noisy pump

Sawmilllifer · Sep 13, 2014

I have a hydraulic wood splitter I have had for my wood buisness for about 8 years, I had to change from the 6 hp gas pot to a 2 hp 220v electric when the neighbors complained (I agree it was loud) I now have a whine that I thought was the bearings on the Baldour commercial motor but I changed them and while it did make a bit of a difference, did not quiet it down enough. I guess it's a cavitation problem, it has a Haldex pump on it I run a large Fram hydraulic filter on it and have a fair sized fluid reservoir, I have never adjusted the pump and I'm not sure if this might help or not, It was actually so quiet that all you could hear was the 'crack" of the wood splitting, any body have any ideas?

hosspuller · Sep 13, 2014

Have you changed the hyd filter? Checked the oil level? Suction hose soft? increased viscosity of fluid?, Any of these could restrict flow to the pump and cause cavitation.

Checked the drive coupling? misalignment or worn parts will cause noise too.

Run the motor without the pump for a noise isolation check.

Sawmilllifer · Sep 13, 2014

hosspuller said:
Have you changed the hyd filter? Checked the oil level? Suction hose soft? increased viscosity of fluid?, Any of these could restrict flow to the pump and cause cavitation.

Checked the drive coupling? misalignment or worn parts will cause noise too.

Run the motor without the pump for a noise isolation check.

The drive coupling is perfect, the noise is definately in the pump as I ran it without the pump when I changed bearings and it was very quiet, fluid level is fine, the filter I haven't changed yet as I was thinking of changing the fluid BUT, the bozos at the local Walmart have about 5 different hydraulic fluids but none of them have a clue which one I should be running OR what the number codes on the 5 gallon pails even mean( as far as viscosity, uses , etc, etc,)

J_J · Sep 13, 2014

If the 6 HP engine was satisfactory for the pump involved, and then a 2 HP was used instead, then I think you are pushing the ability of the 2 HP electric to do the same work.

You could try and reset the relief valve down about 500 psi and try that and see if it whines very much.

Why not just use ATF. It works in just about everything hyd.

Also check for a suction leak by looking in the reservoir for bubbles.

Sawmilllifer · Sep 13, 2014

I have had this setup running really well for 5 years now and it has been great, the Baldor rep came right to my shop to check which motor to run to replace the gas mill , what rpm range I used and how much return time , 220 or 115 , Ram size, etc., and came up with this high output Industrial 2 HP and told me that it would provide the exact specs that the gas engine gave with far less cost, he has been right so far, this is the only problem that I have come across (it did cost me $950 to find out tho) as for ATF, it costs about 2x what the hydraulic fluid costs up here and I am of Scottish blood so guess which one I picked? I don't know how to adjust the pump as it did not come with any service info for the hydraulics other than the specs, they mainly just focused on the gas setup info I guess just expecting the buyer to keep their hands off the the valves etc. and that is what I really need.

BLUE ME · Sep 13, 2014

ATF fluid is the way to go.
All i ever used.
I am also Scottish blood ,but I not cheap.
Cheers

J_J · Sep 13, 2014

What do you mean about adjusting the pump.

There is usually nothing to adjust.

The pump is rated for a certain pressure, and the valve relief is supposed to protect it.

If it is a 2 stage, you can adjust the shift point psi.