Coverstar Hydraulic cover motor Maintainence

[dradam]

I have a Coverstar pool cover with a Hydac hydraulic motor and I am having trouble finding routine maintenance information. The pool cover is about 43 X 20 and is a kidney bean pool in a rectangular deck. When installed in 2005 I suspect they gave me the hydraulic unit because of deck drag.

Cover has been working fine all summer. Has new ropes and sliders, Glides well but is occasionally having trouble this past week closing fully. Stops about 4 inches shy.

Tracks and deck have ben cleaned and the ropes are aligned. Pulleys seem smooth.

What little information I could find on the hydraulic unit says the fluid should be changed about every 2 years. I'm not sure it has ever been changed. Fluid inspection at the dipstick shows the level is a little bit low, but the fluid looks clean.

Pictures of my unit and its labels are attached below.

Questions :

1) Would adding more fluid to the reservoir increase the strength of the motor? If so, which fluid ? they recommend ISO 46 or dextron III , but I do not know what is currently in the unit and they advise against mixing different fluids. They did not mark the fluid used on the unit as their own brochure recommends.

2) If the best option is to change all the fluid is the drain the large hex on the bottom front plate. Does one refill through the dipstick hole on the top ? There are also two more hex plugs on the top- one large on the large front plate and one small, on the pressure adjustment valve block.

3) If I change the fluid I would like to do it without removing the hydraulic hoses. is this possible? I think it is but I am not sure. I believe that freely running the motor after a fluid change should purge all the air?

4) Any tips for adjusting the pressure valves with or without a fluid addition or change.

5) is any sort of a pipe dope necessary if plugs are removed and replaced?


Thanks ahead for any advice or direction to a service manual. I have only found a basic install manual that is limited.

 

[Just-a-PB]

Have you thought about calling Coverstar.
I am sure they can get you info you need.

 

[bmoreswim]

The Coverstar group for this region is in Mt Airy.

 

[dradam]

The Coverstar group for this region is in Mt Airy.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I know I can call the dealer. I enjoy maintaining and understanding the equipment in my home. Even if the job is not something I can tackle myself the more I know the better decisions I can make.

Thanks for your suggestion.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for your suggestion. I may do that to find out what kind of hydraulic fluid they use. Still hoping this forum can help as well.

Thanks you.

 

[dradam]

Replying to my own thread 3 years later. Hoping someone may chime in if they have better information.

So I finally serviced my coverst--r cover hydraulic pump. I stayed away from it this long (11 years) because largely it seemed to be working even though Hydraulic fluid levels were low based on the dipstick. Fluid had never been changed (as recommended yearly or so) fluid level was low, but the fluid looked clear and clean.

So I spoke to a knowledgeable ( or at least I think he was) sales person at my local auto parts store.

Question:

Its been 10 years and I've never changed the Hydraulic fluid-- If it looks clear do I really need to.

Response : Hydraulic fluid , Dextron III or e46 as recommended is designed to take massive punishment. The opening and closing of a pool cover over the course of a summer probably doesn't qualify and the fluid in your application is probably fine.

Question:

The recommended fluid on coverst--r literature is either Dextron III or E46 hydraulic fluid. Since I don't know which is already in there, and my dealer won't tell me, is it safe to just pick one , top off the tank to the correct level possibly mixing the two fluids. (I have heard it is not good to mix fluids).

Response:

E46 and Dextron III are very similar. While there might be a slight variation in the viscosity as they mix both should be fine as they are similar enough and both recommended.


Final Recommendation:

For this application topping off is fine and whichever fluid should not be of consequence.

So..... I bought E46 Hydraulic fluid (with anti rust, corrosion and bubbling additives in it), in big tub and siphon and added enough until the level was good on the dipstick.

In the short term, The cover is certainly moving much more smoothly. It used to have a halting motion as it travelled and now I wonder if the low fluid level contributed to this. Interestingly it seems to be working better than when it was installed and I wonder if it was ever filled correctly.

I will post yearly follow up or updates if my topping off leads to failure or a problem. If anyone reads this and thinks what I did will cause problems please let me know. I hope this post is helpful to someone maintaining their own hydraulic pool cover motor.

 

[dradam]

Update a month later.

Cover working fine in fact much better. much smoother motion.

With lower hydraulic fluid level I suspect a bit of air was drawn into the system. I suspect that this was responsible for some of the jerky motion as the air in the system was compressed. Topped off-- much smoother now.

 

[bmoreswim]

Good job and thanks for the follow up post to provide the insight for others.

 

[dradam]

Three years later

stiil working smoothly-- has required no maintanence of fluid.

 

[dradam]

12/2020 late follow up ---no issues with the hydraulics since topping it off 4 years ago

 

[dradam]

Six year follow up :
2022 -- still works fine have not added any more fluid since 2016

 

[fixitmatt]

I am also trying to service my Pool Cover Motor. I really enjoyed this thread and will likely look into repalcing my Hyd fluid.

I am trying to replace a fuse on my motor. I have a Hydraq pump and can't seem to find any information. Just this season it stopped working (might be 18 years old) and the very large fuse(capacitor) is (at least) an open circuit. I suspect that is all, but it does not have any markings.

 

[dradam]

Thank for enjoying this thread Matt. I'm sorry but I dont know anything about your motor. If it is the capacitor get the best OEM capacitor you can as I am told knockoffs rarely last. May want to repost your question to the general forum.

Best wishes and proud to report my cover is still working well with no topping off since 2016.