5,000 psi 2 Stage Hydraulic Pump?

[ttyR2]

Josh, check with a local community college and take a couple welding classes. I highly recommend it. Being able to properly weld your own stuff really opens up your project potential.

Personally, if I was building a splitter, I'd stick with 3000psi, but go with a big 28GPM pump on a 5" cylinder and a big enough engine to spin the pump without needing a 2 speed pump. That thing would be a splitting machine! If you can find a cylinder with an oversize rod, that will speed up the return stroke a lot as well. A regenerative valve is another way to speed up cycle times as well. Lower pressure with larger cylinders is going to be cheaper and safer in the long run.

 

[muddstopper]

The big problem with 5000psi and 40 gpm is it takes 137hp to get there. A 7inch cylinder at 5000psi is 192,422lbs of force. Why would anybody even need a 96ton splitter. If you are splitting 48in dia wood into 48 pieces at one time, then maybe a need for such tonnage. Otherwise, I call this whole project a total waste of time and money.

A 28gpm @3000 single stage pump will need a 58hp engine where as a 28gpm two stage pump takes 16hp. Just another case of wasting money

 

[ttyR2]

I stand corrected. Double-checked the email and it was a 22GPM pump on a 22hp Kohler that a friend of my dad's had back in the 70's on a LaFont SS 500 splitter. He had some other mods done to it as well (primarily the regenerative valve) and could split a cord an hour with the 5-way splitter on it. He ran a business selling fire wood.

 

[Iska3]

1+ What Steve said...

You're gonna find that it's cheaper to build a 3,000PSI machine with a 5" cylinder (29 tons) vs a 4" 5000PSI cylinder (31 tons), even if you could find a 5 K 2 stage pump, which you won't.

Also don't forget the extra HP needed to spin a higher pressure pump, which is just as easily used to run a higher flow, lower pressure system.

Any combination of pressure and area will get the desired tonnage, mine gets it done with a 7" cylinder and a low pressure vane pump.

 

[firebrick43]

The big problem with 5000psi and 40 gpm is it takes 137hp to get there. A 7inch cylinder at 5000psi is 192,422lbs of force. Why would anybody even need a 96ton splitter. If you are splitting 48in dia wood into 48 pieces at one time, then maybe a need for such tonnage. Otherwise, I call this whole project a total waste of time and money.

A 28gpm @3000 single stage pump will need a 58hp engine where as a 28gpm two stage pump takes 16hp. Just another case of wasting money

Don't forget 1" pressure hoses and 3" suction line!

 

[jarhead78]

Actually the pump I found is off a ih combine and it's a hydrostratic pump. But that's also why it's pressure is so high

 

[jarhead78]

Its

 

[jarhead78]

It's a 503 ih hydrostat pump connected to a 105hp straight six with a monster oil cooler and was not thinking of keeping it high pressure. But to use a regulator to knock it down to 3000 psi but use it because its a cheap reliable engine pump combo and because it pumps out 40 Tom at idle

 

[muddstopper]

I guess one just have to ask, Whats the goal here?
If the goal is to build the biggest, baddest, most expensive wood splitter in the world, than I say go for it. If you just need to split a little wood, I still say its a waste of money. A few more reasons not to go the high pressure route.

• Most splitter cylinders are not rated for 5000psi, most are only rated for 3500psi and would most likely burst or split if for some reason your idled down system was to experience a pressure spike. I assume your 7in cylinder came off a 5000psi system in its previous life, but if it didnt, you better be darn sure its rated for that kind of pressure before your build even starts.
• Most Splitter valves are not rated for 5000psi, and again the risk for damage is pretty high. High pressure is going to require much more expensive valves and plumbing than a 3000psi system. I suspect that once you purchase the 5000psi hoses and fitting, the cost will be almost equal to the cost of a factory made splitter. Recently I paid about $300 for one 30in long 5000psi #20 jic hose and a couple of 90* fitting. Your system will need several more ft and quite a few more fittings to complete your build.
• A 105hp engine is going to burn a ton more fuel than a Briggs, Kholer, Honda,etc. type of engine.
• Weight, when you get your high pressure splitter built, its going to take a semi to drag it around.
• Hbeam strenght, A 7inch bore at 3000psi is going to make around 58tons of splitting force, at 5000psi, it will generate 96 tons. If it really takes that much tonnage to split your wood, you are going to need a serious hbeam to prevent bending and twisting = more expense and more weight.

Poor people have poor ways. If you already have everything you need to build this monster of a splitter, then I would build it. But if you have to source the parts to complete the planned build, I really think this plan should be re-thought.

 

[jarhead78]

Honestly I do already have the engine and pump just sitting around. Also after talking to custom hydraulic hose guy. I am thinking of putting a regulator right after the pump to put it down in the 2500 to 3500 range. Not looking to blow anything or anyone away. But, the reason for building this is mainly because I already have the engine and pump. And was wanting to build a monster box wedge so that there isn't any resplitting. Plus, as a disabled usmc vet there is no way it can't be done. Its just going to be expensive. I believe all things can be done with time and money. Thats is why I am still able to see after loosing my left eye in 2010 and started chemo the same year. This august will mark 4 yrs of chemo straight. And believe me its hard to learn how to weld period. Let alone with triing to weld with only one eye and no depth perception.

 

[muddstopper]

I thank you for your service.

As for making this thing work, it is certainly doable, albeit might get expensive. Having the parts sitting around has led to many a interesting machine. The regulator behind the pump your guy is referring to is probably a pressure relief that would dump any excess oil pressure back to tank. This would work and certainly save you some money on other high pressure parts. . You will still need to overcome the 40gpm flow if you wish to use a regular log splitter valve. Most of those are rated for around 25gpm flow. Of course there are valves that do flow more than 25gpm, but they are also a lot more expensive. You didnt say what size or lenght rod your 7in cylinder has, but a 7in bore cyl with a 3in shaft and 24in stroke, at 40gpm will give you a cycle speed of around 11sec. Plenty fast enough and will keep a crew busy keeping the splitter fed. A mulit split wedge design sure makes fast work of a large wood pile. It does pose some challenges. Cookie cutter box wedges are notorious for causing binding issues when splitting. Multi, open wing wedges are a ,little easier on Hbeams and dont cause as much breakage. The open wing designs do leave big splits that need resplitting when doing large dia rounds. With a multi split wedge design, you most certainly want to make it adjustable and if possible, you might consider having more than just one wedge for different number of splits. Small dia wood, maybe a 4way wedge, large dia wood, a 6way, etc. For this reason it should be easily changed out.

If you want something ready to go, with a multi wedge and lots of power, I might be interested in a trade for your large engine and whatever other parts you might have laying around. My machine has a 5in borex24in cylinder, 6way adjustable wedge, 28gpm 2 stage pump, 25hp Kholer engine and a boom lift with winch for loading large rounds. 12 sec cycle time. My interest in a trade is simply I need a large hp engine for the processor I am building. If its something you would like to discuss, just send me a pm and we can swap contact info.