Northern tool log splitter?

[gotago]

Has anyone bought the northern tool cat1 pto log splitter thats $399 for use with the PT? I thought about buying the splitter and just mounting it on a pallet for use with the pallet forks. Any thoughts?

 

[Kubotasrking]

Has anyone bought the northern tool cat1 pto log splitter thats $399 for use with the PT? I thought about buying the splitter and just mounting it on a pallet for use with the pallet forks. Any thoughts?

Here's a link of someone who thought of something similar. They built the entire thing, but the idea is the same....

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/93007-nh-tc40a-logsplitter-project-new-post.html

 

[J_J]

Has anyone bought the northern tool cat1 pto log splitter thats $399 for use with the PT? I thought about buying the splitter and just mounting it on a pallet for use with the pallet forks. Any thoughts?

I purchased one of those 3pt log splitters years ago, and it is still working good. I use mine on my Kubota, but thought of converting it to use on my PT-1445 Power-Trac.

 

[Bill Barrett]

I was going to make one, I have a cylinder and I-beam. I still don't think I can make one cheaper than that. Got good reviews.

 

[woodlandfarms]

How would this hook into the PT's system? On the PTO side or the secondary PTO (the grapple, locking mechanism control)

 

[toy]

Has anyone bought the northern tool cat1 pto log splitter thats $399 for use with the PT? I thought about buying the splitter and just mounting it on a pallet for use with the pallet forks. Any thoughts?

Have you looked at strays posts on his log splitter for his pt? His design is the slickest design I've seen.

 

[gotago]

Scratch the northern tool log splitter. I just found a 10' I-beam in my father in laws backyard and can't resist building my own splitter. I've decided a prince valve is the way to go. Will hit a large junkyard by the house looking for a decent cylinder. At 8 GPM what size cylinder should I get? I want a 24" stroke, I'm looking at 3 and 4 inch bores. I read the numbers on a 3 X 24 X 1.5 and it was around a 21000 lb. push force, with a 14,000 lb pull. Is the 8 GPM going to be a limiting factor? Any recommendations on the cylinder size would be appreciated. I'd like to "right size" the cylinder to the PT and be able to split some big wood. We're going to build it to mount on the pallet forks for both vertical and horizontal use. The only physics I regularly use is "bernouli's principle" so I'm outta my element with this hydraulic stuff. Thanmks for the help.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a link to a very useful page over at the Surplus Center.

SURPLUS CENTER TECHNICAL HELP

There are hydraulic calculators there. One in particular that you may be interested is the one that determines the speed of a cylinder. Look along the left side of the page... down under HYDRAULICS there are calculators. Check the FORCE AND SPEED calculator. When it comes up, plug in your numbers.

 

[gotago]

Thanks Moss, I plugged in the numbers, anyone care to check them? 25 hp at 8gpm = approx 2250 psi. For a 4 inch cylinder with a 1.5 inch rod at 2250 psi and 8 gpm I get a push force of approx 28000 lbs at 2.5 inches per second push and 2.9 inches per second retract. For some reason I had it in my head that the pto produced greater than 2250 psi. If these numbers are correct then I think i'll shop for an 18 or 20 inch cylinder. Seems like a 24 inch cylinder would have an overly long cycle time. Any thoughts?

 

[Bill Barrett]

Thanks Moss, I plugged in the numbers, anyone care to check them? 25 hp at 8gpm = approx 2250 psi. For a 4 inch cylinder with a 1.5 inch rod at 2250 psi and 8 gpm I get a push force of approx 28000 lbs at 2.5 inches per second push and 2.9 inches per second retract. For some reason I had it in my head that the pto produced greater than 2250 psi. If these numbers are correct then I think i'll shop for an 18 or 20 inch cylinder. Seems like a 24 inch cylinder would have an overly long cycle time. Any thoughts?

If I'm right, that would only be a issue if you cycled the cylinder full stroke. If you ran the cylinder out to 18" to 20" with the 24" cylinder would be no different.

 

[gotago]

My thinking was that if i'm cutting smaller stuff, it would be kind of a wait at that speed getting the wedge to the stock, then again its still quicker than the armstrong splitter. My thought was to have the wedge about 4 to 6 inches from the plate at full extension so I could still cut 22-24 inch stock. Unfortunately my logs run anywhere from 14 inches for my garage stove to 18 for my home stove, then larger stuff for another fireplace. Does the 2250 PSI sound correct to the pt425 owners?

 

[KentT]

My thinking was that if i'm cutting smaller stuff, it would be kind of a wait at that speed getting the wedge to the stock, then again its still quicker than the armstrong splitter. My thought was to have the wedge about 4 to 6 inches from the plate at full extension so I could still cut 22-24 inch stock. Unfortunately my logs run anywhere from 14 inches for my garage stove to 18 for my home stove, then larger stuff for another fireplace. Does the 2250 PSI sound correct to the pt425 owners?

The PTO on the PT-425 is rated at a max of 8GPM at 2500PSI.

 

[MossRoad]

Since firewood is measured in cords, and a cord is a stack of firewood 4' wide by 4' tall and 8' long, and a rank is 1/3 of a cord, or 16" wide by 4' high by 8' long.... oh heck, who cares!

I would get a longer throw for those rare occasions when a piece might be longer than the standard 16". You don't have to retract it all the way, but it would be nice to be able to if you needed.

 

[Gravy]

You could do what I do and just don't retract the ram all the way between logs,or it wouldn't be that hard to make a spacer block for use with shorter logs. Either way effectively shortens the stroke.

Gravy

 

[RegL]

My thinking was that if i'm cutting smaller stuff, it would be kind of a wait at that speed getting the wedge to the stock, then again its still quicker than the armstrong splitter. My thought was to have the wedge about 4 to 6 inches from the plate at full extension so I could still cut 22-24 inch stock. Unfortunately my logs run anywhere from 14 inches for my garage stove to 18 for my home stove, then larger stuff for another fireplace. Does the 2250 PSI sound correct to the pt425 owners?

I bought a splitter from tsc last year and it's been great for those hard to split pieces. I still like the old splitting maul for the easy stuff, which the short blocks usually are. What I usually do is whack them once or twice with the maul and if they don't pop I roll them toward the splitter. When I get tired of swinging the maul I start the splitter and split those ornery one's. so I would take moss's advice and get the long throw because those pieces will be the hardest to split most the time.
If I were going to buy or build a splitter for the PT, it would be one that operates up side down and can be operated from the seat. You could just drive up to those large chunks, place the splitter over them and pop them without leaving your seat.