Iowa GTG 2018

[Wood Doctor]

I like to use the exhaust on my truck lol.

Interesting. I never thought of that. I might be able to do this. Do you back up the truck to the splitter's engine with the exhaust up next to the engine or connect some sort of short flexible pipe to the truck's exhaust pipe? My truck's exhaust pipe points at an angle to the right, and I don't have the room to jockey the truck, so it looks like a flexible pipe might be required to direct the heated exhaust onto the splitter's engine. A simple 3" to 4" dia. drain pipe connection about 2' long might work. (or a downspout elbow with a short length attached)

 

[GrizzlyAdams86]

Sounds like my log splitter's Honda knockoff that I've had trouble with all winter. It's a sun worshiper. Cold, damp weather locks it up like a turtle in hibernation. Give it 30 degrees F and some sunshine and it will fire right up. Now and then I fool it with a 12oo watt hair dryer for about 10 minutes.

My Sportsman is the same way. 32 or below even with full choke you think you've drained the battery to get it started. Sometimes if it's sat for a while in the winter you might need a shot of starter fluid. Then have to leave it full/half choked until it gets warm. After it's run for a while then it's fine. But in the upper 30's and above half choke and barely hit the starter button and it pops right off and idles fine.

 

[Wood Doctor]

My Sportsman is the same way. 32 or below even with full choke you think you've drained the battery to get it started. Sometimes if it's sat for a while in the winter you might need a shot of starter fluid. Then have to leave it full/half choked until it gets warm. After it's run for a while then it's fine. But in the upper 30's and above half choke and barely hit the starter button and it pops right off and idles fine.

Somehow moisture is getting into the cylinder. That wrecks the spark. I'm convinced of it. Whenever we dry them out with dry heat, these engines will start and run fine. I've tried every gasoline additive that exists. Nothing works. Dry heat applied to the cylinder does work. It might as well be a heat lamp, an outdoor flood light, or a hair dryer. Take your pick.

 

[hoskvarna]

Got load #1 of 4 logs today
Some firewood some gtg logs and cottonwood to make race cants [emoji106]

Sent from Hoskvarna Hills

 

[heimannm]

Is that Luke operating the boom?

Mark

 

[hoskvarna]

Is that Luke operating the boom?

Mark

Yes sir


Sent from Hoskvarna Hills

 

[Wood Doctor]

Well, looks like we have some stock there to challenge a 36" bar and a 91 cc saw or larger. That's a whale of a collection!

I just finished restoring an MS 660 -- new top end, new case, new bearings, new plastic, etc. She started right up and runs like a champ.

 

[chipper1]

Interesting. I never thought of that. I might be able to do this. Do you back up the truck to the splitter's engine with the exhaust up next to the engine or connect some sort of short flexible pipe to the truck's exhaust pipe? My truck's exhaust pipe points at an angle to the right, and I don't have the room to jockey the truck, so it looks like a flexible pipe might be required to direct the heated exhaust onto the splitter's engine. A simple 3" to 4" dia. drain pipe connection about 2' long might work. (or a downspout elbow with a short length attached)

Whatever works for you. You can run a piece of drain pipe from the tailpipe to the bottom of the engine/ the hydraulic tank, or pull up as close as you can and put a tarp over the whole splitter and over the tailpipe and a bungy around it(the exhaust doesn't usually get that hot when it's that cold), you can also use a tractor if that works better for your particular splitting area or any other small engine that you can haul it there and put under a tarp with it. Another option is have the proper amount of engine oil in the house over night and then change the oil out before splitting. I know it's a bit of a pain, but if it helps the engine to spin over quicker that's what it's all about. The spark will be stronger the faster the engine spins also.
The swisher units have a belt driven pump and when you start the engine you move a lever that removes tension off the belt so you are only turning the engine over, otherwise you are also turning the pump over alone with the engine and it's trying to pump cold hydraulic fluid which is the majority of the resistance you are fighting in the winter/cold temps. I would guess a synthetic fluid may flow better in the cold temps, but if you have any leaks you will find it on the ground at a higher rate too.
One thing I don't like to do is to run any piece of equipment very hard when it's very cold out until I get it up to temp, that includes the hydraulics, I've seen some big puddles under equipment from guys asking them to work before they were warmed up, bad things happen in extreme temps with hydraulic systems .
All this is part of the joy of winter .

 

[chipper1]

Yes sir


Sent from Hoskvarna Hills

Does he have a remote for that unit, looks like a lot of fun, will it be at the GTG so we can try it out .

 

[hoskvarna]

Does he have a remote for that unit, looks like a lot of fun, will it be at the GTG so we can try it out .

No remote
And no not be here
I ask but his insurance won’t cover anything like a gtg so he doesn’t want the liability.


Sent from Hoskvarna Hills

 

[chipper1]

No remote
And no not be here
I ask but his insurance won’t cover anything like a gtg so he doesn’t want the liability.


Sent from Hoskvarna Hills

That's the coldest seat in the house in the middle of winter .
To bad, been a while since I've ran any sort of boom, kinda miss it.
Here's a fun one I did back a while ago.

This one was for the boss as well as one of the new guys. The new guy said that his boom could not shoot a full lift of drywall up to the window below the boom, so they split the lifts up wasting about and hr total at the shop, then at the job site as it messes up the routine and takes longer to load the truck .
This around 1.5 lifts even though it looks like two full lifts, just to say it can be done, lots of fun.
Pay no attention to my helper who enjoys turning his back on a couple thousand pounds hanging 50+ft over his head.
Both these unit were remote, but in the first picture I was in the seat as I had the best angle, the other unit doesn't even have a seat.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Whatever works for you... .
All this is part of the joy of winter .

I replaced the engine yesterday. That worked for me. It only took me six hours because I was unable to remove the hydraulic hoses from the pump that's directly coupled to the engine without changing out all the fluid. After replacement, the new engine started immediately and the system split logs. I think God helped me get the job done.

My next task is to figure out what caused the splitter's engine, now resting on my bench, to quit.

 

[chipper1]

I replaced the engine yesterday. That worked for me. It only took me six hours because I was unable to remove the hydraulic hoses from the pump that's directly coupled to the engine without changing out all the fluid. After replacement, the new engine started immediately and the system split logs. I think God helped me get the job done.

My next task is to figure out what caused the splitter's engine, now resting on my bench, to quit.

Sounds like quite the ordeal . Glad you got it taken care of. Did you put valves in the lines so if you need to pull it again you won't have to drain the whole system.
He's help me do more than I can imagine.
What engine did you put on it.
Does the old engine turn over at all, if so find a good friend to hold the spark plug wire to see if it has ground .

 

[Wood Doctor]

Sounds like quite the ordeal . Glad you got it taken care of. Did you put valves in the lines so if you need to pull it again you won't have to drain the whole system.
He's help me do more than I can imagine.
What engine did you put on it.
Does the old engine turn over at all, if so find a good friend to hold the spark plug wire to see if it has ground .

I matched the same engine -- a Honda knockoff. I'll check the electrical and compression first. But, if that were the problem, the engine should have been flooding. In fact, no fuel was making it to the combustion chamber. Lately, the plug was always bone dry. I think it's likely a stuck float valve, so the carb needed attention. And, if the tank's fuel filter was blocked, how was I able to drain the whole gas tank through the carb bowl? In short, the carb stopped sending fuel to the cylinder. That's my conclusion at this point.

It's nice to have a spare engine. I'll be able top split wood all this week if I don't get blown way by strong winds or snowed on. Two customers wanted wood for a campfire pit Saturday. I had none available thanks to a dead splitter engine that I had just replaced. I was just plain too tired to split any more than my trial run. The human body can only do so much before it shuts down.

 

[chipper1]

I matched the same engine -- a Honda knockoff. I'll check the electrical and compression first. But, if that were the problem, the engine should have been flooding. In fact, no fuel was making it to the combustion chamber. Lately, the plug was always bone dry. I think it's likely a stuck float valve, so the carb needed attention. And, if the tank's fuel filter was blocked, how was I able to drain the whole gas tank through the carb bowl? In short, the carb stopped sending fuel to the cylinder. That's my conclusion at this point.

It's nice to have a spare engine. I'll be able top split wood all this week if I don't get blown way by strong winds or snowed on. Two customers wanted wood for a campfire pit Saturday. I had none available thanks to a dead splitter engine that I had just replaced. I was just plain too tired to split any more than my trial run. The human body can only do so much before it shuts down.

I was kinda joking about the spark test although it's the second thing I'd check as the Honda motors have a oil shutoff switch on them.
Did you give it a little squirt of fuel in the carb to see if she fired, thats the first thing I would have done after seeing fuel at the float bowl which should confirm the stuck needle, usually a nice firm tap on the side of the float bowl will free those up, but I would still tear the carb off and clean it up real quick. If you ran ethanol fuel in the splitter, I m sure it will mess up the inside of these motors, it does the Honda versions.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I was kinda joking about the spark test although it's the second thing I'd check as the Honda motors have a oil shutoff switch on them.
Did you give it a little squirt of fuel in the carb to see if she fired, thats the first thing I would have done after seeing fuel at the float bowl which should confirm the stuck needle, usually a nice firm tap on the side of the float bowl will free those up, but I would still tear the carb off and clean it up real quick. If you ran ethanol fuel in the splitter, I m sure it will mess up the inside of these motors, it does the Honda versions.

Well, I have it on the bench. Spark is OK, carb is clean, float valve is OK, fuel flow looks good through the line, filters are clean. I think it's way too low on compression and likely was sabotaged by crooks. My chain saws all have more compression than this 4-cycle engine, regardless of size. If that's the case, it's a parts engine.

What puzzles me is that if the compression is low, you would still think that it would draw fuel and flood out, but it doesn't. It's as if the carb somehow knows that there is no compression and shuts down all gas flow to the cylinder. To me, that makes no sense.

 

[chipper1]

Well, I have it on the bench. Spark is OK, carb is clean, float valve is OK, fuel flow looks good through the line, filters are clean. I think it's way too low on compression and likely was sabotaged by crooks. My chain saws all have more compression than this 4-cycle engine, regardless of size. If that's the case, it's a parts engine.

What puzzles me is that if the compression is low, you would still think that it would draw fuel and flood out, but it doesn't. It's as if the carb somehow knows that there is no compression and shuts down all gas flow to the cylinder. To me, that makes no sense.

That is pretty much correct as the air drawn into the cylinder will be less(because the rings are worn which draws less fuel into the cylinder it's causing less of a venturi effect inside the carb and will draw less fuel into the engine.
Read the how it works section here.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-carburetors-work.html
There are other factors/things that help meter the amount of fuel/air as well as fuel and air to rpms which keep the engine from flooding or running to lean.
Getting your hands dirty as you are goes a long way into the learning process. I personally know enough to be dangerous .

 

[Wood Doctor]

That is pretty much correct as the air drawn into the cylinder will be less(because the rings are worn which draws less fuel into the cylinder it's causing less of a venturi effect inside the carb and will draw less fuel into the engine.
Read the how it works section here.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-carburetors-work.html
There are other factors/things that help meter the amount of fuel/air as well as fuel and air to rpms which keep the engine from flooding or running to lean.
Getting your hands dirty as you are goes a long way into the learning process. I personally know enough to be dangerous .

That's exactly what I figured, Chipper. No compression means no fuel mixture gets pumped to the cylinder. Not sure how it happened, but it was either sabotaged OR stripped plug threads allowed too much air in, jacked up the air/fuel ratio, and burned out the rings. I noticed last month the plug threads were stripped. The plug was screwed in tight but cockeyed and not seated. The engine ran, but those stripped threads, if letting in air, could have run it to death. Seem reasonable?

 

[chipper1]

That's exactly what I figured, Chipper. No compression means no fuel mixture gets pumped to the cylinder. Not sure how it happened, but it was either sabotaged OR stripped plug threads allowed too much air in, jacked up the air/fuel ratio, and burned out the rings. I noticed last month the plug threads were stripped. The plug was screwed in tight but cockeyed and not seated. The engine ran, but those stripped threads, if letting in air, could have run it to death. Seem reasonable?

Maybe, would have to look it over more, sounds odd for sure. 4 strokes don't burn up as quickly as a lean running 2 strokes do though. Some of the clone motors last a long time others don't, this is why I'd rather grab up a used Honda, but with vandals and such that may not be the best option either.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Maybe, would have to look it over more, sounds odd for sure. 4 strokes don't burn up as quickly as a lean running 2 strokes do though. Some of the clone motors last a long time others don't, this is why I'd rather grab up a used Honda, but with vandals and such that may not be the best option either.

It's possible also that the plug threads could have been stripped and not seated a lot longer than a month or so, long before I noticed it. This may have happened a year or more ago. If so, it's amazing it lasted as long as it did. I average about 6 hours of run time a week and split 50 cords with it last year alone. In all, I would estimate there are 650 hours on this engine.

I may try to start it one more time, but I think it's history and destined for parts only. Thank you so much for your attention. Two thumbs up.