TSC hydraulic fluid ?

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Dirtboy

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Its time to change the hydraulic fluid and filter on my Brave 22 ton. Anybody out there use Tractor Supply's
Travellers Universal Hydraulic Fluid in their splitters? Usually goes on sale this time of year, but I don't want to use it if its subpar.
 
cantoo

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It's about $70 here for 5 gallons of the cheap stuff. The "best" (most expensive) stuff is $110 so really not much difference for oil that is going to last longer than I will live. I think I used the 46 in my big splitter and it was around $90. Only way it's going to be gone before me is if it blows a line.
 
Mad Professor
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Its time to change the hydraulic fluid and filter on my Brave 22 ton. Anybody out there use Tractor Supply's
Travellers Universal Hydraulic Fluid in their splitters? Usually goes on sale this time of year, but I don't want to use it if its subpar.

I've used it in my Ford tractors for many years. No problems.
 
saxman

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I have a 26 ton Brave that’s 13 years old now. When new I put universal hydraulic oil in it from TSC or Wal Mart. Don’t remember which. It had a noticeable whine in the pump. I did the 50 hour service on my Kubota L3830HST about a year later. I used the old Super UDT fluid from the Kubota, it looked like new, and changed the fluid/filter in the splitter. Whine went away, still using used Super UDT in it to this day.


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NSMaple1

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Unless it's contaminated with something it should never need changing. Hydraulic oil should last indefinably.

This, x 100.

Are you sure it needs changed?

I changed mine a couple years ago. I got the splitter used, no idea how old it is but it's got a lot of hours on it. Only reason I changed it was all the water in it.
 
Marshy

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Unless it's contaminated with something it should never need changing. Hydraulic oil should last indefinably.
I disagree, there are a lot of factors involved. For the average homeowner it's probably accurate. Just change filters and go. Not so applicable for a commercial splitter.

Best thing you can do for your equipment is try and find a more efficient filter that doesn't restrict flow too much. The average hydraulic filter is a 10 micron filter. If you can get a 5 micron your pump will thank you.
 
speeco

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Wow never needs changed ? Wrong. Just like engine oil it can and will get dirty with water and iron deposits. U all so want to change filter. I have been a farm machine repair tech , for more than 31 years. Look in any owners manual of a splitter it should give u the recommendation on when to change it. Oil can look good , but still meed to be changed.
 
Camper

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The typical wood splitter has a pretty simple hydraulic system, pump one maybe two cylinders, valve body a few hoses tank and filter Even simple mechanical equipment has to be serviced every once in a while. $100 worth of oil and filters every two or three years is a lot cheaper than replacing a pump or cylinder.
I use the TS Hyd oil in my splitter and tractor I haven’t ever had any problems with it.
 
JeffHK454

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These threads are always funny to me, I’m betting there are very few people on this site that have come close to needing to change hyd. oil in their splitter.

Unless the oil is contaminated it will last several thousand hours of use, I’ve seen commercial power units with more than 8,000 hrs. on their oil and it still past lab tests for serviceability.
 

sb47

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These threads are always funny to me, I’m betting there are very few people on this site that have come close to needing to change hyd. oil in their splitter.

Unless the oil is contaminated it will last several thousand hours of use, I’ve seen commercial power units with more than 8,000 hrs. on their oil and it still past lab tests for serviceability.


We had a skid steer that had thousands of hours on it and we never changed the hyd oil. Never had an issue and it always worked fine. Same with the tree spades, we ran 6 trucks and never changed the hyd oil, ever. We would add oil as needed but never changed it. Again no issues. My last splitter had thousands of hours on it and I only changed it once because the vent hole in the filler cap let water get in. My current splitter has 600 hours and the oil still looks brand new. My truck is 25 years old and has 200K showing and it's still got the original oil in the transmission. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
Marshy

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Like I said, there's more to it that meets the eye. Lots of factors come into play when determining the health if the oil. Acidity, particulate, water, and additive depletion are the main focus for non engine based oils. There are sacrificial things in oil that can be depleted and cause component wear. When oil quantity is low and cost of testing it rivals the replacement cost it's just easier to replace it.
 
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