My no split log splitter!

[mrmikey]

Sorry, My mistake, I didn't read enough to see you mounted on a "Suction strainer"

Ditto, didn't see that neither. Stiill doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't be using it .....Mike

 

[wdchyd]

Having it probably won't be as bad if some junk or crud flushes out of that reservoir though......It's a trade off...

 

[PHIL850]

To all. that is a SUCTION STRAINER in the photo not a Filter. It is a cartridge model, (northern 4014) as the tank design, (not mine) didn't fit the usual in tank strainer very well. The filler for the tank has a breather on it at this time. I am planning on adding one that has the proper filtering there as well. However operation of the unit with the filler unplugged has no effect.

thnaks, PHil C.

 

[PHIL850]

it s not a filter, it is a suction screen,, cartridge type 125 mesh

 

[AKKAMAAN]

Ram comes out up against the log and stops. Engine loads up, but no push.

extend cylinder, de-attach the rod side hose from valve, plug valve port, push extend and look for oil coming out of the rod side hose...if so, piston seal is leaking....

I have ordered a 3000 psi gauge to put on the pressure side of the valve to see whats going on

Basically you already know that there is no pressure...

I am using a Haldex 2 stage 11 GPM pump

Does the pump have 1/2" NPTF inlet port, or 1" tube? You say 3/4" suction hose so I assume 1/2" NPTF then??!! This Haldex-Barnes, 11 gpm pump, is availabe with 1" tube on suction side...

Northern brand external 125 micro 15 gal/min suction strainer (cartridge type)

3/4 suction and return lines

Depending on bore diameter vs rod diameter, your max return flow will be between 25-33% higher than pump flow when retracting. Take that in concideration when choosing return filter and return lines...
3/4" is ok for return line, but way below size for proper suction line, especially with a long bend, a 90 deg elbow, suction strainer, fittings ID smaller than 3/4", no help from gravity/pump above tank...3/4" will make 8ft/sec, and not more than 4 ft/sec is recommended in suction lines...1" >> 4.5 ft/sec and 1 1/8" >> 3.6 ft/sec

and 1/2" pressure lines

good

little foamy to me. Could I be sucking Air on this external suction screen?

Ideal plumbing on suction side is a one piece, short, large size, straight hose, with no strainer....You have nothing of that....if you use high viscosity oil, it is really asking for trouble....the more restricted suction side is, the more likely air will be sucked in....you have 9 (nine) potential spots for suction air leak

Could the strainer be plugged up already with more sludge from the tank?

Not if you really cleaned the entire tank....but it is possible. Check it out...I would start with bypassing the strainer, upgrade suction line size, will require some new fittings on the pump, tank port seem to be 1" or more already...

 

[PHIL850]

extend cylinder, de-attach the rod side hose from valve, plug valve port, push extend and look for oil coming out of the rod side hose...if so, piston seal is leaking....

Good Idea, I'll have to give this a shot.


Basically you already know that there is no pressure...

I do have some pressure as the return detent is working correctly when the ram retracts. According to the Valve spec the detent function requires a min of 1000 PSI to work. I want the gauge at this point to see if the relief is set correctly and if not adjust it to spec.


Does the pump have 1/2" NPTF inlet port, or 1" tube? You say 3/4" suction hose so I assume 1/2" NPTF then??!! This Haldex-Barnes, 11 gpm pump, is availabe with 1" tube on suction side...

This pump has a 3/4" suction tube not a 1" or a 1/2" NPT. As such I used 3/4" ID suction line.


Depending on bore diameter vs rod diameter, your max return flow will be between 25-33% higher than pump flow when retracting. Take that in concideration when choosing return filter and return lines...

Thanks, as I do intend to put a return filter on this when it is finally up and running. I did leave a place in the line to install one in the future.

Ideal plumbing on suction side is a one piece, short, large size, straight hose, with no strainer....You have nothing of that....if you use high viscosity oil, it is really asking for trouble....the more restricted suction side is, the more likely air will be sucked in....you have 9 (nine) potential spots for suction air leak

Ideal plumping bigger is better, however I went with 3/4 since that was the fitting on the pump. I can't aggree with you regarding NO use of a suction strainer. Every Hydrualic unit I have. uses a suction strainer. The Diagram from Haldex shows a suction strainer as well.


Cleaning the tank was some what of a blind chore. the tank was made from Boxing in the H beam with 1/4" plate. I filled it with a mixture of Methanol and ATF and rocked the unit back a forth several times and then would repeat the process after draining it. The tank appeared to have had some water mixed with the old hydraulic fluid in it as I would get clumps of some sort of emulsion when it was drain. I repeated this until the draining process ran clear. The new fluid hasn't shown any signs of water or emulsion at this point.

regards, Phil

 

[AKKAMAAN]

I can't aggree with you regarding NO use of a suction strainer. Every Hydrualic unit I have. uses a suction strainer. The Diagram from Haldex shows a suction strainer as well.

Every hydraulic system/pump should have 2 mandatory gauges.
One low pressure/vacuum gauge on pump inlet to monitor inlet pressure.
And one high pressure gauge on pump outlet, to monitor pump outlet pressure.

You can hook up ten suction strainers on suction line, as long as suction pressure do not drop more than a few psi below atmospheric pressure. That inlet suction pressure dictates if pump is getting starved or not, and if air is getting sucked in or not. By sizing/designing correctly one can prevent/eliminate inlet pressure drop, and system will work great.

A suction strainer prevents debris that enter the fill cap, from entering pump. All other contaminates/debris, that comes back from the system, will be taken care of by the return filter. Thats why a fill cap strainer will do the same job as a suction strainer. Inside the reservoir, should always be considered the cleanest part of the system. I actually advocate for "pressure refill" through a return filter, but that is not with in a budget of low cost equipment like a log splitter etc, so "pour refill" through a fill cap strainer is the second best alternative....

 

[HydroTek]

Looking through this thread, I see no mention of the cylinder diameter. Is that a 3 inch cylinder I see in your pics? if so it will not work very well unless you use 2500 psi or more. Why you ask would I say that ...I have a very similar setup to yours with a 4 inch cylinder ..splits most anything I can put on it. :thumbsup:

Oh ..did I mention my brother in law borrowed my splitter and broke the cylinder head? Not to worry though he replaced the broken cylinder with a new one ..a 3 incher ..now my splitter is almost useless. The only saving part of this story is ...by upping the pressure to more than it needs to be, the splitter works again, but frequently will not split a gnarly piece of wood.
.

 

[moose13]

Maybe i missed it but how big is your reservoir?
From the pictures its very hard to tell, but it looks small.

 

[sizzami]

I agree the symptoms indicate that the cylinder is starving for oil the reason it works on the return is because of the rod volume compensating for the small volume of oil just my opinion