LogSplitter No power on stroke or return

[finishsuper]

I just purchased a homemade log splitter on the cheap, and got her home. Son wanted to try it out with me, so we started it up and threw a log on. When we pushed the lever forward to extend the cylinder, the engine began working hard and the piston moved slowly until it reached the log and then it was too much and the engine died. Restarted it back up and tried to retract the piston, but even then, the motor was under a lot of load trying to pull the piston back in.

This splitter has sat for quite a bit (hence the sale) and I'm new to hydraulics. The fittings are tight, the hoses are good shape, the reservoir is better than 3/4 full and the fluid looks good, the piston is in great shape (no discoloration or rusting on the piston shaft), the motor starts good and runs good with no load.

Here are some specifics:
Engine: 5HP Honda OHC
Pump: Northern 1056 2 stage

Should I be looking for air trapped in the system? A clog somewhere? (I don't see a filter, where would it be?). Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

PS I can provide pictures or more information as needed.

 

[J_J]

There should be a return filter on the tank.

Put a 3000 hyd gage on the valve IN port in a tee, and take some readings.

If you have air in the lines, it will purge itself when the rams is working.

What happens when you retract the ram and hold the lever, does the relief activate?

Are there any QD's in the hyd system, and if so, re-seat them.

Some pictures would be good.

 

[finishsuper]

I don't have access to a gauge right now, and probably won't be able to get one this weekend, so will have to do the ole "poke and hope" method for now.
Here are some pictures: I still don't see a filter. Maybe I need to install one?

Ran it for a bit this am and it seems to be a bit better today: the ram extends fully with no load, and the motor runs fairly decent. On the retract though, the motor works quite a bit, almost to failure.

I put a log in the cradle and as soon as I made contact, the motor quit. Will try to upload the vids to YouTube and then post links here, so you can see and hear.

Thanks for the reply and information.

 

[finishsuper]

Here are links to 2 YouTube vids. One showing the splitter running with nothing in the cradle, and the other with a log in place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0iqVVW4BQM&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve2cNi7PK64&feature=youtu.be

 

[wdchyd]

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

 

[wdchyd]

Here are links to 2 YouTube vids. One showing the splitter running with nothing in the cradle, and the other with a log in place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0iqVVW4BQM&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve2cNi7PK64&feature=youtu.be

Can't see vids

 

[J_J]

This is what shows on your link.

This video is private.
Sorry about that.

Add a return filter as soon as possible.

 

[J_J]

wdchyd,

Just saw that you were selected as Member of the Month.

Congratulations, you contribute a lot to this forum and others, and we all appreciate it very much.

 

[finishsuper]

I think I fixed the YouTube vids. Sorry about that.

 

[J_J]

The vids are working now.

It sounds like the relief did not relieve enough.

There is the main relief and the kick off relief.

You might remove it , clean it and re-install/or replace.

A new log splitter valve can be had for $60.

 

[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.