I converted the splitter to electric and added a 4 way wedge

[isaaccarlson]

Running it on 120 would double the amps and burn it up, so that's not an option.

I am running a mix of aw32? and atf, with some other "not remembered oil" mixed in.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I think you could add on to the front of the four-way wedge add-on to speed up your splitting. Maybe three inches of 1" stock to begin the split. It's possible it might leverage and twist off your existing wedge.

 

[isaaccarlson]

I think you could add on to the front of the four-way wedge add-on to speed up your splitting. Maybe three inches of 1" stock to begin the split. It's possible it might leverage and twist off your existing wedge.
View attachment 881560

If you look at my 4 way, it already has about 2" of vertical sticking out. The shift pressure was set too low in the videos because I had just put it together and I had no idea where to set the adjusting screw after rebuilding the pump so I left it backed out a bit. That's why it kicked down so easy. I have now set it and it works very well. I can fit a 24" long log in it and the pusher just kisses the wedge at the end of the stroke. The wedge that the 4 way slips over is very thin like the center of yours, but without the flare. There is nothing it can't split with the 4 way removed, and the 4 way will split dang near everything to start with.

 

[isaaccarlson]

Here it is splitting locust tonight. I ran it for about 15 minutes and split a good face cord.
The temp was 32* and the oil reached about 70*.

 

[isaaccarlson]

Just wanted to let everyone know the splitter is still running like a champ. We just split the first load of the year tonight.

 

[Del_]

Just wanted to let everyone know the splitter is still running like a champ. We just split the first load of the year tonight.

I like your splitter!

I was thinking about heating the hyd oil when it is cold. You are already using electricity running the motor for warm up but a heating element in the hyd tank would be a much better solution. A heater has no moving parts and saves wear and tear on the rest of the system.

A motor that turned in the 2,700 rpm range would be interesting to hear run.

 

[Aknutter]

You can try a Kats magnetic crankcase heater, or a drum heater that wraps around a barrel. Various sizes from 5 to 55 gal. They are both 115 volts. As for reducing the speed, a VFD can probably be used to slow the motor down.

 

[isaaccarlson]

I like the idea of a dipstick heater for cold weather pre-heating.

One thing I looked into during the swap was using a 1725 rpm motor with a 22 gpm pump, for 11 gpm.
I think that would be very quiet and would work well.

 

[Aknutter]

I like the idea of a dipstick heater for cold weather pre-heating.

It's been awhile since I've looked them up, but keep in mind the wattages.

As for the slower motor, you can adjust the speed by pulley sizes if using belt drive. Just throwing out different ideas.

 

[isaaccarlson]

Most hydraulic pumps are direct drive. A belt puts a side load on the shaft and they are not designed for that.
I have a BIG hydraulic pump that mounts on the engine of my truck and is driven by a belt with a clutch just like the a/c, but that's a whole different animal.

 

[Aknutter]

Most hydraulic pumps are direct drive.

Makes sense, didn't see the setup.

 

[Yarz]

If you really want a belt to adjust the speed, you can do it with an overhung load adapter (example).

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Broken shaft, picture #1.
I had tipped the conveyor onto the top drum and unknowingly so slightly bent the drum shaft. With the straight coupling mount the motor mount and shaft wobble fatigued the motor shaft, breaking months later. That's my take anyway. Initially I noticed a slight wobble of the hydraulic motor. Replacing the drum shaft fixed that. The motor mount was sloppy, tube in tube design, and continues to put lateral pressure on motor shaft. I consider it a poor design.
The overhung motor adapter bolts to the hydraulic motor mount in place of the motor and takes the side load, which the hydraulic motor is not designed for. I probably did not need the double chain coupler, which required drilling and tapping the motor mount in multiple places to shim with double nutted bolts, to correct the alignment. The overhung motor adapter may have compensated on its own for the poor mount design. Previously the conveyor operated for ten years without an issue, so there is that to be said. The overall design however does allow the conveyor to teeter totter when raised to full height, and tip when top loaded (the last ten splits of the day with an empty lower belt) if not counter weighted or coupled with the hitch to something. I no longer pile splits and do not use the maximum height unless towing with quad to reduce tongue weight on quad axle. I've eliminated that situation also, by using a ball adapter on the fork tips of the Navigator forklift. I actually disabled the maximum height by a considerable amount when modifying the hand crank lift with with a hydraulic cylinder. (The last photo shows two lower crank jack mounts on the A-frame.) That's another story of a poor design element that several grease zerks could have avoided. Tube in tube pivot seized up. I suppose had i used it indoors for ten years the issue may not have arisen. The manufacturer said he never had that problem before. I suggested they add grease zerks but... who knows. I got the feeling he did not see a need for them. If I ever get to the Paul Bunyan Show again I'll have a look at theirs and others to see if the pivots have zerks.. Seems with all kinds of product, things are built to compete price wise, and not built to last the long run, which of course is market driven. Now that I've run a conveyor for years I have a better feel of what to look for, not that I'll ever need another one. A hydraulic lift should be standard. It could also be why the builder doesn't see a need for zerks if the cylinder is doing the work. Mine seized, which caused the hand jack to fail.

 

[isaaccarlson]

I'm not looking to slow it down. I just mentioned warm up speed because I was used to idling the gas motor, that's all.
It works great and I don't really use it in the cold, but if I do, I'll just use an oil heater.

Sandhill crane, I think you may have posted in the wrong thread?

 

[Sandhill Crane]

If you really want a belt to adjust the speed, you can do it with an overhung load adapter (example).

I was responding to Yarz, post # 32, and got carried away.
Opps!
He has a good point though.

 

[isaaccarlson]

I was responding to Yarz, He has a good point though.

He does, but I don't need it and the cost is high for a log splitter. I agree about mfgrs cutting corners on products. They think it is to compete, but id it was built right they wouldn't have to worry about competing.

I have a 3hp 3ph with freq drive if I want to change the speed, but I use it on my vibratory tumbler.