Log Splitter Valve maybe?

[Chaz66]

I just purchased a Husky 22 Ton Log Splitter at a garage sale. Engine runs good, and it cycles both ways fine. Detent works fine as well. As it was at a garage sale, I was unable to test it under a load as no logs available and price was fair, I bought it on visual only so to speak. Problem is, when I got it home and put a log on it, as soon as it came under a load, the engine dies out. Hydro Fluid level is good, Filter is fairly new and not loaded up. Valve seems to be functioning well. Engine seems to be running strong with no miss, or smoke. In fact, the splitter in general is in excellent condition. It was apparently not used for several years and belonged to another person, and seller was not at sale. I have another just like it and am very pleased with the performance. This one is for my cabin. I played with the engine for a while to be sure it was running well, as I am mechanically capable. I AM NOT educated in the least in hydraulics. I am curious would this be a valve problem or pump? I am told that it may be a pressure relief stuck or clogged? Again, as soon as it comes under load it quits, stalls engine right out. It cycles fine when no load.

I will add that all lines are in great shape, not collapsing, no leaks, no sticking in valve operation, and pump appears clean. The condition is not like it was cleaned up to move it or over sell it. Just in good not abused condition. they guy selling it did say that the owner only used it a couple times a year.

Any help would be great, or where to start.

 

[JRobyn]

Welcome! :welcome:

Can you watch the throttle butterfly/linkage on the carb while you put it under load to see what it does? Try to confirm that it is trying to open the throttle as it should. Then can you hear if the engine is beginning to load down? If it's doing this, it sounds to me like the engine is starving for fuel. Maybe due to fuel deposits from sitting too long. A good dose of SeaFoam in the tank sure couldn't hurt anything and may cure it. You could also try pulling off the fuel line at the carb connection to be sure it is flowing freely. I've seen ethanol fuel eat up the insides of fuel lines so badly that they are nearly plugged.

If none of this is fruitful, try removing the carb fuel bowl (assuming it has one) to see what sort of gunk is in there. If it's more than a year old and has set any length of time, a good carb cleaning and/or rebuild is almost certainly in order.

 

[Chaz66]

Welcome! :welcome:

Can you watch the throttle butterfly/linkage on the carb while you put it under load to see what it does? Try to confirm that it is trying to open the throttle as it should. Then can you hear if the engine is beginning to load down? If it's doing this, it sounds to me like the engine is starving for fuel. Maybe due to fuel deposits from sitting too long. A good dose of SeaFoam in the tank sure couldn't hurt anything and may cure it. You could also try pulling off the fuel line at the carb connection to be sure it is flowing freely. I've seen ethanol fuel eat up the insides of fuel lines so badly that they are nearly plugged.

If none of this is fruitful, try removing the carb fuel bowl (assuming it has one) to see what sort of gunk is in there. If it's more than a year old and has set any length of time, a good carb cleaning and/or rebuild is almost certainly in order.

Thanks for reply. Carb is good. I went through engine operation. Fuel good.i am not seeing any problems with the engine or power.

 

[Otto Syracuse]

Amazing post! I have the exact same splitter, bought it the exact same way, and am having the exact same problem!

Thanks for the suggestion to clean out the carb and check fuel lines. I googled this issue and saw several post with the same problem. It could be anything from damaged hoses, bad vales, shot seals.......all things I do not know how to fix. I will be watching this thread to see what other suggestions come up.

PS Chaz, welcome to TBN!

 

[muddstopper]

I have ran into a few of my own small engines lately that all did the same thing. Run fine under no load and die as soon as placed under load. Sparkplug cured every one of them. Dont ask me how or why, but each of those engines ran fine when put in storage and all had sat for at least a year. How a plug goes bad just setting unused, I havent a clue.

 

[PILOON]

My guess would be a timing issue.
On some small engines the key on the flywheel slips or sheers thus changing the timing.
That assumes the carburetor is properly adjusted.
Also improper point gap setting will also advance or ****** the timing.

 

[bob11x]

Try putting the choke partially on - just to the point of blubbering/black smoke ( 1/2 way) then cycle the ram. The engines today are quite lean and something that sits a lot will build up residue in the Jets reducing the fuel mixture.

 

[Leejohn]

If it's a two stage pump it might not be dropping down into low speed high pressure when you get a load on it.

 

[Rocky J]

my vote is with the two stage pump, when it needs to drop back to high pressure low volume it dont and the engine cant push that much fluid that fast. I believe that splitter is made by SpeeCo ,

 

[Chaz66]

my vote is with the two stage pump, when it needs to drop back to high pressure low volume it dont and the engine cant push that much fluid that fast. I believe that splitter is made by SpeeCo ,

I'll check it out, but I don't think that is it. It literally dies almost immediately when it gets resistance, barely penetrating the log. I'm starting to lean towards the engine having an issue with all the comments.

 

[LD1]

My vote is the 2-stage pump too. Dont know what kind of wood you are splitting, but being a "22t" splitter tells me it has a 4" bore cylinder.

On about every piece of hardwood I split, as soon as the wood hits the wedge, it will kick to low.....then as soon as the wood opens up a bit, after the wedge is ~2" into the wood, it will shift back to high speed.

High speed should kick to low when at about ~650 PSI. Thats only about 4-tons of power. Which isnt enough to split most pieces of wood.

IF you have another huskee 22T just like it.......its an easy motor swap. 4-bolts and lining up the lovejoy. Swap motors on your two splitters. See if the problem follows the motor, or stays with the hydraulics.

 

[muddstopper]

Try the sparkplug first. I argued with folks it couldnt be the plug, rebuilt carburators, new filters, finally replace plug and the plug fixed it. Three small engines,, tiller, areovator, gocart and two or three chainsaws, all with similar symptoms as you are describing and a plug fixed every one of them. New Plug cost a dollar and some change, everything else cost a lot more.

 

[Chaz66]

My vote is the 2-stage pump too. Dont know what kind of wood you are splitting, but being a "22t" splitter tells me it has a 4" bore cylinder.

On about every piece of hardwood I split, as soon as the wood hits the wedge, it will kick to low.....then as soon as the wood opens up a bit, after the wedge is ~2" into the wood, it will shift back to high speed.

High speed should kick to low when at about ~650 PSI. Thats only about 4-tons of power. Which isnt enough to split most pieces of wood.

IF you have another huskee 22T just like it.......its an easy motor swap. 4-bolts and lining up the lovejoy. Swap motors on your two splitters. See if the problem follows the motor, or stays with the hydraulics.

Thanks, That was my next plan of action was motor swap.

 

[LD1]

Thanks, That was my next plan of action was motor swap.

I think at this point, thats the best plan of action.

Keep us updated whatever you decide to do.

 

[muddstopper]

May be an engine swap would tell whether its the engine, but what if you do the swap and still have the same problem. And if it is the problem you still have to fix it before mounting back on a splitter. Folks trouble shoot things differently I guess. I would swap the plug out of the good engine into the suspect engine first before doing a complete engine swap. No money spent and a easy swap. Heres the deal, if there is nothing wrong with the engine, then you are still left trouble shooting the hydraulics and remounting a engine to put back on the good machine, which is now motor less. If it turns out to be the hydraulic pump not shifting to low flow/high pressure, you will have to figure that out and then fix or replace it. I think I would buy/borrow a pressure gauge and install it on the machine and see if it is indeed building high pressure and killing the engine. if it is, you could try adjusting the relief down to the point it doesnt kill the engine and see just how much pressure it is building before stalling. Heck the machine is used and someone could have fiddled with the relief thinking they could split tuffer wood. You can buy a new 3000psi gauge for $20 and a tee for $10 and know for sure what your hyd system is doing. If the engine does turn out to be the culprit, you have spent $30 for something you will endup using more than you think now that you own one, and then do what it takes to get the motor running.

 

[TMGT]

I'll have to say my first thought was the 2 stage pump not dropping down.
Pressure gauge is a necessity when diagnosing most hyd problems accurately.

 

[Chaz66]

May be an engine swap would tell whether its the engine, but what if you do the swap and still have the same problem. And if it is the problem you still have to fix it before mounting back on a splitter. Folks trouble shoot things differently I guess. I would swap the plug out of the good engine into the suspect engine first before doing a complete engine swap. No money spent and a easy swap. Heres the deal, if there is nothing wrong with the engine, then you are still left trouble shooting the hydraulics and remounting a engine to put back on the good machine, which is now motor less. If it turns out to be the hydraulic pump not shifting to low flow/high pressure, you will have to figure that out and then fix or replace it. I think I would buy/borrow a pressure gauge and install it on the machine and see if it is indeed building high pressure and killing the engine. if it is, you could try adjusting the relief down to the point it doesnt kill the engine and see just how much pressure it is building before stalling. Heck the machine is used and someone could have fiddled with the relief thinking they could split tuffer wood. You can buy a new 3000psi gauge for $20 and a tee for $10 and know for sure what your hyd system is doing. If the engine does turn out to be the culprit, you have spent $30 for something you will endup using more than you think now that you own one, and then do what it takes to get the motor running.

Thanks for your input. I am going to try the plug before an engine swap. It already has a gauge on it and it is only building about 500lbs or so before stalling. I am concerned that the relief was messed with. I had an issue with my other one in the past where the detent was not functioning and the valve was very sticky in operation and bogging down the power. I took it apart and cleaned it up, and everything was fine.

I will be going back to cabin this weekend to dig into it.

 

[LD1]

Do you know what pump is on it? And what is the motor HP? IF its the 16 gpm pump , 500 sounds about right. IF its the 11 gpm, I think closer to 650-700 before it needs to shift.

In other words, your 2 stage pump Is NOT shifting. Which is an adjustable setting at the pump (not the valve). The correct method of operation should be as follows:
Pump is in high flow-low pressure mode. The splitter should continue to operate in this "fast" mode until ~500 PSI. (Again, this setting is adjustable). At which point it will shift into low flow-high pressure mode, where it will build pressure up to 2500-3000psi range. (this is adjustable at the valve. The main relief).

So the question now is, why is the pump not shifting? 3 probably causes.....

1. It(pump) set a tad too high for the motor HP.....like maybe set at 600 psi and the motor only has the power to produce 500 psi at whatever the high flow rate is (11gpm or 16 gpm??). CAusing it to stall before it can get to the shift point. Easy fix.....turn down the shift point at the pump.

2. Motor not making enough (rated) HP to get to that shift point. Alot of these causes have already been discussed. Bad gas, fouled plug, dirty carb, etc etc.

3. A problem with the actual pump itself. Something wrong physically not allowing it to shift.

It could be a combination of both 1 and 2. The pump could be set boarder line too high, as well as some minor issues with the motor.

A motor swap can tell you which of the 3 is the problem. With the known good motor, if problems follow the motor......thats the issue. If both motors work fine on your other splitter, and neither work on the new splitter.....then its a hydraulic problem. Either bad pump, or shift point set too high. Likely someone messed with something they shouldnt have.

What I can say, based on what you have said thus far, the issue is NOT the valve. The relief in the valve only applies when you are in high pressure - slow speed mode and able to develop 2500+ PSI. You aint getting anywhere near that relief pressure yet.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Subscribed.

 

[Rocky J]

I did not see what engine this came with. If it was a overhead valve engine you might want to check the exhaust valve gap.They have a compression release on the camshaft and adjusted properly the valve is slightly opened when starting and shut all the way once started. If to loose it will pull through jerky and hurt your fingers , make you think of a sheared flywheel key, If to tight it will hold the exhaust valve open slightly after it is running and rob the engine of most of its power, comparing to a bad head gasket. My Husky splitter came with the Honda GC engine and was crap from day one, put a Clone on it for $89 from Harbor Freight at the end of the first year, been fine the last three years.