New to Forum - Help!

[smpettigrew1]

I picked up and homemade splitter a few weeks ago that was not running. I changed all of the fluids and did some basic small engine work on it - and now I have the engine running good. It is an old Wisconsin 9.2 hp. Although I have not measured it, the ram appears to be a 5 or 6 inch. The hydraulic fluid reservoir holds over 4 gallons. The control box is an energy and the pump - well, not sure - it appears to be a rotary pump off an old loader - and it is hook straight to the engine. There is no name or anything on it.

The problem - I can split fairly small wood 6-7 inches or less. Anything larger the engine bogs down, the hydraulics groan, and then the engine dies. Although I have nothing to compare it to, the cycle time seems very slow as well.

I have not done any testing at all - not sure where to begin. I can post video/photos later on. Any ideas?

 

[blades]

welcome, bio computer not functioning yet. so I will wait for pics, get some close ups of pump. Pressure relief/bypass in valve might be stuck.

 

[smpettigrew1]

 

[smpettigrew1]

 

[smpettigrew1]

 

[smpettigrew1]

 

[smpettigrew1]

Here are the pics. I can post more if needed. Tried to figure out the album thing - but that was a no-go.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

You can load several pics in one post and put text inbetween them.

My dad knows a lot about old Wisconsin motor. I'll show him when I get home sat.

 

[Gavman]

Here are the pics. I can post more if needed. Tried to figure out the album thing - but that was a no-go.

Willing to bet the problem is that single stage pump and the low horsepower, like driving a small car into a tree slowly, instead of a say driving a military tank...
I think you have simply found its limits

 

[smpettigrew1]

I am into it now for about 400. I am probably going to replace the hoses for one. What is recommended for a pump?

 

[djones]

It might help if you could figure out what the GPM of the pump is. Take a 5 gallon bucket and place it near the splitter, disconnect the line going to the bottom end of the cylinder and place in bucket. Run the splitter at full throttle, engage the control lever for 10 seconds. Be sure to hold the loose hose so it doesn't come out of the bucket and spray everything. Calculate how many gallons are in the bucket and multiply by 6. That will be your GPM. Knowing how much pressure the pump is putting out will also help. You will need a pressure gauge that goes to 4000 psi to be safe. These figures will help in determining the current condition of your hydraulics. A good tune up of your engine might not hurt either. 4 gallons of hydraulic fluid sounds kind of low and might cause cavitating of the pump. If your GPM is too high, your engine HP might be too low. If your GPM is around 11 to 16 GPM, your HP might be ok but you might have engine issues. I run a 5 1/2 HP engine with an 11 GPM single stage pump with a 2" ram that splits anything up to 26" length and 24" dia. That's my physical limit to move a round on to the splitter base. My cycle times are about 12 sec. I'm sure more guys will chime in with more helpful ideas and questions. Good luck.

 

[smpettigrew1]

Thank you for all the help. Where can a pick up a pressure gauge? I am by far no mechanic...more of a DIYer. I think, however, that I have the engine pretty well tuned. Do you think the ram is to big as well?

 

[djones]

A good hydraulic pressure gauge is pricey, if you can barrow one from a farmer friend or farm equipment shop or even a hydraulics shop would be better. Ram size and operation will depend on the other info once you have it. There are some good posting here you can look up for better information on sizing your motor, pump and ram. just go to the search window in upper right corner of this page and type in splitter pumps or rams and you'll find what you're looking for.

 

[CRThomas]

It might help if you could figure out what the GPM of the pump is. Take a 5 gallon bucket and place it near the splitter, disconnect the line going to the bottom end of the cylinder and place in bucket. Run the splitter at full throttle, engage the control lever for 10 seconds. Be sure to hold the loose hose so it doesn't come out of the bucket and spray everything. Calculate how many gallons are in the bucket and multiply by 6. That will be your GPM. Knowing how much pressure the pump is putting out will also help. You will need a pressure gauge that goes to 4000 psi to be safe. These figures will help in determining the current condition of your hydraulics. A good tune up of your engine might not hurt either. 4 gallons of hydraulic fluid sounds kind of low and might cause cavitating of the pump. If your GPM is too high, your engine HP might be too low. If your GPM is around 11 to 16 GPM, your HP might be ok but you might have engine issues. I run a 5 1/2 HP engine with an 11 GPM single stage pump with a 2" ram that splits anything up to 26" length and 24" dia. That's my physical limit to move a round on to the splitter base. My cycle times are about 12 sec. I'm sure more guys will chime in with more helpful ideas and questions. Good luck.

I bought a 5 ton electric splitter and beat that one all over. I have bigger splitters but it was on sale for $199.00 at Menards for black Friday couldn'tpass it up for a toy think I'll put it in my mancave for looks. That $199.00 was $468.00. I bought three and sold two for $200.00 profit.