Know very little about hydraulic oil other than the woodsplitter uses it . There appears to be three grades 32- 46- and 68 , what do these numbers mean ? The woodsplitter has a vane pump, which number should be used ?
Probably 32 for you...could go 46 too...68 is a little thick for your climate. That number has to do with how "thick" the oil is.
Who can share about viscosity here? I had to use a different one on the newer engine in the Blaze, SAE something? Because of the the very cold temps here. Also, ATF vs gear oil? Horkn
I was just looking into this recently. My Huskee splitter manual suggests 46 but says if working a lot below freezing 32 may work better. Also mentions that ATF can be used. I have a new filter but have not picked up the hyd. Oil yet. I will likely use 46 because most of my slitting is done in the Spring. Rural King has the best price around here but did see our local NAPA had 5 gallons as well for a smidge more.
I think your machine uses a gear pump. The Beaver Chomper uses a vane pump so I wonder if the lighter oil would be better for it?
Most splitters that don't have a manual use commercially available pumps. If you can ID the pump you might find an oil viscosity recommendation based on that. The filters and ram probably won't be sensitive to viscosity. Being off a viscosity grade probably doesn't matter much. It's just a pump, filter, and ram with some ring seals. Going from cold to hot is a much bigger viscosity change than one grade to another.
With the north star splitter that I got, it is OK to use ATF. It is listed in the owners manual and does not affect the warranty (which by now is expired anyway) and was less expensive than regular hydraulic oil. Seems to me it was DEXRON....(c'mon memory....) and about $12 a gallon now?
In doing a little research on this, I came across an article that stated ATF, while technically will work, is an inferior product as a hydraulic oil...good for transmissions, not great for high pressure hydraulic systems. Never did find anything definitive on oil for a vane type pump. Seems like maybe there would be more info available if the pump make/model were known... Here's what I was reading...http://www.sawyersystemsllc.com/sites/all/themes/sawyer/Guide to Selecting Hydraulic Fluid.pdf
It's really down to the temperatures you'll be using it. Hers a handy dandy chart. Most splitters use gear pumps.
Yeah, that's what I've been reading these last few posts. I switched to it because of the cost and the ability to use it in lower temps. Now, question is, why is it not as good as hyd fluid? What difference, drawbacks?
