# My contraptionous Log splitter build



## Johndirt82 (Dec 18, 2009)

Well I am just about fed up with attempting to split really knotty dead oak by hand , and the crapsman 27ton the guy let me try just wont cut it, so here it is. I will post more pics the further along I get. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Got alot of my ideas and the chief cylinder from www.splitez.com they are somewhat close to me in southern california. They build some very nice splitters. but pricy.
Motor: 22hp kohler command v-twin vert shaft
Pump: J.s Barnes 28gpm 2-stage
cylinder: Chief 5"x2.25" shaft x 24" stroke 30 Ton
Beam: 1/2" thick 8"wx8"tall 7ft long
reservoir: 35 gallon , its custom 
trailer: Was a boat trailer. 
Im am going with the wedge on the beam not on the ram. Horizontal only. 
Should be a pretty descent splitter when shes done.


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## cuznguido (Dec 19, 2009)

That tank looks like it might be a little small for your setup--unless it just looks that way in the picture. How much does it hold?


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## Mike Van (Dec 19, 2009)

I think the tanks fine - My Didier split for 20+ years with the tiny 2 gal. tank the factory put on it.


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 19, 2009)

its a 30 gallon tank. I do think a 40-50 would be better though. I will be adding an external fan driven oil cooler. I wont run it but and hour or two at a time anyways.


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## matt9923 (Dec 19, 2009)

That picture is int doing it, looks like a 5 gallon but i have a similar trailer so that is a pretty big tank. 

Keep the pictures coming!! how much do you have in it? used motor and pump?


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 19, 2009)

22hp kohler - FREE!! Delivered wood to a guys house and he had a snapper 0-turn mower with weeds growing through it. I almost tripped over it stacking wood. I jokingly told him Id haul that P.O.S off for him , he proceeded to load it in my trailer. SWEET!!. Hydrostatic drive is toast. Motor runs great.
Pump : New, $399
Tank & Beam: $120
trailer : $ 100
Chief Cylinder: $442 but 88 of that was shipping. DOH!
hoses, filters, wedge, steel plate, vavle and Hydraulic fluid $1000.
It was either build it for about 2k or buy a box store one for that. Mine will be 10x better , I hope.


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## matt9923 (Dec 19, 2009)

Johndirt82 said:


> 22hp kohler - FREE!! Delivered wood to a guys house and he had a snapper 0-turn mower with weeds growing through it. I almost tripped over it stacking wood. I jokingly told him Id haul that P.O.S off for him , he proceeded to load it in my trailer. SWEET!!. Hydrostatic drive is toast. Motor runs great.
> Pump : New, $399
> Tank & Beam: $120
> trailer : $ 100
> ...



It will!! maybe think about a log lift.


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## Rookie1 (Dec 19, 2009)

Im still tryin to figure out what"contraptionous" means. Nice job so far. Keep us up to date.


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## tomtrees58 (Dec 19, 2009)

a boat trailer to light look around you can find a used one got this one yesterday$ 60.00 :jawdrop: tom trees


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## matt9923 (Dec 19, 2009)

he already around 2k in parts... whats your plan for that splitter tom? Looks like a pain in the back.


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## Mike Van (Dec 19, 2009)

Tomtrees - That splitters a Didier, 2 gal. oil tank on it.


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## tomtrees58 (Dec 19, 2009)

matt 9923 said:


> he already around 2k in parts... whats your plan for that splitter tom? Looks like a pain in the back.



i will put a jap motor on it and sell it


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## boostnut (Dec 19, 2009)

Mike, I dont think all of the didiers had 2 gallon tanks. I bought mine at an auction a few years ago, brought it home and drained the tank into a gallon jug. It filled the jug about 3/4 full. Mine got hot in a hurry the 1 time I used it before the "makeover". The 5 gallon tank on it now seems to be about perfect.


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## tomtrees58 (Dec 19, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> Tomtrees - That splitters a Didier, 2 gal. oil tank on it.


 thanks is it aney good heres my splitter tom


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## Mike Van (Dec 19, 2009)

boostnut said:


> Mike, I dont think all of the didiers had 2 gallon tanks. I bought mine at an auction a few years ago, brought it home and drained the tank into a gallon jug. It filled the jug about 3/4 full. Mine got hot in a hurry the 1 time I used it before the "makeover". The 5 gallon tank on it now seems to be about perfect.



I think the whole system held 2 gal, you're right though, the tank was like the one on Toms pic. ABout 10x8x3 in. Mine's been replaced with a 20 lb propane tank.


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## tomtrees58 (Dec 19, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> I think the whole system held 2 gal, you're right though, the tank was like the one on Toms pic. ABout 10x8x3 in. Mine's been replaced with a 20 lb propane tank.


do you have a piclike to see the tank tom


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## mga (Dec 19, 2009)

i built mine on a small boat trailer. it goes back and forth 60 miles from one houe to another. it has split tons of wood without a problem.

you don't need a massive trailer for a log splitter since the trailer is just to make it portable. in fact, my 8" H beam is just bolted to the trailer frame in four places with only 1/2" bolts.


http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/mga_01/log splitter/?action=view&current=DSCF0206.jpg

all of the forces are absorbed in the beam. ...not in the trailer.


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## matt9923 (Dec 19, 2009)

tomtrees58 said:


> i will put a jap motor on it and sell it



nice, whats wrong with the one on there?


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## matt9923 (Dec 19, 2009)

mga said:


> i built mine on a small boat trailer. it goes back and forth 60 miles from one houe to another. it has split tons of wood without a problem.
> 
> you don't need a massive trailer for a log splitter since the trailer is just to make it portable. in fact, my 8" H beam is just bolted to the trailer frame in four places with only 1/2" bolts.
> 
> ...



Nice, that guide plate is not goign anywhere.... :jawdrop:
I think that v twin had a auto de-comp feature, its on the cam. They tend to wear down and create a hard starting motor.

Hope it was maintained well, that brings the lifespan up a lot!.


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## tomtrees58 (Dec 19, 2009)

matt 9923 said:


> nice, whats wrong with the one on there?



it had gas in for 5 years so its cheaper to by a new one for $145.00 then start putting $ in to it tom


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 19, 2009)

MGA , Thats pretty much what mine will look like when its done. Should work well. Thanks for all the pics everyone. A Log lift? Im 6'1 with 22" arms, thats all the log lift I need. For now. I can add it later when my body starts quitin. Probably a better trailer too.


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## fubar2 (Dec 19, 2009)

I feel inferior. I only put a one gallon tank on my splitter. In twenty years I've never had to add any and it works fine.


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## mga (Dec 19, 2009)

matt9923 said:


> Nice, that guide plate is not goign anywhere.... :jawdrop:
> I think that v twin had a auto de-comp feature, its on the cam. They tend to wear down and create a hard starting motor.
> 
> Hope it was maintained well, that brings the lifespan up a lot!.



that motor ran it's course. it was an 18hp briggs. i swapped it out for a 12.5 kohler which runs quite well on that splitter.

i'll be changing that out to a 15hp briggs maybe next week. some guy is giving me his rider mower and the motor is only 2 years old.


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## mga (Dec 19, 2009)

fubar2 said:


> I feel inferior. I only put a one gallon tank on my splitter. In twenty years I've never had to add any and it works fine.



lol...i hear ya.

when i began building mine, i didn't know squat about hydraulics and all that stuff and i had to go by what i could read on line or in books. i used an 18 gallon tank and could have probably gotten away with one half that size.

live and learn, i guess.


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 19, 2009)

I am thinking I am going to need at least a 40 maybe 50 gallon tank with a 28gpm pump. What is everyone 2 cents on that?


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## triptester (Dec 20, 2009)

A 20 to 30 gallon max. tank should work fine. Just keep the supply and return as far apart as possible.


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## Mike Van (Dec 20, 2009)

tomtrees58 said:


> do you have a piclike to see the tank tom



Pic of revamped Didier


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## AKKAMAAN (Dec 20, 2009)

Johndirt82 said:


> its a 30 gallon tank. I do think a 40-50 would be better though. I will be adding an external fan driven oil cooler. I wont run it but and hour or two at a time anyways.



If 30-50 USG tank is needed for a logsplitter something is wrong!!! It is a full barrel of oil......!! And then a fan cooler on top of that?? WOW! 

But I suppose that is what happens when you go wild on cycle time...

28GPM is up there pushing the flow rating limit for the Prince valves...
The LS-3000 is rated 25GPM, which means one shouldn't push more than max 15-20GPM thru it, to keep heat under control. As everything else in this biz, valves are overrated too.

What creates most of the heat in the system is the idling (valve in neutral), and the low pressure-high flow action stage.

Try to keep the oil cool by choosing a little oversized valves, filters and hydraulic lines, instead of pushing the limit on flow ratings. 
Also a tank designed with more area in contact with outside air will increase cooling. A tank round like a ball has less cooling effect than a, same volume, box design one. 

(I am impressed with Mike Van's design though, a small tank, round like a ball and still working great with NO cooling problems?! Then You did your home work on the rest of the design! Congrats!)

Also, a pressure sensitive throttle system for the engine, so rpm drops to idle when valve is in neutral, that will save fuel too....that can be done with a tiny little spring loaded single action cylinder on the pump outlet line....

I do not like the two stage pumps, the push around too much oil when idling. I would go with a smaller one stage pump and a regen valve to make cylinder two-stage.....

Merry Xmas everybody! I love this show!!


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 20, 2009)

The main reason I was thinking I needed a huge hydraulic tank was based on what the splitters on www.splitez.com were using . But if there is no need for it then I will stick with what I have which I measured and calculated to be 28 gallon total cap. Good point about the prince valves . thanks for the input.


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## tomtrees58 (Dec 20, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> Pic of revamped Didier



thanks you razed it up to tom


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## mga (Dec 20, 2009)

Johndirt82 said:


> The main reason I was thinking I needed a huge hydraulic tank was based on what the splitters on www.splitez.com were using . But if there is no need for it then I will stick with what I have which I measured and calculated to be 28 gallon total cap. Good point about the prince valves . thanks for the input.



28 is overkill, man. you don't need that much. unless you get the hydraulic fluid for free, it costs about $35 for 5 gallons.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 20, 2009)

I've got a 28gpm pump on mine with about 15 gallons. The only problem I have with mine is turbulence. Can't put a vented cap on it because it will spit oil out the vents.

Ian


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 20, 2009)

I can get it for free actually. I dont mind buying a barrel though either. Im not too worried about cost . It will pay for itself within a week. I would rather buy the best once and have a well performing , unstopable machine that I can depend on day in day out. I agree its overkill just like the 22hp kohler powering it , that was free though so why not go big or go home right? At least thats what the guys at the bar said last night. haha
here is where I also got some info on reservoir size. http://www.hydraulicspneumatics.com/200/eBooks/Article/True/39340/


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## mga (Dec 20, 2009)

Haywire Haywood said:


> I've got a 28gpm pump on mine with about 15 gallons. The only problem I have with mine is turbulence. Can't put a vented cap on it because it will spit oil out the vents.
> 
> Ian



if you ever get a chance, open your tank up and add a baffle inside in the center of it. it should only be 3/4 of the height of the tank and cut the bottom corners back a little.

the return oil, providing your return line goes to the bottom of your tank, should flow nicely over the top of the baffle and into where the suction pipe is. this stops turbulence and helps eliminate any bubbles.

the bottom corner openings are just in case the oil runs low.


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## matt9923 (Dec 20, 2009)

mga said:


> that motor ran it's course. it was an 18hp briggs. i swapped it out for a 12.5 kohler which runs quite well on that splitter.
> 
> i'll be changing that out to a 15hp briggs maybe next week. some guy is giving me his rider mower and the motor is only 2 years old.



Keep that kohler around, those are good motors. get us some pictures!


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## fubar2 (Dec 20, 2009)

mga said:


> 28 is overkill, man. you don't need that much. unless you get the hydraulic fluid for free, it costs about $35 for 5 gallons.



I agree. The lines, pump and cylinder will only hold so much oil and anything more than enough to fill them and keep it reasonably cool is waste. Having a 9000 gazillion gpm pump don't mean you can't run the same oil back into it after pumping it through as long as it dissipates a certain amount of heat in the meantime. Like I said mines only one gallon and it works fine. I've never had a problem with overheated oil. Don't get me wrong here, if I were an Arab Sheik I'd probably be piped into an oil freighter, just to maintain kewlness and impress my friends.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 21, 2009)

mga said:


> if you ever get a chance, open your tank up and add a baffle inside in the center of it



It does have a baffle. It goes top to bottom with a series of nine or twelve 1/2" holes for the oil to come through. The return is on the other side of the baffle from the suction.

At least that's how I told them to build it. I have no way of confirming that it's actually built like that without cutting the tank apart.

Ian


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## mga (Dec 21, 2009)

Johndirt82 said:


> I am thinking I am going to need at least a 40 maybe 50 gallon tank with a 28gpm pump. What is everyone 2 cents on that?



no...not that big. do you realize how big a 40/50 gallon tank is? that thing would weigh a ton.

you can get away with a 15/20 gallon tank.


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## mga (Dec 21, 2009)

matt9923 said:


> Keep that kohler around, those are good motors. get us some pictures!



the kohler works fine on the splitter. i'm just going to swap it out for the newer biggs 15hp.

i'll keep the kohler for a back up. i have another 18hp but when i went to remove the head on one side, i snapped two bolts....sheesh....always something.


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 21, 2009)

Got the Motor off the old mower today Im confident it will work just fine. 1''x3.25'' shaft. Now to make the mount plate for motor and pump. Hmm to the drawing board. 
was a snapper mower, drove it to where it sits . Kohler cvs22.... 624cc. 




Don't worry bout that disaster in the backround. haha


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## mga (Dec 21, 2009)

cut the origial mounting plate off the mower and use that, or, at least trace the mounting hole pattern.

you will also need to figure out the distance between the motor shaft and the pump shaft. then you will have to get them perfectly aligned. be sure you have your love joy couplings prior to planning this.

what i did was i hused a piece of wide spring steel and wrapped it around the mounted love joy couplings. then i wrapped a radiator clamp around that and tightened it up...sorta like a piston spring compressor ring. that made sure they were perfectly aligned and then i spotted the holes for the pump on that mount plate.

i have used a kohler engine and a briggs engine and had to spot the mount holes for both of those using the same method. hasn't failed me either time.

not a great picture, but this is how i did my mounting....

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/mga_01/?action=view&current=splitter12.jpg


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## matt9923 (Dec 21, 2009)

mga said:


> the kohler works fine on the splitter. i'm just going to swap it out for the newer biggs 15hp.
> 
> i'll keep the kohler for a back up. i have another 18hp but when i went to remove the head on one side, i snapped two bolts....sheesh....always something.



That's not to hard to fix. center punch and some new drill bits as well as get real easy outs not the new crap kind. 

John-
That's a pretty good motor, take it apart and clean it, check the valves, if there's a lot of carbon, clean it and valves, reseat or get new ones, reseat will work. clean the carb, even if it runs fine i'm sure its full of crap, also a new air filter, oil change, plug and new fuel filter and line.


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 21, 2009)

MGA, thanks for the tip. our trailers are about identical. thats pretty much how I was going to make the mounts. My reservoir is 4ft long 13" dia. suction and return are on opposite ends. should work. Just got to order the laundry list of stuff from northern tool, hoses, couplings breather cap, pump. cylinder should be here by next monday.


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## kevin j (Dec 22, 2009)

sweet motor package.

HP website is good. HP is the main magazine of fluid power for many years. Bud Trinkels basic book is totally posted on line, and parts of his second one are being posted. His background was industrial, so the reservoir principles are good but sizing is way conservative compared to mobile equipment.

I second the others: 15-20 gallons is more than enough with good reservoir design. 

Having in and out ports at opposite ends by itself is not enough. The high velocity fluid can short circuit right across like a fire hose stream. In some cases in and out side by side (even without baffling) is actually better as the 'jet' goes across to the far side and then diffuses and comes back. Not a desired way to do it though. Better to diffuse and slow the flow, baffle to direct the flow along the sides, and then to the suction.

I think HP site has several baffling ideas illustrated. Bigger tanks get more complicated with a dozen or more returns, case drains, suctions, vents, etc and require good baffling design but have to be able to be built/welded/plated and cleaned out. 

A small simple tank is pretty basic. Generally, if in & out are on the same end, a diffuser or plate with lots of large holes right near the port is needed to slow the fluid. Run a baffle down the length of tank, separating in and out ports on each side of the baffle, and stop maybe 4 inches short of the far end. This forces fluid down one long side next to an outer wall, and then around and back along another outer wall to suction. This gives maximum cooling as any given bit of fluid is fairly close to an outer wall. 

Another way is an internal pipe that purposely takes return flow to the far end into a compartment with lots of holes for diffusing. The flow goes to far end, diffuses, and comes back to suction using the full tank cross section area. It is harder to build. I would only do that with a tank too narrow to use the lengthwise center baffle, say if using a rectangular tube section as tank.

If inlet and outlet are on opposite ends, there should be a baffle crosswise halfway down the tank length. The fluid must not go over the top like a waterfall as it will aerate. Usually the baffle has openings along the tank wall say (for this size of tank) 1 or 2 inches deep (into the baffle) and 6 or 8 inches tall, located on each side against each tank wall, and starting a couple inches off the floor. Fluid goes into compartment 1, out to the side walls, through the notches close to tank wall, and into compartment 2 to suction. Motion along the tank wall helps cooling. There is more unused ‘dead fluid’ in the tank volume with a crosswise baffle.
The bottom couple inches below the side notches are a bit of a ‘dead zone’ to allow dirt and water to stay down there on the tank bottom and not be swept back up into the flow. This can also be accomplished by a 1 to 2 inch high flat bar welded across the bottom crosswise to the flow. That creates the bottom ‘dead zone’ space. The bottom corners of flat bar or main baffle are clipped off a bit for draining both compartments of the tank.


FOR SURE, you want return line flow well below oil level, close to the bottom, to prevent air entrainment. I was on a startup a couple months back that ate 3 piston pumps, total of $25,000, because a case drain/flushing line terminated above the fluid level, which caused bad aeration. When the aerated fluid was sucked into the pumps, they went out in less than a minute. Gear pumps and log splitters would probably run a long time no matter how poor the tank design is, but piston or vane or hydrostatic pumps do not like entrained air. Dissolved air is unavoidable, doesn’t come out in the tank, and is fairly harmless for simple circuits. Entrained air is the bubbles you see and can cause problems.

The total holding time in the tank doesn’t change regardless of tank shape or baffling of course, as the oil moves faster in the smaller area but has a longer path to travel, so comes out the same. Time in the tank, at very best, is simply tank size divided by flow rate. The goal is to get to that very best time by using all of the oil and keep it moving uniformly, with no dead spots and no short circuiting.

Using an oversized return line helps slow the velocity down before entering the tank. Then, going into a diffuser, which is like a strainer just with bigger holes in it instead of screen, reduces the velocity and sends the fluid out in all directions much slower. 

Ian and others: if you think the return velocity and baffling are poor, AND if the return port is large enough, you can add a screw in pipe bushing style of suction strainer to work as a diffuser. Generally the suction 'rated flow' is highly optimistic by the marketing people. If using a suction strainer I go at least 2x or 3x bigger than the nominal rating. But if you have a large enough port to put in a 'suction strainer' of appropriate size it will also work as a return diffuser. It is flowing inside to outside, so that is another reason it has to be quite large: The pleats of screen cannot take much pressure in reverse direction. Some strainers have a perforated tube inside supporting the screen. Just rip off the screen and leave the tube as a diffuser. Or, weld on a long tube to a pipe reducer bushing, cap the far end, drill lots of big holes, and you have a diffuser. 

Remember the return flow is pump flow amplified by the cylinder area ratio. When putting 11-16-22 gpm into the rod side for retract, the closed side pushes out about 30% more flow due to larger area. So an 11 gpm pump makes about 15 gpm on the return filter and hose and diffuser.



k


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## AKKAMAAN (Dec 22, 2009)

kevin j said:


> I second the others: 15-20 gallons is more than enough with good reservoir design.
> 
> Having in and out ports at opposite ends by itself is not enough. The high velocity fluid can short circuit right across like a fire hose stream. In some cases in and out side by side (even without baffling) is actually better as the 'jet' goes across to the far side and then diffuses and comes back. Not a desired way to do it though. Better to diffuse and slow the flow, baffle to direct the flow along the sides, and then to the suction.


That is a great comment...







> Using an oversized return line helps slow the velocity down before entering the tank.


Another great reason to stay oversized on return lines







> Then, going into a diffuser, which is like a strainer just with bigger holes in it instead of screen, reduces the velocity and sends the fluid out in all directions much slower.
> 
> Ian and others: if you think the return velocity and baffling are poor, AND if the return port is large enough, you can add a screw in pipe bushing style of suction strainer to work as a diffuser. Generally the suction 'rated flow' is highly optimistic by the marketing people. If using a suction strainer I go at least 2x or 3x bigger than the nominal rating.










> Remember the return flow is pump flow amplified by the cylinder area ratio. When putting 11-16-22 gpm into the rod side for retract, the closed side pushes out about 30% more flow due to larger area. So an 11 gpm pump makes about 15 gpm on the return filter and hose and diffuser.








I give you 10++ on that post KevinJ...the best I ever read about basic tank design....I leraned a lot here....wow....


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## Johndirt82 (Dec 23, 2009)

Well Looky what ups man brought today!! The cylinder, 5"x24"x2.25"shaft. 3000psi working pressure, should do the job nicely , dang thing has some weight to it.


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 14, 2010)

Well A month and alot of hours work later here it finally almost is. Just a few little things to finish up and clean up and it will be done. It works great very fast cycle time.


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## tomtrees58 (Jan 14, 2010)

nice tom trees


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 14, 2010)

Thanks, now if the wedge would ever get here I could actually use the thing. Been on back order for a month. Still a few odds and ends to touch up. Im glad I had the Lincold pro cut-60 made cutting the plates an easy task.


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 15, 2010)

Here are a couple of pics of the pump mounting . Nothing fancy and still needs to be braced up a little but it works none the less.


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## matt9923 (Jan 15, 2010)

Looking good!! 

Id be proud.


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 15, 2010)

I am indeed. I ended up buying a different hydraulic tank that had baffles in it. Its a 25 gal, off fleabay for 125 bucks. Not too bad. I didn't use normal hydraulic fluid. I used 2190 TEP. It has good anti corrosion and high heat handling capabililties.Total build cost was almost 2k. Im very happy with how it turned out.


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## reccutter (Jan 15, 2010)

very nice work! in your test run about how many second cycle time do you have?


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 15, 2010)

Id have to get a stopwatch and see once I get the wedge welded on the end of the beam. Its been back ordered from northern tool over a month. Its always something. With no load on it , it will do a full cycle in about 10 seconds . Just counting , not too accurate but close.


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## AKKAMAAN (Jan 15, 2010)

Johndirt82 said:


> Id have to get a stopwatch and see once I get the wedge welded on the end of the beam. Its been back ordered from northern tool over a month. Its always something. With no load on it , it will do a full cycle in about 10 seconds . Just counting , not too accurate but close.



Just post a video on the cycling....and we can do our own stop watch....that way we "hit two flies on one smack"......


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## reccutter (Jan 16, 2010)

Johndirt82 said:


> Id have to get a stopwatch and see once I get the wedge welded on the end of the beam. Its been back ordered from northern tool over a month. Its always something. With no load on it , it will do a full cycle in about 10 seconds . Just counting , not too accurate but close.



That is a bad,bad splitter. was just asking because the cylinder looks large enough to smash anything.The trailer is nice too, it looks almost like if you could turn or fabricated a muffler it would allow for storage of some sort.or even extending on to it since it is unused space. Thanks for all the pics


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 16, 2010)

The trailer needs a new axle under it before it gets towed anywhere. But it works none the less. Thanks for the compliments . Still needs a little love here and there but close to being done for now.


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## reccutter (Jan 16, 2010)

compared to the rest of the work, the axle should be the easyest. I put one on my jonboat trailer last year. It wasn't very expensive at all or hard to do.keep the pics coming and better yet a video.


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 17, 2010)

Well here is a short video of the split-O-Matic 9000 , the name sounded good to me so thats what Ill call it. Thanks again for everyones advice .


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## bwmcintyre (Jan 18, 2010)

Nice job!


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## bucko64 (Jan 18, 2010)

JOHNDIRT82 Nice job it looks like it has some ass to it. I like the way your pump moun't turned out. They don't sell a mount for vertical engines that's what i am useing hoppe mine turns out ok


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## Haywire Haywood (Jan 18, 2010)

Looks good, nice cycle time. One suggestion though. Put a spreader on the wedge so you don't have to go full stroke to get the rounds to pop. --Ian


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## tanker (Jan 18, 2010)

looks good,mount a table on the side you don't work off of to catch the stuff that you have to resplit.Mine is 2' by the length of the beam ahead of the cylinder with a low peice of angle iron along the edge to keep stuff from vibrating off.You'll be amazed at what that will save you on bending over. Scott


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## AKKAMAAN (Jan 18, 2010)

Johndirt82 said:


> Well here is a short video of the split-O-Matic 9000 , the name sounded good to me so thats what Ill call it. Thanks again for everyones advice .



Thanks Johndirt82!
Good video! Seems like you have, roughly, a 5+5=10 sec cycletime. And it do not look that fast....but definately enough. 


I wonder how splitters can be sold with up to 15-20 seconds of cycletime...:jawdrop:

Please feed back about how and where temperature increases (valve?)....if you can keep that splitter within acceptable temp for 2 hrs of operation.....you have done a great job!!! Sure looks like it cycles very easy......


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 18, 2010)

Its fast enough , and it rarely kicks down to high pressure low flow except in a nasty knot or something. It does need some spreaders on the wedge , Ill get something at the scrap yard this week. I need a temp gauge on the tank for sure. Its a 25 gallon tank . I dont use it but an hour at a time anyways. 
I might try and find a bigger valve too that might help. I have the prince ls-3000-2 with the 3/4" ports but I think a 30gpm valve would help.


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## Outriggers (Jan 18, 2010)

Looks good. I had a slip on 4-way wedge made for my older splitter. It has to be a nasty piece of wood for me to remove it. I don't think you have a shortage of power. Doug


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 20, 2010)

Ok question for ya'll. I am using a prince LS-3000-2 valve 3/4" ports all the way around. Its only rated at 25 gpm and I have a 28gpm pump, Is there a better higher gpm valve available? Just wondering if it would be worth while to upgrade of leave it be.
Thanks ya'll

AKKAMAAN, Yeah , after using an 8 hp crapsman 27 ton splitter that took a while for the pump to kick down to even start to split I immediately decided to go big with my pump and motor. Im glad I did. It barely slows down even in nasty Oak crotches.


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## England14 (Jan 20, 2010)

IMO I'd leave it alone. What you have is fine and I for one would have a hard time keeping up with it. Fix the wedge and add a log lift and get to work.


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 20, 2010)

I will leave it be most likely it works fine. Don't really need the log lift yet. But a 4 way slip on would be nice for sure. Building the battery box today. Need to figure out what wire or wires are part of the charging circuit too.


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## triptester (Jan 20, 2010)

If you decide to add a log lift take a look at the one built by AS member Jags. You already have the battery so the log lift would be and relatively inexpensive add-on. It uses a electric winch.


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## oneoldbanjo (Jan 21, 2010)

Help me understand why it is better to have the wedge on the beam - instead of having the wedge on the rod of the cylinder. When I watch the video it looks like the operator uses a lot of his energy dragging the newly split wood back to the working side of the wedge to be split again. (I understand that a table will help and give him a surface that he can use to catch and slide the wood back). Also if you get a round stuck on the wedge it looks like it would be difficult to get back off.

I have an Iron and Oak with a moving wedge on the ram and a footplate at the bottom of the beam. When I split wood the pieces stay right in front of me and when they are split small enough I just pick them up and toss them to the side - or into the woodshed or the trailer. It seems like the moving wedge requires a lot less work. When I get a round stuck on the wedge - I just reverse the stroke and the metal pieces below the cylinder "dislodge" the round and it is still right in front of me where I can rotate it and try to split it again.

There must be some reason that the wedge on the rail is a good system....I just don't see why that is better than a moving wedge.


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## John D (Jan 21, 2010)

John,nice job on the splitter! The one suggestion that I have,if I may make,I learned the hard way..Is to do what Haywire suggested.....I have the same wedge as you,it looks like a 12" tall Northern tool wedge...and my splitter is as strong as yours, maybe a touch more powerful because its on a skid steer with 3400PSI....uses a 5"x30prince cylinder....Anyway if you get into a big knot,you can and will bend the wedge on the beam,it will sit crooked after that,and eventually rip the wedge right off the beam,it doesnt matter how good you weld it I used 7018 with my Hobart DC welder at 230 amp,it will bend the wedge right over.The wedge is only 1" wide,just not enough load distribution on the beam,for the power you have...that splitter has power beyond what you can believe...You need to put the wedges on the side of the main wedge to sure it up side to side.Ill seei f i can dig up pics of what i did.BTW it does help pop the wood as well.I just made sure i built mine is i could slide a 4 way over it if i wanted too.I noticed your cycle times are about the same as mine,and I have 23 GPM single stage on the sikd steer with 9 ft of 1/2" hose on both hoses....


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## John D (Jan 21, 2010)

1st pic os of my first attempt(which failed after about 5 hrs of use).It is the northern wedge with a piece of 2.5x2.5" 1/4 thick angle iron welded to it to "pop" the wood,and to brace it at the base.I tore it right off.Ill admit that on a skid steer it is easy to use this thing much harder than you ever could as a lay down splitter.I was picking up 900 lb wedges of 52" oak rounds,and splitting them like nothing.The splitter is strong ive used it several times to "sheer" trees under a foot in diamter that were bound up or leaning,and too dangerous for me to comfortably cut,it sheered them from the safety and distance of the cab..the second pic is the current setup,the wings i welded on really strengthened the assembly,and there is zero flex and twist now,this has worked perfectly so far....


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## Baldman (Jan 21, 2010)

Splitter is looking good!  Nice video of it in action, too!


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## howellhandmade (Jan 21, 2010)

Johndirt82 said:


> Well here is a short video of the split-O-Matic 9000 , the name sounded good to me so thats what Ill call it. Thanks again for everyones advice .



Sorry, it's the HMS Contraptionous. Looks good.

Jack


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 21, 2010)

I could definately see bending that wedge. I ordered two of them , just to have a back up. I would like to use that 4 way slip on but still want to brace it up a bit more. I have time to work it out yet, its only metal it can be altered and added too at anytime. I like that skidsteer setup , simple and very effective.


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## Bricks (Jan 21, 2010)

I have a dumb question what is causing the blocks to climb upword as they are being split?


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 21, 2010)

Just some stringy pieces of the wood riding the top of the wedge lifting up the round as it split. I think anyways. Otherwise she works fine once I get the smaller stuff in it.


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## John D (Jan 21, 2010)

Johndirt82 said:


> I could definately see bending that wedge. I ordered two of them , just to have a back up. I would like to use that 4 way slip on but still want to brace it up a bit more. I have time to work it out yet, its only metal it can be altered and added too at anytime. I like that skidsteer setup , simple and very effective.




Problem is you wont bend the wedge ,it is way to hard...you bend the top of the I beam,it bends it right over like a pretzel....it's very difficult to straighten out(dont ask me how I know this).My boo boo took me about 5 hours to repair correctly.I had to use the power of the cylinder,and 2 port-a- powers,and some heat,and a real BFH to get it back in shape,then extensive bracing to keep it from happening again,along with the wings.I didnt replace the wedge,as it didnt bend,it did take me a good 1/2 hr to grind off all the weld,and V it out,and prep it to reweld again....


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## AKKAMAAN (Jan 21, 2010)

Bricks said:


> I have a dumb question what is causing the blocks to climb upword as they are being split?



I think the center of the "pusher" on the cyinder is NOT square to the center of the wedge....


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## Johndirt82 (Jan 22, 2010)

Did a little more to the Split-O-Matic 9000, got a new battery & Box, made a rear deck cover , cleaned up and tuned up the engine with new plugs filters runs smoother now for sure. got paint on all the bare metal surfaces. Now just need to put a new axle under the trailer along with trailer lights and saftey chains and it will be as done as done for now.


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## Bricks (Jan 22, 2010)

Thanks Aakaman. 

Nice job it cleaned up very nicely...looks almost store bought.


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## hunter0182 (Apr 26, 2010)

*Wild log splitter*

I have seen it all,i was down in a little town close to me ,and a kid about 18 came pulling in in a late 90s f-250 no bed aluminum diamond plate flat bed on back ,37 ton log splitter mounted to the back with a hoist and a lift,generator,lights, this was the most awsome thing i have seen,he said he and his dad built it,and he sold firewood for extra money.he also pulled a trailer behind it,it was unique,truck was clean to ,


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