Hydraulic fluid question

On my new old jack, I put a pint of jack oil in it, and it worked up and down. It sputtered a couple of times, and kicked out some milky looking fluid from the filler hole. Aha, I suspected water. I drained all the oil, and it was a milky gray versus the light black of new oil.

My question: will this separate overnight, and can I then recover the oil and toss the water?

May just flush and add new oil, but flush with what?

Steve

Reply to
SteveB
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I had milky compressor oil once, in the old Quincy that I have.

I set it in a plastic jar on purpose to see if it would separate.

The short of it is that it did not separate after several weeks.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus9171

Put it in an old pot on the stovetop - heat to drive off the water - no warrantee / don't burn your house down / don't get caught by the missus etc.

I don't know if it works but it should - may cost more than new oil......

Reply to
Polyp

Add a bit of acid and the water will separate. Then you have to neutralize the acid somehow.

Reply to
Buerste

No

Having had a steam heating pipe develop a pinhole leak into a tank containing 50,000 litres of lubricating oil being manufactured, the only way to remove the water is to heat the emulsion until the water evaporates. We had to heat the oil mix to 80C for about 3 days ( in another tank) until the oil was dry ( crackle test ). We guessed that there was about 200 litres of water mixed in the tank as it was almost overflowing through the dip hatch. That happened to about 6 tanks over a 6 month period in '92, not too bad as they were built in '65, 27 years of continuous use before failure of the heating coils.

First flush with kero, then flush with new/dried oil, then heat jack to about 45C ( hot to hold ) and flush about 3 more times with new/dried oil then final fill with new oil.

Alan

Reply to
alan200

For $4, I'll just go get another quart of oil.

Reply to
SteveB

Flush with kero and refill with fresh jack oil.

Reply to
Tim

On Wed, 9 Sep 2009 21:25:57 -0600, the infamous "SteveB" scrawled the following:

Aw, shit. stryped, is that you hacking SteveB's account?

Denatured alcohol. It'll absorb the moisture.

-- Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. --Ronald Reagan

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Compressor shop told me I need to run the compressor over an hour once in a while to boil off the water in the oil.

Reply to
Bob F

I heard that, too. I will see if I need to. I did run my 7.5 HP Quincy for up to 40 minutes nonstop for that reason (and to test whether it had any problems).

i
Reply to
Ignoramus10071

Hydraulic what? There's a whole gamut of applications; how careful one need be depends mostly on that...

Reply to
dpb

Depends where the hydraulics are. Hydraulic brakes use brake fluid, except in aircraft where they use a special hydraulic oil. Hydraulic power steering can use transmission fluid, special power steering fluid, or universal hydraulic oil. So, in short, we need more information, and yes, there are significant differences in product, and in SOME cases there arealternative sources.

Reply to
clare

"Steve B" fired this volley in news:jsqo9r$cd4$1 @speranza.aioe.org:

Almost any petroleum oil will work as an hydraulic fluid.

Hydraulic fluids are chosen for their lubricity, viscosity, and anti- foaming properties. Most modern motor oils are chosen for much the same characteristics.

I have a large commercial "ZTR" lawn mower (Scag Turf Tiger-61") that has two hydraulic pumps, two hydraulic motors for the wheel drives, and a propensity to be terribly abused. Motors are reversed quickly; shock loads are high, pressures rise to the limits during reverses.

It uses ordinary 20W-50 motor oil as the hydraulic fluid, and the motors and pumps have, so far, lasted (since 1991) for 20+ years of heavy commercial mowing, with no regard for the longevity of the hydraulics. Something will fail some day, sure; but it won't be for the oil selection.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" fired this volley in news:XnsA083D01DE244lloydspmindspringcom@216.168.3.70:

I should add, if a device calls out a particular fluid, it was chosen for its characteristics (as before), and that's the oil you should use.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Clare,

Except in "extreme duty" applications, I wouldn't be afraid of using pretty much any oil lighter than 30W in any hydraulic application as an expedient substitute, until the right oil could be had. Of course, there are exceptions, and reasons to use lighter or heavier oils.

My shop and business is full of hydraulic devices. I've built some of them myself, and had to select the oil based upon performance, rather than pump or motor or cylinder manufacturers' recommendations.

I had a rapid-transit press that just would _not_ work fast enough until I replaced the 'standard' hydraulic oil with Type-F ATF. Then it would move at the appropriate slew rates without stalling the pump (viscosity, and all that). It's been in service for about ten years without any noticable problems.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

#2 heating oil is probably about as cheap as it gets although it's anti-wear properties probably aren't anything to write home about.

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

"Steve B" fired this volley in news:jsqrlf$ior$1 @speranza.aioe.org:

Use a good quality low-viscosity commercial "tractor" hydraulic fluid. They run about $50 for a 5-gallon bucket, and shouldn't be substituted in devices that have high shock loads -- like hoes and loaders.

I have among my 'toys' a 1968 Deutz 56B air-cooled diesel tractor (56 PTO HP). It gets only the best. Why? Because it's run since 1968 without any hydraulic replacement parts... 'nuff said.

I play with stuff, and do substitutions all the time, but good stuff that works well and costs big to fix gets whatever the manufacturer called for.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

But NEVER use hydrocarbon fluid where break fluid is called for!!!! And if the device is not fully hydraulic - like for instance an automatic transmission, you need fluid compatible with the non-hydraulic parts - like friction disks. Using the wrong fluid in a chrysler automatic will kill it in short order, for one example. And systems designed for Mercon V are generally not very happy with Dexron

2, etc because different seal materials and designs can be harmed by non-compatible fluids.

You really NEED to know the application before recommending an alternate fluid be used.

Reply to
clare

The "hydraulic ram" I'm familiar with uses water (ram pump) but I suspect you mean a standard hydraulic cyl. Depending on the pump you can likely get away wit light engine oil, automatic transmission fluid, power steering fluid, or universal hydraulic fluid - which would be my choice and is likely the best price too - from a farm equipment dealer. Depends how much you need.

Reply to
clare

snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Actually, if they're properly flushed (or clean to start with), a tour of duty with petro-oil fluids won't hurt the ordinary braking system. It might change the braking characteristics, and WILL change the vapor pressure, which is one primary reason for choosing the glycol fluids.

Most of the seals in modern brakes are neoprene and/or viton, and are not affected adversely by petroleum oils.

However, mixing a glycol ester with petroleum oil will result in some really ugly "gumming". Don't ever mix them.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

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