3 pt log splitter help needed

[ns_in_tex]

You are not activating the bypass unless it loads the engine & hydraulics when you pull the lever.
With nothing plugged into remotes, engine idling, pull one of the levers & you should hear the engine load & hydraulic by pass open under high pressure. This will tell you what you don't want to happen for long periods of time.
With the splitter hooked up & its lever in the neutral position, you should be able to bungie cord the inside lever & hear no change in engine load or hydraulic pressure change. Even when you engage the splitter hydraulics, even though you will be pumping fluid, it will be under practically no pressure & therefore no load. Only when it starts splitting wood or reach the end of stroke, should there be much load.

 

[ns_in_tex]

I had a hydraulic man tell me the other day, you should use the female side of the quick disconnect for the pressure side (pump side) because the amount of metal holding in the ball on male side was much thinner & more likely to blow out under pressure when the two sides were not connected together.

I had always done this, just because I normally had seen them this way, but my kubota front loader came just the opposite of this.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>my kubota front loader came just the opposite of this.</font color=blue>

So did mine, and I never did find out why; seemed backwards to me, but worked OK since I never used that valve for anything besides the FEL.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

smokymtnman, If you don't get my above explanition, another easy option is to just disconnect power beyond hose on loader valve, put on mateing connectors of the same brand on the two splitter hoses (hose from splitter valve IN to loader valve, splitter valve out hose to hose that was disconnected from loader valve) This will work!!! See how you're adding this new valve to the hyd circut IN SERIES which can be done out of any of the valves as I tryed to explain above, POWER BEYOND=pressure out of valve Also the female QC should be used on the pressure upstream side (power beyond port) because the ball is better suported The guy that was killed by the Qc ball had not connected both hoses on some high pressure machine,and was moveing the control lever trying to figure why it was'nt working Pow!! The moral to this is to turn OFF tractor when adding an impliment that has a control valve (backhoe, logsplitter etc) because you're deadheading the hyd flow. if BOTH Hoses aren't connected , this causes preasure too quickly rise to relief (2450lbs this tractor) all being put on that steel ball !! Note this is not the same as connecting say the shank bar on a grader box to rear remote connection with tractor on (Ia'm guilty of doing this) because valve is not directing flow to remote connection (unless that lever is being pulled)

 

[MarkV]

Thanks guys, I have a better understanding now.

MarkV

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

ok, guys, I have read and re-read all of this, printed out some, read again, and just totally lost now.
I am just going to send a couple of pics and see if anyone can point out anything they see wrong.

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

Here's another view.

I really don't understand the male vs. female thing. Both my QC's are exactly the same and ports exactly the same.
And I don't understand why there are remote valves on back of tractor which I paid for when some of you are saying that I should hook up to the FEL.
I know I'm dense and a rookie at this tractor business, but it seems there should be a standardardized way of doing some of these attachments.

 

[ns_in_tex]

Your tractor appears to be set up the same as mine.
The female side of the quick connects are on the tractor & the male side are on the hoses, but this should not have any bearing on the fluid flow, only safety issue.

If it doesn't work as you show it( with the remote control bungie corded open) , and you have tried reversing the hoses at the tractor quick disconnects & it still doesn't work, I would suspect that something wasn't right with the splitter itself.

 

[DFB]

SmokyMtnMan,

Sorry to hear that it still doesn't operate correctly for you.

Most additional control valves used to feed hydraulic attachments are generally flow fed directly from the tractors' main hydraulic system. Usually referred to as a POWER BEYOND outlet. Here we're looking at a situation where the main flow is supplied first to your rear remote's control valve and then using that valve to direct hydraulic flow into another "open center" control valve with flow eventually being returned to the tractor. From the information that's been posted that setup worked correctly for ns in tx.

With the feed hose coupled up to the correct outlet you could remove the male tip on the return line to check for fluid flow thru the open center of the splitters valve. Probably took around a gallon of oil to fill the cylinder and hoses. If there's flow there and the ram still won't move when you operate the valve it would seem that there's an obstruction in the splitter valve. Some semi solid thread sealer was gobbed all over the fittings on my log splitter (a gasoline engine powered unit).


Does your paperwork have any info on adjusting the pressure relief
Most quick couplers are rated for at least 3000psi. If the connectors blow off again I'd want to check that out too.

DFB

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

Ok, I seemed to have followed what you said, DFB on this. And I apologize to NS and others for failing to understand what was meant by male and female connections. I was thinking more along lines of 'splitter to tractor' rather than 'male to female'.
I tried it again just now.
I hooked up quick connects. made sure they were in real tight and cleaned off "female ends" on rear remotes, inserted male QC from splitter, tugged on them slightly to see if they would pop out under slight pressure..........noticed the left side or "in" side would stay firmly connected...however right side or "out" would pop off under slight pressure when i tugged.
I re-attached, tugged....thought it might be ok, then tied lever up inside cab with bungee, cranked engine, placed log in cradle and moved lever on splitter toward log.....wedge moved.....very slowly........split a 14" inch white oak very easily...it works!!
retracted lever....wedge moved back and stopped
oil dripping from right hand remote valve, but no popping off.
put in about a 22-24" piece of white oak....split very easily, not any strain on it........moved lever back...wedge retracted.
I split about a dozen pieces of oak....noticed small leak on right side remote....but it worked.

I noticed you have to keep your hand on the splitter lever when moving it forward into log...it won't continue unless you keep lever pushed......but when retracting lwedge...all you do is move it to far right and the lever stays without you pushing it
is this the way it's suppose to be?

and...what do you think about the leakage?