Best splitter vavle

[svon89]

I have a Timberwolf TW-P1 that had the valve replaced once under warranty, now the valve is leaking heavily out the rear again. I am cautious about using the 4 way with anything knotty, and remove it before splitting with any knots, so I do not think that I have been taxing it too much. I have owned the splitter for 4 years now, and the second valve has lasted 3 of those. Each year I split around 5-6 cord of wood and do not loan my splitter out.

My question is: What valve might be my best choice for replacement? I want a higher quality than what is OEM so that I do not have to do this again for some time.

Thank you.

 

[MillerModSaws]

I ordered one from Northern hydraulics and it works really nice.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My opinion is, you should be able to use the 4-way on anything you want and the valve shouldn't leak because of it.

I use my TW, with 4-way on everything and everything goes right through it, NO leaks or problems. Personally, I'd call TW and explain that this is the second time for this same problem and see if they will help you out.

My TW uses a Prince brand valve and Prince makes good hydraulic parts, does your TW have a Prince brand valve?

SR

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Prince is a commercial valve.

You could upgrade to an auto-cycle on that machine if you wish.
If you check on line you should be able to get a rebuild kit for that valve, and they're easy enough to rebuild, just keep the work area very clean.

Out of curiosity, have you made sure the reservoir is full? Overheating will damage the seal(s) in any valve.

Good luck with it.

Take Care

 

[WoodTick007]

The prince autocycle valve is very nice....takes a little getting used to. I.wish it was made with a powerbeyond valve or made with 4 spools so one valve body could/would be able to control the log lift, 4 way and push ram.

 

[svon89]

Thank you for the replies. The fluid level is slightly low, but I attribute that to the leakage that I experienced. The valve is indeed a prince valve, although with 2 failures, I had not considered rebuilding it, just replacing it with something better. I have rebuild the drive pumps on my skid steer, so I understand the need for cleanliness. I might just go a rebuild route, and if it fails again, then replace it.

As far as the 4 way, I take it off when splitting anything with knots because in the manual it suggested that you were not to split anything with more than one knot, so I just babied it. Overall I really like the splitter, just not happy with the second valve developing the same leak.

 

[jags]

There was a batch of valves from prince a couple of years ago that was prone to early failure. Many brands of splitters were having problems because of these valves. I believe the problem has been fixed, but you may have ended up with two from the same batch. With as little use as you report I would consider a rebuild. It will probably be better than when your valve was new.