Need help with homemade pto log splitter!

[rubicon79]

I've heated with wood now for 2 winters and the deal was I split it by hand for 2 years then I could buy a splitter!

I found this on craigslist and bought it.



All it supposedly needed was new hoses. When I got home in replaced all the hoses and new fluid. It works and the cycle time was good but there isn't enough pressure to split wood. Put a hydraulic gauge on the pressure side of the pump but only saw 1000psi at 540 pto rpm. I have no idea what the hydraulic pump is from and neither does the guy I bought I from. Its got some casting numbers but Google comes up with nothing.



What should I do next? Rebuild this pump? Who does that? Buy a new pump? Which one and from where?

I like using a pump mounted to the unit but could I do that with a regular pto pump?

Thanks for then help.

 

[ovrszd]

I built a PTO splitter several years ago. I used a 22gpm pump similar to yours. I paid $500 for the pump alone.

I cannot believe your unit has been used enough to wear out the pump. I'd rather think the pressure relief valve is bleeding by but not sure where it's located??

I'm not a hydraulic guru but hopefully one will see this and chime in.

I'd do a lot of searching before I started spending any money. The K.I.S.S. principle applies here and hopefully you can find the problem with little expense.

 

[rubicon79]

Where did you get your pump?

I hope it's the relief valve and didn't think to check that.


Thanks

 

[ovrszd]

Thru Northerntool.

Those pumps are simply two gears meshing. One is the drive gear which is turned by the PTO shaft. The second is the driven gear which is turned by the drive gear. Oil is transferred between the two gear's teeth while meshing. If they bypass internally it is usually because of end wear. I.e., the space between the case ends and the gear ends becomes great enough to allow oil to bypass. This takes thousands of hours of constant use.

If your pump was installed on the splitter as a used unit it would have had to suffer the necessary wear in it's previous life. This would mean the splitter never worked right. Now you are at the mercy of the previous owner's honesty to know whether that is true or not.

I used a 6" cylinder on the splitter I built. I ran the tractor at a fast idle. The splitter had excellent cycle times and would split just about anything you threw at it. Only reason I don't have it today is it burned in my shop fire 5 years ago.

 

[J_J]

I've heated with wood now for 2 winters and the deal was I split it by hand for 2 years then I could buy a splitter!

I found this on craigslist and bought it.

View attachment 418027

All it supposedly needed was new hoses. When I got home in replaced all the hoses and new fluid. It works and the cycle time was good but there isn't enough pressure to split wood. Put a hydraulic gauge on the pressure side of the pump but only saw 1000psi at 540 pto rpm. I have no idea what the hydraulic pump is from and neither does the guy I bought I from. Its got some casting numbers but Google comes up with nothing.

View attachment 418028

What should I do next? Rebuild this pump? Who does that? Buy a new pump? Which one and from where?

I like using a pump mounted to the unit but could I do that with a regular pto pump?

Thanks for then help.

Exactly, how did you test the pressure

Did you fully extend the cyl and hold the lever until the relief activated?

Did you test the cyl for leakage?

Yes, you can use a regular PTO pump if the one you have is bad. They run about $500.

Surplus Center

 

[ovrszd]

JJ found you. He'll walk you thru the processes of testing everything. I'm a simple guy. I'd start with simple tests. Looking for simple solutions before spending much money, especially $500 on a pump.

 

[pmsmechanic]

So... This might be a dumb question but why not convert it to run off of the tractor hydraulics?

 

[LD1]

Ditto checking the pressure relief.

And you have to fully extend of retract the cylinder and keep holding the lever to get a reading.

Running off tractor hydraulics will likely slow it down a bit.

 

[J_J]

So... This might be a dumb question but why not convert it to run off of the tractor hydraulics?

His tractor has less than 4 GPM pump flow.

However, he could use Prince fast extend valve LSR 3060 .

 

[rubicon79]

To check the pressure we took the hose off the pressure side of the pump and screwed in a pressure gauge. At idle it was around 500 and went to 1000 at 540 rpm. We did use my friends tractor that is only around 16 pto hp if that would matter. His tractor would hold 540 pto rpms though even bottoming the cylinder out. It wouldn't even begin to split a piece of oak though.

I would prefer to have a pump mounted to the splitter and use a pto shaft. It's easier to hook up.

Seems like I would need a pump around 7 cu in to get 18 gpm flow around 540 rpms, does that sound right at all?

Manual says my tractor is like 8 gpm but that's still too slow plus I'd have to spend $700 to add rear remotes. I like the idea of the tractor staying a closed system too.

Thanks again for the help!