Auto Cycle valve

[6sunset6]

Anyone have experience with this valve? I have it , in process of installing.
Question about psi settings. Valve is rated for 3000 psi max. It comes from the factory with relief set at 2000. Detent 1 set at 1500 and detent 2 set at 1700.
Detent 2 must be 200 psi above detent 1 and 300psi under relief.
The instructions say the detents should not be set higher than 2000 psi. That means the relief cannot be set higher than 2300 psi.
Sort of a waste of 700 psi . Anybody have this valve and fool around with the settings? Oh yeah cylinder is rated for 3000 psi.

 

[oldnslo]

Anyone have experience with this valve? I have it , in process of installing.
Question about psi settings. Valve is rated for 3000 psi max. It comes from the factory with relief set at 2000. Detent 1 set at 1500 and detent 2 set at 1700.
Detent 2 must be 200 psi above detent 1 and 300psi under relief.
The instructions say the detents should not be set higher than 2000 psi. That means the relief cannot be set higher than 2300 psi.
Sort of a waste of 700 psi . Anybody have this valve and fool around with the settings? Oh yeah cylinder is rated for 3000 psi.

Never seen or used one but reading through the instructions it makes me wonder if you can adjust the detents to the point they won't release fully?

I would suspect that if you get a tough piece of wood you can manually hold the valve to keep extending the cylinder.

Agree, the numbers don't make much sense.

Roy

 

[RandyT]

My Iron and Oak splitter uses that exact valve. You can hold the number 1 valve to aid splitting really hard wood. Operates upto the relief pressure. I have had to increase the detent pressure on the return valve to eliminate the dual lever kickout when the oil was cold. don't have a pressure gauge so I don't know what the exact pressure is but my splitter is a 30 ton with a 5 inch cylinder and to achieve that rating would have to be operating at 3000 psi.

 

[J_J]

That is not the way to figure the tonnage on the cyl.

A 5 in cyl, and 2 in shaft, with a pressure of 3000 lbs will have a force of 58,905 lbs or 29.45 ton.

So if the relief is not set at 3000 psi you can not develop the tonnage.

For instance, if it is 2500 psi = 49,087, or 24.5 ton

 

[wdchyd]

One thing to consider with these valves is the higher your pressure detents are the more wear and tear your components will see during each cycle.....reducing the life expentancy of the cyl seals and potentially the pump if the pressure is set too high......:confused2:

You can set these lower for most of your splitting then hold the lever when a larger log won't split with autocycle....

best to install a guage to tune the performance of the detents while using in the field.....

 

[tawilson]

I put one on my homemade splitter years ago and my experience with it echoes RandyT's, even down to never putting a gauge on it.

 

[J_J]

Why would you never put a gage on the log splitter valve especially if the relief comes set for 2000 psi and your hyd pump is capable of 3000 psi.

If I remember right, the relief can be set up to 3000 psi or set to 100 psi below pumps psi, or set same as the tractor psi.

On a 4 in cyl and 2 in shaft, 1000 psi is a difference of 12,586 lbs, or about 6 ton.

Leaving the valve set to 2000 psi is not even logical, and adjusting the relief with out a gage is not logical.

 

[wdchyd]

Funny, true story........in the seventies when I was working for a hyd repair shop, the lead mechanic and engineer together just finished making a custom built log splitter (for the engineers brother)......

During the first start-up, they tee'd in a hyd guage in on the pressure line and put a chunk of steel between the 4 foot cyl and wedge........they ran it up to pressure watching the guage and didn't notice they bent the I-beam on the first run......:confused2:

We got a good chuckle out of it...They didn't though......:laughing:

 

[RandyT]

One thing to consider with these valves is the higher your pressure detents are the more wear and tear your components will see during each cycle.....reducing the life expentancy of the cyl seals and potentially the pump if the pressure is set too high......:confused2:

You can set these lower for most of your splitting then hold the lever when a larger log won't split with autocycle....

best to install a guage to tune the performance of the detents while using in the field.....

I can attest to the wear and tear. the cylinder cap has unscrewed three times in 7 years and 50 hours. tearing the cap seal each time. The third rebuild a set screw was installed to prevent the cap from unscrewing by the hydraulic place.

 

[SSdoxie]

The pressure settings mentioned (1500, 1700, & 2000) are for testing valve for correct operation after first plumbed in. Then pressure can be set to desired settings provided: main does not exceed 3000 psi, detent #2 is at least 300 psi lower than main relief or any relief upstream in pump supply,but not more that 2000 psi, and detent #1 must be 200 psi lower than Detent #2.