Logsplitter spewing oil

[Gregster613]

I recently purchased a "new" Craftsman 27 Ton logsplitter. Have used 4 tanks of fuel so far (thus - about 4 hours on unit). The thing starts great, runs strong, and has split anything I've run through it so far.

However.....whenever I'm running it - it seems to constantly cough out Hyd fluid through the vent hole located on top of the check Hyd oil dipstick.
Every time I use it, it needs to be topped off with Hyd fluid. The manual gives me no troubleshoot guidance in this arena, and I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be doing this.

While I know Hyd fluid is much cheaper to replace than a blown Hyd pump - I just wonder if there are any other owners out there who have experienced this problem? If so, what was/is the fix? It's not overfull, and takes about 1/2 - - 3/4 of a quart to replace, after each hour long session of splitting. Plus -- it's just danged messey. Any help? Thanks, Greg

 

[Skyco]

Does it start spitting the fluid out right away or after running awhile?

If right away it may be sucking air in on the pump intake side and foaming up the fluid, if after awhile it may be overheating the fluid and expanding it.
How hot is the cylinder when it does this? Can you hold a bare hand on it comfortably?
It can over heat because of not enough tank capacity or there is a restriction somewhere.

My Harbor Freight 30 ton unit has an undersized tank, I doubt I can run it an hour straight..I stop when I start smelling the hot fluid, by then I'm ready for a break anyway...

What do you mean by "new"? If it is truly new I'd be telling Sears I want another one....

 

[RandyT]

sounds like the dipstick is a little off and is being slightly overfilled and spurting oil due to the expansion of the oil. wont hurt to run a quart low considering it probable holds about 8-10 gallons

 

[merlintractor]

Be sure the unit is level...my Iron and Oak will spew a bit if its full and leaning toward the filler cap.

 

[wdchyd]

Gregster,

Skyo may have hit it on the head if the oil looks foamy (Air Entrainment from loose sution hose or connetion , or sucking in the pump shaftseal)

If not, it could be missing a baffle in the tank to keep aggitation down (due to poor manufactured tank)

 

[Gregster613]

Skyco, Hi & thanks for suggestions. Unit is new & under warranty. Had to have the Hyd pump replaced as soon as 1st got it home. Was really spewing oil from the pump. Was covered under warranty. (Cost Sears 1/2 as much as the whole machine did!) New pump works well, no leaks.
Unit starts spitting oil from the vent as soon as start to work it hard, IE.. pump motor goes into 2nd stage to really chomp down on a log. I didn't ckeck to see how hot cylinder was cause as soon as it chunks through it runs just fine. Cept for the drippy overflow mess.

WDChyd, Fluid not foamy or discolored.

Merlin Tractor, Unit not sitting exactly level, true. Ground at that area is slightly sloped. But I'm thinking a "full" contained tank shouldn't matter per exactly level. My tractor doesn't spit hydro oil from the check stick just cause it's tilted somewhat. Something is causing undue pressure to build up is my guess, and I'm curious as to what that could be.

I just wondered if'n anyone else had had these symptoms/problems w/their unit. As I said, oil is far cheaper than replacing hyd components, and I do realize that after an hour - when I run it out of gas - I'm ready for a long, long break anyway. Sometimes even far sooner but I'm stubborn nuff that I wanta get the whole pile done and be through w/job for the day.

Thanks for all the various suggestions guys, I guess I'll just keep pouring lost oil back into it. I really don't use it steadily anyhow. I just wondered what might be causing this partcular issue. Greg

 

[J_J]

I believe your hyd reservoir tank is over filled. There has to be room for expansion. Any entrained air will increase the volume. Check hyd fluid with fluid hot, and adjust as necessary. If you can see small bubbles, someone has answered that. Running hot could mean that the relief valve is not functioning correctly.

 

[Transit]

Some hydraulics 101. your system is an open spool type, meaning that the pump is always moving oil from the pump-valve-tank-pump. When you move the valve to activate the cylinder, internal passages open and close to direct the flow to the pressure side of the cylinder and allow the opposite side to drain back to the tank. When the engineer designs the system he takes the flow rate of the pump and calculates the inside diameters of all the lines, suction and pressure, for acceptable pumping losses. Now a 1/4 inch inside diameter line costs less than a 3/8 inch line, however the pumping loss is greater which = heat. Add on that you are working the splitter and that increases the heat. You can do a few things to cool things off. Replace the lines with a larger ID line or add an oil cooler in the suction line. You never want the oil to be more than 180 deg; 130 150 is a good range.
BTW, one side of the pressure relief valve is 2,000 psi and the other is near 0, when the valve opens to limit the pressure all that energy has to go some where and it too shows up as heat.

 

[tommu56]

My Harbor Freight 30 ton unit has an undersized tank, I doubt I can run it an hour straight..I stop when I start smelling the hot fluid, by then I'm ready for a break anyway...

A friend's home built had the same issue we took some hydronic baseboard and copper fittings and built a radiator and plumbed it in to the return line and it dropped temp 15 or 20 deg.

tom

 

[Willl]

I'm thinking along the lines as JJ,,,,,its overfilled.

How big is your tank and have you tried not topping off the level ?