$100 Hydraulic Top Link

[ruffdog]

On air cylinders, you adjust the out going air to slow it. We would have adjustable restrictors on both air ports to control the open/close speeds. Is that the same on hydraulic cylinders?

 

[Threepoint]

Thanks 3pt... I can't seem to find the orifice on TSC's website, but have it on my shopping list for when I go into town. I did find the QFS site, which has a very attractive per-unit price (<$4). But with a minimum of 5 pcs, and a $9 shipping charge, it's enough to make me wait for the TSC trip.

I have settled on the 1/2" NPT (m/f) with the 1/32" (0.031) orifice. I can make it work without (I actually bushogged today) and if I'm very careful I can ease the toplink to the needed length. I've never had the stock link as short as this cylinder can go, and when up all the way, I think the tail wheel of the BH was probably 4' off the ground. Very neat.

A little more info. I called a friend who works at a local TSC and she was able to locate some identifiers for their 1/2" NPT Swivel flow restrictor fitting:
The SKU No. is 1256783.
The item number is BMP-8FPXR-TSC

She was not able to find any data on the size of the orifice, but she took three views of the fitting on her cell phone camera and sent them to me. They are a little out of focus, but still helpful, so I've attached them below.

I'm pretty sure the orifice is about 1/32. I'm using one of these in their 3/8" NPT size with 3/8" hoses on a 3" x 8" Grizzly cylinder that I've added to my 84" Woods snow blade to allow me to offset it hydraulically. It allows adjustment quite slowly, which is just what I wanted. It should work well on your 2" toplink cylinder.

BTW, for anyone reading this who wants the 3/8" size, here is the TSC identifying info for that:
The SKU No. is 1256782.
The item number is SMP-6FPXR-TSC

These fittings can't be found on the TSC website. In fact, the only hydraulic fitting shown there at all, after multiple searches, is a Pioneer poppet-style quick connect. :shocked:
I would definitely call ahead to your local TSC to make sure they actually have the fitting on the shelf before you make the trip into town.

 

[erkme73]

Wow, 3pt. Short of you going to the TSC, picking it up and installing it for me, I can't think of anything more helpful than what you just did. Thank you! I'm heading into town tomorrow for other things, so a stop at the TSC store will probably take me less than than finding an employee who can give me a trustworthy answer over the phone. I appreciate your extra effort!

 

[Threepoint]

Wow, 3pt. Short of you going to the TSC, picking it up and installing it for me, I can't think of anything more helpful than what you just did. Thank you! I'm heading into town tomorrow for other things, so a stop at the TSC store will probably take me less than than finding an employee who can give me a trustworthy answer over the phone. I appreciate your extra effort!

Happy to do it. Hopefully it will help others as well, as the question about sourcing fixed-orifice flow restrictors comes up on TBN from time to time. TSC is convenient to a lot of folks. When I couldn't find them on the TSC website, or virtually any other hydraulic fittings, to post a link yesterday, I was puzzled. :confused3: I know they were there last December, when I added hydraulic offset to my snow blade. So I dialed a friend! :dance1:

BTW, for anyone looking for an online source for inexpensive adjustable in-line flow restrictors, here are current links to 3/8" NPT and 1/2" NPT options at the Surplus Center:

3/8" 8 GPM flow rating:
3/8 NPT 8 GPM Prince WFC-6 In-Line Flow Control | Flow Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

1/2" NPT, 15 GPM flow rating:
1/2 NPT 15 GPM Prince WFC-8 In-Line Flow Control | Prince Mfg | Brands | www.surpluscenter.com

 

[ruffdog]

I have to slow up my grapple so I have been following this thread. I tried finding restrictors on the TSC site and gave up. Trying many searches showed me lots of garden hoses and pcv pipe......Grrrrrr!

 

[erkme73]

Happy to do it. Hopefully it will help others as well, as the question about sourcing fixed-orifice flow restrictors comes up on TBN from time to time. TSC is convenient to a lot of folks. When I couldn't find them on the TSC website, or virtually any other hydraulic fittings, to post a link yesterday, I was puzzled. :confused3: I know they were there last December, when I added hydraulic offset to my snow blade. So I dialed a friend! :dance1:

BTW, for anyone looking for an online source for inexpensive adjustable in-line flow restrictors, here are current links to 3/8" NPT and 1/2" NPT options at the Surplus Center:

3/8" 8 GPM flow rating:
3/8 NPT 8 GPM Prince WFC-6 In-Line Flow Control | Flow Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

1/2" NPT, 15 GPM flow rating:
1/2 NPT 15 GPM Prince WFC-8 In-Line Flow Control | Prince Mfg | Brands | www.surpluscenter.com

Can you imagine a world where everyone is as helpful as you are? It'd be heavenly.

Curiosity had me look at that 1/2" flow control valve to which you linked. Just a word of caution - it slows flow in only one direction, with free flow in the opposite. So you would need two (one on each hose) to slow both directions. They have a similar flow control (needle valve) that does 15-0 GPM with this item:

1/2 NPT 15 GPM Prince WNV-8 Needle Valve | Flow Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

 

[N2DFire]

Guess I'll go tinkering. I assume they make them in various orifice sizes? And I need only one, since the fluid in has to match fluid out, correct? Thx for the suggestion.

I did see a previous poster claim it was already included with the cylinder. When I started putting mine together, I had to remove two steel plugs from the ports on the cylinder - but I didn't see any additional items. Is it possible I accidentally dumped mine? I did spill some fluid...

I have one of these exact cylinders on our CK35. The best I can remember it has built in flow restriction and not a separate piece. If you look in the ports where you removed the plugs I'm about 80% sure (it's been a while since I had it apart) instead of seeing the full bore of the port or being able to see into the cylinder, you'll just see rough machined metal with a small hole drilled in it. This is the actual restriction. That being said the hole size may still be too large for your application.

 

[ericm979]

Also, my remote is neutral in the middle, and then a forward/backward position. It rockets in either direction. If careful, I can inch it in/out with the lever, but it's very finicky.

You can put flow restrictors in the lines at the cylinder end.

 

[erkme73]

I just resorted to the rubber strap approach. Works good enough for .gov work. As for restriction in the cylinder itself, if that is the case (and I'm not curious enough to disassemble to verify), then whatever was installed by the cylinder supplier falls into the "not restricted enough" category.

I just box bladed my neighbors vacation driveway. I'm pretty sure it's the first time anyone has done anything to it since it was put down (10+ years ago). I couldn't tell where the original gravel stopped due to all the overgrowth. But, man, what a joy it was using that top link! It would have taken me at least a dozen dismounts and a twice as much time to do what I did manually. Best $186 spent so far.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I just resorted to the rubber strap approach. Works good enough for .gov work. As for restriction in the cylinder itself, if that is the case (and I'm not curious enough to disassemble to verify), then whatever was installed by the cylinder supplier falls into the "not restricted enough" category.

I just box bladed my neighbors vacation driveway. I'm pretty sure it's the first time anyone has done anything to it since it was put down (10+ years ago). I couldn't tell where the original gravel stopped due to all the overgrowth. But, man, what a joy it was using that top link! It would have taken me at least a dozen dismounts and a twice as much time to do what I did manually. Best $186 spent so far.

The port size that you had seen was 1/8" at the smallest, probably bigger. That is not even close to being restrictor size. A 2" diameter cylinder needs an .030 orifice size.