Log slitter- 2.75 vs 3.5 vs 4 inch cylinders

[upnorth21]

Morning all, talked to a log splitter manufacture and was looking at there splitter that had a 2.75" x 24" cylinder they said I should go to there bigger model of a 3.5" x 24" because the cylinder had bigger surface area and that it would be a better fit for my application, since then found out the shipping alone was $400 dollars so abandoned that ideal and looking at another splitter that has a 4" x 24" cylinder . I only have 5gpm and 2460psi to work with that should be coming out of my PB port that I have to install yet. Any help to make my decision would be great thanks.

 

[LD1]

What type of wood are you splitting? Make a big difference.

The diameter of the piston is related to the tonnage it will make. So in your above post, the 4" cylinder would be the most force and the 2.75 would be the least. But that also makes the 4" the slowest cause it holds more volume of oil.

Here are some calcs to help out. Play with them and decide what you want for a speed (cycle time). I'd say if you dont have much to split and you are by yourself, 18-20 seconds is as slow as I personally would want it.

Baum Hydraulics Corp :: Spec Calculator

Play with the ones that say speed, and push-pull for a cylinder. You will also need to knwo the rod size of the cylinder to figure the return stroke properly.

Also, What length are you splitting. If you are only splitting 16-18" wood, no need for spending extra on a 24" cylinder

 

[jpm1]

Personally i would check northern tool. They have a store in your state so shipping should be reasonable and i believe a 4.5" x 24" stroke with wedge is 449$ I have a 30 ton splitter from them and its a good one, i run about 150 cord a year thru it. Just a thought. . . . John

 

[upnorth21]

The hardest wood I would be splitting is oak , so I am hearing that really all that I am gaining or losing is speed? I suppose rod size is effecting the volume of the cylinder? So does that effect speed or force ? Thinking on that calculator might answer most questions too? Thanks

 

[ovrszd]

As said above, I'm afraid your GPM is going to become an issue if you go too big. When you get into cycle times, be very critical. For example, if you have an equation that states an 20 second cycle time, try standing still for 20 seconds and imagine having to do that with every split. You'll spend a large percentage of your time standing there staring at the ram crawling along. My splitter has a 14 second cycle time and I would hate to wait any more than that.

As for strength, if you are not trying to split knotted wood, the smaller splitters will work fine. There will just be some pieces that you have to toss aside.

As for cylinder length, I wouldn't want anything shorter than 24".

I use a gas powered splitter, 6"x30". I have to wait a little but never throw anything away. But I've got an insane amount of money in my splitter.
WOOD SPLITTER from Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[LD1]

The hardest wood I would be splitting is oak , so I am hearing that really all that I am gaining or losing is speed? I suppose rod size is effecting the volume of the cylinder? So does that effect speed or force ? Thinking on that calculator might answer most questions too? Thanks

rod size dont effect force. Only speed. And only speed on the return stroke. Since the rod occupies volume inside the cylinder, that is less area for the hydraulic oil to fill when retracting ONLY.

With the pump of your tractor being a constant variable in this equation, it is quite simply more force = less speed and more speed = less force.

A 2.75" cylinder with only 2500psi IMO would not be adequate for all around hardwoods. And 3.5" cylinders will struggle on certain types and pieces. like nasty knots or elm

 

[Short Game]

Re: Log splitter- 2.75 vs 3.5 vs 4 inch cylinders

I built my splitter with a cylinder I had. It was 2.5" X 16". I was just splitting alder and it worked great on 2100 pounds. When I tried to shear maple knots, that was a different story. I was able to buy an identical cylinder at a close-out price and I ganged it with the other one. Still not the piston area of a 4", but it does the job for me. It is slow, as I run it from my tractor's remotes at an idle, but I find most stuff splits in the first couple inches of wedge. If a knot is at the bottom of the chunk, well, then I have to go all the way through the piece. But, I am not out to break any speed records.

 

[escavader]

It is true I had to replace the worn out cyl on mine it was a 2in I went to a 4 a lot slower

 

[radioman]

yes - given the same volume output of a pump- the larger the bore, the slower it is BUT it makes up in awesome power to go thru anything. Which is more important to you? Have a hard time with big stuff or knotty,twisty, stringy or whatever all split and done in no time or make slivers with a small unit but you can split alot of wood with good easy stuff? Chances are 5 times out of 10, you will get the tough stuff no matter what you cut.

 

[J_J]

Morning all, talked to a log splitter manufacture and was looking at there splitter that had a 2.75" x 24" cylinder they said I should go to there bigger model of a 3.5" x 24" because the cylinder had bigger surface area and that it would be a better fit for my application, since then found out the shipping alone was $400 dollars so abandoned that ideal and looking at another splitter that has a 4" x 24" cylinder . I only have 5gpm and 2460psi to work with that should be coming out of my PB port that I have to install yet. Any help to make my decision would be great thanks.

What is the actual question?

If it is about cyl size, small cyl will be faster, and have less power.

Large cyl will be slower and have lots of power.

As far as speed, a 2 stage pump can be fast in the high volume , and low power, and when the load dictates, the pump automatically switches to the low GPM and max power.

As far as using the tractor hyd to power the log splitter, if you have low flow /5 GPM's, you can use a log splitter valve made by Prince, a LSR-3060-3, which is a fast flow valve, making the splitting time equal to a 2 stage pump..

It will take 4 GPM and make the the log splitter seem like 24 GPM's, about 6 times faster.

http://www.princehyd.com/Portals/0/products/valves/LSR3060Flyer.pdf