Log splitters

[John_Mc]

This has much more to do with the size of the pump, and the viscosity of the oil you're pulling through it, than the engine. My engine pulls over pretty easy, but connect it to a large pump sucking on honey, and it gets real hard to pull that cord.

At just 11 - 13 GPM, this isn't that big a deal. But once you get into 20 GPM territory, it's more of a problem. I went to an electric start engine when I upgraded my pump past 16 GPM, so I can just plug it into my tractor and turn a key to cold start. Once they hydraulic oil (ATF) is warmed up, then it's easy to re-start by pulling the cord.

I never really thought about how much drag the pump puts on starting. I didn't really think about what it does then the valve is in neutral.

I have no idea what hydraulic fluid is in my AmericanCLS AM-25HH log splitter. The manual says "any quality light hydraulic oil." I bought it used. I probably should change the hydraulic oil one of these days. It has a 16 GPM pump, but I have no trouble at all pulling it over even in below freezing weather.

 

[bearthebruce]

My cylinder gets quite warm after 20 minutes of splitting.

Was wondering if anyone else’s Champ 27t does the same.

Yes, my new 27Ton Champion gets warm. I ran it 5 hours on Saturday. It did not get hot.. but it was warm. I was not concerned.

As to the amount of force... I've nothing to compare it. It had plenty of force to split 24"d by 16" Maple rounds. Easy Peezy.

Would it do Oak that size... I don't know.

 

[arrow]

Yes, my new 27Ton Champion gets warm. I ran it 5 hours on Saturday. It did not get hot.. but it was warm. I was not concerned.

As to the amount of force... I've nothing to compare it. It had plenty of force to split 24"d by 16" Maple rounds. Easy Peezy.

Would it do Oak that size... I don't know.

Hmm?
I’d hafta say mine does get hot to the touch.
Put about 5 gals of fluid in it when new.
Maybe it needs more. Dunno what’s making it run at elevated temps except pressures.
I should shoot it with a temp gun at the cylinder and see what it reads.

 

[triptester]

135 degrees is perfect. This temperature helps reduce moisture. Above 160 many hydrualic fluids start to break down.

 

[WinterDeere]

I never really thought about how much drag the pump puts on starting. I didn't really think about what it does then the valve is in neutral.

Live center valve, so even in "neutral", you're still pushing fluid through the whole system. I really noticed a huge diffefrence in how hard the pull start became with each upgrade in pump size, as I went from 11 - 20 GPM in two or three steps, as I upgraded other ocmponents.

I did upgrade the engine at one point, from 6hp to 11hp, and of course the bigger engine is a slightly larder pull than the small one. But not by more than any one of the pump upgrades.

 

[WinterDeere]

135 degrees is perfect. This temperature helps reduce moisture. Above 160 many hydrualic fluids start to break down.

I've heard this as well, and it might be another good reason to run ATF, I suspect. Every automatic car today seems to be running their ATF above 180F.

 

[triptester]

ATF handles higher temps but other splitter components don't handle the higher temps as well.

 

[WinterDeere]

ATF handles higher temps but other splitter components don't handle the higher temps as well.

I think I'm seeing some of that, here. Running 20 GPM on a 7 gallon tank, my hydraulic fluid (ATF) gets quite warm. No failures so far, but the rod seal on both the main piston and SCV do seep just a bit. Not enough to be troublesome, but you do smell warm ATF after awhile.

I have considered adding a small radiator to help cool the fluid, but just haven't gotten around to arranging it. I'm running out of great places to hide such fragile hardware, I imagine anything hung down low might take a beating when I tow the thing through deep snow, etc.

 

[m7040]

I think I'm seeing some of that, here. Running 20 GPM on a 7 gallon tank, my hydraulic fluid (ATF) gets quite warm. No failures so far, but the rod seal on both the main piston and SCV do seep just a bit. Not enough to be troublesome, but you do smell warm ATF after awhile.

I have considered adding a small radiator to help cool the fluid, but just haven't gotten around to arranging it. I'm running out of great places to hide such fragile hardware, I imagine anything hung down low might take a beating when I tow the thing through deep snow, etc.

My Wolfe Ridge has a I think 20 gallon hydraulic oil tank. The hydraulic oil cooler was an option that I did not select and not needed since I don't use it commercially. Also did not select the light tower since I don't use it after dark anyway

 

[John_Mc]

140˚ is generally accepted as the hottest temperature at which you can safely touch metal objects. At that temperature, your skin should be able to withstand several seconds of contact without damage. (For most non-metallic solid objects, you can touch a bit hotter hotter without serious issues.)

That also happens to be right around the recommended max temperature at which many hydraulic fluids should be run. (They can generally take a little more, but that provides a bit of a buffer, since some parts of the system run hotter than others.)

If parts of my splitter system were running hot enough that I could not touch metal parts for more than a few seconds, I would be shutting down to find the problem.