Automatic scrapers losing oil

mengele

These scrapers are in 20 years but have never given trouble until now so actually know very little about them. The end of last few they would start loosing oil do i just kept topping it up but need to sort it now.

There seems to be a flow and return pipe coming from the motor going under ground through yellow drainage pipe which is then buried under concrete and goes to 4 different scrapers. Oil was seeping back up the pipe last year as u could see it in the water . It can't be a complete bust pipe otherwise the oil tank would be drained in less than a minute? I hadn't opened the boxes under each scraper but they all look dry so didn't think it was a seal.

Ideas???

_Brian

Qualify this by admitting I haven’t touched one of these in 25 years but I installed and serviced plenty back in the day.

As the scraper runs it alternates the pressure from one hose to the other. That causes the rams to extend and retract moving the scrapers.

The alternating pressure causes the hoses to shift a bit each time they are pressurised and relaxed. This constant shifting can lead to wear, and in time wear a hole through the hose.

I expect that’s what has happened.

It would be worth opening the boxes on the off chance there is a leak on a fitting which is running back down the hose. But any time I saw a leak on a fitting in a box it leaked out onto the floor


Always hated going on scraper callouts as by the nature of the problem everywhere would be covered in shiit

patsy_mccabe

Tie a light rope onto the end of a hose and pull it out. Leak might be obvious then. If not, you could reconnect over ground and run scraper then.
Hard to tell without seeing your setup.

Tonynewholland

Leaks only get worse it’s better to find it Just don’t be touching the pipe with your hand if its under pressure.

_Brian

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Tie a light rope onto the end of a hose and pull it out. Leak might be obvious then. If not, you could reconnect over ground and run scraper then.
Hard to tell without seeing your setup.

Yup.
Make sure you pull back a draw cord if removing the lines.

However if the end fittings have 90’s fitted it can be tough to draw hoses through, particularly if it’s a long run or many turns. When new we would have drawn through hoses and made the fittings afterwards. Land drainage rather than sewer is even harder as it’s uneven inside and less inclined to keep straight runs when being back filled.

mengele

Can anyone say what way scrapers are normally plumbed? Like the 2 hyd hoses coming from the motor power the 4 scrapers. You could have 2 scrapers on together and they would work just slower. Is it t junctions coming off the main house at each scraper?

I know very little about them as they have never given trouble . All I have ever done was change the oil and filter a few times.

cjpm

The leak could be a seal on any one of the four rams so check that they are dry first.

Otherwise it’s a pin hole in one of the hoses. Look carefully where the pipes come into the ram boxes.

How they are plumbed is.... each hose leaving the control box is teed to bring oil to each ram. There is a solenoid on each ram then that controls whether the ram is allowed to move or not. So it’s possible to shut down any ram while the others are working.

patsy_mccabe

Wear safety glasses or a shield when looking at pressurised hoses. Pin hole leaks are deadly.

whelan2

Who normally fixes them for you? Much easier to pay someone who knows what they are at than trying to fix it yourself

pms7

Pull out both hoses and replace, other hose probably not far off leaking

einn32

Get out someone to service them. They usually have the parts and can make up replacement hoses/ joints on site. Saves a lot of hassle.

RightTurnClyde

einn32 wrote: »

Get out someone to service them. They usually have the parts and can make up replacement hoses/ joints on site. Saves a lot of hassle.

Slow leak is either ram seals or oil filter. That's my guess

_Brian

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

Slow leak is either ram seals or oil filter. That's my guess

OP says oil is coming up the pipe that the hoses go down through in the ground Couldn’t be filter

Have to say OP needs a service call on this. Isn’t showing enough familiarity with the system to be repairing it. Spend a bit of time worst he technician and ask questions when they are there.
It’s a very simple system once you have someone explain it and show you the parts.

Even if op pulls out hoses and sees a leak they will need a service call anyway to repair it.

RightTurnClyde

_Brian wrote: »

OP says oil is coming up the pipe that the hoses go down through in the ground Couldn’t be filter

Have to say OP needs a service call on this. Isn’t showing enough familiarity with the system to be repairing it. Spend a bit of time worst he technician and ask questions when they are there.
It’s a very simple system once you have someone explain it and show you the parts.

Even if op pulls out hoses and sees a leak they will need a service call anyway to repair it.

Could be filter, not blocked but weeping. Old filters coulenhave seal cracked or the metal in the case of the filter itself cant start weeping at that age.
Have a good few systems here, a slow leak can be a head wreck but 99/100, slow leak is usually seals, but we've had a filter with the rubber leaking once. Hard to find.
He could just turn up the pressure switch and he'll find the weak spot quick, but not for the faint hearted.
But ya absolutely agree OP needs to get it serviced, after 20yrs its earned it

_Brian

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

Could be filter, not blocked but weeping. Old filters coulenhave seal cracked or the metal in the case of the filter itself cant start weeping at that age.
Have a good few systems here, a slow leak can be a head wreck but 99/100, slow leak is usually seals, but we've had a filter with the rubber leaking once. Hard to find.
He could just turn up the pressure switch and he'll find the weak spot quick, but not for the faint hearted.
But ya absolutely agree OP needs to get it serviced, after 20yrs its earned it

Thought most lads would have them serviced every few years. It’s not expensive and increase the life of the pump.

mengele

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

Slow leak is either ram seals or oil filter. That's my guess

When I say slow leak. I was putting in a gallon a week towards the end of last year when using them last.

They have never seen a call out since putting them in new 20 ish years ago. I change the filter myself at the start of every year and the oil every 2nd year. The box is dry so not a filter leak.

einn32

mengele wrote: »

When I say slow leak. I was putting in a gallon a week towards the end of last year when using them last.

They have never seen a call out since putting them in new 20 ish years ago. I change the filter myself at the start of every year and the oil every 2nd year. The box is dry so not a filter leak.

At that leak rate it's a hose I'd say.

Faulty auto scrapers are one of my pet hates. There is nothing worse then walking into a shed of a morning to see it full of ****e.

raindodger

how long should the seals last have alfa scrappers give trouble every year eight bays in shed