Back in 80-82 dad and I built a wood splitter... one of the first around here.. anyway man its heavy.. I think its made from 10 in H beam with 1/2 or 3/8 flange thickness.. it will strain you to hook it up to the truck..lol.. well anyway it has been sitting for 10 -15 years and i'm wanting to re vamp it.. would like to made a 35-40 ton splitter.. IIRC it has a 2 stage 11 gpm pump.. no cylinder no motor and the valve is frozen I think.. I have a 12-14 hp vertical electric start briggs i'm going to use on it.. what cylinder, pump, and valve do you all reccomend? like everyone i'm looking for high cycle time and plenty of ump.. it has the splitting wedge welded to the end and had a pushing block on the cylinder.. thanks!
Questions on reworking my splitter
- Thread starter blkcloud
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Well your power comes from cylinder size and motor size, speed comes from cylinder size and pump. That being said, you are going to have to give up one or the other (in my little knowledge).
Now what I mean is, if you want power with say a 5" bore cyl. and a 28 gpm pump and say an 18 hp engine you will have a good balance of power and speed.
Check here for calculators of cylinders etc. http://www.baumhydraulics.com/calculators/cyl_calc.htm
I know there are people much more knowledgeable than myself but this is my understanding of the basics.
I have a 4" cyl, 22 gpm pump and 11 hp motor, it is as fast as I will ever need and has plenty of power to split everything I have thrown at it to date (which is quite a lot of big oak, maple and yellow birch) If it's too knotty I take the 4 way off and work my way around the piece instead of going right down the middle.
good luck,
dave
Now what I mean is, if you want power with say a 5" bore cyl. and a 28 gpm pump and say an 18 hp engine you will have a good balance of power and speed.
Check here for calculators of cylinders etc. http://www.baumhydraulics.com/calculators/cyl_calc.htm
I know there are people much more knowledgeable than myself but this is my understanding of the basics.
I have a 4" cyl, 22 gpm pump and 11 hp motor, it is as fast as I will ever need and has plenty of power to split everything I have thrown at it to date (which is quite a lot of big oak, maple and yellow birch) If it's too knotty I take the 4 way off and work my way around the piece instead of going right down the middle.
good luck,
dave
luckydozenfarm
THE MAN OF STIHL
Well are you going to run a 4 way or standard wedge?
If I was to build my "perfect" 2 way splitter I would run a 4" cylinder, 12 hp motor, 16 gpm pump, 20 gal reservoir, a Prince 25 GPM auto-return detent valve. That's good for about <9 sec cycle time and would get through 99% of the wood you throw at it.
If I went with a 4 way wedge or had tougher wood to split, I would prefer a 5" cylinder, same 12 hp motor, 22 GPM pump and a 25 gal reservoir. Still good for a <9 sec cycle time, but way more power. I find that as an experienced wood splitter guy cycle times greater that 10 seconds are way too slow.
An 11 or 13 GPM pump is a waste of time in my opinion. Since you already have the engine you will be glad you got a bigger pump. But you have to make sure you are somewhat close to the 1 gal reservoir per GPM if you are going to be splitting all day with it.
If I was to build my "perfect" 2 way splitter I would run a 4" cylinder, 12 hp motor, 16 gpm pump, 20 gal reservoir, a Prince 25 GPM auto-return detent valve. That's good for about <9 sec cycle time and would get through 99% of the wood you throw at it.
If I went with a 4 way wedge or had tougher wood to split, I would prefer a 5" cylinder, same 12 hp motor, 22 GPM pump and a 25 gal reservoir. Still good for a <9 sec cycle time, but way more power. I find that as an experienced wood splitter guy cycle times greater that 10 seconds are way too slow.
An 11 or 13 GPM pump is a waste of time in my opinion. Since you already have the engine you will be glad you got a bigger pump. But you have to make sure you are somewhat close to the 1 gal reservoir per GPM if you are going to be splitting all day with it.
A "true" 35-40 ton splitter build is going to take some serious hardware. You actually want a low cycle time not high cycle time. I'm building a 16hp/22gpm pump, 5x24cyl with single and 4way wedge on the beam. This should produce a "true" 25ton at 3000psi. Wiith your 12/14hp briggs go to a 16gpm pump, 4x24 cyl and that thing will move (9.1sec cyclle time)and still have plenty of ump (true 18ton at 3000psii)
Brian
Brian
nathon918
Addicted to ArboristSite
more like 29 ton with a 5" cylinder @ 3000 psi...
id say stay with a 5" cylinder, theyre plenty stong enough, to be able to get 35-40 ton you would need a 6" cylinder, and that would slow things way down, unless you went large motor/pump/hoses/valve which are quite spendy... i have over 900 in hoses alone on my splitter with a 28gpm pump...
$900 worth of hoses??
they are spendy if you need lots of adaptors plus you need larger size hoses for 28gpm.
ponyexpress976
nipple fritters
I'd go with the slightly slower cycle to have more power and run a 4 way. To speed the process up, use an auto-cycle valve setup so you don't have to stand there holding a lever...you can be off doing more important things like getting the next round.
nathon918
Addicted to ArboristSite
adapters are CHEAP, its the hoses and crimp fittings that are insanely over priced...
the $900 was after the manager changed the list price, and also took off $250 from the total (i know the manager) even he agrees that ANYTHING hydraulic related is wayyy over priced...
now im running all JIC fittings, also pressure hose on the returns, with 2 seperate valves so thats an additional return line and a "power beyond" hose,
im sure if i only had (1) 2 spool valve and all NPT fittings it would be a bit less...
Cylinder- bulk of them are 1/2" ports, speed is some what dependent on how fast you can fill and empty either side of cylinder, so if that is main goal find a cylinder with 3/4" ports. Pricy but are available. Most of the valves are available in 3/4" work ports. Plus side here is no restrictions that cause heat build up, and not having to buy/use size adapters. Try to stay away from 90 deg fittings , use 45 deg, and also use the high flow ones. Northern tool has hoses in stock lengths all ready made up, unless they jacked up pricing they were decently priced.
luckydozenfarm
THE MAN OF STIHL
Blades...if you ever find a link to a 3/4" port 4"x24"x1.75" cylinder that would fit a Speeco let me know. Seems all I can find are 1/2" ports. I've been told that any pump over 16GPM wouldn't be any faster until you get 3/4" ports and I would love to get another second or two out of this machine of mine
nathon918
Addicted to ArboristSite
take youre cylinder to a hydraulic or welding shop and have em cut the 1/2" ports out and weld 3/4" or 1" ports on...
just have drill down the cylinder suppliers lists or call and ask which is less time consuming, but you need to know the type of fitting to be used
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