Hydraulic oil & water

B . Buxton

B . Buxton

Joined
Jul 8, 2001
Messages
3,623
Does anyone know of a simple way to remove water from hydraulic oil, My press is about 8 yrs. old and resently the inline filter started leaking, I replaced it and now the new ones dripping a little. Was wondering if the oil has accumulated water from the air over the yrs. and if the waters plugging up my filters causing them to leak. I can drain the system and strain the oil if there's something that will let the oil pass and retard the water. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Bill
 
Unfortunately no. It would take some sort of centrifuge or the like. I had a problem where the roof on my shanty blew off and got water in a 75 gallon res. That really sucked, not only replacing the oil but what to do with the contaminated stuff. Cost more to dispose of it in Ca, than to buy new. I even tried heating the oil to evaporate it, DO NOT TRY THIS. I turned around for a second and because oil is lighter than water the water on the bottom turned into steam and a 5 gallon stainless steel pot jumped into the air about 2 feet. Spilled the oil all over and started a small fire. Glad I did it in the middle of the gravel driveway.

I would recommend bucking up and buying some new oil.
 
Thanks A C, is there a way I can test the oil to see if it is contaminated with water. I pulled 5 gal. this morning and it looks good and clean, not milky at all. Would slightly heating a quart or so to around 150 cause any water to separate letting me know water is the problem? Would filling a gallon jar with the oil and leave standing undisturbed for a couple days show water separation?

Thanks again,

Bill
 
Bill, as you know oil and water do not mix so if you do have any water in your system it will be at the bottom of your tank. just tilt your tank so that all the water runs to a corner and suck it out with a suction gun or large vet syringe with a piece of tubing attached to it.
 
Hi Bill, thats what I throught too, but the more I've read about hydraulic oil is it can become saturated and hold a certain amount of water before it separates, this is why I was wondering if it was plugging up my inline filter and not showing any water in the bottom of a container. Thats why I was looking for a way to test the oil for water satuation, I just resently found a thread that suggested appling a few drops of the oil to hot plate heated to about 275, it says if the oil sizzles it has water satuation and will need to be cleaned, if not it will only smoke which menas its water free.

Thanks,

Bill
 
I wonder why you would first think of water if your inline filter is clogging and/or leaking? Could there be any other explanation?
 
Hi Phil, the reason I suspect water is because the filter was fine after about 8 yrs. of use until this spring. Then it just started leaking, I replaced it and already its started leaking again. The filter is a return flow filter so there's little pressure on it unless the element gets clogged and won't allow easy flow. Thats when I started thinking water, since the system is mostly closed to any outside rust or dirt, so I figured condensation in the tank might be the problem. I drained the tank today, pulled the filter and drained it- heated up a hot plate and placed an old cake pan over the hot plate element and then poured about a 1/4 cup of the hydraulic oil in the hot pan, it immediately began to sizzle like water in hot grease. I never would have believed it because the oil looks clean, no milky look, and no water droplets in the bottom of a jar I stored some in over night, but it sure bubbled and sizzled when it hit the hot cake pan. I'm hoping after replacing the oil and the filter it will be leak free for another 7-8 yrs.

Thanks guys,

Bill
 
How many gallons of hydraulic fluid do you run? You could have several hundred ppm water in your oil without it showing. This amount would cause your filter to swell and block the flow of oil. You could try a dessicant but then your filter could clog with particles if you don't pre filter your oil after using. Plus the cost of the dessicant.. You could bubble warm dry air through the oil. You could keep replacing the filters until they work without clogging. Take your clogged filter apart. Does it have solid residue blocking it or has it swollen shut?
 
Bill, I didn't either until I started looking into ways to check for water in hydraulic oil. I always throught oil was oil when it came to mixing with water. :confused:

Bo T, thanks for the info. I haven't opened up the old filter yet but I did drain it hoping some water would visibly show up, it didn't. My system only uses 10 gallon so its cheaper for me to replace the oil then to keep buying and replacing filters, the only bad thing is, the filters I use I can't get locally so I have to order them. It will be the end of the week before I can see if this fixed the problem. I was hoping there was a filtering materials I could strain the old oil thru that would separate the water but since that doesn't appear to be available, replacement is the next best thing.
 
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