Anyone with industrial hydraulic know how?

[garlicbreath]

I just bought a powerstroke F350 from the local water and lighting company and it came with a wierd hydraulic setup on it.

It has a large hydraulic pump bolted to the motor, run by 2 vee belts and has an electric clutch like an ac compressor, along with a very large tank in the bed that has a radiator bigger than a geo metros and electric fan mounted to the side.
It also has a double hose retractable reel in the back, 2 hoses, one with a male quick connect, one with a female.

Main question is do hydraulic pumps self prime?

And second is what would this setup be used for?
My first thought was a large water pump for draining flooded streets, but I don't know.

When I switch the pump to on, it really drags the powerstroke down for a second or 2, then it catches up.

BTW the 2 hoses on the hose reel are connected together, to loop the system.

 

[sope]

Yes they self prime. We use similar set ups to run water pumps and hydraulic jack hammers. The hoses are hooked together to keep the connections clean and keep the system from dead heading. Usually on this kind of system there is a spool valve to bypass the hoses and a pressure relief at this valve.

Post a pic.

 

[smalltruckbigcid]

Can you say hydraulic winch..... www.alaska4x4network.com/showthread.php?t=18106
and a lot of tow trucks have hydraulic winches in them. Thinking used here
George

 

[garlicbreath]

Here are pics from today of the hydraulic setup.
The pump itself must be pretty big, it really bogs the engine down at first when turned on.

 

[sope]

Yep. Its for tools like jackhamers and could proabaly run almost any hydraulic tool. You have a flow guage and a pressure guage. The pressure reliefe valve is the silver cap nuted thing to the right of the pressure guage. If you remove the nut you'll find an adjustment. If you hear a loud screaching from this area it's the pressure relief. Does the switch with the green light say "tool cercuit"? If so, it's a solenoid activated spool valve to divert the flow to the hoses. Turn the switch off and it probably won't bog the engine down when you turn the pump on. What do the other labels say? It looks like there is a third switch. Mabe a throttle up switch. Are there any levers with the valving?
We have similar systems in our water works and sewers trucks.

 

[garlicbreath]

I'll get back to you on what the switches are labeled.

So if I was to drain all the hydraulic oil, then stick the hose on the intake of the pump into a bucket of oil, would it self prime and start sucking in the oil?

 

[sope]

I'll get back to you on what the switches are labeled.

So if I was to drain all the hydraulic oil, then stick the hose on the intake of the pump into a bucket of oil, would it self prime and start sucking in the oil?

It should and rerturn the fluid to the tank. Why would you want to do that?

 

[garlicbreath]

Would the length of hose on the intake matter?
It will be 17 feet to the rear of the truck, then another 30 on the reel.
I was thinking I could put a quick connect on the end to keep fluid in the hose, I just don't want to burn up the pump.

How strong are these pumps? Will they pull heavy fluid? Not gear oil thick, but heavier than hydro fluid?

 

[sope]

There is no suction on either of the hoses on the hose reel. One is pressure from the pump and the second is return to the tank. To suck you would have to remove the suction hose from the tank. I wouldn't run anything but hydraulic fluid through the pump. If the fluid was too thick it could cause cavatation which could destroy the pump. Whatever your thinking, it sounds like a bad idea.

OK, after all this I have to know what your thinking about doing.

 

[garlicbreath]

Yeah, I realized one line is pressure and one is return to tank, what threw me off was why the line into the pump from the tank was so large.
I was looking tonight and the input line to the pump has to be twice the size of the output.

So mr logic kicked in and said it's best to run the pump with no restriction on the intake, and let it push whatever it can on the outlet.
It that right?

Would I be better of using a gear oil pump or some other pump capable of handling thick fluids to suck through the retractable hose into a resevoir that the hydro pump can then suck from to push through the filters?

 

[smalltruckbigcid]

Yeah, I realized one line is pressure and one is return to tank, what threw me off was why the line into the pump from the tank was so large.
I was looking tonight and the input line to the pump has to be twice the size of the output.

>>>Thats because its a suction line. Its easier to pump fluids than suck them through a line.

So mr logic kicked in and said it's best to run the pump with no restriction on the intake, and let it push whatever it can on the outlet.
It that right?

>>>Yes, a restriction on the intake usually causes the pump to cavitate. Thats very bad...

Would I be better of using a gear oil pump or some other pump capable of handling thick fluids to suck through the retractable hose into a resevoir that the hydro pump can then suck from to push through the filters?

The lines on the reel do not suck any fluid from anything. They are pressure lines powered by the pump up front. The flow will go from the pump through one of the lines to a work device (cylinder, motor, etc.) and return to the valve body and on to the tank from the valve body. The size of the lines on the reel are not going to suck any fluid very quickly due to the small internal diameter.

What kind of fluids are you trying to suck up and from where? Are you thinking of using this as a trash pump to move waste oil?

 

[garlicbreath]

What kind of fluids are you trying to suck up and from where? Are you thinking of using this as a trash pump to move waste oil?

In a sense yes.

I was hoping to be able to suction the oil with the pump, but might end up just using it for filtering if it can handle it.

 

[smalltruckbigcid]

The pump you have will not work for use in an open type circuit. Its designed to run in a closed loop circuit. If your pulling oil or other fluids from a dirty container use a trash pump. Faster and they last longer running in dirty fluid.

George