing the same thing a couple years ago. That is what brought me to this forum as well. We fought it for quite a while before we finally broke down and had the mcv rebuilt and a new steering pump installed. The mechanic said that the spring in the valve was broken, I assume it was the pressure relief valve that dale560 mentioned. After doing that we have had no problems at all with it losing prime.
The things we tried that didn"t work- Over filling by 5 gallons, this seemed to help but didn"t cure the problem. Parking uphill, this also helped some of the time but didn"t fix anything. Blowing air into the fill tube, this I couldn"t make work at all. If you are having trouble with it losing prime you have a problem with the mcv. These tractors should work fine with the oil on the add mark, no matter how long it is parked or at what angle it is parked. That is how our 1256 is now.
Since then I have also replaced the main hitch pump with a 17 gpm unit from IH, (CNH), and put in a 2500 psi relief valve. That really made a difference in the hydraulics. When it got cold out this winter, I also had trouble with the hydraulics not working untill the tractor had warmed up for a while. Once it warmed up, they worked fine. So I ordered the hydraulic oil filter extension that lets you run two filters. I installed it yesterday and it cured the problem. The pressure was right there this morning at start-up at 10F. It is still stiff because at that temp the oil flows like maple syrup, but you can still steer it and drive it right after starting. The hydraulics also move much faster, with the double filter and the larger pump it really makes the loader fly.
My recomendation for those losing prime would be to get the mcv rebuilt and have the steering pump replaced. That should fix the problem. Just break down and do it.
For those having trouble with their hydraulics in the cold, I would get the double filter kit. After my experience the last couple days, I am very happy I did.
There are typically three types of hydraulic pump constructions found in mobile hydraulic applications. These include gear, piston, and vane; however, there are also clutch pumps, dump pumps, and pumps for refuse vehicles such as dry valve pumps and Muncie Power Products’ Live PakTM.
The hydraulic pump is the component of the hydraulic system that takes mechanical energy and converts it into fluid energy in the form of oil flow. This mechanical energy is taken from what is called the prime mover (a turning force) such as the power take-off or directly from the truck engine.
With each hydraulic pump, the pump will be of either a uni-rotational or bi-rotational design. As its name implies, a uni-rotational pump is designed to operate in one direction of shaft rotation. On the other hand, a bi-rotational pump has the ability to operate in either direction.
For truck-mounted hydraulic systems, the most common design in use is the gear pump. This design is characterized as having fewer moving parts, being easy to service, more tolerant of contamination than other designs and relatively inexpensive. Gear pumps are fixed displacement, also called positive displacement, pumps. This means the same volume of flow is produced with each rotation of the pump’s shaft. Gear pumps are rated in terms of the pump’s maximum pressure rating, cubic inch displacement and maximum input speed limitation.
Generally, gear pumps are used in open center hydraulic systems. Gear pumps trap oil in the areas between the teeth of the pump’s two gears and the body of the pump, transport it around the circumference of the gear cavity and then force it through the outlet port as the gears mesh. Behind the brass alloy thrust plates, or wear plates, a small amount of pressurized oil pushes the plates tightly against the gear ends to improve pump efficiency.
A cylinder block containing pistons that move in and out is housed within a piston pump. It’s the movement of these pistons that draw oil from the supply port and then force it through the outlet. The angle of the swash plate, which the slipper end of the piston rides against, determines the length of the piston’s stroke. While the swash plate remains stationary, the cylinder block, encompassing the pistons, rotates with the pump’s input shaft. The pump displacement is then determined by the total volume of the pump’s cylinders. Fixed and variable displacement designs are both available.
With a fixed displacement piston pump, the swash plate is nonadjustable. Its proportional output flow to input shaft speed is like that of a gear pump and like a gear pump, the fixed displacement piston pump is used within open center hydraulic systems.
As previously mentioned, piston pumps are also used within applications like snow and ice control where it may be desirable to vary system flow without varying engine speed. This is where the variable displacement piston pump comes into play – when the hydraulic flow requirements will vary based on operating conditions. Unlike the fixed displacement design, the swash plate is not fixed and its angle can be adjusted by a pressure signal from the directional valve via a compensator.
Vane pumps were, at one time, commonly used on utility vehicles such as aerial buckets and ladders. Today, the vane pump is not commonly found on these mobile (truck-mounted) hydraulic systems as gear pumps are more widely accepted and available.
Within a vane pump, as the input shaft rotates it causes oil to be picked up between the vanes of the pump which is then transported to the pump’s outlet side. This is similar to how gear pumps work, but there is one set of vanes – versus a pair of gears – on a rotating cartridge in the pump housing. As the area between the vanes decreases on the outlet side and increases on the inlet side of the pump, oil is drawn in through the supply port and expelled through the outlet as the vane cartridge rotates due to the change in area.
Input shaft rotates, causing oil to be picked up between the vanes of the pump which is then transported to pump outlet side as area between vanes decreases on outlet side and increases on inlet side to draw oil through supply port and expel though outlet as vane cartridge rotates
A clutch pump is a small displacement gear pump equipped with a belt-driven, electromagnetic clutch, much like that found on a car’s air conditioner compressor. It is engaged when the operator turns on a switch inside the truck cab. Clutch pumps are frequently used where a transmission power take-off aperture is not provided or is not easily accessible. Common applications include aerial bucket trucks, wreckers and hay spikes. As a general rule clutch pumps cannot be used where pump output flows are in excess of 15 GPM as the engine drive belt is subject to slipping under higher loads.
What separates this pump from the traditional gear pump is its built-in pressure relief assembly and an integral three-position, three-way directional control valve. The dump pump is unsuited for continuous-duty applications because of its narrow, internal paths and the subsequent likelihood of excessive heat generation.
Dump pumps are often direct mounted to the power take-off; however, it is vital that the direct-coupled pumps be rigidly supported with an installer-supplied bracket to the transmission case with the pump’s weight at 70 lbs. With a dump pump, either a two- or three-line installation must be selected (two-line and three-line refer to the number of hoses used to plumb the pump); however, a dump pump can easily be converted from a two- to three-line installation. This is accomplished by inserting an inexpensive sleeve into the pump’s inlet port and uncapping the return port.
Many dump bodies can function adequately with a two-line installation if not left operating too long in neutral. When left operating in neutral for too long however, the most common dump pump failure occurs due to high temperatures. To prevent this failure, a three-line installation can be selected – which also provides additional benefits.
Pumps for refuse equipment include both dry valve and Live Pak pumps. Both conserve fuel while in the OFF mode, but have the ability to provide full flow when work is required. While both have designs based on that of standard gear pumps, the dry valve and Like Pak pumps incorporate additional, special valving.
Primarily used on refuse equipment, dry valve pumps are large displacement, front crankshaft-driven pumps. The dry valve pump encompasses a plunger-type valve in the pump inlet port. This special plunger-type valve restricts flow in the OFF mode and allows full flow in the ON mode. As a result, the horsepower draw is lowered, which saves fuel when the hydraulic system is not in use.
In the closed position, the dry valve allows just enough oil to pass through to maintain lubrication of the pump. This oil is then returned to the reservoir through a bleed valve and small return line. A bleed valve that is fully functioning is critical to the life of this type of pump, as pump failure induced by cavitation will result if the bleed valve becomes clogged by contaminates. Muncie Power Products also offer a butterfly-style dry valve, which eliminates the bleed valve requirement and allows for improved system efficiency.
It’s important to note that with the dry valve, wear plates and shaft seals differ from standard gear pumps. Trying to fit a standard gear pump to a dry valve likely will result in premature pump failure.
Encompasses plunger-type valve in the pump inlet port restricting flow in OFF mode, but allows full flow in ON mode lowering horsepower draw to save fuel when not in use
Wear plates and shaft seals differ from standard gear pumps – trying to fit standard gear pump to dry valve likely will result in premature pump failure
Live Pak pumps are also primarily used on refuse equipment and are engine crankshaft driven; however, the inlet on a Live Pak pump is not outfitted with a shut-off valve. With a Live Pak pump, the outlet incorporates a flow limiting valve. This is called a Live Pak valve. The valve acts as an unloading valve in OFF mode and a flow limiting valve in the ON mode. As a result, the hydraulic system speed is limited to keep within safe operating parameters.
Outlet incorporates flow limiting valve called Live Pak valve – acts as an unloading valve in OFF mode and flow limiting valve in ON mode restricting hydraulic system speed to keep within safe operating parameters