Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Loaderman22]

I have heard the biggest issue with using remotes is the heat build up of cycling all that fluid, to run the splitter Ram. But if you have a PTO pump, then the splitter tank negates that issue. But if it's 5°F outside, that's less of an issue I guess.

 

[Jstpssng]

But if it's 5°F outside, that's less of an issue I guess

It's certainly less of an issue for me. If it's 5 degrees outside i likely will be doing other things.

I had a lightweight splitter whicj my father made, that I ran off my BH pump. It was a good thing that I set it up that way. I didn't realize that you could hook hydraulics up backwards and it was much cheaper to replace that pump than the one inside the tractor.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I have heard the biggest issue with using remotes is the heat build up of cycling all that fluid, to run the splitter Ram. But if you have a PTO pump, then the splitter tank negates that issue. But if it's 5°F outside, that's less of an issue I guess.

Using my old splitter off the remotes I NEVER had even one problem with heat build up, and that's over several years that I ran it with several different tractors.

SR

 

[KennyG]

I can't imagine a heat problem with a three point splitter. With an open center system, the hydraulic fluid circulates all the time. The additional work associated with running a splitter would be a lot less than loader work or especially a hydrostat tractor.

 

[CalG]

I can't imagine a heat problem with a three point splitter. With an open center system, the hydraulic fluid circulates all the time. The additional work associated with running a splitter would be a lot less than loader work or especially a hydrostat tractor.

A tractor transmission case represents a large surface area to shed extra heat from the hydraulics.

Imagine a tractor rear end too hot to touch. That would be around 160 degrees F. That's not too warm for hydraulic fluid. Fluid gets hotter than that when forced through small valve openings. Then it cools off as it makes it's way around the system.

The auto valve on my timberwolf stand alone splitter doesn't work right until the fluid gets up over about 80 degrees. That takes a while in winter. Until the oil does get warm, I need to hold the lever in the detent, or else it kicks out. Maybe the valve needs a larger return to tank line, but it's all factory, and I'm gonna run it how it is. Keeps me honest on getting the fluid warmed up ;-)

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I agree skakes or sides get in the way sometimes. I meant removable stakes like this -

View attachment 3260463


View attachment 3260464

gg

I have the same tow behind splitter and gosh its been used more than you can believe and still purrs like a kitten. Mine has a B&S motor. I had to do a carb kit (needle and seat needed replacing) but other than that 100% reliable.

 

[WinterDeere]

That's aabsolutely not always true, it all depends on what pump is on the splitter.

You usually want at least 1/2 HP per GPM, if not a bit more, at typically log splitter pressures (up to 3500 psi). This isn't a "my brand vs. your brand" thing, it's simple physics.

Note the first word in my sentence was "If", I wasn't saying you need a pump at that size. But if you go there, then you need the HP to drive it.

Due to timing of one of my pump upgrades vs. engine upgrade, I did once try running a splitter with just 0.4 hp/gpm. No bueno, it really bogged and struggled just cycling the ram.

The numbers above are for the typical 2-stage pumps. If you have a single stage, then you're going to want even more horsepower, but I don't know of anyone building modern small splitters with single stage pumps anymore.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You usually want at least 1/2 HP per GPM, if not a bit more, at typically log splitter pressures (up to 3500 psi). This isn't a "my brand vs. your brand" thing, it's simple physics.

Note the first word in my sentence was "If", I wasn't saying you need a pump at that size. But if you go there, then you need the HP to drive it.

Due to timing of one of my pump upgrades vs. engine upgrade, I did once try running a splitter with just 0.4 hp/gpm. No bueno, it really bogged and struggled just cycling the ram.

The numbers above are for the typical 2-stage pumps. If you have a single stage, then you're going to want even more horsepower, but I don't know of anyone building modern small splitters with single stage pumps anymore.

SO, like I said above, "it depends on what pump you have".

I woulod consider my Timberwolf splitter "modern", and it has a "single stage" pump on it and requires more than 12hp to get full power out of the splitter!

BTW, I really like the single stage pump it has on it.

SR

 

[WinterDeere]

Why did you choose a single-stage pump? Seems the 2-stage has all the advantages of speed when the load is light, and force when the load climbs.

 

[Loaderman22]

A tractor transmission case represents a large surface area to shed extra heat from the hydraulics.

Imagine a tractor rear end too hot to touch. That would be around 160 degrees F. That's not too warm for hydraulic fluid. Fluid gets hotter than that when forced through small valve openings. Then it cools off as it makes it's way around the system.

The auto valve on my timberwolf stand alone splitter doesn't work right until the fluid gets up over about 80 degrees. That takes a while in winter. Until the oil does get warm, I need to hold the lever in the detent, or else it kicks out. Maybe the valve needs a larger return to tank line, but it's all factory, and I'm gonna run it how it is. Keeps me honest on getting the fluid warmed up ;-)

My detent on my Timberwolf was flawless 3 years ago. Two years ago, I had to wait for the fluid to get up to temp for it to work correctly like you described. Then this past year it really was spotty and randomly would fail to work no matter the temp of the fluid. It's really only annoying once you get into a rythym splitting, set it to auto reverse, turn away to get a log, only to come back to the ram still extended.

 

[LouNY]

My detent on my Timberwolf was flawless 3 years ago. Two years ago, I had to wait for the fluid to get up to temp for it to work correctly like you described. Then this past year it really was spotty and randomly would fail to work no matter the temp of the fluid. It's really only annoying once you get into a rythym splitting, set it to auto reverse, turn away to get a log, only to come back to the ram still extended.

Clean and lube the detent housing

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Why did you choose a single-stage pump? Seems the 2-stage has all the advantages of speed when the load is light, and force when the load climbs.

I didn't choose it, Timberwolves engineers chose it for their industrial strength splitters and after owning it, I think they made an excellent choice!

No low speed means it has speed and strength all the time, and it really kicks butt!

SR

 

[ptsg]

With a tractor, there is plenty HP available to run that bigger single pump as long as the setup is matched correctly. Even with the engine barely above idle.

Pretty much all 3 pt splitters over here use a standard group 3 gear pump mounted to a speed increaser up to 20 Ton. Above those they typically run tandem pumps and a standalone high/low valve. What pretty much all have, is a 2 speed control valve.

 

[John_Mc]

Why did you choose a single-stage pump? Seems the 2-stage has all the advantages of speed when the load is light, and force when the load climbs.

I didn't choose it, Timberwolves engineers chose it for their industrial strength splitters and after owning it, I think they made an excellent choice!

No low speed means it has speed and strength all the time, and it really kicks butt!

A single stage pump is great, if you have the HP to drive it. The reason for a two-stage pump is to give good speed when the load is light, but still have the muscle to drive through when the load is heavy, without have to go to a huge engine. For a tractor powered splitter (whether PTO pump or tractor hydraulics) generally HP is not in short supply. No need for a two stage pump: you have the HP to drive the wedge though the gnarly pieces without have to "shift into low gear".

My splitter has a 16 GPM two stage pump with an 8 HP engine. My friend has a 3PH mounted splitter driven by a 20 GPM single stage pump. His tractor is 25 HP at the PTO. Even when he is running at 2/3 throttle (which I'm guessing gives about 13 GPM), he can run rings around me, since his splitter never slows down.

 

[mike0000]

More storm cleanup, pine tree at our pond, pretty setting for some wood splitting.

 

[ning]

With a tractor, there is plenty HP available to run that bigger single pump as long as the setup is matched correctly. Even with the engine barely above idle.

Pretty much all 3 pt splitters over here use a standard group 3 gear pump mounted to a speed increaser up to 20 Ton. Above those they typically run tandem pumps and a standalone high/low valve. What pretty much all have, is a 2 speed control valve.

View attachment 3275795

Wow! I think I need to sharpen my splitter's wedge...

 

[Gordon Gould]

With a tractor, there is plenty HP available to run that bigger single pump as long as the setup is matched correctly. Even with the engine barely above idle.

Pretty much all 3 pt splitters over here use a standard group 3 gear pump mounted to a speed increaser up to 20 Ton. Above those they typically run tandem pumps and a standalone high/low valve. What pretty much all have, is a 2 speed control valve.

View attachment 3275795

One of the more interesting splitter videos I have seen. Definitely shows what power can do. Thanks for posting.

gg

 

[Gordon Gould]

More wood. It's dry enough that I can start splitting now w/o making a mess.

gg

 

[John_Mc]

With a tractor, there is plenty HP available to run that bigger single pump as long as the setup is matched correctly. Even with the engine barely above idle.

Pretty much all 3 pt splitters over here use a standard group 3 gear pump mounted to a speed increaser up to 20 Ton. Above those they typically run tandem pumps and a standalone high/low valve. What pretty much all have, is a 2 speed control valve.

That's quite a set-up. Looks like a serious commercial-duty splitter. I've not seen anything like it for sale in the US.

I like the foot pedal controls. Very convenient. Meanwhile, here in the US, some splitters come with a set up that requires you to use two hands to operate the controls - an attempt to avoid lawsuits by people who get their hands pinched.

 

[Jstpssng]

More wood. It's dry enough that I can start splitting now w/o making a mess.

View attachment 3276702

gg

Lucky you. It's just the beginning of mud here. It's raining about every day, just enough to add to the mess but not enough to help take the frost out of the ground.