Relieving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

[CountryBumkin]

I am finding it difficult to reconnect the hyd lines for my FEL after it has been sitting (disconnected) from the tractor for awhile.

I don't know if the FEL is settling or if the sun is heating the lines and increasing pressure - but regardless, I can't reconnect the hoses unless I first relieve the pressure.

I stick a flat tip punch in the fitting, wrap with a rag, and hit it with a hammer. This does the job, but it is awkward to hold everything just right to hit, and I worried that I might damage the inside of the quick release fitting if I don't hold the punch just right.

So I was thinking, may be it would be worth the couple of dollars to build a few "pressure release couplers". I'm thinking that I could buy some ball valves and screw in a male quick rlease coupler in one end, then after disconnecting the FEL I would insert this ball valve in the FEL hose(s) (leaving the ball valve closed) then when it is time to reconnect to tractor, I just open the ball valve for a second to relieve pressure then remove this fitting and reconnect to tractor.

DO you think this would work - or does someone have another idea/solution?

 

[Knott]

Re: Releiving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

Before I remove my FEL I shut off the tractor, then move the FEL control lever through all of its motions, up, down, left & right to relieve the hyd pressure before I disconnect it. This way there is no pressure in the FEL when it is time to re connect it.
Your ball valve idea will work, but it could be very dangerous releasing the hyd oil out of the system under pressure.

 

[NEPA Guy]

Re: Releiving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

When my dealer's mechanic came to my house to reconnect my fel to my new tractor, (to torque some bolts), which was sitting idle 6 months, he couldn't reconnect one of the hoses.

He said if it ever happened again, just loosen the nut where the quickconnect was just a bit, to let the fluid drip out and relieve the pressure, retighten and done. Sure enough, went right in. Personally I wouldnt hit it with a hammer and attaching and reattaching ball valves seems counterproductive when you can just loosen the nuts a bit and then retighten, no?

 

[jabloomf1230]

Re: Releiving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

Knott's approach almost always works for me. But if there is still a small amount of pressure in one of the hoses, to reconnect it I fashioned a highly specialized tool consisting of a plastic Chinese chopstick. It is just the right size to poke at the inside of the connector and cause the last few drops of hydraulic fluid to drip out. The chopstick plastic is soft enough as to not damage the guts of the connector.

Obviously, this is not to be done with any line still heavily pressurized.

 

[CountryBumkin]

Re: Releiving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

Before I remove my FEL I shut off the tractor, then move the FEL control lever through all of its motions, up, down, left & right to relieve the hyd pressure before I disconnect it. This way there is no pressure in the FEL when it is time to re connect it.

Yes, I do this to.
But the pressure in the FEL hoses (after its disconnected and sitting) creeps up.

I think the risk of injury relieving the pressure with a hammer/punch is higher than using the ball valve since you would open the ball valve slowly and you can point the open end away from yourself (into a rag) rather than holding everything in your hand while you hit the punch with a hammer.

Loosing the coupler a few turns to relieve pressure is the next best idea (better than the hammer-punch method) but it does require some tools.

I'm liking my ball valve idea better - the more I talk through it.

 

[kckndrgn]

Re: Releiving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

Had this happen last weekend, to one of the lines (one of the curl lines IIRC). My neighbor (rtgt on the forum) just happened to be over.
Before I took the FEL off, i made sure to cycle the stick with the tractor off to relieve the pressure. So all I could think was that the sun warmed the FEL just enough to put some pressure on the line. Taking a flat punch I was able to relieve the pressure, didn't have to use a hammer or anything, and it was surprisingly easier than I thought.
I guess there was just enough pressure behind it that I couldn't get it to connect.
rtgt said he used a brass punch, but I didn't have any and there wasn't so much pressure I had to use the hammer.

 

[CountryBumkin]

Re: Releiving pressure in FEL hoses when disconnected from tractor

Had this happen last weekend, to one of the lines (one of the curl lines IIRC). My neighbor (rtgt on the forum) just happened to be over.
Before I took the FEL off, i made sure to cycle the stick with the tractor off to relieve the pressure. So all I could think was that the sun warmed the FEL just enough to put some pressure on the line. Taking a flat punch I was able to relieve the pressure, didn't have to use a hammer or anything, and it was surprisingly easier than I thought.
I guess there was just enough pressure behind it that I couldn't get it to connect.
rtgt said he used a brass punch, but I didn't have any and there wasn't so much pressure I had to use the hammer.

Yeah, I tried first with just using flat tipped punch to depress the center pin of the Quick Disconnect but could not budge it by hand.
I don't know if it was because the spring inside the coupler (that hold that pin closed) was extra stiff or if it was due to the amount of pressure built up (I think it was probably more the spring, as there wasn't any "noticeable" high pressure in the line).

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Your having to much trouble with something that you shouldn't have problems with!
If the standard couplers are giving that much grief switch them out to a flat face coupler.

 

[85Hokie]

Does this occur ON ALL four lines? OR just a few?

When you get ready to disconnect - do you move the stick in all directions to relieve the pressure?

The screwdriver method has been done before, I would not want to do it several times however.

I wonder if you could make a hard plastic device that could be used - it aligns itself as you place it on the fitting with the rag already fastened to it. I can see the sun heating up the lines to a point that it could raise the pressure a bit also. I am not sure I would go the route of ball joints just yet.

(open post - closed late! )

 

[CountryBumkin]

Does this occur ON ALL four lines? OR just a few?

It's just two lines (red and yellow, I think. Maybe it was Red and White - I forget what cylinders those lines attach to. I'll need to write it down).

When you get ready to disconnect - do you move the stick in all directions to relieve the pressure?

Note -- this is issue/post is not about having trouble disconnecting the lines to remove the FEL from the tractor. That is not a problem (I shut off engine and move control stick around to relieve pressure. That works fine).

It's about trying to reconnect the lines when I want to reinstall the FEL on the tractor. Either the hyd cylinders on the FEL are shifting (maybe FEL does some settling/shifting over time. Or the hot FL sun is heating up the fluid in the cylinders causing the hyd fluid to expand (increase pressure).

Thanks for reading-replying.

 

[CountryBumkin]

Your having to much trouble with something that you shouldn't have problems with!
If the standard couplers are giving that much grief switch them out to a flat face coupler.

What is a Flat Face coupler?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Flat face couplers

 

[chim]

I'm not sure how the ball valve idea can work. If the problem is being able to insert the male end of the connector, why would it be easier to insert a male and on a ball valve than to insert the male end from the tractor?

 

[rtgt]

Chim, I think the idea is to insert the couple with the ball valve at the time the loader is disconnected.

Later when re-connecting, you could crack open the ball valve to release the pressure.

I have only had this happen to me once or twice.

I like the ball valve idea. Maybe put a short length of hose on the outlet end so that you could direct the relieving pressure into a bucket.

Another thought, if you put connectors on both sides of the ball valve, you could leave the circuit connected, and equalize the pressure. This would eliminate the external release of fluid....

 

[CountryBumkin]

Chim, I think the idea is to insert the couple with the ball valve at the time the loader is disconnected.

Exactly!

Later when re-connecting, you could crack open the ball valve to release the pressure.

I have only had this happen to me once or twice.

I like the ball valve idea. Maybe put a short length of hose on the outlet end so that you could direct the relieving pressure into a bucket.

This seems to happen every time I try to reinstall the FEL. I got this tractor in the Fall of 2015 and didn't have the problem when the weather was cool. Now that it is hot (90's) I have this problem every time (which is only like 4 times, that I have removed and reinstalled the FEL, so far).

I don't think I will need the hose an bucket because the amount of fluid coming out is minuscule (evident by the hammer-punch method, which only produces a slight amount of oil on the rag).

Another thought, if you put connectors on both sides of the ball valve, you could leave the circuit connected, and equalize the pressure. This would eliminate the external release of fluid....

I thought about this too, but the potential to screw something up (forgetting to close the ball valves or such) and the extra work in plumbing it all in, I decided against going that far.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Lil Foot]

I talked to one of the maintenance guys from work & he said an old timer (now retired) had modified a pair of specialty pliers (not sure what kind) to release pressure from hydraulic couplers- he just grabbed them with the pliers, draped a rag over it, & squeezed. From his description, it sounded like something like these:

 

[85Hokie]

Even a pair of channel locks, modify them, a little welding and bullya !

Cut the lower jaw off, weld a U bracket the size of the back side of the connector, and then grind the top jaw to fit the connection in the fitting.

 

[D2Cat]

All I ever do is wrap a rag around the end of the disconnect and tap it on a piece of lumber, like a 2x4. Pretty simple. Doesn't happen very often that I need to release pressure.

 

[chim]

Chim, I think the idea is to insert the couple with the ball valve at the time the loader is disconnected..................

OOPS. Missed that part. Now I understand.

 

[bcp]

If you try the valve and coupler idea, simply put a T-fitting on the other end to deflect any high pressure oil.

Bruce