Splitter decisions. Modify, upgrade or buy a better one

Rugged made
Wesspur
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bigger lines are always better, but 1/2" should work fine provided your not out splitting when it's ungodly hot outside. smaller lines = more restriction = more heat build up in the fluid which if uncontrolled can be bad. I would definitely time it, and get an accurate measurement on the shaft size and also the length of stroke. you would definitely be under 16 seconds for cycle time if you had say an 18" cylinder instead of a 24" like I guesstimated
 
A 6.5 may very well run a 16gpm just fine. That all depends on how high you have your control valve pressure set, and how much flow your pump will put out in high pressure mode. Personally, I'd be comfortable with a pump capable of 3.5gpm in high pressure mode max. Much more than that and you could possibly end up having to reduce pressure to keep from bogging the engine down. Reducing the high pressure settings cuts down on the tonnage of the splitter.
Surplus center lists 3 16gpm pumps with high speed flow rates of 3, 3.5, and 4gpm. the pump with the high pressure flow rating of 4gpm may require you to set your relief pressure down to about 2700 to keep from bogging the engine down too much.

lots of variables at play thats for sure!
 
Nodak Andy said:
A 6.5 may very well run a 16gpm just fine. That all depends on how high you have your control valve pressure set, and how much flow your pump will put out in high pressure mode. Personally, I'd be comfortable with a pump capable of 3.5gpm in high pressure mode max. Much more than that and you could possibly end up having to reduce pressure to keep from bogging the engine down. Reducing the high pressure settings cuts down on the tonnage of the splitter.
Surplus center lists 3 16gpm pumps with high speed flow rates of 3, 3.5, and 4gpm. the pump with the high pressure flow rating of 4gpm may require you to set your relief pressure down to about 2700 to keep from bogging the engine down too much.

lots of variables at play thats for sure!
Click to expand...

My splitter will take a 20 inch log. Tomorrow I’ll try to get out there any get more info.
 
Haven’t been able to get to it yet. I can Friday for sure. I’m trying to think how to expand my hydraulic tank. I’d like to do some sort of auxiliary tank but I really don’t know how to plumb it all in. Any thoughts on what could be used for a tank or an expansion tank? I think between that and a bigger pump it should make a good difference. But I’ll get cycle times Friday at the worst.
 
Nodak Andy said:
A 6.5 may very well run a 16gpm just fine. That all depends on how high you have your control valve pressure set, and how much flow your pump will put out in high pressure mode. Personally, I'd be comfortable with a pump capable of 3.5gpm in high pressure mode max. Much more than that and you could possibly end up having to reduce pressure to keep from bogging the engine down. Reducing the high pressure settings cuts down on the tonnage of the splitter.
Surplus center lists 3 16gpm pumps with high speed flow rates of 3, 3.5, and 4gpm. the pump with the high pressure flow rating of 4gpm may require you to set your relief pressure down to about 2700 to keep from bogging the engine down too much.

lots of variables at play thats for sure!
Click to expand...

Ok I finally got to the splitter. I took a video and it’s 9 seconds start to finish. I could change out a number of 90’s to either 45’s or straights. Some hoses would have to be replaced if I went with straights. I think this would help keep the heat down some anyway.

I didn’t think it was actually that fast. So if I changed out the pump it looks like I could get some serious speed. First video is with me slamming it into full speed right away. The second video is low speed start to finish. It really didn’t effect the overall time which is weird. I guess it’s the intitial studder when it goes into full speed.
 

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did you happen to get a measurement of the rod and a stroke length measurement? It looks like 24" but I can't be sure
 
Nodak Andy said:
did you happen to get a measurement of the rod and a stroke length measurement? It looks like 24" but I can't be sure
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I would say 3” cylinder and I’m not sure how stroke is measured but my guess is 18.5” The rod diameter is 1.25
 

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If you have a 9 second full cycle time, I’d say that’s not overly bad. A variation of an old proverb comes to mind..... Quick, Good, and cheap. You can only pick 2!! Quick and good won’t be cheap. Good and cheap won’t be quick! Quick and cheap won’t be good!!
take the cylinder to a machine shop and have the biggest rod put in they can fit. Put a 3/4” fitting in the base end and upsize those hoses. Get a Pilot check valve (dump valve) and put the base end fluid back direct to the tank, bypassing the filter. This will speed it up a bit but it’ll likely cost ya $3-400 anyways. You ain’t gonna get it any faster than 6-7 seconds full cycle. Not without a ton of money at least.
I did the bigger rod/dump valve on my processor. It sped it up about 1.5 seconds per cycle. About 160 cuts per cord, 150 cords per year, that starts adding up in time to be worth it for me.
 
with the measurements you have given and a 7gpm pump it works out to 8.6 seconds per cycle which is pretty much what you said you are getting. going to a 16 gpm pump would put you down around 3.8 second cycle time. a 13 gpm pump would put you aroung 4.6 seconds..
Like you mentioned earlier, your engine could drive a 16gpm pump, just make sure whatever pump you get has a high pressure flow rating of about 3.5gpm or less and you'll be just fine.

Whichever way you decide to go, the splitters gonna outrun you, so really it's a horse apiece...16 gpm will be 25% faster than the 13gpm, but will build more heat if you don't upsize your hoses... you may have to upsize your hoses even with a 13gpm pump if you don't have much of a reservoir..
 
Nodak Andy said:
with the measurements you have given and a 7gpm pump it works out to 8.6 seconds per cycle which is pretty much what you said you are getting. going to a 16 gpm pump would put you down around 3.8 second cycle time. a 13 gpm pump would put you aroung 4.6 seconds..
Like you mentioned earlier, your engine could drive a 16gpm pump, just make sure whatever pump you get has a high pressure flow rating of about 3.5gpm or less and you'll be just fine.

Whichever way you decide to go, the splitters gonna outrun you, so really it's a horse apiece...16 gpm will be 25% faster than the 13gpm, but will build more heat if you don't upsize your hoses... you may have to upsize your hoses even with a 13gpm pump if you don't have much of a reservoir..
Click to expand...


I ordered a 13gpm pump 3gpm high pressure. It’s the mte one. Also got the better breather and a pressure gauge. I really wanted to get the 16 cuse I always want faster everything but I realize even the 13 is going to be probably too fast. I ordered some fittings and new hoses too. I’m gonna try to use more straight and 45 degree connections. I would like to add onto my tank but I’m not sure how to plumb in an auxiliary type tank. Stuff should be here Monday.

I also raised the height of it about 5” I haven’t had the chance to run it but I had to relocate the leg cuse it was too tippy with the higher center of gravity. Should be nice to not have to hunch over now.
 
I think an auto cycle valve would be the biggest bang for the buck if working alone.
I’m looking into a redneck version on mine now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Nodak Andy said:
with the measurements you have given and a 7gpm pump it works out to 8.6 seconds per cycle which is pretty much what you said you are getting. going to a 16 gpm pump would put you down around 3.8 second cycle time. a 13 gpm pump would put you aroung 4.6 seconds..
Like you mentioned earlier, your engine could drive a 16gpm pump, just make sure whatever pump you get has a high pressure flow rating of about 3.5gpm or less and you'll be just fine.

Whichever way you decide to go, the splitters gonna outrun you, so really it's a horse apiece...16 gpm will be 25% faster than the 13gpm, but will build more heat if you don't upsize your hoses... you may have to upsize your hoses even with a 13gpm pump if you don't have much of a reservoir..
Click to expand...

I put the 13gpm pump on it and it’s only a hair over a second faster cycle time. So that’s disappointing. I know it shouldn’t but it seems to have more power that the old pump. I don’t have much time on it I only did a dozen or so splits just to try it. If the weather is Good Friday I hope to tackle a small load of log lengths I got waiting for me.

I bought a bunch of fittings and a few hoses to change out some 90s and things like that but I must have ordered the wrong stuff. One side of the old hoses are 1/2” npt and something else that’s close to that. I ordered all 1/2” npt hoses and fittings. So this whole project didn’t really work out like I anticipated.

I assume the very minor increase in cycle time is due to small 1/2” hose and some 90’s. I appreciate the fact that it seems to have more power but the speed is a let down.
 
Any idea what your pump is set as as far as unloading pressure? Cranking that up some so that the setpoint is just a bit below the point where the motor really starts to bog will definitely help speed your actual splitting times... Your empty cycle time may not have gone down a whole lot, but I'd bet that if you turn that unloading pressure up as high as your engine will reasonably tolerate it, your actual slitting time will probably be noticeably less.

The other thing I would say is what size is the line going from your pump to your valve?
 
Nodak Andy said:
Any idea what your pump is set as as far as unloading pressure? Cranking that up some so that the setpoint is just a bit below the point where the motor really starts to bog will definitely help speed your actual splitting times... Your empty cycle time may not have gone down a whole lot, but I'd bet that if you turn that unloading pressure up as high as your engine will reasonably tolerate it, your actual slitting time will probably be noticeably less.

The other thing I would say is what size is the line going from your pump to your valve?
Click to expand...

This is the pump I got as far as what the pressure is and how to change that I don’t know. It says max pressure 3k. https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydra...Pump-MTE-Hydraulics-S21404-5184-9-7972-13.axd

The outlet size on the pump to the valve is 1/2”npt so it’s a 1/2” hydraulic line. Suction line is 1”.
 
I wouldn't be too discouraged. The fact that you think it has more power makes me think your actually noticing that it moves faster through the wood when in high pressure mode. Do you have a guesstimate as to how long it took to split a cord before you swapped the pump? I think you may be pleasantly surprised at what the difference is between then and now... even if you only knocked a second off thencycle time... if your cycle time before was only 8ish seconds, knocking off a full second means your running about 12.5% faster cycle times.... thats a big gain....
 

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