A $300 experiment

[Patrick62]

The critter splitter, possible upgrade.
It has a 15 HP Kohler engine on it, and I run at 8000 ft elevation. 3 1/2 percent per thousand feet gives 28% less power up here. That means that the engine is capable of 10.8 HP (call it 11)

The pump currently is a 16 GPM, and the cylinder is a 5 inch.
Kinda slow, but it will split anything. Now the expensive experiment.

You guys keep bantering the 1/2 HP per GPM on these things. Does that work out if I don't run it at 3600? Say maybe 3000 which is closer to where I actually set the throttle?? If so then.... maybe a 22 gpm pump could be run on this machine giving 18-19 GPM at 3000 RPM. Which is 9-10 HP. Nothing to spare, but maximum usage of available HP.

Open to suggestions on this one. I think it might work and get me some speed on the thing. I already know that I would have to upgrade to 3/4 hoses instead of the 1/2 that I have!

-Pat :monkey:

 

[ray benson]

22 gpm pump -it is recommended to use a 12 hp motor. Pump is over $350. I would err on the side of too much hp rather than not enough.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2007041423000527&item=9-4896&catname=hydraulic

 

[ASEMASTER]

time

is the cost of the slight improvment worth the little time that you would same, many times a slow steady pace will get you further. or go to an electric motor the elivation wouldn't efect it.

 

[triptester]

The 22 gpm pump will probably work fine with your motor. With your 5" cylinder the pump pressures should stay under 1500 psi the majority of the time.
The pump shows the max. operating as 3600 rpm, 3000 psi ,22 gpm .Although RPM's can be held consistent ,pressure will fluctuate according to resistance, and gpm will change at about 600 psi dropping to 5.5 gpm.
One thing to remember is that hydraulic pumps displace cubic inches of fluid per revolution the slower the pump turns the less GPM produced. At 3/4 throttle a 16 GPM pump will only produce 12 GPM at low pressures. A 22 GPM pump at 3/4 throttle will only produce 17 GPM.
I would first run the motor at full throttle to see if cycle times are adequate. If not 22 gpm 2-stage pumps can be found on Ebay for $260. plus shipping.

 

[drmiller100]

be sure we are all talking 2 stage pumps here.

a 10 horse engine can only push 5 gpm at 3000 psi, max.

however, the 2 stage pumps let you run that same 10 horse engine at 20 gpm, depending on the pump.

 

[Patrick62]

I can clarify a little

electric isn't a option. My land is "off grid". that means running a honkin' big generator. Second the splitter moves... Under it's own power!

I not being the expert I think the 5 inch cylinder is both a blessing and a curse. Yep, it rarely slips into creeper mode now. It does when a knot, or maybe splitting larger green. Otherwise it simply plods along. The extra speed would be nice as I do process a fair amount of wood per year. Last year I split close to 50 cords with this machine.

The only other option was to change out the cylinder for a 4 inch and crank the pressure up to maintain tonnage. I think changing a pump and a few hoses is a lot better choice.

Thanks for the thoughts on this, I think that when I can find the extra ca$h I will go for it. And yes I have run the 16 gpm at full throttle and the speed is lots better but the engine would not live long that way, and uses fuel faster.

Thanks again
-pat

 

[triptester]

These small engines are designed to run at full throttle. Attempting to raise the pump pressure may well damage some of the hydraulic components as they are designed for 3000 psi max.

With 16 gpm and larger pumps using 3/4" hoses helps move the fluid quicker.