All-season hydraulic fluid keeps grinding it out in chippers
Published in: Diesel Progress North American Edition
Date: 9/1/2005
For recycling, forestry and portable sawmill equipment manufacturer Morbark Inc., demanding conditions and harsh environments are the norm. Its product line features a line of chippers, shredders and grinders that weigh up to 103,000 lb., and the bright orange machines are familiar in a variety of applications such as construction sites, natural disaster areas and land-clearing projects.
The rugged operation of these machines involves varying operating temperatures, and in the case of Morbark’s largest machine–the Wood Hog grinder–it means circulating 350 gal. of hydraulic oil, making fluid a key decision in the design and performance of the company’s equipment.
“This equipment can be run all day long with reservoir temperatures reaching 150[degrees] to 160[degrees]F,” said Craig Price, vice president, operations at the Winn, Mich.-based Morbark. “It is shipped and operated all over the world in all types of conditions. Therefore, we need a fluid that allows fast start-ups in -30[degrees]F weather but is still viscous enough to protect the pumps and valves when ambient temperatures reach 95[degrees]F or higher.”
Working with Mt. Pleasant, Mich., distributor Coyne Oil, Morbark sought to identify an all-season hydraulic fluid that would allow its machines to work in all conditions. Morbark selected Petro-Canada’s Hydrex XV hydraulic fluid, which provided one fluid type for all of its machines’ capacities, applications and temperature ranges.
“Coyne brought Petro-Canada to the table for us,” said Price. “Petro-Canada was the first to come up with a product that could really handle the extremes that we were seeing in the field. We made them run tests for us, practical tests with some of our equipment, to make sure it would do what they said.”
And, Price added, “nobody met the specifications that Petro-Canada met. For instance, the viscosity index for Hydrex XV was higher than anything else we saw or have seen since.”
According to Petro-Canada, the Hydrex XV is an all-season hydraulic fluid formulated to provide premium performance, long life and reduce wear. It is designed for year-round use in heavy-duty hydraulic systems such as Morbark’s and can be exposed to a wide range of extreme temperatures. With Hydrex XV fluid, hydraulic systems can start at ambient temperatures ranging from -40[degrees]F to as high as 167[degrees]F, the company said.
Shorter warm-ups are also obtained with Hydrex XV, Petro-Canada said, as well as faster response times. “Hydrex XV not only allows a wide temperature range for start-ups,” said Price, “but it continually provides solid wear protection for our pumps and valves at higher operating temperatures.
“With its high oxidation resistance, it provides this protection longer, meaning less downtime for our customers.”
To formulate Hydrex XV, PetroCanada uses what it calls its patented HT purity process, producing 99.9% pure, crystal-clear base oil. By removing the impurities that can hinder the performance of conventional oils, Petro-Canada said Hydrex XV retains its fresh oil properties longer.
Following the purity process, Petro-Canada then blends next-generation additives to produce the finished product. This is what Morbark uses for both its factory fill and own plant equipment requirements, allowing it to consolidate to one fluid type.
“I had to deal with the hydraulic fluid a lot,” said Price. “For example, we would put lighter-weight fluid in a machine if we anticipated that it was going to be operated in both cold and hot temperatures. But if things changed and we had to ship to a location where temperatures were always hot, we had to drain the fluid and replace it with thicker fluid. It was a lot of management. I always wanted to get to one product, which I was able to achieve with Hydrex XV.”
By using Hydrex XV oils in its line of grinders, chippers and shredders, Morbark was also able to increase its drain intervals. “We were getting double the reservoir life with this product,” said Price. “So our change-out recommendations actually doubled. And we’re still below what Petro-Canada was telling us we could achieve.”
The longer drain interval, Morbark said, has addressed its contamination concerns because the less a reservoir is opened, the lower the chances of contamination entering the system. Also, reducing the number of changeouts immediately reduces the number of times a reservoir is opened. And Price said, “reducing the need for top-ups also helps protect against contamination.
“We’ve had problems in the past where the hydraulic fluid couldn’t take the heat,” he said. “This would cause a machine’s seals to heat up and result in leaks. Operators would add to the reservoir but contamination would occur. Pretty soon, they’ve got failure. With Hydrex XV, we’ve seen a lot of contamination issues go away.
“We’re very satisfied,” Price added. “Petro-Canada came to the table with a product that could meet our needs and no one else could. When our sumps are running at 150[degrees]F and can reach up to almost 170[degrees]F at times, it’s handy to have a product that will handle that kind of heat so that we don’t have to change it out every three months. Our maintenance time was cut in half, and we could even push it further if we wanted.”
COPYRIGHT 2005 Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications