Hydraulic systems are everywhere, including:
- Bucket trucks
- Dump trucks
- Garbage trucks
- Tow trucks
- Backhoes
- Excavators
- Feller bunchers
- Forklifts
- Front-end loaders
- Mobile cranes
- Mobile shears
- Mobile hydraulic power units
- Mobile well-drilling and ore-sampling equipment
- Piling rigs
- Skidders
- Skid Steers
- Snowplows
- Tractors and agricultural equipment
Maintenance intervals can be reduced in any hydraulic equipment with Synthetic Hydraulic Oil
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Hydraulic Systems
Hydraulic systems can look complex and intimidating, but most are straightforward, consisting of a sump, a pump, hoses, valves and either pistons or hydraulic motors.
Sump – The hydraulic system’s sump is responsible for holding the oil, providing time for the transferring of heat, and a place for contaminants, including water, to settle.
Pump – The hydraulic system’s pump produces the fluid flow that creates pressure. In most cases, it is the most expensive part of the system. Hydraulic oils are subjected to pump tests to prove their ability to protect pumps under normal operating conditions.
Hydraulic systems can have many different types of pumps, but the three most common are gear, vane and piston pumps. Gear pumps are often found on lower-pressure systems and are simple and reliable. As positive displacement pumps, they pump a fixed amount of fluid for every revolution. Although variations exist, a good example is an automotive oil pump.
Vane pumps are common on mobile equipment and can be variable or constant displacement. Piston pumps can be found on higher-pressure applications and are more complex and sensitive to contamination than vane or piston pumps.
Hoses – Hoses carry hydraulic pressure and flow to various components and are often the weakest link in any hydraulic system. Maintenance is often ignored until a problem develops. Hoses can fail due to heat, cold, repeated flexing, physical damage and exposure to the elements.
Valves – Valves control the route of the hydraulic flow within the system, sending flow and pressure to components to operate them. Pulling a lever back may route fluid to one side of the hydraulic system, causing it to extend a piston, while pushing it forward may cause it to retract. Varnish presents a major problem with valves, causing them to stick or not allowing them to seal properly.
Pistons/Hydraulic Motors – Pistons and hydraulic motors convert the hydraulic flow and pressure into work. Pistons provide linear motion, allowing bulldozer blades to lift and backhoe buckets to tip, while motors convert hydraulic flow and pressure into rotational force, allowing drills to operate.
Common issues associated with pistons and hydraulic motors are internal or external leakage. External leakage results in loss of fluid and contamination issues, while internal leakage results in lost efficiency. For example, a bottle jack with its valve only partially closed requires furious pumping to lift an object off the ground and won’t be able to keep it there.
Hydraulic Oil
Zinc-containing hydraulic oil is a commonly used hydraulic fluid, while other applications call for zinc-free hydraulic oil, motor oil or transmission fluid. Hydrostatic hydraulic oil is required when the fluid must also operate the hydrostatic transmission, biodegradable hydraulic oil is often required in environmentally sensitive areas and some applications require fire-resistant hydraulic oils.
Each type of hydraulic oil has unique characteristics, and it’s important to understand what’s required for specific applications. The equipment operator’s manual will usually recommend viscosities for the ambient temperatures the machine is operated in or could even recommend a specific oil brand. This information can be used to determine the appropriate AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oil. If in doubt, contact AMSOIL Technical Services at 715-399-TECH.
Hydraulic Oil Problems
Heat and contamination present serious challenges for hydraulic oils. If the system becomes too hot, the oil’s viscosity can thin to the point where the pump is damaged or seals are destroyed. Because conventional hydraulic oil is often less expensive than synthetic hydraulic oil, it is important to understand the benefits and cost savings AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oils provide.
Heat Reduction – The synthetic construction of AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oils can reduce heat in hydraulic systems, leading to better viscosity retention, less varnish build-up and oxidation, reduction in component wear (including hoses), longer seal life and better overall system performance.
Cold-Weather Performance – AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oils have much better cold-temperature characteristics than many petroleum oils. This can be seen by comparing the viscosity index, Brookfield viscosity and pour point numbers of a conventional oil to the corresponding viscosity AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oil.
Because mobile equipment often sits out in the elements while on a job site, conventional hydraulic oils can thicken in the cold and lead to damage, such as excessive pump wear due to cavitation, blown hoses, broken shafts or extended warm-up times that waste fuel. Use of the proper AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oil viscosity helps reduce or eliminate many of these issues.
All-Season Functionality – To eliminate some of the problems associated with temperature changes, many mobile equipment owners switch viscosities with the seasons. They may run an ISO VG 22 viscosity oil in the winter and switch to an ISO VG 32 or 46 oil in the summer. AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oils are high-viscosity-index formulations that can eliminate the need for seasonal changes. It’s possible to run an ISO 32 or ISO 46 successfully year-round in all but the most extreme cold conditions.
Hose Life Preservation – Because many equipment operators consider blown hoses, leaky seals and loss of hydraulic fluid an unavoidable problem, they may not initially be interested in investing in more expensive hydraulic fluid they believe will just end up on the ground.
If hoses are snagged, chafed or damaged externally, the situation must physically be corrected. However, cold and heat wreak havoc hoses and seals causing pressure spikes and deterioration. The superior cooling and flow properties of AMSOIL synthetic hydraulic oils help preserve hose integrity.
Anti-Wear Hydraulic Oil
AMSOIL Synthetic Anti-Wear Hydraulic Oils effectively inhibit oxidation to help prevent acid formation and viscosity increase, resist carbon and varnish deposits and inhibit rust and foam, providing smooth hydraulic operation. They contain a very effective zinc-based anti-wear/antioxidant additive that controls wear in high-speed, high-pressure vane and gear pumps, while meeting the lubrication requirements of axial piston pumps with bronze-on-steel metallurgy.
- Extended oil drain intervals
- Anti-wear protection
- Recommended for gear, vane and piston pumps
- Contain rust, oxidation and foam inhibitors
- Designed for a wide temperature range
- Hydrolytically stable and readily separate from water
Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil
AMSOIL Synthetic Biodegradable Hydraulic Oil (BHO) is a premium-performance hydraulic oil that exhibits high biodegradability and low aquatic toxicity, along with superior oxidative stability, excellent low-temperature performance and outstanding results in laboratory and extended duration pump testing. It contains antioxidants that prolong oil life and foam inhibitors that help promote problem-free operation.
Multi-Viscosity Hydraulic Oil
AMSOIL Synthetic Multi-Viscosity Hydraulic Oil is formulated with varnish-control technology to keep hydraulic systems clean for long life and reliable operation with reduced maintenance downtime. It resists breakdown in the presence of heat while remaining fluid when cold to keep valves, pumps, servos and other components clean, protected and long-lasting.
- Compatibility with yellow metals.
- Anti-wear protection for pumps, motors, valves and other components.
- Meets stringent viscosity-retention requirements of Parker Hannifin* (Denison*) HF-0
Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil
AMSOIL Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil is an all-weather Universal Tractor Transmission Oil (UTTO) engineered to meet the tough demands of heavy-duty, hydraulic-powered farm and commercial equipment. Its unique formulation of synthetic base stocks and additives effectively reduces wear, resists heat, protects against rust, effectively suppresses wet-brake chatter, and extends equipment service life. Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil is recommended for extended oil drains based on oil analysis.
Excellent Protection in Temperature Extremes
AMSOIL Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil operates over a wide range of temperatures. It has a high viscosity index to maintain its lubricity for wear protection at high operating temperatures, and it flows at temperatures down to -58°F (-50°C) for improved equipment operation in subzero temperatures. Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil exceeds the viscosity requirements of the all-weather specifications of both Case New Holland* 3525 and 3526 (formerly FNHA-2-C-200 & 2-C-201) and John Deere* J20C & J20D, eliminating the need for seasonal oil changes.
Video transcript: Company of Enthusiasts: We’re Into Agriculture
I’m Peter Davie. I’m into agriculture. We’re at Davie Farm in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. My grandfather was born in Delta, lived here his entire life.
In the early ’50s he came across this piece of property that we’re on now and decided to buy it, and we’ve been farming here ever since. We’re solely dairy farming. We have purebred registered Holstein Friesian cows. The reason that you mostly see Holsteins as dairy cows is for their production.
They are the highest producing dairy cow bred today. Our top cow currently milks about 150 pounds a day, and we have an 80-pound average over the herd. This is our heifer barn and milking parlor. We keep all our young stock in here.
We don’t buy in any replacement stock. They’re all born and raised here on the farm. This is our loafing barn where we house our breeding bull and some of our other young stock. Most of these animals are pregnant currently.
The few that aren’t are why they’re in here with the bull. This is our main dairy barn. It has about 135 stalls in it to house 135 cows. So this is the milking parlor.
You can see some cows are waiting to get milked. It was built in the late ’70s. It’s a double-six herringbone. And so the cows are going to start milking in just a few minutes here.
The average cow from the time you put her in the parlor till the time she’s walking out is approximately seven minutes. On the farm we have five people in total working: my father, my brother, myself and two employees. Average day during the summer we start at 3:30 in the morning where myself or my brother come down and we milk for about two and a half hours approximately. In that time we also will feed our young calves.
We grow grass and corn crops for forage feeds for the cows. And my dad, being 73, he still comes down every morning at 4:30 to help feed calves. His passion, his love has always been farming, whether it be years ago with farming with my grandfather and doing crops, vegetables and sheep or dairy which he made the big push in the late ’60s to solely become a dairy farm. I think my dad’s passion for dairy was simply for the fact that he got to work every day.
He loves the cows. He loves working with them. Just loves being around them. On a dairy farm of our size, we have 240 acres.
We have a lot of mechanical equipment. So maintenance is key to all of it, whether it be a manure agitator or some of the tractors you see behind me. We have 12 or so tractors ranging from 35 horsepower to 225, and every single one needs a couple oil changes a year. They need grease every 8 to 10, 12 hours.
And so maintenance is a big part of everything we do on the farm. This is our Ford* TW 35. It’s 1986 with 10,000 plus hours on it. It’s one of the most used tractors at our operation.
We use it from everything from spreading manure to tillage to mowing our forage crops. We’ve tuned the injection pump to make it 180 horsepower than the factory 160. The dual wheels help with flotation in our softer Delta soil. They make a massive difference compared to the single 520 tires.
It has three hydraulic remotes and a category 3 three-point hitch. Primary maintenance would be engine oil changes. Using conventional oil, they only last about 200 hours. Switching to AMSOIL has changed that to where we only have to do them every 800 hours or so, so just an annual oil change is fine.
This tractor, being 33 years old and having over 10,000 hours on it, it’s a bit beat up. But the engine and transmission still worked flawlessly. The 16 speed transmission shifter, the throttle and three-point hitch are all easily accessible and easy to reach, part of what makes this tractor so functional and well-used on the farm. If I wasn’t farming, I don’t know what I’d be doing.
I’d be bored. I can tell you that. Every day here there’s something new, and that’s why I chose to stay and keep doing it. You know, tomorrow morning you might be a vet.
This morning I was a welder and a mechanic, and the next day might be something different. So it’s always changing and it’s always evolving and it’s always something new. And you never know what’s going to happen on the day, and it makes it fun. I always try and say no day is a bad day when you’re on the farm