MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 57,931
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Now for powering cylinders with the MAIN PTO...
Yes, you could do that. This is an open center system. That means the pump forces high pressure out, goes through the plumbing, through a valve and then back to the tank under low pressure (low pressure can still be quite high). The hydraulic pressure is always available anywhere in the system before and up to the valve. If you aren't doing any work, the fluid just goes through the valve and back to the tank. When you want to do work, some or all of the pressure is directed by the valve into one side of the cylinder and any unused fluid is directed out the valve and back to the tank.
So, lets say you want to power a big log splitter off of the MAIN PTO. You'd plumb the hose from the outlet side of the PTO, through the log splitter valve, and back to the inlet side of the MAIN PTO. However, you'd better make sure that all of the plumbing, hoses, valves and fittings are the same size or larger than the MAIN PTO plumbing or you'll create restrictions in the flow and that generates heat.... lots of heat. Because on a Power Trac, the MAIN PTO pump is ALWAYS ON! Fluid is always circulating from the tank, through the pump and back to the tank. When you flip the electric switch on the dash to turn on the MAIN PTO, that really just activates a solenoid that switches the flow from the pump to go to the fitting out on the FEL arms rather than back to the tank. All that fluid now has to go out the FEL arm, through your log splitter plumbing and back through the FEL arm and back to the tank.
You can't operate a cylinder with the MAIN PTO switch, but you can power a cylinder with the MAIN PTO, but you'll have to operate it with an additional valve.
Yes, you could do that. This is an open center system. That means the pump forces high pressure out, goes through the plumbing, through a valve and then back to the tank under low pressure (low pressure can still be quite high). The hydraulic pressure is always available anywhere in the system before and up to the valve. If you aren't doing any work, the fluid just goes through the valve and back to the tank. When you want to do work, some or all of the pressure is directed by the valve into one side of the cylinder and any unused fluid is directed out the valve and back to the tank.
So, lets say you want to power a big log splitter off of the MAIN PTO. You'd plumb the hose from the outlet side of the PTO, through the log splitter valve, and back to the inlet side of the MAIN PTO. However, you'd better make sure that all of the plumbing, hoses, valves and fittings are the same size or larger than the MAIN PTO plumbing or you'll create restrictions in the flow and that generates heat.... lots of heat. Because on a Power Trac, the MAIN PTO pump is ALWAYS ON! Fluid is always circulating from the tank, through the pump and back to the tank. When you flip the electric switch on the dash to turn on the MAIN PTO, that really just activates a solenoid that switches the flow from the pump to go to the fitting out on the FEL arms rather than back to the tank. All that fluid now has to go out the FEL arm, through your log splitter plumbing and back through the FEL arm and back to the tank.
You can't operate a cylinder with the MAIN PTO switch, but you can power a cylinder with the MAIN PTO, but you'll have to operate it with an additional valve.