How To Check Hydraulic Oil Level?

(I've asked this already at arboristsite.com haven't received any feedback yet)

My splitter didn't come with a hydraulic oil dipstick?
Should I fashion my own homemade version somehow?

Any suggestions?

I would fill it till you can see the level.
Hydraulic oil is practicaly non-compressable, and doesn't expand much either.
So unless you have an accumulator on it fill it when it's not running till level is in site and you should be good to go, if the pump cavitates increase the level a bit.
If you need a dipstick........ you got 5 on each hand..... pick one and use it for future reference ;-P

I just got off the phone with Harbor Freight.
They recommend the length of a pinkie finger from the top of the filler!

Filler up, if there is too much it will spew out the breather...found out the hard way on that one!

Glad I saw this post.....a couple questions to add.....

What is cavitates?? Probably a stupid question but Im new to the splitter...

Also, my tag has a warning not to overfill. Is that just a general disclaimer or will it really hurt the machine? Mine has a breather hole as I saw it come out of there once Id like to think I could just fill 'er up and let it set its own level with the breather if need be!

D

I filled it up til it came out the hole. (It's at an angle and impossible to see the level.)
It spit fluid out of the breather hole when the ram was retracted and hot.
I had a pan under the hole to catch the oil.
Cavitation is when there are air bubbles in the pump, which is very bad for the pump.

Some of the warning against overfill is environmental - if it's over full it runneth over when the machine gets hot, as you noticed. This is known as an oil spill and gets the EPA types all bent out of shape... You need to have expansion room in the tank to prevent this.

Cavitation is when you don't have enough fluid, and you start sucking air into the pump. It's not great for the pump, but more importantly it will cause your cylinder to act erratically - it is supposed to be working with essentially non-compressible fluid, but if you have air bubbles in the fluid they will compress and expand in the cylinder making it "stick" and jump. It's basically the same problem as when you have air in your brake lines on your car, the action gets spongy because the air compresses when it shouldn't.

Gooserider