Tol_nut
I have been making stuff 55 yrs putting things together with what I had on hand but don't be blinded by getting something for nothing. If you do put it on your PTO it will work however you will be running a tractor gas,oil,ware and tear no good.If this is the way you want to go save up for a PTO pump made for that use and can be used for anything hydraulic for your tractor. Check them out more GPM and plenty of PSI to run a splitter or whatever else.
That being said I would go for a small gas engion an a 16 GPM two stage pump (I've got an 8HP briggs from a gen. that crapped out & 16 GPM 2 stage pump) got new for $150 and 4 1/2 piston not super fast but splits everything I ask it to. The pay off is only gonna use about 1 gal. fuel for a days work and unit will be compacked
and pay for itself in the long run. Beleive me a lot less work and pain I know been there done that just an old fool.
Whitepine2
Thanks for your feedback whitepine!
I think I have both eyes open. I did check out commercial PTO pumps and I agree they have sufficient GPM and PSI, but they cost at least $300, may not be US made at that price, and I believe I can make this pump work very reliably for less than that. I agree that running a splitter from my tractor PTO will result in additional tractor wear and tear and cost a lot more for diesel fuel than running a small engine would cost for gasoline. However, the tractor burns less than 1.5 gallons per hour when the engine is running at 2450 RPM to maintain 540 PTO RPM, and I can split a lot of wood in an hour. In addition, since this splitter may work fine at less than full PTO RPM, 1.5 gallons per hour represents the maximum fuel cost.
I bought my tractor used 20 years ago and it owes me nothing. I bought it to use it, I've used it hard and I intend to continue using it hard. I've never abused it and have carefully maintained it, so it has done all I've ever required of it. Just last fall I used it to move two triaxle loads of crushed rock out of my driveway for a workshop addition project. I also used it for over ten years to keep 3 acres of grass mowed (at 1.5 gallons per hour) and plow my driveway. I've also used it for logging and firewood gathering. The only other hydraulic implement I ever imagined using on this tractor was a backhoe attachment, but now that I have a neighbor and good friend with a big old IH backhoe loader I can use whenever I want, so I'm no longer considering obtaining a backhoe attachment. In addition, if I can design this chain drive to reflect what I currently have in mind, I could possibly use it separately from the splitter just like a commercial PTO pump, if I decide to mount the reservoir on the back of the tractor.
Let's see, I own two chainsaws, a hedge trimmer, a string trimmer, a pressure washer, a garden tractor, a hand mower, a military surplus diesel generator...my point is that there is a trade-off between the cost and effort required to maintain all these small engines and the cost of tractor wear and tear, maintenance and fuel.
Stan