# Chipper out of hydrualic fluid



## JCONN (Jan 13, 2010)

Hi everybody, I have a small problem that hopefully someone has an answer too. My chipper broke a hydraulic line it is a brush bandit 200+ this has happened before and I usually just replace it. However my fantastic employees ran it just about dry until they stopped it. I replaced the line and filter since it was empty but I can't get the pumps to spin when I engage the clutch. I can hear the pumps trying to work but I don't want to leave them running in fear of burning them up, do I need to prime the system some how or should it do it by itself thanks any help would be great


----------



## lone wolf (Jan 13, 2010)

JCONN said:


> Hi everybody, I have a small problem that hopefully someone has an answer too. My chipper broke a hydraulic line it is a brush bandit 200+ this has happened before and I usually just replace it. However my fantastic employees ran it just about dry until they stopped it. I replaced the line and filter since it was empty but I can't get the pumps to spin when I engage the clutch. I can hear the pumps trying to work but I don't want to leave them running in fear of burning them up, do I need to prime the system some how or should it do it by itself thanks any help would be great



you can call bandit and ask to speak with a tech and they will walk you through it thats why i dont leave idiots alone and mine always self primed .


----------



## JCONN (Jan 13, 2010)

I am going to give them a call in the morn I wanted to get it done tonight supposed to do a big job tommarrow with the break in nice weather. Never works trying to make repairs first thing in the morning and still get a good full day of work in. Thanks for the advice.


----------



## lone wolf (Jan 13, 2010)

JCONN said:


> I am going to give them a call in the morn I wanted to get it done tonight supposed to do a big job tommarrow with the break in nice weather. Never works trying to make repairs first thing in the morning and still get a good full day of work in. Thanks for the advice.



dont rush it they are expensive


----------



## Bigstumps (Jan 13, 2010)

I think you mean you can't get the hydraulic motors to spin? The pump is probably either mounted right on the engine (live hydraulics) or is belt drive off the disk.

Either way you don't need to prime the system. Bad news - if you ran the system out of fluid you probably cavitated the pump (the hydraulic pump, not the hydraulic motors that drive the feed wheels) - this happens when they run dry - and it is now junk. These gear pumps won't take running without fluid.

Good news is these hydraulic pumps are not expensive. Pull it off , get the numbers off it, and call a local hydraulic supply store.


----------



## JCONN (Jan 13, 2010)

Yes Bigstumps you are correct. The pump is belt driven if I get a new pump do how do you get fluid back through the system and not burn the new one out? Will it suck it from the reservoir automatically?


----------



## lone wolf (Jan 13, 2010)

JCONN said:


> Yes Bigstumps you are correct. The pump is belt driven if I get a new pump do how do you get fluid back through the system and not burn the new one out? Will it suck it from the reservoir automatically?



i had drained mine out and everything self primed when i started it but check with the bandit techs tommorrow maybe you do have to put some hyd btw what oil did you use?


----------



## JCONN (Jan 14, 2010)

When I talk to the tech before I found that it was completly empty they recomended AW-46.


----------



## Bigstumps (Jan 14, 2010)

The pump is below the resevoir and the suction line should be just off the bottom of the tank. The pump suction line will flood when you fill the tank. 

A good design will always have the pump below the top level of hydraulic fluid. Sometimes you have to bleed certain functions to get the air out - manlifts and masts. Most hydraulic motor applications don't need bleeding.

Do you have a hydraulic lift cylinder? Does it work?? 

Remember when you are checking out your old pump to see if it is bad it may deliver some flow at low pressure but as the pressure builds the flow will drop off if the pump is bad. You can't just stick the pressure hose in a bucket and say "well fluid is coming out fast so the pump is good" You have to see what kind of flow you get with pressure.

How long did the machine run with the disk engaged and the tank out of fluid? The other bad thing about having the pump hooked to the disk is when you have a hose blow and shut the engine off - as the disk coasts down it is still pumping fluid - or in this case starving for it.


----------



## JCONN (Jan 14, 2010)

I called Brush Bandit in the morning, the tech told me that the system should prime itself but it will take a few minutes. The guys said that they shut the chipper down when they noticed the break and it wasn't't running with out fluid only while the disk was coasting. So I tried running it to prime the system back up and it worked. The tech said it would take a few minutes to work it took about ten or more minutes to start moving. 
Used the chipper for about 3 hours today and seem to be fine

Thanks for all the help again it was greatly appreciated.


----------



## lxt (Jan 15, 2010)

Jconn, if that happens in the future...you can hand spin the pump pulley wheel to prime it!! I usually crack a fitting on the out put side & when it starts to seep...I know the pump is primed!

A buddy of mine did what one of the techs told him, similar situation as yours & he cavitated the pump...he even cavitated the new pump doing like that too! I was always told to hand prime!! LOL...that could be taken wrong uhh?





LXT..................


----------



## 2dogs (Jan 15, 2010)

Glad it all worked out. BTW we have gone through several relief valves, on the end of the control valve where forward/neutral/reverse takes place. I have to tighten the allen screws a couple times each week too.


----------



## Bigstumps (Jan 15, 2010)

lxt said:


> Jconn, if that happens in the future...you can hand spin the pump pulley wheel to prime it!! I usually crack a fitting on the out put side & when it starts to seep...I know the pump is primed!
> 
> A buddy of mine did what one of the techs told him, similar situation as yours & he cavitated the pump...he even cavitated the new pump doing like that too! I was always told to hand prime!! LOL...that could be taken wrong uhh?
> 
> ...




That is good advice!


----------



## JCONN (Jan 15, 2010)

That is great advice. It made me nervous letting it run it was the longest ten minutes I kept looking at my watch. I questioned it when the tech told me to do it this way because he told me they are sensitive and that mine was probably shot so too leave it running for ten minutes would definitely cause failure in even a new pump. I will surely hand prime it if theirs a next time. Thanks again for the great advice.


----------

