Onboard Hydraulic Grenade

   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #11  
After installing the new pump. Put a gage on the system to check relief valve setting. I would guess that old pump cracked from over pressure.
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #12  
being a hydraulic "expert", there must be a relief valve in the circuit. The failure is clearly a result of overpressure. You should plumb a relief valve directly to the output of the pump. The statement that the pump should stall the motor before any failure is just dead wrong. Just the mechanical inertia of the engine/trans will be able to generate momentary pressures well beyond the rating of any component in there.

You're lucky nothing else failed.

paul
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Thanks everybody for the responses.

Larger versions of the pictures included can be found here.

Here is some more info around the issues you've all raised:

The loader control valve is not new. It's an ancient twin stick thing which was on the tractor when I bought it. I took it into a hydraulic shop to ask if it could be fitted for power beyond. The guy there told me that wouldn't be possible, and that the thing I was looking at was the relief valve. This is the best picture I've got of it, taken before I made any changes.

IMGP0105.med.JPG



When I bought this tractor, the loader was plumbed to the hydraulic system on the PTO driven backhoe. The same selector valve I'm using now used to allow me to switch the backhoe PTO system between the backhoe and the loader. Here's a shot of that selector in its old home on the backhoe.

IMGP0157.med.JPG


I'm beginning to become suspicious of the thing I belive is the relief valve. Prior to my re-plumbing efforts, when the loader reached the end of its travel I heard squealing from the backhoe. I presume that sound came from a relief valve on the backhoe. I don't know that I've ever heard the relief on the loader valve trip.

There's also the possibility that I've hooked the valve up backwards. I've got the right side of the valve (clearly visible in the picture above) receiving fluid from the pump via the selector. The other side of the valve is the one with the large hex thing sticking out of it, which I believe is the relief valve. Thinking about it now, I'm guessing that the relief valve (if that's indeed what it is) needs to be on the inlet side of the pump.

Okay, some more about what happened:

I did hear a sound when the pump failed. Not so much a "pop", more of a "clink" sound.

I'd just pushed a big pile of snow with the bucket, and was unable to back up due to lack of traction. I was simultaneously raising and tipping the bucket with the intention of lowering the fully tipped bucket to the ground, then curling it to push myself backward.

I'm pretty sure I was manipulating both sticks at the moment of failure.

The fluid flow at that point would have been:
  • Fluid from the pump was extending the lift cylinders
  • Fluid expelled from the the lift cylinders would have been extending my tip cylinders.
  • Fluid expelled from the tip cylinders was getting returned to the transmission.

There's no way that the lift cylinders reached the end of their travel, but the tip cylinders may have. If that's the case, and the relief valve was at the wrong end of things (or non-functioning), then I can see that I may have dead-headed the pump: The tip cylinders stopped accepting fluid from the lift cylinders, which would have stopped accepting fluid from the pump.

Sound reasonable?

I'll take some pictures of the loader valve tonight. I'll be seeking opinions about whether I've really got a relief valve integrated, which side is in and out, and how to test that the relief operates correctly.

I'm still suprised at the engine not stalling out: My backhoe pump easily stalls the engine (even with the extra inertia that comes from having the transmission engaged) at the low-ish RPMs that I was turning at the time.

The backhoe pump is much larger, I guess.

Thank you all, very much.

/chris
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #14  
Chris, I can't believe you broke your tractor!!

Seems to me it cannot be connected backwards, I would think it wouldn't have worked properly but by the sounds of it you got some use before it cracked. I'd go with the dead heading on full curl.

BTW, how well did the little pump do with that loader while it worked?

One last comment, my loader barely makes the engine lose RPM when maxed out so I can't see it stalling if dead headed. Maybe this is because of the way it's attached to the engine and geared as opposed to running off the PTO.
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade
  • Thread Starter
#15  
KubotainNH said:
Chris, I can't believe you broke your tractor!!

Hi Mike. Me too :-(

Seems to me it cannot be connected backwards, I would think it wouldn't have worked properly but by the sounds of it you got some use before it cracked. I'd go with the dead heading on full curl.

If there's a relief valve in my loader control, then it probably matters which way I hook it up.

BTW, how well did the little pump do with that loader while it worked?

It was annoyingly slow, but maybe not much different than when running off the backhoe as before.

I just learned about the regenerative feature for the curl on joystick-style control valves. It would make a big improvement. There may be one of those in my future, but that's second priority to getting the tractor running. Right now I can't even start the engine.

One last comment, my loader barely makes the engine lose RPM when maxed out so I can't see it stalling if dead headed. Maybe this is because of the way it's attached to the engine and geared as opposed to running off the PTO.

Mine only stalled when running at low RPM. At high speed it wasn't really noticeable. I just happened to be at low-ish speed when I broke the pump. If I'd reached the end of travel on my backhoe at that speed, the motor would have stalled.

/chris
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #16  
chrisinnh said:
..........There's no way that the lift cylinders reached the end of their travel, but the tip cylinders may have. If that's the case, and the relief valve was at the wrong end of things (or non-functioning), then I can see that I may have dead-headed the pump: The tip cylinders stopped accepting fluid from the lift cylinders, which would have stopped accepting fluid from the pump......Sound reasonable?..............

Yes, it does. Ordinarily a hose would be expected to be the weakest link in the system. But sometimes small bore hoses have actual burst pressures much higher than their rating. Paul (techman) is right about engine inertia being able to cause a huge spike in pressure, it would come and go so fast that you wouldn't notice a change in speed - just a "knock" when the pressure pulse broke the pump.
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #17  
I'm still questioning the gear oil. That seems a bit heavy for hydraulic use but maybe that is OK. How cold was it?
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade
  • Thread Starter
#18  
ccsial said:
I'm still questioning the gear oil. That seems a bit heavy for hydraulic use but maybe that is OK. How cold was it?

Below freezing for sure, maybe around 15 farenheit.

Gear oil is definitely correct for this application:

IMGP0145.med.JPG


/chris
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #19  
It sounds like you may have hooked the loader valve up backwards.

The relief valve is always (far as I know) on the inlet side. If you hooked it up with the "IN" hose going to the "OUT" of the valve, then when you operate the controls, you are isolating the relief from the fluid. Any over pressure can't be relieved and the weak spot is located with much fan fare and excitement.

A second thought, your selector valve. If you operate the selector valve while the tractor is running, it may dead head the pump. Instantly killing it. Don't know if that is the case or not here. Just something to beware of.

Your hyd diagram does not include the BH circuit. There may be a relationship there, don't know for sure.

Also, I got the impression that you put the pump on replacing the function of a PTO pump. Did I read that right? If so, the fluid may be too thick for the pump. Check with the pump mfg to be sure. Over pressure situations can occur even with an operable relief valve if the viscosity is too high. Basically, the fluid can't get out the relief port fast enough to drop the pressure. Again, may not have a bearing on the case. But good to know.

There was a guy on here a while back with a ford BH loader. He had some of the same issues with blowing a new pump when plumbing hydraulics. It's easy to do, happens in a heartbeat and expensive as all get out.

Do try and document the entire set up you have. Folks here will chip in to try and get you up and running.

jb
 
   / Onboard Hydraulic Grenade #20  
rbargeron said:
Yes, it does. Ordinarily a hose would be expected to be the weakest link in the system. But sometimes small bore hoses have actual burst pressures much higher than their rating. Paul (techman) is right about engine inertia being able to cause a huge spike in pressure, it would come and go so fast that you wouldn't notice a change in speed - just a "knock" when the pressure pulse broke the pump.
Yes, all hoses will have a burst pressure well beyond their rating. Rating is for continuous pressure. Burst has a time element involved. Waynecountyhose would know the specifics. Id guess a 4k hose would take 8 or 10k for a few seconds- and even more for an instant. Plenty of time and pressure to pop a cast aluminum pump.
larry
 
 
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