Sub BT oil change

[wbryce]

Hello, 

Anyone know best practise to replace the oil on Sub BT? the manual just shows how to top up and recommends replacement every 5 years. 

We're having the anti-crush engage every time the gates try to open or close which appears to be resistance coming from the motor, with cold weather etc I think the oil maybe a bit spent and want to remove this from the equation.  Also bit suspicious that the oil may not be to winter spec as it only happens with pro-longed cold temps.  


https://youtu.be/bHrwodBA4YM
Changing open/close force from 20 to 30 resolved this anti-crush engagement (this was after a thaw).

https://youtu.be/1ZWRDHgfzOo
During cold conditions - tried increasing open/closing force all the way to max but resistance its detecting keeps tripping anti-crush. 

Any help appreciated

[Blakey111]

I'm not 100% on this one, as it sounds like the motor may be having difficult shifting the gate. If the motor hasn't had a full oil change then this could possibly remedy the problem, but I don't come across this very often at all. Have you released the pressure off using the manual release and see whether the gates can be moved manually to free up the mechanisms? Forces generally need to be higher with Hydraulic kits anyway (and at 100% on 230V Hydraulic kits), and in colder conditions need increasing top operate successfully. However if you are still having problems when the forces are at their max, then this would indicate an underlying issue which needs fixing.
Do you know if the oil has been topped up recently? There are two variants of oil for the 230V SUB's and the 24V SUB's. The 24V SUB BT oil is winter oil (AW15, 2ltr), so if your motors have been topped up with the incorrect grade this could be the problem.
Hope this helps!
Any queries, please let us know.
Cheers
Dave

[wbryce]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the response, If I'm honest I think that motor may have a small amount of the previous grade oil in it, we did have 230v Sub R then switched to 24v BT after mechanical fault and I can't remember If I topped them up 2 years ago of the wrong oil unintentionally of course, its why I want to change the oil in that motor to see if it makes a difference. Do you know if its just a case of undoing the oil cap and using a siphon kit? I got some of the winter 24v oil now to replace and try.

[Blakey111]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the response, If I'm honest I think that motor may have a small amount of the previous grade oil in it, we did have 230v Sub R then switched to 24v BT after mechanical fault and I can't remember If I topped them up 2 years ago of the wrong oil unintentionally of course, its why I want to change the oil in that motor to see if it makes a difference.  Do you know if its just a case of undoing the oil cap and using a siphon kit?  I got some of the winter 24v oil now to replace and try.

No problem! There's no other plug that can be removed to drain the existing oil in the motor, but if you open the bleed valve right up and funnel the new oil in, this should do the trick. Might just take some persistence as the old oil will be thicker.

[wbryce]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the response, If I'm honest I think that motor may have a small amount of the previous grade oil in it, we did have 230v Sub R then switched to 24v BT after mechanical fault and I can't remember If I topped them up 2 years ago of the wrong oil unintentionally of course, its why I want to change the oil in that motor to see if it makes a difference.  Do you know if its just a case of undoing the oil cap and using a siphon kit?  I got some of the winter 24v oil now to replace and try.

No problem! There's no other plug that can be removed to drain the existing oil in the motor, but if you open the bleed valve right up and funnel the new oil in, this should do the trick. Might just take some persistence as the old oil will be thicker.

Thanks for the help Dave.  

Which one is that bleed valve? is that the one thats labelled service valve on the manual? Normally I would call the service people to investigate but it seems we're on our own for the foreseeable