Wood Splitter Cylinder Temperature

[Kenskip1]

Ok , so for the past three days I have been using my "Dirty Hands" 30 ton wood splitter. It has the Kohler engine and works just fine. However the cylinder get to hot to touch. I am running the engine at about half throttle. The splitter is about three years old. Is this cause for concern? Thanks, Ken

 

[jackjcc]

Do you have a point and shoot thermometer? I try to keep mine below 150 and the max temp you want to see is below 180. I think 130 would be considered hot to the touch so I would recommend you get a temp gauge to make sure it’s in the safe zone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Why are you running it at 1/2 throttle?

 

[Huskybill]

Are you talking about the engine or cylinder? The oil has a flash point. The engine should run full throttle that’s the highest cooling for it. There is a ratio for gallons of oil to the GPM of the pump. Are you at the limit of the stroke holding the lever on the bypass or relief valve too long? That intime can raise the temp of the oil.

 

[triptester]

Most hydraulic fluids are designed to operate at a optimum temperature of 130- 140 degrees which is higher then the recommended temperature for domestic hot water.

 

[lauren]

Typical of DHT splitters, i made a new 25 gallon hydro tank for mine, watch the front seal as well.

 

[MooneyPilot]

Yes runnig the engine at a slow speed decreases the amount of cooling air for the engine. Additionally, compressing a fluid, even if the fluid is air, increases the temperature of that fluid. That is the ignition source in a Diesel engine. Taking longer for the stroke allows the genrated heat more time to conduct heat into the cylinder wall.

 

[SteveSr]

I am running the engine at about half throttle.

Running it at half throttle will deprive it of significant cooling airflow. These engines are deigned to run at the full governed speed, usually 3600 rpm.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Agree with other posters...you run it wide open throttle. That's how it's designed to run. The hydraulic oil will get hot to the touch(as will the components that oil flows through). Nothing to be worried about really.

 

[sb47]

Yes hydraulic oil does run pretty hot to the touch. There are many factors that cause more or excessive heat. I adjust my RPM speed to the speed I chose to work and generally it's a little past half way or a little better. It helps the fuel econimy when I run it a little slower and I don't see the need to have it run faster then my work pace. Air temps effect cooling as well, obviously. Fitting and hose size also effects heat build up as well. The more you squeeze the oil the hotter it will get. In the summer mine gets very hot to the touch but in reality it's around 150 to 175. In the winter it runs noticeably cooler. I wouldn't worry about it as long as it stays under 200 degrees. Remember motor commonly runs 200+ all the time so if your under 200 your fine. Also remember what it feels like to the touch differs from person to person. Use a cheep laser gun to check or tape a thermometer to it and see where it's running.

 

[farmer steve]

Slower motor speed means slower pump speed. Need to move the oil to the tank for faster heat dissipation. YMMV with the ambient temperature.

 

[BangBang77]

Heat in a hydraulic system is generated as it is "compressed" by the pump and as it passes through an orifice.

The typical root causes for excessive heat is improper relief valve settings or cylinder pistion seals going bad and allowing cylinder bypass.

I would start the splitter up and run like you always do. While it is good and hot, take a heat gun and shoot the temps at valves and on the cylinder (at various points). Higher temps will show you where the problem is.

You can also check for piston seal bypass by removing hyd lines but that can turn into a mess if you hit the actuator valve in the wrong direction. Start with the temp checks and let us know what you find.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

A friend has one of these. The hydraulic tank is TINY. Normal use in high ambient temps gets it boiling hot in under an hour. Poor design. He uses his only in winter because of this.

In order to compensate for the undersized tank, you can do one of three things,

Get bigger plumbing or reduce friction in the system from restriction or reduce system flow (which you did by reducing RPM)
Add hydraulic tank capacity, (doable with an extra tank plumbed in line with the main tank)
Add a hydraulic oil cooler. Return pressure is around 15 PSI max per DHT. We were looking at using a old brass truck heater core and a water bath aka 5 gallon bucket.

 

[lauren]

70 degrees outside temp half hour at the most, mine would moan and groan, couldn't get much help from DHT, I had to figure it out myself, put a bigger hydro tank on it still did the same thing, and it ended up being the front seal letting air in the system, once replaced, its been great.

 

[sb47]

Consensus here is you get what you pay for. Bargain brand units are not gonna preform like the higher end units do.

 

[sb47]

I run a 40 ton Countyline unit I got from TS some 5 years ago. In the Texas sun without even running the unit the black painted cylinder gets very hot to the touch and thats before I even start the unit. Even with high air temps I've never felt concerned with the heat coming from the unit. Mine is plumed with bigger hoses and fittings ( 1'' ) then even the 30 ton units I've seen sold. My cylinder is about a 6'' with a 3'' push rod. Again the feels like temp may be way different then what it's actually running at. You need a Laser thermometer to really see where you are at.

 

[Kenskip1]

Yes the cylinder that I am referring to is the hydraulic ram.I do not run the throttle full because this means more heat from the engine.Plus I am a senior citizen and my movements are not what they used to be.The ram cylinder is hot but not burning as I rest my hand on it at times.Thanks for all the words of wisdom, Ken

 

[struggle]

I have a DHT splitter 30 to. And would never buy another one. Like others said it will boil the hydraulic fluid and mine for so hot it discolored the paint on the ram and my front seal is seeping.

Don’t get me started on the tank [emoji2961][emoji2959]

Mine has cracked I’m multiple places where the engine mounts. My neighbor has a machine shop and pro welders and they drilled cracks out and welded and tank continuously cracks ahead of the weld. Wish I would not have sold my
Old huskie 20 ton.

The person that made a new tank for your 30 to DHT can you post a pictures of it as to how you
Add it bigger? Does it still swing the ram upright?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BuckthornBonnie]

When those splitters were getting pushed on here without a lot of actual experience, I was concerned. Now the company is apparently gone, right?

There’s a few that pop up here and many seem to leak at the cylinder seal. At one point DHT was sending out cylinder replacements and guys will typically say “price includes spare cylinder” in the ad.

+1 on seeing repairs/fixes since it’s a damn shame that this site was used to push those things.

 

[struggle]

Should've known better as the price looked good on them and there was a reason for it. I can handle seeping out of the front seal on the hydraulic cylinder but the tank cracking all over I cant deal with. I asked my neighbor how much he would charge to build a tank out of 1/4" steel with a larger capacity. This would solve my concerns with the machine at this point. I found it was plenty strong when running/splitting but storing it and leaking a gallons of fluid all over doesn't work. Neighbor thought the gauge was below 1/16' or right at that for tank thickness. Which is way to thin for the vibration it has to handle from the engine on it.

I'm guessing they are out of business but really not sure.