Didier splitters

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Hi - wow....just registering was a chore since I only speak english:confused: Not that it matters but my father immigrated from the Netherlands when he was young but I never did pick up the language. Either way, I also just picked up a Didier 20 yesterday as was going thru it to find that the hydraulic pump shaft seal is leaking. I've read a lot of the thread an plan to take it to a shop since Didier is out of business but am interested in what documentation is avail for the unit. I did find info on engine but not on hydraulic pump. Seems like Wife'nHubby has a lot of info. Does anyone have documents/manuals on this unit? If so, please forward to [email protected]. Thx
 
Another Didier rebuilt and running!

I picked up an MF26 badged as a Montgomery Ward. I knew it needed attention.

Engine - the carb on the old Briggs was damaged beyond repair. Replaced the tired engine with a Harbor Freight 212cc for $99.99. New engine is quiet, starts beautifully, and runs excellent. This is the first HF engine I've used, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Discovered the love joy coupler was plenty hammered from years of work, so replaced it.

Cylinder - Found a local hydraulic shop that did a repack for $60. Had to search to find the little shop without the overhead of an inside sales team. The fancy shop wanted $150 for the same work. Replaced all the ATF in the machine with fresh ATF, as I had it on hand and it's said to work better in cold.

Reinstalled the cylinder today and fired it up and split some wood. First time this splitter has been run in years. :clap::clap::clap: Back in operation for under $200 in repairs.

Next is to raise it up, as it's way too low for my comfort. After that, a log lift for the big rounds.

Many thanks to Shari for the manuals and all who took the time to post about these old machines. It's all the splitter I need, without the high price tag.

One thing interesting about mine is a previous owner swapped the engine and hydraulic tank positions, making mine a mirror image of everyone elses. Seemed odd at first, but it puts the engine exhaust out the back, away from the operator. I'm assuming that's why it was done, and I left it like that.
 
Another one saved

Mill Wannabe...glad to hear of your good fortune and that you got the splitter up and running. I belong to a Troy-Bilt tiller forum and many guys are putting the HF engine on the TB Tiller, all with good things to say about the little engine.

My engine runs fine on my splitter, however, I need the cylinder rebuilt. Got to do that before another season.
Dave in SW Missouri
 
Thanks, Dave! I split with it for about 4 hours today, and it ran flawlessly. I am really impressed with the Didier and the HF engine.
 
Height above ground

The only problem I have with my splitter, other than the cylinder needing to be rebuilt, is the close proximity to the ground. I'm 6-4 and 70 years old, after running it for about an hour I almost need to crawl to the house. I hope to sit it on a small boat trailer I cut down to 4 x 8 ft length.

There is just not enough hours in the day to get all of this done.

I heat with a Earthstove by Lennox, which has by most standards a small firebox. So some of my wood was split with the old armstrong method, and it needs to be split again to make it easier to handle. Winter is predicted here for next week, so it may not all get done.
Dave in SW Missouri
 
The boat trailer idea should help. I have mine up on car ramps for now, but it's still too low. I'm working on a permanent arrangement to make it higher.
Wish I was closer to you, I'd be happy to help get you ready for winter.

Since you are further splitting already split pieces, what about setting up a table next to the splitter to give you a place to stack up the pieces to split? That might reduce all the bending and fetching of small pieces.

I know current thinking says the hydraulic tank is way too small on the Didier, but in my experience after four hours of splitting in 45 degree temps I can still lay my bare hand on the tank. I like that there is not 10 more gallons of expense and potential spill with the factory configuration.
 
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Tank size...

Mill...I never had any problem with the tank size, (that I know of) seems to work ok.

Weather is nice today, so I hope to get some things done, like the floor on the trailer. I think I can sit the work area just ahead of the left trailer wheel toward the front of the trailer and have plenty of room. I may need to take the wheels off the splitter and sit it directly on the floor of the trailer.

Also have a TroyBilt Horse III tiller in rebuild mode. Stripped it down and degreasing now, when it get warm enough paint it and put in some new grease seals.

Always something...

Dave in SW Missouri
 
Baby Didier (CB-19) having issues

I inherited the baby didier, from the list it appear to be the 7 Ton CB-19. It was my Dad's, he used it for 20 years, then when he passed away 8 years ago my Mom needed the money and sold it to some friends of mine. Well, last summer my friends happened to mention that they had no further need of it, so to have something of my Dad's, I bought it from them. It may be the baby, but this baby can really split some wood. Well, my Son and I were spitting up some oak a few weeks ago and it started exhibiting some odd behavior. It will start up, run for about five minutes, then after those five minutes it chokes up and dies. This is turning out to be a consistent behavior, runs for about 5 minutes, about enough time to split one or two log then it died, and it won't start up for about a half hour, until it's good and cool.

Can anyone help me...

I've done the obvious things, cleaned the spark plug, changed the spark plug for a new one. Filter is clean, oil is full (I don't know if this has a shut off on it for low oil, doubt it) This afternoon I got it running and split up a couple of logs and when, like clockwork, it died, I did something my Dad taught me, I pulled the spark plug connected it to the wire, grounded it to the crankcase and pulled on the cord....no spark.

Now I'm thinking points? Magneto? Condensor? I've got the know how to take off a flywheel and get to them, but I'm not sure what to try first, seems like I recall engines loosing spark when heated up, maybe the condensor is breaking down....

Am I going down the right road here, or running up a blind alley. Any guidance from you pro's would be very much appreciated...I have a few free days to work on it during the holidays. I've got about a cord of Oak left to split and it sure is slow doing it one or two logs at a time. But, more importantly, I spent a lot of time with my Dad before he died using this machine together, so when I use it I feel close to him, that is the real reason I must fix it.

Thanks

If I do this right maybe I can show you a picture of it. If you look closely, my Dad added a return mechanism that holds the control handle in return mode so you don't have the stand there and hold it. It automatically releases when it reaches home position. He had great engineering skills for someone who never had anything beyond high school.

View attachment 269077View attachment 269078
 
Now I'm thinking points? Magneto? Condensor? I've got the know how to take off a flywheel and get to them, but I'm not sure what to try first, seems like I recall engines loosing spark when heated up, maybe the condensor is breaking down....

DB that would be my first thought. I think the points and condenser will be under the flywheel on this model. Take that off to get into them and get a replacement kit from your small engine parts folks. These are common repair kits. I just went thru that with a Cub Cadet with a 14 hp engine. The first coil I bought would last a little while and then the engine would miss like crazy. A new coil stopped all that. In the base of the tune up kit for the B&S engine I doubt that it would cost much more than $10 to $15 and it should run like a top again.

Let us know what develops.
Dave in SW Missouri
 
The best thing you could do is replace the motor with a Harbor Freight 6.5 hp which can be found in sale for $99. Its been real reliable. Had to replace carb due to bad fuel issues for $14 shipped. It was much easier to put the new carb on than rebuild the one that came with it. Parts are very easy to get.
 
I opened it up and found a bunch of water dripping out of it. While I've got it open I've ordered a rebuild kit that includes the condenser and point for $10. Replacing the whole engine is a bit more then I really want to put into it at this time, though it's amazing a new engine can be had for $99.
Here are the point's once I opened it up. There was this brown piece of something inside the compartment when I opened it, I now think it was a piece of gasket from a tube. Did these engines ever have a gasket to protected the points from getting wet? It would make more sense to have the wires come in from the bottom and have the top completely sealed. There isn't a wire that goes from the cover to the points is there?

View attachment 269247
 
I agree with swapping out the motor for a HF motor. However if your changing points on motor you already have. You should swap out the points with a electronic ignigtion conversion , it isn't any more money and it is much more dependable. You can get it wherever you can get small engine parts , just take model number and ask for it. You will be happier with it.
 
I had no idea something like that even existed...are they available of the internet? Would it install in the same place that the points do and run off the crankshaft came? That sound's like such a great idea...
 
Yes it should be avaiable online. Just have the model number when ordering. I will bolt directly to the spot where the point pickup goes no alterations are required and you won't need condenser either. Works much better than points. Make sure you clean the flywheel pickups before you reinstall it.
 
I see one in amazon for 35$ (is this a fair price?):

Briggs & Stratton 397358 Ignition Coil For 5 HP Horizontal and Vertical, 550 Series Engines

Are there different models of the 5 HP b&S engines? All I know is mine is a 5 HP. Where would I find identifying information, this is pretty old and not much is readable on it...see my picture above.

I looked very closely at the engine do not see any identifying marks, I think it has been painted (no, brown is the original color) over given the strange color of this thing. I can see the serial number and the model number, and I do have the manual which says the Briggs is a 4 cycle model no. 130202 - Type 0801. The manual does confirm that it is a 5HP. Where would the engine Identifying information be?
 
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