Woodsplitter build #2

[6sunset6]

Good tip. I will try it. Thanks

Wow I looked at it . It looks like the most comprehensive free CAD program I have ever seen. I was told once that if you can use Autocad, you can use Solidworks. Draft Sight looks just like Autocad.
I will have to dust the rust off my cad skills. Actually sandblasting will probably be required. Wish I had it when I was trying to work out the pivot points on the log lift.

 

[6sunset6]

Pictures Running on my 50A welding outlet
The 10ft 10g line cord stayed cold The 12g pigtail to the motor stayed cold
The filter was getting warmer.
Amp meter on 60A scale
1900 psi at 21A
2500 psi at 25 A This is where I wanted to leave it but after 3-4 minutes the thermal cutout in the motor cut out. Motor was hot. This was going to be a safety setting for the pump. I set it at 2000 psi . I will have to see what happens when the beam is connected and most of the flow is at 600 psi, although the flow is higher.
I can always go to a ,shutter, fossil fuel fired engine.
The hour meter seems to be running fast. Don't know how that can be , they clock off 60 hz. I will time it with a watch some time. Maybe I am having so much fun time just passes.

Edit: What am I thinking. Set the relief at 2500. It's a safety. I don't care if the motor stops 5 min after oil is going over that valve. It should never happen. I can set the valve on the splitter ram cylinder to the minimum that works.

 

[6sunset6]

You guys forgot to tell me that the difference between a 20" cylinder and a 24" cylinder is 8" not 4". I had to unbolt the cylinder anchor , unbolt the hydraulic tailgate , put the mag drill back up there and drill 4 more holes. I debated with myself for a while whether or not to bother but I finally decided to do it. Also finished, almost , the mount for the log lifter. Needs some right angle braces but I need to put it together to see where they go. Finished the mount for the off side log stop. Just going to stick bent 3/4 rebar in those pipe sleeves with those orange caps on the ends.
Started thinking about the outfeed mount. Looks like 3/4 pipe will slide nice and loose into 1 1/4. I have to find a couple of feet of 1 1/4 pipe somewhere.
It was cold today, well 33F and once I got the shop warm I did not feel like opening the door to take the tractor out. I wanted to collect some amps vs PSI data points. Need the space to get the pump unit closer to the welder outlet.
50d F tomorrow , good day for that .
I plotted the 2 points I have and the theoretical lets see if I can attach it. The 2 points in green are real measurments. The others derive from the PSI x gpm /1714 = hp and then converted to kw and then amps. They are not too out of line from each other . I am curious to see what the rest of the real numbers are.
One of these days I will move the beam outside and leave it there Then I will have to run it

 

[6sunset6]

Almost there. Bolted on lifter bracket and off side mount. Bolted in the lifter. This is the first time those big nuts have been on the pivot bolts. The up position with out the cylinder is the travel position. IF you look at very first pictures you can see forklift pockets. The left hand one ended up under the log lifter . That why the cylinder push point is off center and why there is a travel position. I am going to run the lifter one more time on air to make sure up is slightly beyond horizontal.
Also got the out feed table going. I worked till 5pm today IT was warm out but it was 2 hrs past my quitting time. So of course I managed to goof up a few things. Lost track of my tape measure and the angle iron is an inch longer on one side than the other, Also welded a bar right over the bend slot on both sides. I can weld on an inch if I need to. Cutting out welds is what grinders are for. IT is heavy , I will need legs at the end, Pipe and pads. Good thing I have forks for my tractor. Those orange things are rebar caps. I got 10 for $5.

 

[Scooby074]

Bob are you going to put a lip around the outfeed?

I have about a 6" lip around mine and it does a good job keeping the rounds from shooting off. Something to think about.

 

[6sunset6]

Yes I am Just got late and I was tired of bending over. I think I have to extend a couple of the inner ones back past the splitter

 

[westcliffe01]

You can avoid this problem by adding a bypass solenoid valve that is normally open from the pressure side of the pump to the tank. So when you turn the system on it cannot build pressure at all, will draw very little current (drive motor) and it will be quiet and can run this way for basically forever.

Then when you want to want to run the splitter, you just need a way to trigger the bypass valve closed temporarily (like a switch that is closed when you operate the hydraulic lever to "extend" the cylinder. Then you have a second device which holds the bypass closed while the ram is away from its "home" position, connected in parallel to the momentary switch. This could be a proximity switch of some sort which picks up off some part of the cylinder rod and is open circuit only when fully retracted.

So the workings go something like this: Throw the lever to advance the cylinder. This makes the momentary switch, closing the bypass and allowing pressure to build, which advances the ram. As soon as the ram advances, the proximity switch goes closed circuit, holding the bypass closed. From this point it works like a regular splitter. When the ram retracts, the proximity switch goes open circuit, the bypass opens again and there is no hydraulic pressure. Life is good.

I have built quite a few hydraulic machines and this kind of "idle mode" was incorporated in all of them and it reduces power consumption and heat build up (and noise) quite a bit. When you work with a machine that does not have it and it is permanently under load working against the relief valve from the moment you turn it on, it seems downright primitive by comparison.

One just needs to consider whether there are any loads which need to be supported when the ram is idle since they would not have hydraulic power at that point. Or if the other accessories are OK with reduced pressure, you put a second lower pressure regulator between the bypass valve and the tank so instead of going to zero pressure you just drop down to whatever pressure you need for the other parts of the machine to work.

Hope I didn't bore anyone to tears with that...

2500 psi at 25 A This is where I wanted to leave it but after 3-4 minutes the thermal cutout in the motor cut out.

Edit: What am I thinking. Set the relief at 2500. It's a safety. I don't care if the motor stops 5 min after oil is going over that valve. It should never happen. I can set the valve on the splitter ram cylinder to the minimum that works.

 

[6sunset6]

Westcliffe01
That's an interesting thought. I think when everything is hooked up and the cylinder valves are centered then flow is return to tank , no relief valve involved.
As soon as a 4 way is shifted oil goes to a work port until the pressure build to a point where the relief valve opens and pump pressure hold the relief valve open and oil returns to the tank but the pump is working against the relief valve.
The relief valve in my previous post is only to protect the pump if a QD becomes disconnected. In normal operation it should never open.
The relief in the 4 way is set at 2000 . The 4way is an automatic valve with detents set at 1500 and 1700. The detents throw the 4 way to center . 2000 psi is a sweet spot in the motor current curve. Should be fine. I am more concerned about 600 psi at 16gpm. It looks like that will strain the motor some.
All those loads are intermittant. Have to wait and see how the motor behaves.

 

[westcliffe01]

For some reason, the valve on my husky splitter must be too restrictive, since the engine labors even when the valve is in neutral. The pump on mine is a 2 stage. I would probably benefit by going to a bigger valve body or trying to identify the source of the restriction.

 

[6sunset6]

For some reason, the valve on my husky splitter must be too restrictive, since the engine labors even when the valve is in neutral. The pump on mine is a 2 stage. I would probably benefit by going to a bigger valve body or trying to identify the source of the restriction.

You might have a collapsed hose Suction or return. I just fixed that on my old splitter. On suction. Went from 17 sec cycle to 10.