fisher belt drive to electric?

[bgingras]

Hello all,

I have an older belt drive hydrolic systm, and during the day of plowing today, having to rev the engine evety time I was stacking at all, I thought to myself, that there must be a way to use an electric pump to supply the pressure for the system. Is this possible, all the electric pumps I've seen have controls for the entire setup, all I'm looking to do is supply the pressure to the control valve. This way I can also shut off the motor when not plowing, and thus not have the pressure on the hoses when not in use.

again, anyone done this, or is so simple I'm just overthinking things?

[wyldman]

It can be done.A lot of them had a separate cable controlled valve body,with an electric power pack.You will need to add the little microswitches to your control,and then add the electric power pack.

Another option is to go all electric with a complete SEHP pump assy mounted in place of the lift ram.

If it was me,I'd just get a new blet driven pump,and keep what you have,they are way more reliable.No strain on the electrical system either.The electric pumps require a lot of juice,and a beefy charging system and battery.

If you do decide to get change it,let me know,i'll glady take the old stuff off your hands.

[bgingras]

I was told, and since this is my first year, that this is how the belt drives are...if it's a matter of a new pump to get me lifting when I need it without reving it up, then I'll do that...I'd rather use the belt drive, just hate reving the engine up every time I want to lift the thing.

will a new pump give me the right pressure and flow at idle?

[BKrois]

Try and put a smaller pulley on the pump, that will cause it to spin more at idle. Try that, and if it's still requires gassing it to go faster, they sell a plow pump in northern that is self contained, i believe it's a monarch brand.

[bgingras]

I guess it coems down to is this pump just getting old and a new one would work?

Do they all work this slow when new?

[wyldman]

Bryan is right about the pulley,a smaller pulley will turn the pump faster to boost low speed output.

First verify the belt isn't slipping.If it isn't,change the pump and try it.If it's still slow at low engine RPM,then try a smaller pulley.

A slightly larger pump,from a hydraulics shop may also help,instead of a direct replacement from Fisher.A good shop should be able to spec the right pump for you,as well as the correct pulley sizes for the RPM ranges you run.

[bgingras]

I had pondered a bigger pump since I can get them for under $200...do you know the specs on the old fisher pump? in terms of pressure at 750rpm and flow?

thanks for the tips guys

-Brian

[urethane dino]

My first fisher was an under hood electric that used the same valve body as the belt drive. Trust me stay with the belt drive system. The under hood electric was as slower than the belt drive, drew alot of juice, and did not have the lift power of the belt drive.
The way the system worked however is that when you moved the joystick it activated a switch in the joystick box that started the pump, as the control cables worked the valve body. But I would go with the undersized pulley idea first.
Dino

[76chevyman]

When i first got my truck it came with a belt driven pump thing worked great when the engine was cold but once it warmed up i had to rev the engine all the time. And i got tired of the abuse I was putting on my engine. And came across a western hydo electric. And havent had one Problem with it other then my mag light fell off the dash and cracked the controll box to pieses and now its all glued together. I figure ill run it like that for awhile then go spend over $200 for a new cable controls. But i think the reason my belt pump didnt work was the valves. They were lever operated and the rods went through the firewall one side pullin git out was up and pushing it in was down and the other side pulling it out was left and pushing it in was right. It was a real old set up. I say 30 years. Because i was going to buy new valves and the plow place just laughed at me. But i had the same problem you did. If you can find a good ele/hydro pump cheap its worth th tri. But you have to upgrade the charging system. I have two 1000 amp battiers and a 100amp altenator. Big casing.

Rich:burnout

[bgingras]

I'm actually thinking I'm going to do the smaller pulley thing to see how that goes. Just want to get through the winter, and in the spring/summer when I have time I'll play with a more "custom" hydrolic setup. Most of the belt drive pumps I've looked at have been under $200..and a new fisher is also under $200, but I don't want to be fabricating stuff up in the middle of the season, so I'll just live with the smaller pully. I did get stuck tonight on a hill, the plow stuck up against a pile, would not lift b/c it was up against the snow, and couldn't back up b/c the plow was holding me, plus I was slipping...made me wish for a stronger setup.

[phoenix827]

Only problem I have heard with the smaller pulley is if you do a fair amount of highway driving. Someone (on here I think) pointed out that it wil spin the heck out of the pump. Anyone got more info on this? Will it burn anything out?:confused:

[andrewcanada]

Makes me think about my large crank (A/C) pulley and the big pulley on the pump. Luckily I've got 700r4 to keep the revs down on the highway. Too bad the 305/3:08's revs about 500 @ 60 MPH! What are the pressure specs of the pump? One could easily T in a guage at the valve body. 30lbs, 300? 3,000,000???

[niteman9]

I am resurrecting a very old thread here because I am having the same issue.

Went out this past weekend for 25 hours and was having issues with my pump. Yes it is slow but I can live with that. But I cant live with having to put the truck in neutral and rev the engine to even raise it The strange part is I could not identify why it was not working. It will work fine for a while then not work. Later it will start working again. I pumped the fluid out and replaced it but this did not help. When it is not working if you raise the plow by revving the engine then try to raise while idling it will actually drop.

So same old question should I replace with electric over hydraulic, new fisher pump, or other replacement pump. Also where would you get a smaller pulley. Also can these pumps be rebuilt. If so where would you get the parts to rebuild. Would the fisher pump be the only options if I want to use the current mounting or does someone make a replacement which would perform better.

Also could it be in the valve? I did notice once the blade would not hold an angle then the lift was not working.

I guess the good news here is we finally got some real snow here. Last year only two events 4" and 2".