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hydraulic pressure gauge ...


Anderzander

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I fancy mounting a pressure gauge in my hydraulic winch set up, but am not sure where to put it?

I know it a no no to run hydraulic lines into the cab - but yet I'm sure plant have them. Anyone know how they do it?

The only other thinking that I've got at the moment is to mount it under the bonnet as its out of harms way, I won't be looking at it that often, it has a natural take off point under there.

Any suggestions?

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They have morse levers so that hydraulic fittings aren't in cabs. 2500psi is a big problem if a hose breaks.

I take your point about putting it somewhere visible - that's why I'm asking about how its done.....????

Anyone help please?

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A gauge with a rear-entry connector that passes through the bulkhead or at least into a protected area for the feed hose would seem the easiest idea, with a small-bore test point takeoff so that if something goes pop you only have a small squirt of oil to deal with not gallons (although a squirt at 2500psi is still very dangerous).

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Mine is mounted on the driver's side windscreen hinge outside the cab. Still very visible from the driver's seat and you get the benefit of another layer of material between you and the fluid. I'll try and take a piccy later.

Make sure you tee into the hose that runs between the pump and the solenoid / spool valve. That way you can see pressures at all work states, not just when winching in.

Are you plumbing in 3/8 or 1/2? I'd recommend the latter - if you choose to upgrade to high flow components, you'll not have the expense of new hoses as well.

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why is it a no-no to run them in the cab?? i see no problem with that!

You may see no problem but try an internet search about injuries caused by hydraulic oil being injected into the skin when a pipe bursts... It is not pretty and can result in the loss of limbs... though these are generally with large industrial set ups running very high pressures and large fluid volumes. Vehicle winch systems are at lower pressures (though still high enough to do harm) and the smaller amount of fluid meaning that any leak will provide only a fairly short period of jetting before all the fluid runs out- still would not want any leaks next to me though!!

The gauges are designed to be inside the cab so that is no problem- getting the hydraulic line to them can be though. You can get hydraulic hose that is specifically designed to be using inside the cab- obviously at a price. You can also look at electronic gauges that have a transducer in the hydraulic system that is remote from the gauge- but again cost can be prohibitive. I have mounted mine on the bulkhead to the right of the fuse box cover- mounted on a plate that is at 90 degrees to the sloping section of the bulkhead. The hose comes out of the back of the gauge and straight into a thick walled ali pipe that provides a conduit- meaning that if the hose bursts any jets of fluid are contained. The pipe then runs through the handy oval hole in the bulkead next to the fuse box and into the engine bay. I effectively have about 4 inches of pipe inside the cab that is completely contained inside a pipe.

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Uhm how about finding a gauge that gets an electrical signal from a probe? Seems to me that has a lot less safety problems than running a pressure line to the bulkhead...

Electrical sensors & gauges for high pressure hydraulics are ludicrously expensive :( £250 for a sensor is not unusual.

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Mine is mounted on the driver's side windscreen hinge outside the cab. Still very visible from the driver's seat and you get the benefit of another layer of material between you and the fluid. I'll try and take a piccy later.

I'd love to see the pic please!

Are you plumbing in 3/8 or 1/2? I'd recommend the latter - if you choose to upgrade to high flow components, you'll not have the expense of new hoses as well.

Its pretty high flow now. I've 1/2" everywhere except from the reservoir to the pump which is 1"

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I have mounted mine on the bulkhead to the right of the fuse box cover- mounted on a plate that is at 90 degrees to the sloping section of the bulkhead. The hose comes out of the back of the gauge and straight into a thick walled ali pipe that provides a conduit- meaning that if the hose bursts any jets of fluid are contained. The pipe then runs through the handy oval hole in the bulkead next to the fuse box and into the engine bay. I effectively have about 4 inches of pipe inside the cab that is completely contained inside a pipe.

That sounds a decent set up. Any chance of a pic please?

One of the reason's I'm not sure mounting it outside is that it seems ripe for damage there. I can just imagine it being smacked by a sprung branch...

Incidentally what range and type of gauge are people using?

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That sounds a decent set up. Any chance of a pic please?

Incidentally what range and type of gauge are people using?

Will see what I can do- no idea how to upload one of my own pictures but will have a bash.

Mine was an Ebay special- all of about £5! I seem to recall that the range of the gauge should be a fair bit more than the maximum pressure of your system- something like max system pressure being 2/3rds of the max on the gauge... I am sure someone will know the correct figure...

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