2 potential benefits come to mind...
1st, with a larger reservois, at any GIVEN contaminant level, the larger volumes of oil will be "cleaner" on a "Parts Per Unit volume" basis, hopefully translating to longer change intervals or longer component life depending on which way you trade off.
2nd, there are cooling benefits, e.g., the longer the oil "stays" in the reservois, the more heat it can give up before going back to "work" in a pump or motor.
Now, I like the idea of syn's in the hydraulic sys. and I'm trying to figure a cheap way to "polish" the oil "offline",i.e.,just recycle the oil through a 2u(micron abs.) from the reservoir while the unit sits in the garage napping.
It would be low pressure and non-active during machine use so that reliability wouldn't be compromised...but, synthetic oil life would double or triple with no sacrifice in component lifespans. This would be a filter similar to the bypass units sold by Amsoil,Oilgard, etc., for diesel soot removal. If small enough, it could be mounted on the tractor or just portable mounted on a sheet of plywood with a larger unit.
This is similar in concept to fuel polishing of a trawlers diesel fuel tanks....
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( it may not be necessary to fully fill the reservoir and a change over to synthetic oil might be more affordable )</font>
If heat rejection "studies" show that a lesser volume would work, then one may still have to play with baffle designs that would keep the intake full, no matter the angle worked...one technique used in marine diesel tanks is a hinged baffle plate that would allow oil into a sump area when tilted one way, but swings closed to keep a volume of oil if machine tilts the opposite way. This technique in the marine environment helps to keep the diesel from sucking air and dying out when you need it most(a rough sea and a low fuel level)
Anyone got some spare time for another project? /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif