Forklift hydraulics

I am asking here because I am always amazed at the knowledge of the members.

Is there anyway to use the hydraulics on a diesel fork truck while the motor is not running?

I need a way to use an attachment briefly. I have a drum clamp that rotates and I want to be able to rotate the drum to pour some out and then rotate it back without running the motor.

I am thinking that there has to be a way to store up some hydraulic pressure or to somehow hook up a electric or pneumatic supplemental hydraulic pump that can be plugged into a wall outlet or compressor.

This has to do with temporary using the truck in an explosion proof environment where we can not run the engine while a drum is open. A new EE truck lead time will be months.

I have asked our sales guy at the tow lift place and he has never heard of this, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

accumulator.

Page Happy Andy. He might have some ideas.

accumulator might work.. but the PSI on a forklift is pretty intense. The only things I can think of.. are renting an EE lift for a day.. or running -long- Hydraulic lines from another forklift to yours. One that can be out of the explosion area

simple. 110v hydraulic pump with reservoir, similar to a home car lift setup, with piggy back lines to the sector of the controls you want to use. you'll need some one way valves or ball valves to switch from truck power to auxillary without back feeding. might even be able to feed all of the controls. it will be slower, but should work if the operating pressures of the two pumps are even in the ballpark of each other. mount the auxillary pump and motor to the lift, run the cord on a retracting reel for ease of use. plug the pump in, hit the power button, use the lever like normal. done.

EDIT-hell you might even be able to run a 12v-110v inverter off the lifts battery if the run time is short enough. if the battery is bit too small, add yellow top optima.

-J0N

In an explosion proof area, you will have a hard time doing electrics. Given the amperage involved, it's just about guaranteed there will be a spark generated somewhere along the line and for that reason I'd vote accumulator. That thing will take some careful sizing and savvy on the part of the operator to keep from having it go dead in mid cycle.

Or, since it's temporary, maybe a truly 'dumb' setup is a possibility. Use a manually operated Acme thread setup to rotate the clamp.

You would need a pretty big accumulator.

But then the motor doesn't use a lot.

You would need specs on how much the motor consumes and how much energy can be stored.

Somebody mentioned compressed air; maybe use a double acting air cylinder? The weight may make this difficult. Or an air over hydraulic cylinder like you see on engine hoists etc connected to a compressed air source via quick disconnects? I'm thinking an air motor might have to consume way more air than can be supplied through a hose.

Air tool consumption chart: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-consumption-tools-d_847.html

I couldn't find a similar chart for hydraulic motors. I'm sure someone out there (Vickers, Sundstrand etc) has a chart. Can you get the model number off the motor then Google search it?

The accumulator's drawback will be that if it runs out of oomph you'll be stuck with the drum maybe not in a transportable position.

I cant find a EX machine to rent anywhere in the US. And I was mistaken, I need EX, not EE.

I am going to look at the accumulator as well as a back-up electric hyd pump.

the area is only EX while the drums are open. Once closed, the area is then back to the less strit EE.

Maybe do it this way: use an air or hydraulic accumulator only to tilt the drum, then use a spring etc to return to transport position? Less volume needed that way.

Hang drum from a cherry picker and use an engine leveler to pour? Does it have to be done remotely or would it be ok for people to be close to the action?

Rob_Mopar wrote: Page Happy Andy. He might have some ideas.

I'm in the middle of repairing some forklift hydraulics right now. I'll check back in after work. There are a couple of possible solutions to this problem.

air powered drum transfer pump like Graco, use ground strap if flammable

no hydraulics involved

We are messing with very nasty haz mat stuff. Currently shoveling by hand. Some is liquid, some sludge, some mixed with solids. There are smaller drum clamps and tippers that work by hydraulics or hand cranks, but they take way too long to hook the drum up and then unhook, plus we would still have to move the drum into position by hand. Plus a lot of them have the potential to spill or cause sparks. Drums can weigh 600 lbs + when full.

In reply to Rusnak 322:

OK, I'm back.

First and foremost, I would recommend renting a legit EE truck from a legit Forklift dealer. I don't know your exact work environment, but if it truly requires an EE rated machine, then that should be the only thing allowed in the work area ever.

There is also another class of forklift that I see used in a lot of dry/powdered chemical environments called LPS. These machines have special exhaust systems, sealed alternators, agm batteries and a race car style kill switch. Maybe that type of machine would be suitable for your application?

There are a few different types manual & self contained battery powered drum tippers, this is another thing that a legit forklift dealer should be able to help you with, you could also try grainger, northern tool or u-line. Or just Google "Forklift drum handling attachment " that's where I found the images below.

Also, although adding an accumulator to the hydraulic system could work in theory, I've never seen one used on a forklift for that purpose. Generally on forklifts, accumulators are used as dampers, not reserve pressure storage like on excavators.

One point that I forget to add, "EE" is electrical enclosed, "EX" is explosion proof, they are not the same thing. There are very few places that require an "EX" machine. Read this to learn more