is3100z and Hydro fluid change

[Chuckg]

Love the mower and always service it annually, but had a question.. I have seen other mowers that have drain plugs for the hydro, or they release the lines, does the 3100 have an easy way to drain the fluid? When I got this from the previous home owner he said he just vacuumed the reservoir to get as much fluid out, changed the filter and filled back the reservoir tank with fresh oil... Seems to me it would contaminate as there is a lot of old oil in the lines, pumps etc. Any thoughts on this? I have looked online for a service manual but have yet to find anything or any videos that describe this particular model. Can check on the year, but the unit has to be around 10-12 years old..

Thanks in advance

Chuck

 

[bertsmobile1]

You are confusing hydro oil with engine oil.
Engine oil gets contaminated with carbon from the combustion process which is why it turns black
On top of that there are acid byproducts of the combustion process and of course the tiny amount of oil that is on the cylinder wall gets the whole whack from combustion, before you start on consumption of additives & physical deteriortation of the oil itself
Thus it has a fairly short working life
In a hydro you get contamination purely from wear + brake debris which is a tiny amount and mostly filtered out on better brands
So the determining factor is the mechanical breakdown of the oil itself.

 

[Chuckg]

You are confusing hydro oil with engine oil.
Engine oil gets contaminated with carbon from the combustion process which is why it turns black
On top of that there are acid byproducts of the combustion process and of course the tiny amount of oil that is on the cylinder wall gets the whole whack from combustion, before you start on consumption of additives & physical deteriortation of the oil itself
Thus it has a fairly short working life
In a hydro you get contamination purely from wear + brake debris which is a tiny amount and mostly filtered out on better brands
So the determining factor is the mechanical breakdown of the oil itself.

Thank you for the reply

That makes sense, so far no major issues with the hydro oil itself just like to stay on top of things, so his method of partial changes more frequently may not be a bad thing?

 

[ILENGINE]

And you need to keep in mind that a hydro system is not a total loss and then filter and reuse system. A hydro system for the most part is a closed loop. Meaning lets say that the pump has a 90% efficiency That would mean the oil in the pump wll travel between the pump and the wheel motor 9 times before being returned to the tank due to internal pump leakage and then be filtered and pumped back into the system