The Hydraulic Fight is Over - Hydraulic Coupling Pressure Relief Tool

[grsthegreat]

I dont buy anything except hammers and 2 rolling tool boxes from harbor freight. After the 2 boxes, im staying away from them. Dont care how cheep the junk is.

 

[workinonit]

I'll buy consumables. Never any tools. I cant afford to be in a field miles from home and have a HF tool crap the bed.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

This is one of the reasons to search the forums. I was about to post about the tool I just bought and the OP beat me to it.

I had one of the Waite tools but I didn't think to remove it from my tractor's toolbox before sending it in for servicing and someone liberated it.

All of my attachments that use hydraulics have male fittings; Lane Shark, Grapple, and Tree Puller. So the Waite tool worked for me and I would have bought another except they appear to be made of unobtainium and this is close in cost.

And yes, a rag and a tap with a rubber/plastic mallet will release the pressure. But when it's +100'F with the sun beating on the black hoses you'd best be wearing safety glasses and you're going to get oil on you.

 

[TractorReliefTool.com]

This is one of the reasons to search the forums. I was about to post about the tool I just bought and the OP beat me to it.

I had one of the Waite tools but I didn't think to remove it from my tractor's toolbox before sending it in for servicing and someone liberated it.

All of my attachments that use hydraulics have male fittings; Lane Shark, Grapple, and Tree Puller. So the Waite tool worked for me and I would have bought another except they appear to be made of unobtainium and this is close in cost.

And yes, a rag and a tap with a rubber/plastic mallet will release the pressure. But when it's +100'F with the sun beating on the black hoses you'd best be wearing safety glasses and you're going to get oil on you.

Thanks for the comments. I am the developer of this tool. I use mine daily and wanted other tractor owners to get the enjoyment and ease I get now being able to easily switch out implements. I am open to comments on making other sizes and what size everyone on here would need.

 

[Will S]

I just don't understand why the people having all these problems with connecting their grapple, don't simply shut off the engine, cycle the joystick once, and (key ON, engine OFF) cycle the grapple control once.

That is all I do, and that eliminates pressurized fittings. As far as the sun heating the grapple lines and causing pressure build-up, that will never happen either, if you have one male and the other female, and keep them connected to each other when the grapple is not on the tractor. BTW, that also keeps the connectors clean.

This works; Been doing it this way for years.

 

[AirOpsMgr]

I just don't understand why the people having all these problems with connecting their grapple, don't simply shut off the engine, cycle the joystick once, and (key ON, engine OFF) cycle the grapple control once.

That is all I do, and that eliminates pressurized fittings. As far as the sun heating the grapple lines and causing pressure build-up, that will never happen either, if you have one male and the other female, and keep them connected to each other when the grapple is not on the tractor. BTW, that also keeps the connectors clean.

This works; Been doing it this way for years.

So I've known about the joystick cycling, but I've never heard about connecting the male/female lines together on detached implements as a soultion (which is where I find the most headaches).

I'm definitely gonna give this a try over my normal rag/mallet method! (It heats up pretty quick here in GA, anytime past noon in the summer and the grapple, FEL cutter or tree/post puller is a bear to connect).

Much appreciated!

 

[MossRoad]

So I've known about the joystick cycling, but I've never heard about connecting the male/female lines together on detached implements as a soultion (which is where I find the most headaches).

I'm definitely gonna give this a try over my normal rag/mallet method! (It heats up pretty quick here in GA, anytime past noon in the summer and the grapple, FEL cutter or tree/post puller is a bear to connect).

Much appreciated!

I've been doing that with my hydraulic mower and brush cutter for about 21 years. Mostly to keep the connectors clean, but I've never had a stuck connector doing it that way.

On the other hand, my power angle snowplow cylinder has female connectors on both hoses and males on the machine. Those get stuck fairly often. Punch, rag, and a good rap with a hammer resolves it with a couple drops of oil as the result. Learned that from Bird here on TBN many years ago.

On the machine end, I shut it off and cycle the valves a couple times if a connector is stuck. Seems to clear it up.

 

[WinterDeere]

I just don't understand why the people having all these problems with connecting their grapple, don't simply shut off the engine, cycle the joystick once, and (key ON, engine OFF) cycle the grapple control once.

Yes, this is a useful trick... when the pressure build-up is on the tractor. But what do you do when it's in the implement? That's where the problem lies.

When you drop your snow plow on a sub-zero evening and disconnect it's hydraulic lines, and then later want to pick it up to move it on a hot June day, you'll learn why this is a valuable tool. You can also have the same issue with lines that run from rear of tractor to the wrist of the loader, which are dead-ended on both ends with fittings.

 

[Will S]

Yes, this is a useful trick... when the pressure build-up is on the tractor. But what do you do when it's in the implement? That's where the problem lies.

When you drop your snow plow on a sub-zero evening and disconnect it's hydraulic lines, and then later want to pick it up to move it on a hot June day, you'll learn why this is a valuable tool. You can also have the same issue with lines that run from rear of tractor to the wrist of the loader, which are dead-ended on both ends with fittings.

Did you read the last part of my previous post? Or WinterDeere's post, just above this one?
As I said, I have never had the problem since I've been connecting an implement's M/F lines TO EACH OTHER.

 

[WinterDeere]

Did you read the last part of my previous post? Or WinterDeere's post, just above this one?
As I said, I have never had the problem since I've been connecting an implement's M/F lines TO EACH OTHER.

Not sure if that was directed at me, as you quoted my post and then asked if I read my own post. I've found that connecting the lines to each other helps reduce, but not entirely eliminate, this type of hydraulic lock-up. Moreover, some of my equipment has M/M for plugging into my factory rear 3rd channel (which is F/F on tractor), so I'd need to make up a F/F coupling for each one for storage.

This pressure relief tool is cheaper, easier, and more quickly at-hand than all of that. I keep it hanging from a nail on the door jamb of my shed, where I keep all of my equipment. If you don't ever need one, consider yourself lucky, but it's very handy for those of us who do.