Increase hydraulic oil capacity.

[deans]

I have a Wallenstein logsplitter, works great, but find that hydraulic oil capacity small as it gets quite hot after a couple of hours use. The oil is within the axle beam which is 4'' x 6'' x 42'' rectangular tubing. Any thoughts on increasing oil capacity and how much to reduce temp. Regards, deans

 

[IceStationZebra]

Additional volume will not help alot. If you add 25% more volume it will just take maybe 10% longer to heat up. (BTU/hr stays the same, total mass = mass of oil + mass of hydraulic system) It is a similar story if you try to increase surface area, especially when you consider paint and rust are insulators. Another marginal performance gain would be reducing any unnecessary pressure drops in your system. Your best bet though is to add a cooler with sufficient flow capacity on the return line. Mount it horizontal and you probably wouldn't even need to use a fan.

ISZ

 

[TRR]

If the heat is really bad, you could add an oil cooler to the return line.

 

[SSdoxie]

How hot is it getting? Normal operating temp. for hydraulic system range from 140 - 180F which feels "hot" to touch. After running for a couple hours, check the resevoir temp with infra-red gun and if in this range it's not worth worrying about.

 

[CJONE]

How hot is it getting? Normal operating temp. for hydraulic system range from 140 - 180F which feels "hot" to touch. After running for a couple hours, check the resevoir temp with infra-red gun and if in this range it's not worth worrying about.

+1 A little heat is a good thing, if the system never gets above 120 or so, moisture builds up and you get milky fluid. CJ

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. add an oil cooler. the cooler and lines will add some volume.. and lots of surface area. heck.. if it heats BAD.. add 2 coolers... and put one in a pan of wter to work like a heat exchanger .. when the water evaps it takes plenty of energy with it!

 

[swick1]

Make sure your fins are vertical on the cooler. The convection currents will drive the airflow like a chimney. It's dramatically more efficient.

Also you should protect the cooler from damage and burning yourself. Consider building a cage around it.