Tractor idiling running woodsplitter

[tractorcrazy]

WI'll running a woodsplitter at idle (800) rpm for a couple hours hurt my engine on a newholland t4020

 

[dodge man]

I don’t know that it will hurt it but it might. It looks old enough no DPF? On a warmer day it’s probably ok but on a cold day wet stacking might be an issue. Wet stacking is where the engine isn’t hot enough to burn the fuel and the cylinder walls start to get washed down with unburned fuel.

I often think people think they are “saving” an engine by running it at low rpm. They are designed to run at a certain rpm without hurting it. Rev it up a little, 1500 rpm is still pretty low.

 

[90cummins]

Absolutely!!!
That’s the worst thing you could to any diesel.
Lookup wet stacking.
Diesels that are idling or operating at a very low power levels for prolonged times do not make enough heat for proper combustion allowing moisture to form and the rings and cylinder to glaze amongst other things.
Operating a log splitter with the tractor hydraulics is NOT an acceptable application.
If you are just transporting it to the wood pile shut the tractor down while you split.
90cummins

 

[Tx Jim]

I was taught diesel engines shouldn't be operated for extended times(over 15-20 minutes) at idle speed. RPM's should be increased to 1200-1300 rpms for extended idling periods.

 

[Alan W.]

When I drove a truck it would idle all the time I was sleeping or waiting to be loaded or unloaded. The reefer motor idled down even, and during the winter it stayed at idle. Never had a problem.
Some motors will wet stack but it is rare. Go ahead and try it, more than likely it will work fine. But I do suggest making sure it is up to operating temperature first.

 

[ptsg]

People over here tend to spend loads of hours splitting wood with the tractor barely above idle, without any issues.

 

[Oaktree]

I've never had a splitter that ran of the tractor's hydraulics, but wouldn't you want the idle speed well above 800 just for the pressure?

 

[oldnslo]

I've never had a splitter that ran of the tractor's hydraulics, but wouldn't you want the idle speed well above 800 just for the pressure?

If system is operating correctly RPM will have very little effect on pressure it does vary the flow though which is cylinder speed.

 

[WranglerX]

I've never had a splitter that ran of the tractor's hydraulics, but wouldn't you want the idle speed well above 800 just for the pressure?

Doubt RPM will have much effect on pressure, but it will have effect on hydraulic flow, that relates to speed of operation....

 

[rScotty]

WI'll running a woodsplitter at idle (800) rpm for a couple hours hurt my engine on a newholland t4020

I doubt it will hurt it in the short term. Yours is from the same era and a little larger than our 59 hp Kubota M59 - but close in type - and ours is happy doing basic backhoe work building stone walls all afternoon running right around 1200 RPM. I call that a "fast idle" amd it is 50% faster than what you are doing, but still considered low RPM. Been doing that on and off for days at a time as needed for a decade now.

We run at that speed because I feel the motor needs enough RPM so that it runs "easily" .... so I want it above idle....and yet it has to be slow enough that the hoe and thumb have the fine control needed for stacking big rocks to make sturdy creek walls.

Sometimes after working an hour or more at what I call a "fast idle" I'll find an excuise to rev it up and let it roar for a couple of minutes..... or take the tractor down the road half a mile and back at higher throttle to get more rocks because that seems right to me. It's probably anthrpormorphism to think that an engine likes to stretch every once in a while - but I know that I do, so we do it together.

It works for us. The tractor still has less than 1500 hours so it still runs like new.

BTW, our motor does seem to turn the oil black faster when running at fast idle. To combat that, I use a premium synthetic oil and OEM engine filter. Both get changed regularly .... every year or so.

Good luck
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

People over tend to spend loads of hours splitting wood with the tractor barely above idle, without any issues.

Good grief, I just spent 5 and a half minutes watching someone else split wood.....

Looks like good firewood, though. Wish we had that kind of hardwood here.
What kind of wood is hard and twisted like that? Maybe apple or olive?
It looks near to impossible to split those pieces with an axe.

rScotty

 

[grsthegreat]

good grief. i wish i knew this was a problem....ive been doing it for 26 years, no issues. now that i know it can be an issue, maybe i should stop.

 

[ptsg]

Good grief, I just spent 5 and a half minutes watching someone else split wood.....

Looks like good firewood, though. Wish we had that kind of hardwood here.
What kind of wood is hard and twisted like that? Maybe apple or olive?
It looks near to impossible to split those pieces with an axe.

rScotty

Cork Oak. We've some tough to split stuff over here.

 

[rScotty]

good grief. i wish i knew this was a problem....ive been doing it for 26 years, no issues. now that i know it can be an issue, maybe i should stop.

Or maybe not. I hate to say this GRS, but it could be too late for your tractor.

After all, what happens if you stop doing that now and don't do it again for the next 26 years? Then if something untoward happens you still won't know what caused it....

Maybe it makes more sense to just make something up and try to believe it.

rScotty

 

[WranglerX]

Good grief, I just spent 5 and a half minutes watching someone else split wood.....

Looks like good firewood, though. Wish we had that kind of hardwood here.
What kind of wood is hard and twisted like that? Maybe apple or olive?
It looks near to impossible to split those pieces with an axe.

rScotty

Not so sure about "hardwood" right now.... Have a 22 Ton splitter and put a white oak round (about 12 X 16) in splitter, ram came in contact with round, ram stopped moving, motor grunted.... Round popped straight up about 12 inches and contacted with my hand, now have splint on thumb after going to ER to have dislocated thumb reset..... What I did learn is softwood splits easy vs hardwood and if log is tellin splitter it "ain't going to happen" to back off splitter...

 

[Richard]

Ignorant question...

someone does work at lower rpm...how do they ascertain that they've wet stacked or not? cant see cylinders, engine isnt talking... ??

 

[Carl_NH]

Ours is happy doing basic backhoe work building stone walls all afternoon running right around 1200 RPM. I call that a "fast idle" amd it is 50% faster than what you are doing, but still considered low RPM. Been doing that on and off for days at a time as needed for a decade now.

BTW, our motor does seem to turn the oil black faster when running at fast idle. To combat that, I use a premium synthetic oil and OEM engine filter. Both get changed regularly .... every year or so.

Same here doing stone walls, and close in digging next to a pipe/house wall always run 12-1300 RPM for finer control of the BH.

Also I have a 3PT Wood splitter I connect to the FEL and run the lines to the BH connection and run at 1200 RPM for decent flow cycle time is "about right" for the way I work.

Yes the oil turns dark faster but I change every 100 hrs and use Rotella

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[Sawyer Rob]

OLD diesels are what I saw wet stacking and that was MANY years ago, it was a D-7 CAT. I've NEVER had even one of my diesels do it, and I've run some of them for hours and hours at low RPM.

When I use my 3-point splitter, I usually run the diesel at 1200 or so RPM, just to get a little more speed though.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a non-issue.

SR

 

[KennyG]

Doubt RPM will have much effect on pressure, but it will have effect on hydraulic flow, that relates to speed of operation....

Yes, and it's very dependent on tractor and splitter. With my 3 point splitter I find speed increases until I get to about 2400 rpm but going on to redline (3200) doesn't matter. Back on the farm we had a splitter we ran off the tractor at idle but it was a 100 HP tractor so it was overkill.

 

[rScotty]

Ignorant question...

someone does work at lower rpm...how do they ascertain that they've wet stacked or not? cant see cylinders, engine isnt talking... ??

OH... Good Question.
Modern engines don't do it much if at all but older diesels did - especially if cold or running too slow. And also when burning heavy #2 diesel fuel.
When it happens, you won't forget it.
The engine will cough about twice and then spit a load of black wet sloppy half burned diesel blobs out the exhaust and up into the air to shower you and the work.