LogSplitter No power on stroke or return

[finishsuper]

Engine dying is either pump is not automatically shifting into power displacement (smaller gear set) or you have engine issues (bad gas ect..??)

If the pump doesn't shift down to the high power mode (slower) then your engine is trying to push too many gpm's resulting in engine stall

A flow meter would troubleshoot this condition if it was hyd related.....not sure if a hyd guage would tell ya much other than what the pressure is when it stalls

engine should have enough power to go into pressure relief if the pump is kicking into second stage

Is there anything I can tell by working on the pump? Tearing it down or some kind of troubleshooting?
Would air in the system cause these symptoms? Should I try to bleed the line somewhere on the cylinder?

Again, thanks for the reply and the help.

 

[finishsuper]

Can you tell from the pictures that I posted, which is the main relief? Is it the large "bolt" that is next to the handle? Sorry, new to hydraulics and a lot of the terminology. Been looking for some parts diagrams and stuff when I have a chance, but not finding necessarily the specifics I need.

Thanks again.

 

[J_J]

Yes, the main relief is by the handle. Your valve looks similar to this one.

http://www.princehyd.com/Portals/0/products/valves/catalog/ValvesLsRd25.pdf

All parts are available.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=9-7724&catname=hydraulic

$64

 

[radioman]

If you had air in the system, then your splitter would still push, not stall motor. Air is compressible so it shouldnt stall motor at least in my experience. your ram will act like a shock absorber as soon it pushes wood thru bouncing back dangerously. something looks like the flow is blocked in valve somewhere or valve is not setup correctly.

 

[radioman]

If you had air in the system, then your splitter would still push, not stall motor. Air is compressible so it shouldnt stall motor at least in my experience. your ram will act like a shock absorber as soon it pushes wood thru bouncing back dangerously. something looks like the flow is blocked in valve somewhere or valve is not setup correctly.

Another thought- look at the pump and see if there is an rotational arrow and see if the engine shaft is spinning same direction.
If you have time, I'd take the hoses off and see if there are any restrictions in the hose. They look brandnew, but you never know if there is hose debris left somewhere from being made and since its a homemade unit, I would start downloading manuals for valve, pump and engine and confirm the setup, hose connections, etc.

 

[sizzami]

could be a bad seal on the inside rod end alowing it to bypass eitherway I have seen it

 

[sizzami]

I would also check the hoses if one is over crimped it will produce the symptoms you describe

 

[finishsuper]

Yes, the main relief is by the handle. Your valve looks similar to this one.

http://www.princehyd.com/Portals/0/products/valves/catalog/ValvesLsRd25.pdf

All parts are available.

Surplus Center - 1 SPOOL 25 GPM LOG SPLITTER VALVE W/AUTO DETENT

$64

OK, I took out the main relief valve and inspected it. Didn't see anything obviously wrong with it. I got the spring out, but wasn't able to get anything else out. The ball or pin inside was loose but I wasn't able to remove it.

I re-assembled everything and started it back up. The results were much better, however, there still wasn't enough pressure to split a piece of red oak (fairly straight grained, short in length, and dried for over a year). I did have an old piece of hickory that split easily, but 2 pieces of red oak were a no no.

Uploaded an updated video. You can hear the improvement, and you can hear the motor pushing against the wood........ but the wood winning. Sorry for the shakiness, hard to hold camera, run splitter and keep wood in place.

Updated Log Splitter.avi - YouTube

Thanks again for all the assistance. It is much appreciated. (Once I get this thing running, my 73 year old father won't have to split his wood with his sledge hammer anymore.........)

 

[Leejohn]

By your picture it looks like the intake hose from tank is flat or kinked. Check of a screen in tank.

 

[finishsuper]

By your picture it looks like the intake hose from tank is flat or kinked. Check of a screen in tank.

I checked the intake hose, and especially during operation and it is not pinched or restricted. Going to try to find a hydraulic pressure gauge and figure out how to install it inline, and see if I can determine if my pump is bad or not (not switching to high pressure/low flow during load).

Thanks for the input.