Bursting Hydraulic Lines while snow plowing

[cvettori]

Hello,
This is only my second post, I"ve learned so much already just by reading along.
Last week I was away on business and asked my brother in law to come plow my wife out of our driveway. He had a hydraulic line burst on one of the loader hoses directly after the valve. I assumed it was operator error, because he hasn't used my loader to plow snow with yet. So a trip to the local JD dealer and about an hour of newbie labor and I had it fixed.
Well tonight I was plowing a pretty sticky, wet 8" of snow and don't you know it, another hose burst on me. I guess I can't blame operator error (well maybe not) this time.
My question is, the tractor is about 10 years old, but only has 230 hours. The hoses do not look overly worn, or brittle. Are these hoses just old and bursting due to age? If this is the case, can I expect them all to burst relatively soon? So far they have been simple to fix, but I don't want to have one bursting every other time we get snow. Its only January, it could be a long winter.
Thanks for any advice that may be out there.

Craig
2001 JD 790

 

[kjung17]

How are these hoses bursting? Blown out in the middle of the hose or ends coming off? Is this a JD blower? Have the hoses been damaged or worn? Metal showing?

 

[LD1]

We need a little more info about your equipment here.

Do you have a plow on the loader???

Were you just plowing with the loader bucket itself??

What lines burst?? Curl cylinder lines?? Lift cylinder lines?? Plow angle cylinder lines(if you have a plow)????

What were you doing when it burst?? Bucket dumped all the way and backdragging??? If so, that causes a extreme pressure in the curl circuit cause the bucket is actually trying to collapse the cylinder.

Again, give us a little more info and I am sure we can figure this out.

 

[kennyd]

We need a little more info about your equipment here.

Do you have a plow on the loader???

Were you just plowing with the loader bucket itself??

What lines burst?? Curl cylinder lines?? Lift cylinder lines?? Plow angle cylinder lines(if you have a plow)????

What were you doing when it burst?? Bucket dumped all the way and backdragging??? If so, that causes a extreme pressure in the curl circuit cause the bucket is actually trying to collapse the cylinder.

Again, give us a little more info and I am sure we can figure this out.

Ad this to the list:

Is the tractor stored outside?
Have you turned up the pressure?

 

[cvettori]

OK, So I'll try to cover all of the questions.
1. Plowing with the loader and bucket, no plow
2. Both were curl function hoses that burst
3. Hoses breaking not exactly in the center, but definately in the rubber portion
not the metal.
4. The Hose tonight burst as I was curling the bucket at the top of the pile.
5. Tractor is stored outside (unfortunately, i want to build a garage asap)
6. I have not increased the factory pressure.
7. No noticable damage to the hoses, i.e metal showing worn rubber etc.

Thanks for the quick responses everyone!

 

[LD1]

Ok, so we know it was in the curl circuit.

Was it the lines that make the bucket curl, or dump??

And when you say you were in the pile curling when it happened last, were you curling up, or curling down (dumping). Because it you were curling down while backing out of the pile, this could possibly cause the hose that makes it curl up see extreme pressure (as mentioned earlier similar to backdragging).

If none of the above, I guess you can just chalk it up to hoses getting fatigued/weak, provided you are still in the normal operating PSI speced by the MFG.

Personally, I would put a guage on it to double check. If that is okay, I would replace the other hoses as well, because they probabally arent far behind. Provided you are sure it wasnt operator error, like some of the scenerios I mentioned. Having a lift hose fail could make for a dangerous situation.

 

[kjung17]

OK, So I'll try to cover all of the questions.
1. Plowing with the loader and bucket, no plow
2. Both were curl function hoses that burst
3. Hoses breaking not exactly in the center, but definately in the rubber portion
not the metal.
4. The Hose tonight burst as I was curling the bucket at the top of the pile.
5. Tractor is stored outside (unfortunately, i want to build a garage asap)
6. I have not increased the factory pressure.
7. No noticable damage to the hoses, i.e metal showing worn rubber etc.

Thanks for the quick responses everyone!

Were the blown hoses on the same side (hydraulically or physically)? Rod side or piston side? Left or right? Were you creating extra force on the hoses with traction?

 

[kennyd]

I think the age (10 years) and the fact that it's stored outside is the reason...bend your other hoses and look for cracking-I will bet you'll find some.

 

[Ductape]

I think the age (10 years) and the fact that it's stored outside is the reason...bend your other hoses and look for cracking-I will bet you'll find some.

I agree. Its a 'normal' wear issue. I used to run a fleet of wreckers....... you can imagine how many hydraulic hoses I had to deal with. A blown hydraulic line is a regular occurance once a piece of equipment has a little age to it. Your BIL isn't to blame . Are the rest of them ready to burst? Its a crap shoot. I'd leave them alone until they are a problem. Might blow in a week, might last another ten or twenty years.

 

[David Devuono]

Interesting thread, I noticed one and only one of my hoses to my FEL getting rubber cracks. Stored indoors. Built FEL and had hoses made up at the same time. Only been about 7 years.

 

[wdchyd]

The problem with the cracks is water gets inside the wire braids (steel) and corrodes over time....thus weakening the braids that give the hose strength....

during HD usage you'll find the weak spot in the hose......Poooofff....:confused2:

 

[wdchyd]

Also be aware that some OEM hoses are 1-wire braid reinforcement (SAE100r1)......and most custom replacements are 2-wire braid (SAE100r2)= Higher pressure rating......

 

[Gary Fowler]

Check the pressure rating on your hoses if you can still make out the writing.
I was blowing a hose on my FEL about everytime I used it last summer. The hose rating used by the mfg. was 2000 PSI. The guy making my replacement was using the same brand of USA made hose but his was 2400 and so far none of the replacements have failed The hoses are only 2 years old and stored under shed or inside all the time. My first blow out was in the first year. Your hoses may be like mine, just a tad under spec or at the upper limit. Mine were all just pin hole blows and none at the union.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I vote for age as being your issue. My hydraulic tractor is around 10 years old and I am now replacing many of the hoses.

I would also suggest shopping around for hoses, prices vary wildly.

Remember your safety on these things. Oil under pressure can really mess you up.

 

[jml755]

As others have said, it's probably just age. I've replaced numerous hoses on my old backhoe. In fact, I've bought caps and adapters to either plug a line or make a temp fix in the field until I can get a hose made as they'll usually burst under load when I'm least expecting it.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I think the age (10 years) and the fact that it's stored outside is the reason...bend your other hoses and look for cracking-I will bet you'll find some.

I agree 100%. Being outside is tough on them. Cold also is not helping them either. You are going to have problem after problem. I would just bite the bullet and replace them all. Its going to cost you...

I agree though, get a gauge on it and check the pressure.

Chris

 

[J_J]

It also could be caused by the high pressure spikes generated when contacting a large stationary object. You just might be sending a 4000 psi spike through the hose, and the weakest spot gave way.

 

[cvettori]

I want to thank you all for your replies. There is such a wealth of knowledge on this site, its amazing.
I think I'll take the wait and see approach with the remaining lines. I inspected them all and they seem ok. Although ,with my luck Ill probably end up replacing one every other snow storm!
I have to say that owning a tractor is always a treat. Whether using it to make chores more manageable, or learning how to fix the darn thing when I mess it up. Thanks again for the help.

CV

 

[wdchyd]

I agree 100%. Being outside is tough on them. Cold also is not helping them either. You are going to have problem after problem. I would just bite the bullet and replace them all. Its going to cost you...

I agree though, get a gauge on it and check the pressure.

Chris

For sure at least change the ones together as a set.....and if it makes you feel better you can save the old ones for possible spares if you whack any...you'll more than likely chuckem after a while anyway.....

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Definately hose age. All components being healthy, you will grenade a cylinder barrel before blowing a hose. Seen it dozens of times.