Splitter Ram/Cylinder Speed

[tnichols]

I have an Danuser 3 point hitch mouted splitter on my tractor. I have never used anything else. To me it seems a little slow. I was curious what the speed of your ram/cylinder is on these newer splitters. My ram travel is 28.5 inches. It takes it 22 seconds to go full travel, and 15 seconds to return. I'm interested in what your splitters are doing. I realize in my case, the ram speed is limited/dictated by the flow rate of the hydralic pump (GPM) of the tractor, in this case a JD 790 compact utility.

 

[darren_nh]

My "modified" Northstar splitter has a cycle time of just under 10 seconds.

 

[AKKAMAAN]

I have an Danuser 3 point hitch mouted splitter on my tractor. I have never used anything else. To me it seems a little slow. I was curious what the speed of your ram/cylinder is on these newer splitters. My ram travel is 28.5 inches. It takes it 22 seconds to go full travel, and 15 seconds to return. I'm interested in what your splitters are doing. I realize in my case, the ram speed is limited/dictated by the flow rate of the hydralic pump (GPM) of the tractor, in this case a JD 790 compact utility.

help is not far away....
What is the dimensions on your splitter cylinder?
28.5" stroke...OK.
Bore diam?
Rod diam?

Add a regenerative valve between the control valve and cylinder, that will make you cylinder "2-stage".....

it works like this , the valve connects the rod side with the capped side and adds flow for extension...

the valve looks like this in a detailed drawing....

It is made by Sun Hydraulics and you can read more about regeneration of flow in this pdf-file

The valve comes in a few different modifications depending on flow ratios etc....See this spec sheet....


Depending on bore and rod dimensions, your cylinder extension can get a real BOOST....maybe 4 times faster on low pressure....

 

[jerryw66]

I have just recently upgraded my splitter with a larger pump, the 28 gpm 2 stage haldex. My old pump would give me a cycle time of about 20 seconds or so, new pump with engine at 3600 rpm is about 7 sec. I think this is too fast for me and my kids, so I just idle it back a little, cycles of about 10-12 seconds seem nice to me. Your tractors pump will be your limit. You could find a pto pump, some of those are really big, should be able to figure it out if you already have the times, just figure out the volume of the cyl, (231 c.i. pr gallon)

 

[mga]

wait a sec....he's talking about using his PTO to power the splitter...entirely different set up.

from what i've read here in the forum, the pumps aren't that quick....true?

it's no comparison to a regular splitter.

right? wrong?

 

[SWI Don]

Just under 9 seconds round trip. 28gpm pump - 5 in cylinder.

A pto pump would speed things up a bunch. You would need to add a tank to the system also.

You can get PTO pumps up to 40 gpm if you have the HP to drive them. That is single stage gpm. The thing is that the common Prince ones are rated at 2250 psi so your tonnage isn't the same as some of the two stage engine driven setups. Depending on the age of the tractor, the pressure could be higher or lower. Older tractors had lower pressure hydraulics.

Don

 

[Steve NW WI]

790 specs from Tractordata.com link shows only 5.4GPM flow @ 2050PSI. That's definitely the holdup in this system. A PTO driven pump like This one (link) will double GPMs and run at a little (2250 psi) higher pressure. It isn't real cheap at close to $500, but it will double your speed, or run at a faster speed than you have now at lower tractor engine RPMs.

Edit: I just saw Don's response about the added tank for hydraulic oil. Your 790 only holds 4 gallons of hyd oil, I don't know if there is a cooler for the hyd, but if there is not, your oil's gotta be getting hot over long hours of splitting. Something else to consider.

 

[wkpoor]

My PTO unit is 6secs full cycle time on a 22GPM Prince pump. Even though pressure is said to be less than a comparable 2 stage it side beside comparisons it appears my single stage at 2000psi has more power then the 2500lb 2 stage w/same size cyl. Maybe the extra velocity helps get through the tough ones. Nice thing about the Prince pump is you won't have to run your tractor at full PTO speed to have good cycle times.

 

[wkpoor]

To add to this thread I don't like the idea of running a 3pt splitter off the tractor sytem. For one as you know they are slow and for the other I don't believe its designed for that kind of work as evident by the small amount of fluid in the reservior. I have a tank on mine that can hold 21gallons of oil. I typically use about half that but I can adjust according to the ambient temp.

 

[tnichols]

Thanks for the input gentleman. I like AKKAMAAN's idea and will get the cylinder specs when I get home from work. My Danuser unit is old (mfg. in 1977) and it does use the tractors hyd. system and pump, not a PTO driven pump. I was a bit concerned about heat realizing that the tractor system only holds about 4 gallon of hyd. fluid, yet in all the splitting I've done (sometimes up to 2 hrs. at a time) the hoses, valving, etc... don't even get warm to the touch, even in fall weather. Normal operation has me set the tractor RPM @ 1200 and split away. I like the fact that I can lower the unit right down to ground level for splitting large rounds of red oak for example (my poor mans lift) or I can have it up at waste level for splitting small rounds of limb wood. The other thing I like is it is small compact unit, meaning front wheel assist loader tractor, splitter, etc....I head into the timber with saws, chain, cable, etc... and can work up everthing right at the work area by myself. Thanks again for your help and insight. I'll keep you informed on what I do. I'd post pics of the unit, but I'm still learning how to get them off the digital camera and on to the internet.