Wish we had a clutch....

[MossRoad]

Would a cold weather (low-vis) hydraulic oil make an improvement? or an oil heater ? or a higher CCA battery ?

Yes, yes and yes! :laughing:

It comes with 5W-30 or 40 in the hydraulic tank, so it's all 5W when it's cold.
It's hard to find a larger CAA battery to fit in my limited battery area. The newer designed machines might have room for a larger CCA battery.

 

[woodlandfarms]

You know, you can buy Tesla batteries and wheel motors from totalled Teslas... I wonder..... How much HP is in a single wheel motor? Enough to drive the pumps?

 

[4570Man]

It seems like the low hanging fruit would be getting some heat on the pumps.

 

[aczlan]

You know, you can buy Tesla batteries and wheel motors from totalled Teslas... I wonder..... How much HP is in a single wheel motor? Enough to drive the pumps?

If converting to electric, you would gain a fair amount of efficiency if you could put electrical motors directly on the wheels rather than putting hydraulics in the middle.
Then you could use a smaller motor for hydraulics.

Aaron Z

 

[cqaigy2]

After you change the hydraulic filter, what's the next thing you're supposed to do?

Bleed the pump.

How do we bleed the pump?

We disconnect the spark plugs, stick the hose on the bleed port and the other end into the tank.

Then we crank the starter and watch the air bubbles.

Where are the air bubbles coming from?

Fluid being pushed through the pump.

The swash plate is in neutral.

Is my thinking incorrect? It has been many times before, so have at it if I'm mistaken.

Oh, ya good point.

 

[MossRoad]

Ya! :laughing:

I had to think about that one for a while, believe me. I once pulled the hose out of the tank while cranking just to see how much oil is moving through that bleed port. It was quite a bit. I can only imagine what would happen if we didn't pull the spark plug wires and the engine kicked over.

 

[MossRoad]

It seems like the low hanging fruit would be getting some heat on the pumps.

They aren't easily accessible, that's for sure. Not much surface area to put a heat pad on.

We could always go the airplane pre-heater route. I'd have some concerns about where to direct the airflow without melting wiring, though.

 

[aczlan]

They aren't easily accessible, that's for sure. Not much surface area to put a heat pad on.

We could always go the airplane pre-heater route. I'd have some concerns about where to direct the airflow without melting wiring, though.

You would probably be better off putting heat on the hydraulic tank near the bottom front (magnetic or silicon heater?) and a heavy blanket over the top of the rear tub and down as far as you can on all sides.
Then you will suck warm hydraulic fluid into the pumps and that will warm them up from the inside out.

Aaron Z

 

[MossRoad]

You would probably be better off putting heat on the hydraulic tank near the bottom front (magnetic or silicon heater?) and a heavy blanket over the top of the rear tub and down as far as you can on all sides.
Then you will suck warm hydraulic fluid into the pumps and that will warm them up from the inside out.

Aaron Z

Yep. If I went the electric heater pad route, I'd put it on the backside of the hydraulic tank inside the engine compartment as far down as I could. But man, that's a lot of cold steel radiator to have to send heat through. Maybe a heated dipstick through the fill hole would work, too, but you'd defiantly want a blanket over it, that's for sure. That steel is cold as a witch's ah, err, freezer.

 

[aczlan]

Yep. If I went the electric heater pad route, I'd put it on the backside of the hydraulic tank inside the engine compartment as far down as I could. But man, that's a lot of cold steel radiator to have to send heat through. Maybe a heated dipstick through the fill hole would work, too, but you'd defiantly want a blanket over it, that's for sure. That steel is cold as a witch's ah, err, freezer.

Ah, I thought that the hydraulic fluid tank was at the back of the tub and the motor was in front of it.
I hear that heated dipsticks can cause the oil to overheat around the dipstick and burn it (small surface area, not enough convection to keep it cool enough).

Aaron Z