Log splitter help...

[Charlesb]

I Have an interesting situation. I recently was given a log splitter, without a motor. I heat my home with wood so I thought this was a huge blessing! It is Homade but it looks like a tank. It is built on a truck axel with a huge I beam. It has mostly new hoses and I thought It was going to be great! I found an 11 hp B/S engine mounted it down and took it out for a test drive. Small diameter logs it would go right through, but we had some big pieces of Sugar maple (Rock Maple) and it would bog down every time? Anybody have any advice at all?

A little more info about the splitter. It is chain driven and I used a small sprocket off the engine to a bigger one on the pump (I thought this would help give it a little more power through mechanical advantage). I am not sure about the pump, it looks small, but then again if you saw this spltter you would understand as it is huge!

Thank you for your time in trying to help me out.

Charles

 

[Butch(OH)]

Here are the basics of hydraulic splitters. Speed requires gallons per minute, force requires pressure. To have both requires horsepower.

Your cylinder speed is a constant (not including leakage, or RPM variances tech 'sperts). When you encounter stiff resistance in the larger pieces the flow you are pumping times the pressure required equals HP you dont have. This is why all commercial splitters with lawn mower motors use two stage pumps. Extra volume for speed and when pressure hits X the pump looses enough volume that the motor can provide X pressure without stalling.

You need to either slow your pump down more ( they wont pump much pressure if RPMS are too slow) or get a smaller displacement pump and put up with slower cycling or get a two stage pump, Or get a larger driver. These are the only fixes, assuming the motor is running right to start with?.

 

[ray benson]

Do you have any info on the pump? A model number or a tag on the pump.

 

[Patrick62]

Now you found out why it was free

If you do a search on this, you would turn up lots of info related to splitters.

homemade is not always bad. With that in mind it also means that they might have used "what was available". Now you get to figure out what is needed to make it better.

11 hp sounds like plenty of engine. First is what size is the cylinder? If it is smallish, then lack of size means lack of poosh. Second if there is a way to determine the gpm of the pump.... also is it a "2 stage"? If it is a single stage pump then you have problems. Really huge engine is required.

Folks why build their own do this because they can pick the parts and create the machine they want. Sometimes the available parts isn't the optimal combination.

-Pat

 

[Charlesb]

All I could get off the pump was Vickers vane pump. And then it says patented and there is three patent numbers below it.

Thanks again for the advice..

 

[sawinredneck]

All I could get off the pump was Vickers vane pump. And then it says patented and there is three patent numbers below it.

Thanks again for the advice..

If it's a Vickers vane type, I would bet it's a single stage. That means it needs a big motor!!!

here is a link if you can figure out what size the pump is, half way down the page is a hydraulic calculator.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydraulic.htm

 

[Charlesb]

So it probably would make more sense to get a 2 stage pump right? I have been looking on ebay after I posted and I think they would be cheaper than a much bigger motor (Plus it would use less gas!)

 

[triptester]

According to Vickers tech sheet a 11 gpm vein pump requires 33 hp. to produce 3000 psi.

I had a 11 gpm Vickers pump that I tried to run with a 12 hp. Briggs with a 2 to 1 belt reduction and it would kill the motor at about 500 psi.

 

[triptester]

A word of caution the 11 hp. Briggs I assume is a vertical shaft engine . The 2-stage Barnes Haldex pumps are made to be direct coupled and do not hold up well to side loading of belt or chain drive.
Pump adapters are not available for vertical shaft engines so pump mounts will have to be made.
The 11 hp. engine will handle up to a 16 gpm 2-stage pump.

 

[Charlesb]

Actually the engine is a horizontal shaft, I had thought to make it direct drive but where the pump was mount was located made it a little difficult, also I thought through gear reduction I could get even more power.

Thanks for all your information, and your time. You help has been valuable and very much appreciated.

CharlesB