Hydraulic log splitter

[J_J]

View attachment 355525View attachment 355527View attachment 355528View attachment 355526View attachment 355529View attachment 355530It warmed up to about 40 today so I decided to try the splitter out, I had some hickory and ash logs that I had cut last fall and this spring. I hooked the splitter to the pt hydraulics and set the throttle about 1/3 open and started splitting. All the logs split real easy and the pt engine speed never varied on any of the logs , it probably took about 15 minutes to split all the logs. See pictures. The only problem I found is the pressure gauge never moved off zero.

Where did you put the hyd gage?

It should have been in a tee in the IN port of the log splitter valve. The pressure side.

If you put the gage in the OUT/return side of the valve, you might show a zero pressure of little pressure.

 

[LD1]

Yep, any close ups of how the gauge is hooked up? and the style of gauge and what increments it has? Cause some hydraulic gauges I have seen start at 500psi?

And we put a 0-5k gauge on our splitter once. Teed into the base end of the cylinder to see how much force it takes to split a peice. Ended up taking it off because it was hard to read. IE: most of the time it is on 0 psi, and only briefly spikes to bust open the wood. Then back down near zero as it dont take much force to finish. But by extending the cylinder all the way, and holding the valve with the cylinder out of travel, was able to see operating pressure of the splitter.

 

[ernemats]

I don't believe the engine is getting very hot running at 1/3 throttle. Very seldom do I run the engine at full throttle unless I am mowing and I have never had any problems with the engine getting real hot 2,022 hours on it as of now. (Knock on wood) The pressure gauge is on the in line and goes to 3,000 psi. It can be seen in pictures 1, 2, and the last picture.

 

[J_J]

The gage should show the cyl force at any time it is working a load or when maxed out.

When maxed out, the gage will show the log splitter valve relief pressure setting. You can also use the gage to set the kick back to neutral pressure.

With the lever in neutral, the gage should show almost no pressure.

 

[ernemats]

The gauge shows 0 pressure whether in neutral or splitting a log or maxed out. I believe the gauge is probably broken.

 

[ernemats]

The pressure gauge does not seem to be working, for a replacement I have been looking on ebay and all the pressure gauges seem to be liquid filled is that what I need and should I go with 3,000 or 5,000 psi. The gauge on it now is not liquid filled and is 3,000 psi.

 

[SpringHollow]

Liquid filled helps dampen needle movement due to vibration. 3000 would give you more sensitive readings, 5000 would give you a safety factor if something goes wrong.

Ken

 

[ponytug]

Liquid filled gauges dampen needle movement by slowing the needle down, but the mechanism itself still gets hammered by the hydraulic pulses.

Given the usage you are planning, you might want to consider adding a snubber between the gauge and the rest of the system. It will lengthen the life of the gauge and give you more stable readings. Basically, it is a small hole or series of small holes that average out surges in the system being monitored. It just screws in, and will greatly extend the life of the gauge. They are readily available from many suppliers.



If you do use one, add oil to the gauge side and assemble it vertically with the open end up to try and remove as much air from the gauge side of the snubber as possible. The trapped air will eventually come out, but preloading it speeds the process.

All the best,

Peter

 

[J_J]

3000 PSI 2.5" LF LM GAUGE

 

[ernemats]

I put a new pressure gauge on the log splitter and it is showing very little pressure maybe 100 psi max. On the power trac which hose should the hose going to the in side of the valve . Currently I have the hose on the right side of the power trac (from sitting on seat) going to the in port of the valve? Is that right or wrong?

 

[MossRoad]

I put a new pressure gauge on the log splitter and it is showing very little pressure maybe 100 psi max. On the power trac which hose should the hose going to the in side of the valve . Currently I have the hose on the right side of the power trac (from sitting on seat) going to the in port of the valve? Is that right or wrong?

You are using the larger main PTO circuit, not the smaller aux PTO circuit, correct? Not sure which side is the in and which is the out without tracing the hoses. The one that returns to the tank is the low pressure side. Sorry I can't be of further assistance.

 

[SpringHollow]

That sounds right to me but I can not say for sure.

Ken

 

[J_J]

Make an adapter with a QD on the gage and plug into your PTO hose to determine the pressure hose.

Picture below.

Another way to tell which hose is pressure.

If you apply power/pressure to a hose with 1/2 QD on it, it will flex/jump.

If you fully retract the cyl and hold the lever, you should get around 3000 psi on the gage.

I believe the male QD is used for most pressure lines.

If the male QD is the pressure line, and you put that gage setup on the male PTO QD, and hit the PTO switch, you should see the PTO relief pressure, about 3000 psi.

 

[ernemats]

I'm using the main pto connectors. I don't know if when I put the pump back on whether I could have possibly connected the hoses to the wrong places.

 

[SpringHollow]

On mine, when sitting on the seat, the pressure hose connections are on the right, case drain and returns are on the left. But obviously a very different model but I suspect yours are the same.

Ken

 

[J_J]

I'm using the main pto connectors. I don't know if when I put the pump back on whether I could have possibly connected the hoses to the wrong places.

Loosen the male PTO QD and flip the PTO switch. If that QD is leaking profusely, that would be the pressure.

 

[SpringHollow]

Be very careful with a hydraulic leak. A man hear had a leak he did not see inject hydraulic fluid into his arm. He was in the hospital for many weeks. It nearly killed him. The pressure gauge setup that JJ recommends is safer. If you are doing a leak test, be careful and just flip the switch for a second.

Ken

 

[ponytug]

I agree. Pressure hydraulic oil injection injuries from leaks are exceptionally dangerous.

Caution: gruesome photos Danger of hydraulic Oil Injection Injuries
Scientific paper: Injection injuries: seemingly minor injuries with major consequences

All the best,

Peter

Be very careful with a hydraulic leak. A man hear had a leak he did not see inject hydraulic fluid into his arm. He was in the hospital for many weeks. It nearly killed him. The pressure gauge setup that JJ recommends is safer. If you are doing a leak test, be careful and just flip the switch for a second.

Ken

 

[MossRoad]

Yikes! I knew about it but never saw it. Last spring I was running a log splitter. It was auto-returning the ram when I accidentally dropped a log onto the backside of the ram as it was returning. The log caught the back of the ram and the other end immediately pinched against the valve handle, which prevented the valve from moving to the auto-stop position, so it pretty much immediately cracked the pipe under the valve on top of the cylinder. That caused an immediate spray of hydraulic fluid directly onto the engine and controls. It was a wide-fan spray pattern perpendicular to the ground. There was no way to shut off the engine without getting soaked, but I remembered that if it was high pressure fluid spraying out, I could be seriously injured. After looking at the arc of the spray, I realized it was low pressure and I then slapped the choke lever to kill the engine. My sleeve got soaked almost instantly. I lost about a quart of fluid from the splitter. Looking back at it, I should have had safety glasses on. And I should have used a stick to reach in and kill the machine. Hindsight is 20/20. However, I was happy with my first instinct to run far away as soon as I saw the leak and observe from a distance. :thumbsup:

 

[ernemats]

I took the female quick attach fitting off the log splitter and put it on the male fitting of the power trac and hit the pto switch for a second and a lot of fluid came out , so I believe that the male fitting on the pt is the pressure like several said and Terry also confirmed. Next I hooked up the log splitter and cycled it without a log, there was no reading on the pressure gauge until it hit the end then it jumped to about 100 psi. On the return cycle it read about 100 psi the whole way back. I'm thinking the gauge is probably bad?