Log splitter.

[Sberry]

Why is/did my log splitter start foaming the oil and blowing out the breather? Got to be getting air in the suction?

 

[triptester]

Had that happen makes for big mess. Sucking air on suction side of pump will cause what will look like a volcanic eruption. Tighten clamps on suction hose or look for lose fittings or small crack in suction hose.

 

[Sberry]

Yes, thanks, I googled it this morning. I have never "bled" a simple double acting cylinder. I might have to hunt up a new suction hose, it's hard and been there a long time. After that was considering pump shaft seal. Another thing missing on these is a gage port.
A filter change trouble shoot usually doesn't do much but did put new on any way as the old one was on for 20 years or so. The hose isn't leaking at the bottom, spose it could be at the pump though as this just started
It's so old a crack is a possibility.

 

[Sberry]

Got to get it going as I need to get the mil back to work. I am going to get a new vertical and put it in to a design I got. Tired of fussing with used and all the time converting would be more than starting out with new with design i want.

 

[triptester]

What basic design are you planning?

 

[Sberry]

I want to take a stand or common vehicle splitter and raise it up off the ground and put a table on each side basically so the operator is standing up and the splits simply set there vs falling like they do on a horiz.

 

[Sberry]

Never have to lift or catch pieces and might put a lift table on one side.

 

[Texasmark]

I never had such a problem with my homemade splitter.....look at the location of my 2 gallon sump and my blue 16 gpm 2 stage pump. Inlet is 1" to the pump and outlet is ï½¾". My splitter 4x48" cylinder sits horizontal on a frame containing the ram and blade just off the ground and I roll the logs up to it, split, and toss the splits over into the bucket on my FEL. When full I go over to the storage bin and dump the bucket...cuts way down on back strain. Hoses are ¾" and as short as possible to get my single digit (unloaded) cycle times.

 

[triptester]

Never have to lift or catch pieces and might put a lift table on one side.

A log lift for this style of splitter can be very inexpensive to add. I found the only real added cost when building this style splitter is the steel plate for the table.
I have made 7 of this type, 2 where people want their horizontal or H/V converted to the table style. The red splitter was brought back to have the log lift repaired after it was backed into.

 

[oosik]

We burned firewood the first fifteen years we were here. Of all the duties involved in harvesting firewood - lifting the rounds up onto the splitter was the worst. Most of the Ponderosa pines we cut here were 32" to 36" on the butt cut. We would fell two pines - very near each other. One splitter location would service both trees. I would dig a trench with the bucket on the tractor and roll the splitter down into this trench. It would make the splitter at the same level as the surrounding ground. The only lifting - the final splits.