Question about new homemade splitter.

[dustytools]

Recently I posted pics of the splitter that me and my BIL built. I was advised by a few members to relocate my filter to the return side of the tank. My BIL moved the filter over between the valve and tank and now we have hit a bug. It still pushes the cylinder out really good but when you return the cylinder in it bogs the engine and moves in at a very slow speed. It acts as if the filter is restricting the flow pretty bad. Anyone have any ideas as to what might be the problem? Thanks, Terry.

 

[mga]

the filter body has a directional valve in it. this is a bypass valve in case the filter gets plugged.

be positive that you have it installed correctly.

 

[leon]

log splitter et.al.

Recently I posted pics of the splitter that me and my BIL built. I was advised by a few members to relocate my filter to the return side of the tank. My BIL moved the filter over between the valve and tank and now we have hit a bug. It still pushes the cylinder out really good but when you return the cylinder in it bogs the engine and moves in at a very slow speed. It acts as if the filter is restricting the flow pretty bad. Anyone have any ideas as to what might be the problem? Thanks, Terry.

How many micron is the filter rated for (10, 20 30, 50)?, is it a spin on cartridge or does it have a metal screen in a metal canister with a long bolt holding it together from the bottom?


1. If the filter has a bypass valve in it as many spin on cartridge filter have it will behave as you mentioned.

The return from the valve body to the tank is always the low pressure(high volume) end of the flow.

2. Do you have the proper size of filter(meaning properly sized for the pumps flow rate)?

2a. Are the oil in and oil out ports the same size as the return side of the valve body-if not you have big problems from restrited flow. The only time you have lower flow to a circuit is when that circuit is doing work!



3. Last but not at all the least- is it possible the filter housing is backwards? as this also sounds like a possibility.

I do not want to rain on your parade but the last thing you need is for your system to blow up at the filter under pressure and high temp etc.
Nasty stuff, been there, done that, smacked with oil under pressure from failed hoses on mining equipment and we had an improperly rebuilt hydraulic tester that nearly killed a coworker so many years ago-fool rebuilders re-labeled the pressure and dump ports wrong after rebuilding it and the injury nearly killed him.



: :jawdrop:

:agree2: opcorn: opcorn:

 

[dustytools]

The filter is rated for 20 GPM and the pump is a 16 GPM pump. The filter housing does have a directional flow which is installed with the arrow towards the tank. It is a screw on type filter. The in and out ports on the valve body are the same size. I will get the BIL to chime in here in a little while to give his input as well. Thanks.

 

[dustytools]

Also, we didnt have any problems with restriction on the return side until the filter was installed. The return line size is consistent all of the way from the valve to the tank. Thanks again!

 

[constructionman]

wood splitter

dustytools BIL chiming in. When we had the filter on the suction side, everything was working great. The filter was the moved to the return side and things slowed down. The engine is bogging down real bad when the piston is on the return stroke. Before the filter was moved, the piston flew back. We are using the same hoses now as we were before the change. The only difference is the location of the filter. I am going to take the filter out of the system and see what happens. I just don't understand why the filter would be doing it because we have a 16gpm pump, and the filter is a 20gpm from tsc. I haven't checked, but it may be from China.

 

[mga]

dustytools BIL chiming in. When we had the filter on the suction side, everything was working great. The filter was the moved to the return side and things slowed down. The engine is bogging down real bad when the piston is on the return stroke. Before the filter was moved, the piston flew back. We are using the same hoses now as we were before the change. The only difference is the location of the filter. I am going to take the filter out of the system and see what happens. I just don't understand why the filter would be doing it because we have a 16gpm pump, and the filter is a 20gpm from tsc. I haven't checked, but it may be from China.

interesting problem.

this is the same filter you had on the suction side?

if, so, i would check to be sure that:

1. the by-pass valve is working (you can check this by manually moving it)

2. that the filter itself is clean and not plugged up. the suction could have distorted it, or, the suction was go great, that the oil was being sucked thru the by-pass valve...which is why it "worked" before.

keep in mind, you were trying to suck a high volume of oil thru a micron filter...aint gonna happen.

i was just reading about filters....and, unless you have a filter designed for the suction line or even the hi-pressure line, you're asking for trouble. a filter on the suction isn't recommended by anyone.

 

[constructionman]

homemade woodsplitter

The filter does have a built in bypass at 15 psi. Have not pulled it apart yet to check. When I put the filter back on the housing after moving it, I looked inside of the filter and it looked as good as new. I will check the bypass tomorrow night if it is not raining.

 

[mga]

The filter does have a built in bypass at 15 psi. Have not pulled it apart yet to check. When I put the filter back on the housing after moving it, I looked inside of the filter and it looked as good as new. I will check the bypass tomorrow night if it is not raining.

let us know how you made out. a new cartridge is only a couple of bucks....maybe trying a new one might give different results.

 

[Lloyd H]

filter slow down

Keep in mind the 16 gallon pump is filling the rod side of the cylinder on the return stroke, the filter sees the flow rate from the back side of the cylinder. The back side displaces a larger amount of fluid than the rod side. During the return stroke the filter flow rate might well be exceeded.

 

[Jkebxjunke]

how bout if you put a pressure gauge before the filter.. that would definitely tell if it is backing up there... interesting point on the filter being overwhelmed... how would you fix that? larger gpm filter or maybe putting 2 in parallel?
just thinking out loud

 

[triptester]

It is highly unlikely that the filter in itself is causing the problem. The filter cannot withstand pressures that would bog the engine without bursting.

I would consider looking for some sort of obstruction in the return line or valve such as, hardened pipe dope or teflon tape that may have gotten into the system during the filter relocation. There is also a possibility of ply separation in the hydraulic hose that causes blockage on the inside ,like hardening of the arteries.

 

[skid row]

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=66269&d=1204477041

I had a problem last yeat with the bypass valve from the filter head failing and clogging the hydraulic line. Would not hurt to check it out by removing the cartridge and looking up inside the filter head.

The spring and valve were stuck in an elbow in the return side. I replaced the head and cartridge with a larger capacity unit from surplus center. Made in the USA and inexpensive.
As the others have said it is not reccomended to use a pleated paper cartridge on the suction side.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[drmiller100]

like the man said, remove the filter entirely for a few minutes, and troubleshoot.

like the other man said, 16 gpm plus displacement of the rod on return will equal more then 20 gpm.

like the first man of all said, filter on the suction side of the pump, where it used to be, is a disaster in the making.

 

[dustytools]

Thanks for all of the input. Were gonna troubleshoot with all of the ideas given in here this weekend. First thing will be to replace the filter to see if it was damaged or clogged. It will not be going back on the supply side but we are gonna remove it for a test run to see how it works without it just as part of the troubleshooting process. Ill post the results. Thanks again for all of the input.

 

[constructionman]

homemade woodsplitter

Tried a few things this evening. Removed filter from system entirely and everything worked fine. Reinstalled filter plate with new filter and everthing looks good. Appreciate all the help.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Tried a few things this evening. Removed filter from system entirely and everything worked fine. Reinstalled filter plate with new filter and everthing looks good. Appreciate all the help.

Filters love to choke (1) engines and (2) hydraulic systems. Amazing, isn't it? :censored:

 

[kevin j]

I would not be comfortable that the problem is over.

If the filter had collapsed and plugged the line, the bypass element inside the head should have opened at maybe 25 to 50 psi. Apparently that didn't happen.

So, is the bypass valve in place, or stuck, or too small?

I work in a different environment though, so might be easier to just run it and see if it surfaces again.

k

 

[Andyshine77]

a filter on the suction isn't recommended by anyone.

Why is having the filter on the intake side of the pump a bad idea? I ask this question because my Huskee/Speeco splitter has the filter mounted on the intake side of the pump, and from what I've seen all Speeco splitters are set up this way.

 

[Mike Van]

Andy, I'm pretty sure it's because if the filter plugs, there's a chance of the pump not being able to suck enough oil. Sounds like Speeco isn't worried about that though? One more thing about filters - My Didier will be 30 years old next year, at the least est. it's done 300 full cord, the highest est. would be around 450 full cord. No filter, not even a suction strainer. Same pump, same ram. I did change the seal on the shaft of the pump a few years ago, but thats it.