Super H Mike
Member
I bought an old 87 Ford bucket truck for various jobs around the place like trees and painting. Its boom is powered by an engine driven hydraulic pump with electric applied clutch . Works good but requires engine to be running to operate. The stop/start from bucket system has been removed and disabled. I don't like the idea of that big ole 460 chuffing along at an idle for hours while I am up painting, etc. Plus its noisy. I am wondering about those 12 volt self contained pumps and if it has enough volume to power the boom. Are they slow? The current system operates at 2000 psi and 1 1/2 gallon gpm. Some of those pumps have long cords with buttons that could be run to the bucket. I have lots of room for additional batteries. Or should I mount a separate small engine in the bed and turn the pump with that? I could set that up with a remote starter for on and off feature. I could also do that with the trucks current engine but it is carbureted so if it doesn't start there is no way to pump the gas or floor it to clear a flood. Got any clever ideas ?