Thankyou trainzkid88 and kittylover123 for coming up with a estimate on tonnage, so at 10,000 PSI that ram in theory should produce about 60 tons, which would sound right for a 6" cylinder, the size of the shaft has a influence on the tonnage too doesn't it.
Thanks for your help
Mike

the ram shaft only come into it on pull and double acting type rams it reduces the surface area. the back pressure on the returning side also drops the force a bit too.
but this is single acting push ram so that doesnt matter.

at 10000psi the theoretical force is 141 ton so around 130 metric tonnes.
28.274x10000= 282740 lbs divide by 2000 = 141.37.

i would only run it at 5000 to 8000psi
5000x28.274=141370 lbs = 70.6 ton so around 60 tonnes
remember this is assuming a six inch piston that ram looks bigger than that so yeah at 5000psi you would probably get 100 ton.
i would only run it at 5000psi and have a relief valve in the line set to 5050 so you cant blow the arse out of the ram you dont want to be near it if it does let go.
by the look of the ram maybe rogers supplied the early dozer rams too

External measurement of the ram is 6-1/2", thanks for the suggestion on pressure relief

trainzkid88 wrote:

have a relief valve in the line set to 5050

 

Why bother with a relief? The cyinder is able to handle 10000 psi. If you are only going to be pressing upto D4 tracks apart, you're not going to get anywhere near the maximum. If the cylinder had heavy rust pitting or something then I would be concerned but it looks like it only as some surface rust. I would ask the local hydraulic shop to proof test it to be sure but it should take 10000psi without any issues externaly. Internaly it may be different, depending on what type of seals they used. Any seal other than piston ring type seals would most likely have perished from sitting so long. The bore may need a hone as well especially if it has been sitting empty of oil.

i like phils idea of get a hydraulics joint to test the ram. they have all the equipment. and yes i would put a kit through it then you know its right and good for a another couple of decades.

i like the idea of a safety pressure relief of some type...unless Safety is like 5th, 6th, 7th priority..

kittylover123 wrote:

i like the idea of a safety pressure relief of some type...unless Safety is like 5th, 6th, 7th priority..
 

At no stage was I suggesting that you run without any relief at all. I was pointing out that an additional relief set to 5050psi was an unneccessary addition.
It all depends on what MIke decides to use as a hydraulic power source. Connected to any of the replacement pump options we have looked at in this thread and every one of them has a built in relief,
Porta power max 10,000 set by a built in relief, tractor remotes set either by the tractors pump maximum pressure or individual reliefs for the remotes most likely won't get past 2500psi but could be as much as 6000psi, custom built off the shelf power pack most likely will have a maximum pressure of 3000psi. Only the original hand pump has no relief and only states "DO NOT EXCEED" once the piston has reached the end of its stroke.

Looking at Eddies manual it appears the cylinder has a leather bucket type seal. I had no idea a leather bucket could take so much pressure without disintegrating. Chances are it is perished though.

Yes, I understood what you were trying to say Phil, and the funny, but sensible comment by kittylover cracked me up! LOL

Yes, I agree 110%, it is critical the system has a proper working relief valve if I'm going to run it off a auxilary pump, I'll aim to incorporate some safety features into the press too, things to try and contain flying shrapnel, what I'd really like to do is spend a day helping a experienced track person turn pins and bushes, just to get a idea of the best way.

My good buddy Joe Camilleri has 2 track presses he uses regularly, the main one has a 320 tonne pump and ram he has detuned to 120 tonnes, his shed wall near the track press looks like a Thompson machine gun was fired off a dozen times into the wall, you can see where old bushes or pins have shattered, scary.

I know Joe would be very happy to show me how to use a press, the only problem is he's 2,000 miles away, I'll find a solution to that problem.

Just before dark tonight I got the hand pump hooked up to the ram and ran the rod out to it's recomended 13-1/2" maximum travel, there is some minor surface rust on the top of the rod, but no obvious oil leaks at this stage. I'll polish the rod up tomorrow before retracting it, and obviously I won't find out how good the seals are till the ram get's some load on it, who knows, as Phil says, they may be shot and need replacing, time will tell.
Thanks again for your input guys, much appreciated
Mike

Thanks Tony, makes sense, it will be the citric acid in the Coke doing the work, I use citric acid all the time to clean rusty parts, I even have a large 600 litre plastic bath just for that job for larger parts, it's a safe food preservative.

The rod is not chromed and there is some minor rust pitting, I measured the ram uses 5 litres of oil for a full stroke.
All the best
Mike

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