I am planning on upgrading to a bigger hydro tank on my splitter. It has a 9HP Honda GX with a 16GPM pump and a 4X24 cylinder. I am going to rig a 15gal side mount tank on top of the existing "axle tank" (6 gals). Can I use black iron pipe and fittings for plumbing on the suction and return side of the tank. It would probably amount to a couple of 6" nipples and 2 elbows. If not black pipe, what do you guys recommend? This would be to plumb the filter head and clear some obstructions.
Splitter Hydraulic tank question
- Thread starter sawjo
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Black pipe could be used but with 2 tanks a flexible connection between them will lessen the chance of a leak developing.
The return line must be submerged in both tanks to keep from aerating the fluid.
The return line must be submerged in both tanks to keep from aerating the fluid.
I've been thinking of a similar issue, I'm upgrading to a 28gpm pump from
10gpm. The tank does a few things, I have about 10 gallons of storage
right now.
So a tank acts as a heat sink and bubble removal.
I'm working on changing lines and fittings to keep the heat as low as
possible. I could easily add an oil cooler of sorts, but air bubble removal,
I'm wondering if a fine mesh screen would help to even out the flow and
if put at a shallow angle to the flow, would it help coax the bubbles to
the top of the fluid. It seems that a screen would help to reduce the turbulent currents in the oil tank.
I definately want a diffuser on the return line, I'd hate to have a fast moving jet of oil just churning up the tank.
still brainstorming
-Jason
10gpm. The tank does a few things, I have about 10 gallons of storage
right now.
So a tank acts as a heat sink and bubble removal.
I'm working on changing lines and fittings to keep the heat as low as
possible. I could easily add an oil cooler of sorts, but air bubble removal,
I'm wondering if a fine mesh screen would help to even out the flow and
if put at a shallow angle to the flow, would it help coax the bubbles to
the top of the fluid. It seems that a screen would help to reduce the turbulent currents in the oil tank.
I definately want a diffuser on the return line, I'd hate to have a fast moving jet of oil just churning up the tank.
still brainstorming
-Jason
log splitter
Jason, the addition of a screen or a diffuser at the return to tank will make the problem worse-as it will contribute to (water hammer) cavitation shock. The air bubbles will go to the top of the tank and dissipate anyway so that is not a real worry for your useage.
Just make sure the suction line is slightly off the bottom of the tank, if possible please buy a 30 mesh hydraulic strainer for the suction line
to the pump. Vickers has mesh strainers in metal filter housings for sale that are very easy to clean- be sure to have the housings above the oil level unless you can plumb in ball valves to shut off the flow.
This is something your hydraulic rebuilder should have in stock or can get quickly for you as it is an easy addiition to your splitter.
leon
Jason, the addition of a screen or a diffuser at the return to tank will make the problem worse-as it will contribute to (water hammer) cavitation shock. The air bubbles will go to the top of the tank and dissipate anyway so that is not a real worry for your useage.
Just make sure the suction line is slightly off the bottom of the tank, if possible please buy a 30 mesh hydraulic strainer for the suction line
to the pump. Vickers has mesh strainers in metal filter housings for sale that are very easy to clean- be sure to have the housings above the oil level unless you can plumb in ball valves to shut off the flow.
This is something your hydraulic rebuilder should have in stock or can get quickly for you as it is an easy addiition to your splitter.
leon
Thanks for the info, I was looking at a 50gpm suction strainer that
would screw into a 3" fitting, Just discovered the other eve that
the present system doesn't have a strainer and there was a fair bit
of debris in the bottom of the tank. Donaldson seemed to have
quite the assortment.
This project is going to take a while, I might just end up building
my own tank though northern has one that's pretty close to what
I'd like to have.
-Jason
would screw into a 3" fitting, Just discovered the other eve that
the present system doesn't have a strainer and there was a fair bit
of debris in the bottom of the tank. Donaldson seemed to have
quite the assortment.
This project is going to take a while, I might just end up building
my own tank though northern has one that's pretty close to what
I'd like to have.
-Jason
A good hydraulic tank will have a baffle between the suction and return openings. It runs 2/3 up the tank with the bottom corners clipped to leave about a 3/4" opening to allow for draining.
The tank I am going with is the Northern 15gal tank from Buyers. It has a baffle between suction and return and a 2" NPT suction port that will accept a
149 micron stainless screen and reduce the opening to 1 1/4" NPT. It also has a oil level and thermometer combo on the side.
149 micron stainless screen and reduce the opening to 1 1/4" NPT. It also has a oil level and thermometer combo on the side.
That's a good size but the rule of thumb puts my tank a little larger, I
was looking at the 37 Gallon tank, generic liquid tank, steel, easy
enough to plumb all the fittings and weld in suction/return port.
Though I'd need the 3" port to screw in a 50gpm intake screen
with the 1 1/4 out
Though the response with a 28 gpm pump should be just fine. Lots
of pails of oil. I'd love to see what tractor supply has on hand that'd
be about the same.
was looking at the 37 Gallon tank, generic liquid tank, steel, easy
enough to plumb all the fittings and weld in suction/return port.
Though I'd need the 3" port to screw in a 50gpm intake screen
with the 1 1/4 out
Though the response with a 28 gpm pump should be just fine. Lots
of pails of oil. I'd love to see what tractor supply has on hand that'd
be about the same.
16 gal or so for me
I have a 20 gallon tank rigged on my machine. It does a good job. My issue is the 1/2 hoses, and 16GPM pump. The whole thing warms up to a comfortable 130 degrees. I think that if I changed the hoses out to 3/4 I would drop a bunch of temp!
I agree on the mesh intake. good idea.
-Pat
I have a 20 gallon tank rigged on my machine. It does a good job. My issue is the 1/2 hoses, and 16GPM pump. The whole thing warms up to a comfortable 130 degrees. I think that if I changed the hoses out to 3/4 I would drop a bunch of temp!
I agree on the mesh intake. good idea.
-Pat
I'm planning on using 3/4 inch hoses and sweeps to help control the heat, though my ram has a 1/2 hardline going from the base to the head for retracting, I thought that might be an issue with a 3/4 feed for the extension but on further thought, 1/2 is fine, the piston rod chews up a lot of the
volume on the retraction side so its not a 1:1 fluid exchange. Any other online places to price out tanks?
-Jason
volume on the retraction side so its not a 1:1 fluid exchange. Any other online places to price out tanks?
-Jason
If the oil tank is clean and the return line 10 micron filter is piped next to the tank - then all oil is filtered that goes back to the tank. Inlet filter is not required since the hydraulic oil will not contain particles large enough to be captured by the coarser mesh strainer.
http://www.insidersecretstohydraulics.com/hydraulic-filter.html
http://www.insidersecretstohydraulics.com/hydraulic-filter.html
I did read that article, and I can see their point, but you could run an oversized screen with no drawbacks. What about the paint chip / acorn/ whoops bit of junk that falls in when you're refilling or adding oil? I'd have to believe that if an inlet screen is rated for 50gpm and you're drawing 28, you really should be in pretty good shape. Okay, when its really cold out, a bit of warmup time would be a good idea. My other plan is to hang a mean hard drive magnet in the tank to snatch up anything magnetic, makes a good barometer.
-Jason
-Jason
For the tank filler hole/breather, I use something similar to this-
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2007081014511670&item=9-7286&catname=hydraulic
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2007081014511670&item=9-7286&catname=hydraulic
mga
wandering
keep in mind that that "rule of thumb" was developed for hydraulic machinery for industrial use...say a mold press or a 300 ton stamping press where there are alot more moving hydraulic parts to heat up.
for the log splitter, you can get away with a smaller tank. i built an 18 gallon tank and it works very well as far as keeping things cool.
remember...you will have to fill that huge tank and unless you can get hydraulic fluid cheap, it's going to cost a nice penney.
Very interesting idea, what size pump are you supplying with the
18 gallon tank? My big issue is that I need to change my current
tank, its an old truck air tank and has way too many rust flakes
and debris in it for my comfort level, I'd hate to pooch a new
pump right off the bat, and its only a 7-8 gallon tank so it'd
fully recycle fluid every 15 seconds. That and there's no baffle at
all. How many hours should be run between fluid changes? I
change filters every 20 hours but they're cheap and then add
another half gallon to gallon.
-Jason
18 gallon tank? My big issue is that I need to change my current
tank, its an old truck air tank and has way too many rust flakes
and debris in it for my comfort level, I'd hate to pooch a new
pump right off the bat, and its only a 7-8 gallon tank so it'd
fully recycle fluid every 15 seconds. That and there's no baffle at
all. How many hours should be run between fluid changes? I
change filters every 20 hours but they're cheap and then add
another half gallon to gallon.
-Jason
log splitter
Jason there are lot of manufacturers of small hydraulic oil tanks and they can be custom built as well to replace your old tank-meaning the area/ size of the installation on your splitter they may have a tank that will fit your specific size and footprint.
'
You definetly want a tank with a separator baffle to control the amount of very hot oil and to allow it to cool somewhat during the operating time.
these baffles generally have the bottom corners notched out of the sheet metal that is welded to the inside of th etank toallow oil to pass to the suction port for the pump. be sure to ask your rebuilder about a 30 plus mesh strainer for the tanks suction inlet plumbing though.
As far as oil change times goes unless you have a massive blowout of a hose there is no real worry as these pumps are capapable of 30 micron tolerance of dirt as a rule.
The reason I mentioned the vickers mesh strainers is simply that they are as dumb as a rock and you can use diesel fuel or kerosene to clean them or just plain isopropyl alcohol which leaves no residue and is non toxic to the environment due to its evaporation rate and high flash point-it is a wonderful parts cleaner.
leon
Jason there are lot of manufacturers of small hydraulic oil tanks and they can be custom built as well to replace your old tank-meaning the area/ size of the installation on your splitter they may have a tank that will fit your specific size and footprint.
'
You definetly want a tank with a separator baffle to control the amount of very hot oil and to allow it to cool somewhat during the operating time.
these baffles generally have the bottom corners notched out of the sheet metal that is welded to the inside of th etank toallow oil to pass to the suction port for the pump. be sure to ask your rebuilder about a 30 plus mesh strainer for the tanks suction inlet plumbing though.
As far as oil change times goes unless you have a massive blowout of a hose there is no real worry as these pumps are capapable of 30 micron tolerance of dirt as a rule.
The reason I mentioned the vickers mesh strainers is simply that they are as dumb as a rock and you can use diesel fuel or kerosene to clean them or just plain isopropyl alcohol which leaves no residue and is non toxic to the environment due to its evaporation rate and high flash point-it is a wonderful parts cleaner.
leon
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mga
wandering
my pump is a 22/11 two stage. if i were to dollow the "rule of the thumb" in designing a tank it would be this:
V= 3 x Q x 1.1
where V is resevoir volume in gallons
and Q is flow rate
V= 3 x 22 x 1.1 = 72.6
this means i'd have to use a 72 gallon tank!! lol...no way would that be practical for a log splitter, so, i figured an 18 gallon tank would work out nice.
here's a link with a ton of information on the design of a tank:
http://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/upload/db_documents_doc_10.pdf
and, another page to keep is this one:
http://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/technical.html
i learned alot by reading at those web sites.
V= 3 x Q x 1.1
where V is resevoir volume in gallons
and Q is flow rate
V= 3 x 22 x 1.1 = 72.6
this means i'd have to use a 72 gallon tank!! lol...no way would that be practical for a log splitter, so, i figured an 18 gallon tank would work out nice.
here's a link with a ton of information on the design of a tank:
http://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/upload/db_documents_doc_10.pdf
and, another page to keep is this one:
http://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/technical.html
i learned alot by reading at those web sites.
opcorn:Excellent information on tank design, I'm looking at the northern
hydraulics 452017 storage tank, it'd need some fittings welded in
and it would need a couple inches trimmed from the end, both a
minor detail. I'm going to research the price of aluminum stock as
well and see about making a tank myself, plenty of 1/8 sheet
available, would just need a pile of 1x1 angle to make the frame
from then weld it all up. and use screw in bulkhead fittings.
-Jason
hydraulics 452017 storage tank, it'd need some fittings welded in
and it would need a couple inches trimmed from the end, both a
minor detail. I'm going to research the price of aluminum stock as
well and see about making a tank myself, plenty of 1/8 sheet
available, would just need a pile of 1x1 angle to make the frame
from then weld it all up. and use screw in bulkhead fittings.
-Jason
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