brisawyer
ArboristSite Operative
Did you locate the pump adapter you needed?
Vertical Shaft wood splitter?
- Thread starter avalancher
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
SWI Don
ArboristSite Guru
Here is how I did it.
I got a pump mount for a Kohler horizontal from Surplus Center. I then made an motor mount / adapter plate our of 3/8" plate to join the two. The plate has bolt patterns for both the engine and the pump mount. I countersunk the pump mount holes and tack welded some 7/16" flat head cap screws into the holes making studs out of them. This was I could remove the pump mount with out having access to the top of the plate (the engine is in the way). The engine just bolts to the plate.
I used a heavy duty lovejoy and the distances all came out great. If you look closely at the pic you will notice the lower jaw half has slipped down. I did readjust and loctite the set screws and have had no issues since.
Don
I got a pump mount for a Kohler horizontal from Surplus Center. I then made an motor mount / adapter plate our of 3/8" plate to join the two. The plate has bolt patterns for both the engine and the pump mount. I countersunk the pump mount holes and tack welded some 7/16" flat head cap screws into the holes making studs out of them. This was I could remove the pump mount with out having access to the top of the plate (the engine is in the way). The engine just bolts to the plate.
I used a heavy duty lovejoy and the distances all came out great. If you look closely at the pic you will notice the lower jaw half has slipped down. I did readjust and loctite the set screws and have had no issues since.
Don
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Thanks for the pic, that is exactly what I had in mind to do if I was unable to locate a pump mount that would work for this engine. I havent had any time to do any further looking for a pump mount that would bolt right up, firewood sales have gone through the roof right now, and its all I can do to even get any sleep right now.
What keeps the pump from spinning when the engine is started ??? the hoses??
ALL the splitters I have seen, have a mounting bracket for the pump....vertical or horizontal shaft.
I woul like to see a picture of a free hanging pump....
NYHuskyguy
ArboristSite Member
What keeps the pump from spinning?! Are you kidding me?! They mount to the engine.
Go to a big box store, you will see them.
KsWoodsMan
Addicted to ArboristSite
Be careful when trying to set up a log splitter. What you really want to make sure of is that the crankshaft comes out the side and not the bottom. The big difference in the two is substantial.
The problem with the shaft coming out the bottom is that it wears on the seals immediately. The weight of the pump is ALWAYS too much for the seals to bear. That is why places like tractor supply have splitters that are so much cheaper than say, an Iron and Oak. Splitters with the shaft out the side are not built for longevity. In fact most of those are simply just lawn mower engines.
If you want to buy a splitter that will last, make sure the crankshaft comes out the side. This is of course, provided that you can make that it happen that way. If you have no other choice, than that is your situation.
If you can help it, get yourself a little sideways!
-Kevin
Your statements are confusing. First they are wrong then the others are wrong. OK , a typo probably but the engine crankshaft isn't supporting any of the weight.
A lovejoy coupler doesnt transfer any of the weight from the pump to the engine. So there would be no additional wear on a thrustbearing/seal.
I'm thinking the cost difference between TSC and I&O splitters is the cost of materials, labor, engineering and craftsmanship.
Nothing wrong with using an electric start motor on a splitter. Regardless of where it was used initially if it runs and does the job, get the good out of it.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Kind of what I figured, a hydralic motor doesnt care what position its in to work, and I just didnt see any problem with a vertical mount except that the mount seems to be a little less common. Although I have a good splitter now with a Honda vertical engine, I am looking for some more speed, and figured the best way to go about it was to move up in HP and fluid flow, and this engine came along to answer the problem. I have a 5.5 right now pushing a 11gpm pump, and figured that this 12hp pushing a 16 or even a 22gpm pump oughta really make this thing sing without losing any of the tonnage.
Zodiac45
Paleostoveologist & Sawwhisperer
yep I agree. I think you could fab up what you need or draw it and see a welder friend. My splitters a verticle shaft and she's been running for 7 yrs without a single problem. While only 6-8 cords a year it's still been ultra dependable and was less than a grand new.
Here's 3 pics of my homemade splitter using an 11hp vert shaft B&S eng with elec start and 16.5 gpm pump. The pump and bracket were ordered from NT.
I obtained the lovejoy coupler locally (1" motor side/1/2" pumpside)
NYHuskyguy
ArboristSite Member
Yes, Captain Typo HAS entered the building. Side good. Bottom Bad.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Well, you still havent given a plausible reason as to why "Side good, bottom bad".
Aint trying to be a smarta$$ here, but in reality hydrolic motors and pumps dont really care how they are mounted, sideways, upside down, vertical what have you.
True, most of the splitters on the market that are vertical mounted are the cheap junk because they take advantage of the fact that most vertical engines are manufactured to be put in "throw away" type equipement, hence they are cheaper, but that sure doesnt hold with all vertical engines.
I know in my particular case I wouldnt waste my time building something that in the end will run better than 1500 to build then throw a cheap engine on it, but lets face the facts. A horizontal 12hp gas engine brand new is going to run you close to the $600 mark, maybe more. But, the engine that I happened across is well worth mounting on my project, very few hours, well maintained by my estimation.
From the looks of some of the posts on this topic, a lot of guys have had good luck with a vertical mount.
brisawyer
ArboristSite Operative
When I built my pump mount
I took 1 plate and drilled it to match the pump there is a raised boss around the shaft I think its around 1.5" this locates the pump this needs to be a close fit. Then I drilled another large plate to match the engine.
I took a piece of 4x4 box tubing aprox 5" long and cut some windows in the sides to be able to tighten the setscrews on the Lovejoy.
Made an alignment tool on the lathe. Aluminum round stock drilled and reamed 1" on one end and 1/2" on the other.
Bolted plates to the pump and engine put the alignment tool on the engine shaft put the box tubing between pump and engine with the pump shaft in the alignment tool tacked and checked for squareness.
Before I disassembled to weld I found 2 places in the engine mounting feet to drill for roll pins. The roll pins are there so you can assemble/disassemble without worrying about alignment.
Welded and just for good measure put it on the mill and took a light cut to make sure plates were parelell.
It was a lot of work but I couldnt find what I needed and the alignment is near perfect. I enjoy this kind of work as much as firewood.
I chose the vertical because the 10 and 12 horse Briggs are plentiful on junk mowers. Usually they can be found free on trash day in the spring.
I took 1 plate and drilled it to match the pump there is a raised boss around the shaft I think its around 1.5" this locates the pump this needs to be a close fit. Then I drilled another large plate to match the engine.
I took a piece of 4x4 box tubing aprox 5" long and cut some windows in the sides to be able to tighten the setscrews on the Lovejoy.
Made an alignment tool on the lathe. Aluminum round stock drilled and reamed 1" on one end and 1/2" on the other.
Bolted plates to the pump and engine put the alignment tool on the engine shaft put the box tubing between pump and engine with the pump shaft in the alignment tool tacked and checked for squareness.
Before I disassembled to weld I found 2 places in the engine mounting feet to drill for roll pins. The roll pins are there so you can assemble/disassemble without worrying about alignment.
Welded and just for good measure put it on the mill and took a light cut to make sure plates were parelell.
It was a lot of work but I couldnt find what I needed and the alignment is near perfect. I enjoy this kind of work as much as firewood.
I chose the vertical because the 10 and 12 horse Briggs are plentiful on junk mowers. Usually they can be found free on trash day in the spring.
Last edited:
Locoweed
ArboristSite Guru
Any so called "professional" that tried to spin that bunch of nonsense to me would instantly disqualify himself and his qualifications as a "professional".
It appears to me that you don't know what you don't know about the subject. If you are a salesman for these things I think you would be well served to learn a bit more about them.
cityevader
ArboristSite Operative
Yah..you say they hang there with no support whatsoever, and someone calls you on that, "the hoses keep it from spinning?!?".....so you then say it's bolted to the engine...which is it? Maybe you need to clarify what you are saying to get your idea across as to how vertical mount influences pumps.
Why don't you read my post and comprehend it...IT CLEARLY STATES THAT THEY ARE ALL HAVE MOUNTING BRACKETS.
YOU are the one that stated they have no support. :monkey:
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
I made a few phone calls to Speeco, a name that I figured would have the juice on why most "good" splitters use a horizontal engine versus a vertical. After repeating my question many times to many different folks, I finally got some guy that seemed to know what he was talking about.
The biggest issue according to the Speeco employee is the clearence issue. Vertical mount engines leave the pump closer to the ground since the main idea in placing the pump is to have it below the supply tank. This ends up with the pump close to the ground, taking a chance on it getting hit when towed over uneven ground.Makes perfect sense to me. When I asked him about placing the tank and pump higher, he said that since the beam and ram are already above the axle, the addition of the engine,tank full of fluid, and pump would increase the tendency of being top heavy.
Not a big deal when towing it around your yard, but a concern on the highway. Since splitters are narrow but high, the idea in engineering using a horizontal mount engine allowed for the lower center of gravity.
I then asked if there was any disadvantage or advantage to a vertical mount engine, and he replied, "sure, cost" Vertical engines are a bit cheaper to buy, but aside from the clearance issue, there was no difference from a horizontal.
Makes sense to me!
Speeco can be reached at 800.525.8322
The biggest issue according to the Speeco employee is the clearence issue. Vertical mount engines leave the pump closer to the ground since the main idea in placing the pump is to have it below the supply tank. This ends up with the pump close to the ground, taking a chance on it getting hit when towed over uneven ground.Makes perfect sense to me. When I asked him about placing the tank and pump higher, he said that since the beam and ram are already above the axle, the addition of the engine,tank full of fluid, and pump would increase the tendency of being top heavy.
Not a big deal when towing it around your yard, but a concern on the highway. Since splitters are narrow but high, the idea in engineering using a horizontal mount engine allowed for the lower center of gravity.
I then asked if there was any disadvantage or advantage to a vertical mount engine, and he replied, "sure, cost" Vertical engines are a bit cheaper to buy, but aside from the clearance issue, there was no difference from a horizontal.
Makes sense to me!
Speeco can be reached at 800.525.8322
Similar threads
