have some questions about my wood splitter

[IdahoPanhandle]

My first post! Ive been reading the forum for some time, but did not register until recently.

Anyhow, Ive got a couple of questions about my wood splitter. It is an old unit, probably originally built in the 60's, and has been in my family it's entire life. It became "mine" last fall, it was in TERRIBLE shape, and last winter I took the time to bring it back.

I stripped it down, cleaned it up, painted it, replaced a few hydraulic lines, and threw a fresh 5hp Honda on it. It does fantastic. From looking at other, similar splitters Im assuming it is in the 15-20 ton range. Does this seem about right?

I do have some concerns though. After a good run (30+ minutes of nonstop use) the fluid, lines, and cylinder get very hot. Can I install a hydraulic oil cooler on it? If so, which line would I install it in-line with?

Also, would it benefit from a fluid filter? Similarly, which line would that be installed into?

Thanks for any help.

here are some photos of said splitter:

 

[mga]

nice looking splitter.

some of the guys here have posted that using 90's on the lines cause heat. maybe changing them to something less might help with the heat.

what size oil tank do you have on there?

 

[IdahoPanhandle]

Im not certain about the volume of the tank. I do seem to remember it taking roughly 1 gallon of fluid though, maybe more.

 

[boostnut]

That is an old Didier Mfg. splitter, I have one myself. There are 2 major problems with the original design, one being the tank volume (that tank is a joke) the other being the working height. I've seen other Didier owners use a 20 pound propane tank in place of the original gas-tank sized unit. The additional volume will solve your problem. I took things a little further. These pictures are of mine after a major overhaul. I now have 5 gallons of fluid (about 8 gallons total capacity) and even in the summer the lines and cylinder are only warm the the touch after an hour of non-stop work.

Edit: I have a question for you. Does your splitter valve have a detent on the return stroke? I have to hold the handle during the return stroke, that really doesn't help to speed up the process.

 

[IdahoPanhandle]

Thanks for identifying it. I had assumed it was home-built.

And VERY nice conversion!

I too have to hold the valve to return. It does slow things down a bit, bit I have learned to do more with my left hand and knee, when the right hand is busy with the valve.

I have not found the work height to be a problem. And with the weight of some of the rounds I toss on it, Im glad it isnt any taller. A conversion like you have done to make it double as a vertical splitter is probably ideal.

Thanks for the tips on the tank size.

Any tips on the filter setup?

 

[boostnut]

The filter goes on the return side. Got mine at surpluscenter.com Good luck!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

That is an old Didier Mfg. splitter, I have one myself. There are 2 major problems with the original design, one being the tank volume (that tank is a joke) the other being the working height. I've seen other Didier owners use a 20 pound propane tank in place of the original gas-tank sized unit. The additional volume will solve your problem. I took things a little further. These pictures are of mine after a major overhaul. I now have 5 gallons of fluid (about 8 gallons total capacity) and even in the summer the lines and cylinder are only warm the the touch after an hour of non-stop work.

Very nice conversion! Looks like you basically built a new one using the old beam assembly, pump, and engine!

I see some nice upgrades there.

 

[boostnut]

Turned out alright for my first attempt. Made the 2nd biggest upgrade a couple months ago (not pictured). I scrapped the 'ol B&S for a Honda. The difference is night and day. More power, half of the noise, no longer have to keep a can of either around, i could go on and on. They sure make a nice product.

 

[IdahoPanhandle]

The honda's are very nice. I did a good deal of homework before I sprung for that brand new 5hp OHC honda. I couldnt be happier. Much quieter than the briggs, and WAY easier to start. This one happens to be a "go-cart" style engine, and was lacking in the throttle control department, but I made it work with a few simple modifications.

Cold, it always starts on the 3rd pull choked... even without a prime.

What size honda did you go with?

 

[turnkey4099]

Very nice rehab job. Couple comments.

The valve - a replacement valve with no detent is not all that spendy. Once you do it, you will cuss yourself for not having done it earlier. I built mine with a detent and replaced the valve about the 3rd time I used it.

Height - any work/cost done to raise it up to about mid thigh height is worth it. It took me 20 years before I did it and I wonder why I waited so long.

In/out feed tables - also well worth installing. Again, I waited 20 years before I did it and wonder why it took so long for the light to dawn.

Harry K

 

[ulyssesjones]

The unit I had been borrowing for the last several years was a lot like yours. Pretty much laid flat on the ground. I must say that I did appreciate that when I had large logs. Just roll them on the beam and split. I put a log next to the splitter and sat on my butt for most of the day as well. Nice and lazy. As for the auto return, I found that the simplest and least expensive way to go was a bungee cord. It looked hillbilly but it was effective.


Jones

 

[cityevader]

I just got my first splitter, 9hp, 30 ton, 4 gallon reservoir, and am similarly concerned with high heat. I keep burning my calf on the pump, as the poorly placed setup has me leaning over everything hot to reach the controls. I have a bunch of brand new transmission oil coolers I was thinking of using.

First concern was flow rate, as they only have 1/2 inch tubing. So I figure i'd need to have at least five coolers running in parallel to equal the one inch return line diameter, necessitaing a fabbing up a manifold to split it into 5 lines and again back down to one. Whew, a lot of work!

But then I got to thinking: being a Ford mechanic, investigation of a late model pickup transmission (just a hydraulic pump) revealed that it has a bypass valve for the cooler that doesn't even open until 180*F. That's 3rd degree burns hot, considering max water temp we can safety yet painfully endure is 110-115*F!
So if that pump has a "thermostat" that wants such a high temp, and it uses the same MerconV fluid my splitter does, then I figure it's not worth the trouble to cool it.

BUT!! I'm still not liking avoiding touching everything so much! So I'll make a simple sheild to keep my right calf from direct contact with pump. I can more easily avoid everything else.

 

[triptester]

An auto or truck trans may be a hydraulic system but it is designed to run at higher temps. The hydraulics on a splitter are not designed for theses high temps. 180 degrees is normally considered the high danger point. A 4 gallon tank is way small by most standards. 9hp. 30ton splitter usually has at least a 16 gpm pump that requires 8 to 16 gallon reservoir for proper cooling.

 

[zanderson]

looks like a good splitter. its good to see another Idaho guy on the forum- we're in Fruitland. R U a vandals fan? I bleed orange and blue myself, was thinking about going up the idaho game this year...

 

[cityevader]

An auto or truck trans may be a hydraulic system but it is designed to run at higher temps. The hydraulics on a splitter are not designed for theses high temps. 180 degrees is normally considered the high danger point. A 4 gallon tank is way small by most standards. 9hp. 30ton splitter usually has at least a 16 gpm pump that requires 8 to 16 gallon reservoir for proper cooling.

Holy cow!!
Guess I need to do a bit more googling on this!
I'm looking at the size of my 5 gallon home-made-beer fermenting, and can't imagine three of those on my splitter! (Of course, not literally, because beer's prolly not a good hydraulic fluid)