Overfilling hydraulic oil

[freakflag]

I am having a hard time being able to tell how much hydraulic oil is in my 7 ton electric wood splitter. I am afraid I might have over filled it. The hydraulic oil is Pro Select AW-32 and is difficult to see on the dip stick. It seems to operating properly but I want it to stay that way. Does anyone know what happens if in fact there is too much fluid in there?

 

[Del_]

No damage done. It just overflows.

 

[freakflag]

No damage done. It just overflows.

I read something to that affect. It seems like there is air coming out from underneath the machine when the ram is pushing forward and there seems to be air coming out of the bleed screw when the ram is returning. Other than that the machine seems to be operating normally. I guess I shouldn't worry then. The fluid seems a sort of amber color when it is in the container but on the dipstick it looks to be clear.

 

[kevin j]

Add a bit of ATF Dexron to give it some tint color. AW32 is petroleum, based and they will mix fine for a home splitter.

 

[freakflag]

Add a bit of ATF Dexron to give it some tint color. AW32 is petroleum, based and they will mix fine for a home splitter.

Thanks. Like I said, this stuff does seem to have an amber color in the container. I have heard conflicting reports. Some people say if the machine has too much fluid it might damage a seal. The manual says it takes as many as 7 quarts of fluid. Like most of these machines the manual leaves a lot to be desired. At one point I opened the screw with an alan wrench and the fluid came out like it was in a power washer. I was pretty embarrassed. Later on I removed a little more but I just have no way of knowing how much is in there right now. I added about half a gallon of fluid today.

 

[kevin j]

Too much fluid doesn't matter, but if there is no breather, and the fluid level rises due to heat, the air on top gets pressurized and would shoot out oil like you described. Is there a breather, and is it 'opened', I guess some have screws that have to be closed for storage on end, and opened when using horizontally.

Usually I'd say pump suction or shaft seal leaking and drawing in air, but not sure how those little electrics work. Is the pump submerged?

 

[freakflag]

Too much fluid doesn't matter, but if there is no breather, and the fluid level rises due to heat, the air on top gets pressurized and would shoot out oil like you described. Is there a breather, and is it 'opened', I guess some have screws that have to be closed for storage on end, and opened when using horizontally.

Usually I'd say pump suction or shaft seal leaking and drawing in air, but not sure how those little electrics work. Is the pump submerged?

I'm not sure if the pump is submerged. The bleed screw needs to be opened when it is operating. When the machine is not being used the screw is shut tight for storage and moving around. If anybody has any tricks or ideas as to what can be done to make the dipstick more readable that would be great. Or if it is just not a big deal that there is more fluid than there should be I won't stress over it. Maybe it is not a big deal.

 

[old CB]

If your over-filled hydraulic chamber spit oil when you opened it, then yes there's some danger of blowing the seals. I ran into this years ago on a Massey-Harris combine. It was easier to access the hydraulic pump when the table was raised, and then when the table was lowered all the hyd. oil returned to the pump. Couldn't figure out why the pump was always leaking oil. After replacing the pump and not overfilling, never had the problem again.

Reminds me of the penguin who dropped his car off with the mechanic. It was a hot day, so the penguin went and got an ice cream cone. Came back to the mechanic's place with ice cream running down the front of him. The mechanic, on his creeper under the car, piped up: "Looks like you blew a seal." The penguin said--"No, no, it's vanilla ice cream!"

 

[freakflag]

If your over-filled hydraulic chamber spit oil when you opened it, then yes there's some danger of blowing the seals. I ran into this years ago on a Massey-Harris combine. It was easier to access the hydraulic pump when the table was raised, and then when the table was lowered all the hyd. oil returned to the pump. Couldn't figure out why the pump was always leaking oil. After replacing the pump and not overfilling, never had the problem again.

Reminds me of the penguin who dropped his car off with the mechanic. It was a hot day, so the penguin went and got a ice cream cone. Came back to the mechanic's place with ice cream running down the front of him. The mechanic, on his creeper under the car, piped up: "Looks like you blew a seal." The penguin said--"No, no, it's vanilla ice cream!"

That is pretty funny! Yesterday I removed 2 and a half pints of fluid. The machine was raised up 4 full inches in the front and the fluid came out on it's own. I split a few pieces of wood and it seemed to work fine and there seemed to be less air coming from underneath the machine and from the bleed screw. I' still can't read the dipstick though. That hydraulic fluid is pretty messy stuff when it gets on concrete.