Caddigger powering a wood splitter?

[valleydweller1]

Hi all,

I am about to take delivery of a Caddigger 728, it's a trailer-mounted BH a friend of mine built years ago. It's in good shape, he's a good welder/fabricator, it's a great deal. Power is an 8hp B&S engine.

Another friend of mine suggested I could build a firewood splitter and power it off of the BH. It would have to be some sort of a quick connect/disconnect system of course, but would this be doable?

Caddigger page:

CadPlans Corporation - Where you can find designs, tips and order information to build your own backhoes, diggers and MORE!

Greg

[woodlandfarms]

What is going to be important to know is the hydraulic spec s (GPM and PSI) of this system.

On paper it seems quite doable.

Carl

[rdbrumfield]

Just check out the speed of the bh cylinders. You will most likely use a cyl a bit larger for woodsplitting. figure the difference in displacement and you will know if it is fast enough for your needs. Might put a guage on the pressure line and stall it out to see what kind of pressure that briggs is putting out.
I might add that I am just rebuilding mine. have been running it of the tractor pto. i cameacross a 25hp V-twin kohler and I had a dumptruck hyd pump lying around. I have it mounted, just some plumbing to make. I am sure that the cyl will pick some speed. would be nice to put out a couple of cords an hour.

[Diamondpilot]

Just to give you a idea, my tractor has a 7 gal per minute pump at 2200rpm and 2250psi hydraulic system. I run my 3 point log splitter with a 4" x 24" stroke cylinder and it does great. It has not ever had a bit of trouble splitting a log. I just set the throttle on my tractor at around 1200-1400 rpms and it has all the power I would ever need.

Chris

[Brad_Blazer]

What they said. If it's a single stage pump it won't cycle as fast as a splitter with the same motor and a 2-stage pump. I am in the same situation as Chris. I bought my splitter from Northern Tool last year when they were on sale for $400. It works fine at half throttle 3-4gpm just not as fast of a cycle as a splitter with a 2-stage pump.
The regular price of $530 for this splitter might be a good reference as you are pricing parts.
NorthStar 3-Point Horizontal Log Splitter | Log Splitters | Northern Tool + Equipment

Brad

[valleydweller1]

Originally Posted by Brad_Blazer

What they said. If it's a single stage pump it won't cycle as fast as a splitter with the same motor and a 2-stage pump. I am in the same situation as Chris. I bought my splitter from Northern Tool last year when they were on sale for $400. It works fine at half throttle 3-4gpm just not as fast of a cycle as a splitter with a 2-stage pump.
The regular price of $530 for this splitter might be a good reference as you are pricing parts.
NorthStar 3-Point Horizontal Log Splitter | Log Splitters | Northern Tool + Equipment

Brad

Thanks Brad, that is what I was using for comparison pricing. I might be getting a new tractor with rear remotes, so we'll see what happens!

Greg

[patrick_g]

Originally Posted by valleydweller1

Thanks Brad, that is what I was using for comparison pricing. I might be getting a new tractor with rear remotes, so we'll see what happens!

Greg

Greg, CadPlans (or was it Metkit?) has plans for a splitter which "borrows" a cylinder from a digger. So not only is your idea doable, it has been and is being done and is available as plans or as a kit to any degree of completeness.

Metkit is the CadPlans affiliate that supplies kits to build from CadPlans without the hassle of runing around digging up parts. They will supply as much or as little of the materials as you like.

Pat

[dfkrug]

VALLEYDWELLER:

I built the CADDigger 728 a long time ago (you can see it in my avatar).
If the guy who built yours followed the plans, he used the 3600RPM
sgl stage pump to deliver about 3.5-4GPM to his 3" cylinders. Builders
were advised to keep the pressure relief at 1500psi. At that flow rate,
the cyls moved a bit slow, but it worked. If you use bigger cyls on your
splitter, it will be too slow, as BRAD states. Also, a proper splitter valve
will detent in one position, then automatically snap back to neutral when
the cyl reaches the end of its travel. If you increase the pressure
relief on your splitter valve, your motor may not be able to deliver that
volume and bog down under load.

But, yes, it is doable.