OP
Home-Built Hydraulic Post Pounder; Speeding up the freefall
- Thread starter KubotaCrossing
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Birdhunter1
Veteran Member
2 hour drive to st. Louis airport and about 8 hour air ride and layover time to Missoula from my house, I don't think it would fit carry on and checking in as baggage would be expensive.
However that drive time could be done in 24 if I know I have a good Elk guide at the other end. My wife can easily spend a day or week in Missoula.
The guy making the fitting for me is the high school Metal shop teacher, he took dimensions and is having a student do it as his semester exam. Donation to the class of course afterwards but he is the only one I can get to build it or take measurements. You might try a local vo-tech school if they have a machine shop and see what they can do for you.
However that drive time could be done in 24 if I know I have a good Elk guide at the other end. My wife can easily spend a day or week in Missoula.
The guy making the fitting for me is the high school Metal shop teacher, he took dimensions and is having a student do it as his semester exam. Donation to the class of course afterwards but he is the only one I can get to build it or take measurements. You might try a local vo-tech school if they have a machine shop and see what they can do for you.
OP
KubotaCrossing
Member
Rick,
I'd like to address the four hoses that you questioned. Here's the current setup:
Firstly, I don't have rear remotes on this tractor but I do have a Front End Loader and associated spool bank.
So. I tapped into Power Beyond (PB) port on the FEL spool bank. I got the idea reading the installation instructions from those guys that put out after-market remotes kits. It's a poor man's way to tap into the hydraulics.
Looking at the valve spool in my diagram. The "From Pump" line originates from the PB port on the FEL. The PB outgoing line on this valve spool connects to the other end of the line that I interrupted at the FEL.
The "WorkPortB" line is obvious. The "Tank" line goes to the hydraulic fluid filler cap on the tractor - unrestricted. That's four lines.
Why did I do it this way? Trial and error.
Originally I didn't have a PB "adapter" on this spool valve. So I plugged it. I left the Tank port line going straight to the tank on the tractor. Result: same slow up/down but my 3pt stopped working. Well thats a problem because I use the 3pt to adjust the pitch of the PP.
Then I thought about plugging the Tank port and sending all the fluid to the PB port. I caught myself before doing it. No way that line can handle all that dumped fluid.
Okay, so then I thought about plugging the Tank port, remove the PB adapter and pipe all the fluid to the Tank. Internally on the spool valve the Tank and PB port are connected if you remove the PB adapter. Well that resulted in the 3pt not working again -- there way no line returning to the FEL spool bank.
Why do I have four lines? The short answer is I need hydraulic power after this hydraulic tap, in my case the 3pt.
Whew! Remember you asked
Ed
I'd like to address the four hoses that you questioned. Here's the current setup:
Firstly, I don't have rear remotes on this tractor but I do have a Front End Loader and associated spool bank.
So. I tapped into Power Beyond (PB) port on the FEL spool bank. I got the idea reading the installation instructions from those guys that put out after-market remotes kits. It's a poor man's way to tap into the hydraulics.
Looking at the valve spool in my diagram. The "From Pump" line originates from the PB port on the FEL. The PB outgoing line on this valve spool connects to the other end of the line that I interrupted at the FEL.
The "WorkPortB" line is obvious. The "Tank" line goes to the hydraulic fluid filler cap on the tractor - unrestricted. That's four lines.
Why did I do it this way? Trial and error.
Originally I didn't have a PB "adapter" on this spool valve. So I plugged it. I left the Tank port line going straight to the tank on the tractor. Result: same slow up/down but my 3pt stopped working. Well thats a problem because I use the 3pt to adjust the pitch of the PP.
Then I thought about plugging the Tank port and sending all the fluid to the PB port. I caught myself before doing it. No way that line can handle all that dumped fluid.
Okay, so then I thought about plugging the Tank port, remove the PB adapter and pipe all the fluid to the Tank. Internally on the spool valve the Tank and PB port are connected if you remove the PB adapter. Well that resulted in the 3pt not working again -- there way no line returning to the FEL spool bank.
Why do I have four lines? The short answer is I need hydraulic power after this hydraulic tap, in my case the 3pt.
Whew! Remember you asked
Ed
Birdhunter1
Veteran Member
On my Mahindra 2638 I have found I have to bungee cord the remote valve to get constant flow and when doing that the three point wont work, but it wont drop either, so with my log splitter it will hold it where I set it then I can go full flow and run the splitter from the valve on the splitter.
The post driver should work the same way, except it has feet that rest on the ground to drive a post... however I will need it in constant flow. No problem as I'll just have to release a bungee cord between posts. This could get old fast on a job with alot of posts. BUT the on/off the tractor on a job setting 150 posts will wear you out so I either pay my dad, nephew and now my son to be on the tractor so I don't have to which saves me a ton of time and energy. I'm only 40 but on and off a tractor 150 times a day will wear you out.
My last tractor had awesome hydraulics, I wish every tractor I was ever on were setup the same way. This new one isn't the same and while it irks me everything else is much better. You may not like this news but setting this up where everything will work independently will be a headache and likely costly. Somehow you need a constant flow to the valve on your splitter and an unrestricted flow back to the hydraulic reservoir. You'd be surprised dealers and experienced operators cannot understand that but that's what you've got to have. In my search for finding a fitting off the shelf at multiple hydraulic mine repair shops, tractor dealers and oddball supply places to thread into my tractor to adapt to a 3/4" hose from the driver noone could understand why a different way wouldn't work. Then I found one Mahindra dealer in Texas who had a service manager who knew exactly what i was wanting to do and has a Shaver on an older tractor and is currently on the search for an adapter to make it work. Finally I contact the high school metals shop teacher, told him what I wanted, (come to find out) he has a post driver too and he is custom making it.
A $20 part is needed that is holding up a few thousand dollars worth of work that there is not a soul who can tell me what off the shelf thread size it is on the tractor. I'm only 40 and was running this thing with my dad when I was a kid on 4 different tractors now, its only ever worked by being piped one way.
The post driver should work the same way, except it has feet that rest on the ground to drive a post... however I will need it in constant flow. No problem as I'll just have to release a bungee cord between posts. This could get old fast on a job with alot of posts. BUT the on/off the tractor on a job setting 150 posts will wear you out so I either pay my dad, nephew and now my son to be on the tractor so I don't have to which saves me a ton of time and energy. I'm only 40 but on and off a tractor 150 times a day will wear you out.
My last tractor had awesome hydraulics, I wish every tractor I was ever on were setup the same way. This new one isn't the same and while it irks me everything else is much better. You may not like this news but setting this up where everything will work independently will be a headache and likely costly. Somehow you need a constant flow to the valve on your splitter and an unrestricted flow back to the hydraulic reservoir. You'd be surprised dealers and experienced operators cannot understand that but that's what you've got to have. In my search for finding a fitting off the shelf at multiple hydraulic mine repair shops, tractor dealers and oddball supply places to thread into my tractor to adapt to a 3/4" hose from the driver noone could understand why a different way wouldn't work. Then I found one Mahindra dealer in Texas who had a service manager who knew exactly what i was wanting to do and has a Shaver on an older tractor and is currently on the search for an adapter to make it work. Finally I contact the high school metals shop teacher, told him what I wanted, (come to find out) he has a post driver too and he is custom making it.
A $20 part is needed that is holding up a few thousand dollars worth of work that there is not a soul who can tell me what off the shelf thread size it is on the tractor. I'm only 40 and was running this thing with my dad when I was a kid on 4 different tractors now, its only ever worked by being piped one way.
Birdhunter1
Veteran Member
Short solution for you, build a hydraulic tank onto the frame of your driver, put a gas powered pump or pto powered pump on it, pipe to as a stand lone unit and start pounding posts.
CobyRupert
Super Member
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OP
KubotaCrossing
Member
Lord willing we're this close >< to resolving this.
Keep the ideas coming tho fellas cause it's always a good idea to have a plan B!
Keep the ideas coming tho fellas cause it's always a good idea to have a plan B!
old and tired
Veteran Member
Plan "C" since I like outside the box... :confused2: Cap off the air port, so that you will compress the air that's in the top to give push back pressure. I don't think it would give you full movement of the piston rod but maybe you can make faster (more) shorter pounds??
Or instead of cap it off, have some sort of a bladder tank to return air pressure to the "fall".
Or instead of cap it off, have some sort of a bladder tank to return air pressure to the "fall".
CalG
Super Member
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You might "rethink" the mechanism.
Use the hydraulic cylinder to raise the weight up to a mechanical latch.
When the cylinder retracts to it;s fullest, it releases the latch by way of a mechanical link.
The weight drops in free fall. Ready to be raised again up to the latched position.
If simple dumb steel works, there is no reason to pump oil ;-)
Use the hydraulic cylinder to raise the weight up to a mechanical latch.
When the cylinder retracts to it;s fullest, it releases the latch by way of a mechanical link.
The weight drops in free fall. Ready to be raised again up to the latched position.
If simple dumb steel works, there is no reason to pump oil ;-)