# Possible water in log splitter hydraulic fluid



## Lab-lover (Oct 29, 2012)

I have a Huss 5hp, 11GPM logsplitter with a 3.5" x 24" cylinder and after about 20 minutes of splitting the hydraulic fluid foams up and starts coming out the reservoir breather.

I've read on some other threads that foaming can be caused by either contamination of the fluid by water or other oils or by a leak on the suction side of the pump. So I will drain the fluid off into a clear container to see if any water separates out or if it appears to be air bubbles. I can deal with air bubbles and will just have to find and fix the leak.

However if it is water in the fluid how can I dry out the system before adding new fluid? Even though my splitter only holds about 1.75 gallons of fluid I don't fee like wasting another $20+ on new fluid if I can't get rid of the water first.

Also was the Traveller's ISO 46 All Season hydraulic fluid from Tractor Supply a good choice for this splitter? I don't intend to run the splitter in extremely hot or cold weather since neither it nor I would be happy. I live in Michigan and wiill probably run it in the 40 - 75 degree range most, if not all of the time.

Thanks for your thoughts


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## kevin j (Oct 29, 2012)

If it is water, it will be milky or grey and stay that way, or settle out water i the jar if really bad. 

The crackle test for GROSS water contamination is to drop some on a hot plate, or heat in a spoon carefully. Oil will boil and smoke, water will crackle and sizzle around like fried egs. Water boils at 212, oils much higher. 
If water, it is not feasible to clean it up for 2 gallons. Dump and change, but find out where the water is getting in. Bad breathers usually. 

If air, the cloudy will clear up starting at the bottom of the jar as bubbles coalesce and rise to the top, in maybe 15 minutes.
If it only starts after quite a while of running, I will guess air ingression into the pump shaft seal or the suction lines. Usually the higher vacuum at startup will suck air, then less air as it warms up, but foam after time is almost always air. Check your suction connections and shaft seal.

ISO 46 is a good choice. You could easily run that to 140F oil temp, or higher.


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## Lab-lover (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks for the response kevin j.

I must not have explained myself very well. I have no intention of trying to clean up and reuse the fluid if it has been contaminated with water. I was only putting the fluid into a clear container to try and determine if the contamination was water or air. However if the foaming was caused only by air then I will reuse the fluid once it clears and I have determined and corrected the suction leak.

My question is; if the contamination is actually water then how do I get the water and contaminated fluid out of the hydraulic system before putting new fluid in? I can drain the reservoir faily well and disconnect the hoses to try and drain and swab those out but should I also disassemble the valve and cylinder in an attempt to every bit the contaminated fluid? I'm not sure how much fluid remains in the cylinder when it is fully retracted.


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## ponyexpress976 (Oct 29, 2012)

with all the hoses off it should be relatively easy to tip the cylinder over and get everything out. Leave the system open for a few days to air dry...but make sure all openings point down so nothing falls in your system to cause problems later.


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## dingeryote (Oct 29, 2012)

Lab-lover said:


> Thanks for the response kevin j.
> 
> I must not have explained myself very well. I have no intention of trying to clean up and reuse the fluid if it has been contaminated with water. I was only putting the fluid into a clear container to try and determine if the contamination was water or air. However if the foaming was caused only by air then I will reuse the fluid once it clears and I have determined and corrected the suction leak.
> 
> My question is; if the contamination is actually water then how do I get the water and contaminated fluid out of the hydraulic system before putting new fluid in? I can drain the reservoir faily well and disconnect the hoses to try and drain and swab those out but should I also disassemble the valve and cylinder in an attempt to every bit the contaminated fluid? I'm not sure how much fluid remains in the cylinder when it is fully retracted.



Lab,

Just drain the tank. Re-fill, and cycle the thing a dozen times then park it over night.
Next day the water will have found it's way to the lowest point, either the tank or the filter and sometimes both.
Drain off a couple pints from the tank, and swap the filter. Keep the drained hydro in a clean jar and let it sit 3-4 hours for any water to settle, and you will be able to determine wether or not you got it all out.

A little water is normal, and will steam off as the hydro heats up with use. It's when a lot of water gets in the sytem troubles begin.

You enjoying this hurricane as much as we are south of ya?

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## Lab-lover (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks for the input guys, I won't get to the splitter till the weekend but when I do I will hang everything I can up like a hardware clothesline and let it all drip dry.

As for the Hurricane, the bad news is 55 MPH winds keep me from fishing but the good news is all of my leaves are in the next county and still going.

Thanks again for the ideas and I will update this thread when I get her back together.


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## mga (Oct 29, 2012)

Lab-lover said:


> Thanks for the response kevin j.
> 
> I must not have explained myself very well. I have no intention of trying to clean up and reuse the fluid if it has been contaminated with water. I was only putting the fluid into a clear container to try and determine if the contamination was water or air. However if the foaming was caused only by air then I will reuse the fluid once it clears and I have determined and corrected the suction leak.
> 
> My question is; if the contamination is actually water then how do I get the water and contaminated fluid out of the hydraulic system before putting new fluid in? I can drain the reservoir faily well and disconnect the hoses to try and drain and swab those out but should I also disassemble the valve and cylinder in an attempt to every bit the contaminated fluid?* I'm not sure how much fluid remains in the cylinder when it is fully retracted*.



however large your cylinder is.

when draining the oil, you have to manually retract the cylinder to get the oil out.


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## Lab-lover (Oct 29, 2012)

The shaft is already fully retracted. After disconnecting the hoses should I attempt to extend and retract the shaft a few times to work the contaminated fluid out of the cylinder?


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## ponyexpress976 (Oct 29, 2012)

Lab-lover said:


> As for the Hurricane, the bad news is 55 MPH winds keep me from fishing but the good news is all of my leaves are in the next county and still going.



I told the wife I'd get to the leaves at the end of the week....hoping for the same result!


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## redprospector (Oct 29, 2012)

ponyexpress976 said:


> with all the hoses off it should be relatively easy to tip the cylinder over and get everything out. Leave the system open for a few days to air dry...but make sure all openings point down so nothing falls in your system to cause problems later.



I don't think it's ever a good idea to leave any hydraulic system open for a few day's.

Andy


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## Lab-lover (Oct 29, 2012)

Redprospector, are you worried about dust and dirt getting into the system or is there some other reason not to leave a hydraulic system open for an extended period of time?

I'm just trying to find the best way to remove as much of the potentially contaminated fluid from the system before I replace it with new so I am open to suggestions.


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## mga (Oct 29, 2012)

Lab-lover said:


> The shaft is already fully retracted. After disconnecting the hoses should I attempt to extend and retract the shaft a few times to work the contaminated fluid out of the cylinder?



that'll work. .....if you can pull/push it by hand


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## mga (Oct 29, 2012)

so, you haven't really determined yet if you have water or air in your system...right?

from what you desribed about the foaming, i'm going to guess it's air and most likely, or definately in the suction line somewhere.

determine what the cause is for sure before taking everything apart and buying new oil.


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## sb47 (Oct 29, 2012)

Ok so you know how to determine if it water or air. When it comes to small hydraulic systems like most of the push/pull cylinders on log splitters you will always have some oil in the cylinder whether its in or out.
So you must cycle it to flush out what oil is in the cylinder.
I use the cheapest oil I can find whether its motor oil, transmission fluid, hydraulic oil. 
IMO for small hydraulic systems oil is oil as long as its thin enough say like a 10-w 40 or less.
We ran regular motor oil in all of our Mack trucks in the power steering pumps and the hydraulic systems for many years and we had zero pump failures. 
Plane ole Dullo 400 or Rotella will do fine for hydraulic fluid.
Even a cheap recycled oil will work.
I’ve put what ever oil I have on hand in my splitter for over ten years and I split 70-100 cords a year whit it and she just keeps pushin wood through the wedge like she did when she was new.


If its water your just going to have to buy some oil and flush it out.


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## Lab-lover (Oct 30, 2012)

I just read on another thread that someone puts diesel fuel dryer in his hydraulic fluid to eliminate any water build up. I was just thinking about using some of that to rinse out the hoses and rest of the system before I reassemble it, in an attempt to eliminate a little more water if that is in fact the problem.

Any thoughts on that idea?


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## gulity1 (Oct 30, 2012)

*No*

NO!!!
Most of the Diesel treatment stuff is Alcohol and supposed to be burn off not really drying it out 
DO NOT DO THIS your system is too small to afford any "additives" 
#1 Drian your system with the cylinder retracted totally filter etc. everything 
#2 Reassemble, new filter
#3 Fill sytem with the hose off of the top of the cylinder
#4 Extend it out slowly
#5 Run fluid in bucket
#6Attatch hose
#7Fill tank 
#8 Cycle until it stop burbing air less then 5 misntes with that small of system done and Now you now have clean fluid in the entire sytem


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## kevin j (Oct 30, 2012)

diesel fuel treatments only keep the water from freezing they don't take it out, as there is nowhere for it to be 'taken to'.
First you need to define if it is air or water. I still bet air.


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## thinkrtinker (Oct 30, 2012)

When my splitter began to foam from the vent hole of the tank, it was air. I had backed into a brushy area to turn around and a dead limb had cut a pin hole in the return line at the bottom of the filter. Replaced line and was good to go.


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## Sandhill Crane (Oct 30, 2012)

I will be replacing a detent valve this weekend. The tech at the hydraulic shop said not to use teflon tape when attaching the hoses. Rather use teflon or a liquid dope on the fittings so as not to get tape in the system.


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## GeeVee (Oct 30, 2012)

Yer over thinking this.


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## Lab-lover (Oct 30, 2012)

I heard that about teflon tape too so I've been using the liquid / paste pipe dope in the tube like I have always used on gas pipes. Thanks for the confirmation Sandhill Crane.

By the way I didn't realize that cranes flew in a V but I had a flock of about ten go over my house last week and they were V'ed up and gargling and giggling as only Sandhills can.


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## Lab-lover (Oct 31, 2012)

You're probably right GeeVee but I work out of town during the week and can't get my hands on the splitter to try all of these ideas so all I can do is think about it and plan which is a lot like sitting in a rocking chair, it keeps you busy but you don't really accomplish anything.

Also, since I only have a couple of days (the weekend) to fix the splitter and use it I like to have all of my ducks in a row when I actually get a chance to wrench on something.

Thanks for indulging me and for all of the great ideas. I will update this thread with what I find out this weekend.


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## Lab-lover (Nov 1, 2012)

I made it home early this week and just drained off a gallon of the hydraulic fluid. After sitting for 5 days the fluid it looks like chocolate milk. No water appears to have settled out and any air bubbles certainly haven't worked their way out. I removed all of the hoses and swabbed them out. Now I am draining the rest of the fluid out of the system. I will reassemble everything and put new fluid in. Hopefully this will take care of the foaming problem but I'm still not sure what contaminated the fluid.


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## kevin j (Nov 1, 2012)

the chocolate milk look is water, the foaming is air. Water contamination inhibits the ability to release air (defoam additives). Check for water going in the breather, and find out where the air is getting in. Two problems.


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## Lab-lover (Nov 4, 2012)

I have a new question for all of you. Do you ever get tired of always being right???? :msp_smile:

To remove the old contaminated fluid: I disconnected all of the lines and cleaned them out, drained as much fluid as possible from the pump and valve, manually worked the shaft back and forth a few times to pump the old fluid out of the cylinder.

To eliminate the possiblilty of an air leak on the suction side of the pump causing the foaming fluid: I repositioned the pump to allow a large loop in the suction line. This replaced a shorter line with more bends and more hose clamp connections.

I ran the splitter hard for 2 hours on Friday and 3 hours yesterday with no problems. Zero foaming, smoother and faster extension and retraction of the shaft, more power at the business end. 

I finally tracked down the cause of the water in the fluid. I had some welding done on the splitter and the welder flushed the reservoir with water to reduce the chance of fire. I was unaware that he had filled it with water so I when I got it back I just filled it with fluid and voila, contaminated fluid. I'm convinced that the fluid got contaminated the second time because I didn't manually pump the old fluid out of the cylinder before pouring new fluid it. I was surprised at how much fluid was sitting in the cylinder and I think when this mixed with the new fluid it turned the whole batch into chocolate milk again.

So now that I have made a long story longer, I would just like to thank everyone for their help in fixing all of the issues I ran into. My Huss Abe's Baby is up and running great thanks to your input.


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