Log Splitter Wont Split

[show75]

Hi I have an older log splitter my fater in law and his dad owned. I just put a new speeco 11 gpm 2 stage pump on and it will not make pressure and split wood. it has a 6hp eng. I did send the pump back thinking its faulty. I have a gauge put on between the pump and valve. looking for sugetions and or ideals how to adjust. It did bog down the engine and want to stall it out then I adjusted on the valve relief screw.

 

[SCWOOD]

Could be the seals in the cylinder letting the fuild flow past them.Check for places in your area that repairs hydraulic cylinders they should be able to test it for you.

 

[KubotainNH]

Could be the relief valve is stuck slightly open. That happened on my tractor once.

 

[J_J]

Do you have the hoses connected correctly?

If you bogged the engine down, then the valve or cyl has some resistance.

What pressure did you see?

What is the relief valve pressure.

That pump only requires about 5 HP, so the relief valve should have sent the over pressure to tank.

Using an older engine, you might not be getting the full 6 HP out of the engine.

 

[show75]

J.J.

Yes. The large hose 3/4 from Barb fitting from filter to tank. 1/2 from pump to valve.




What pressure did you see?

it bounced around a lot and never really went above 200 to 400 probably.



What is the relief valve pressure.

not sure. i have adjusted on the screw



That pump only requires about 5 HP, so the relief valve should have sent the over pressure to tank.

Using an older engine, you might not be getting the full 6 HP out of the engine.

 

[show75]

i have been told that i may need to make adjustments on the pump itself. i did not do any of that with the pump i had. the cylinder moves in and out nicely. it will split a small 4"-6" log. but those my 5 year old can split. when i got it it split maybe 3 rick ok then would not work most of time and every now and then would work. so i stopped using. A farmer buddy looked at it and said pump was week by taking hose that feeds the valve off and holding it in a bucket. So i replaced the pump and first time it bogged down and killed the engine. So someone mentioned adjusting the relief valve screw. I did. i can keep it from killing engine but wont split. so i put a gauge on it that goes to 13K or 14K PSI. it barely leaves the needle resting spot. The needle does a lot of jumping though.

BTW i did put new hydraulic fluid and filter on before new pump.

 

[J_J]

Something is wrong here as you can not get that kind of pressure from that pump. 3000 psi max.

Do you have any pictures of the log splitter showing the pump , hoses and valve?

You probably have a bad cyl.

 

[show75]

Something is wrong here as you can not get that kind of pressure from that pump. 3000 psi max.

Do you have any pictures of the log splitter showing the pump , hoses and valve?

You probably have a bad cyl.

That is just the Gage size i had and used.

i will get some picks. the pump is currently on its way back to exchange. Was limited on time to exchange.

how would i verify bad cyl. I hate trowing parts. I herd cyl can be rebuild easily.

and...it never did get to the second stage of the pump.

 

[LD1]

My guess is you adjusted the relief too far. How many turns did you adjust it? Cause you went from making enough pressure to stall, now to only making ~400psi and the only thing you messed with was the relief. Thats where I would start.

When you get the new pump, hook your gauge back up. Extend the cylinder all the way til it stops. Hold the valve to continue trying to extend it. Adjust the relief to get 2500-3000psi or whatever spec you want.

 

[J_J]

If it bogged the engine down it probably went into high pressure, and low GPM.

The shift over point is about 700 to 800 psi.

Did you turn the relief screw in or out?

 

[2458n]

Get a different gauge. You need one to measure pressures that you will see. If J_J says 3000 psi is max get a gauge in that range. Doubt you had a bad pump. First one maybe, but second one not likely. There is not much to a log splitter hang in there and soon you will have a working one.

 

[wdchyd]

Could be the seals in the cylinder letting the fuild flow past them.Check for places in your area that repairs hydraulic cylinders they should be able to test it for you.

x2.......bring the whole log splitter and they will test the cyl AND the pump with proper guages

 

[wdchyd]

My guess is you have two problems now.......pump unloader adjusted too high (making the engine stall) and cyl seals by-passing

But that just a WAG, best to bring it to the pros with guages before someone gets hurt

 

[2458n]

Surplus Center offers the gauge you need for less than 12.00

 

[J_J]

i have been told that i may need to make adjustments on the pump itself. i did not do any of that with the pump i had. the cylinder moves in and out nicely. it will split a small 4"-6" log. but those my 5 year old can split. when i got it it split maybe 3 rick ok then would not work most of time and every now and then would work. so i stopped using. A farmer buddy looked at it and said pump was week by taking hose that feeds the valve off and holding it in a bucket. So i replaced the pump and first time it bogged down and killed the engine. So someone mentioned adjusting the relief valve screw. I did. i can keep it from killing engine but wont split. so i put a gauge on it that goes to 13K or 14K PSI. it barely leaves the needle resting spot. The needle does a lot of jumping though.

BTW i did put new hydraulic fluid and filter on before new pump.

Do not make an adjustments to the pump as the unloader Adj. Range 400-900 PSI. It comes set to 650 psi.

You can't tell a hyd pump is weak by looking at the flow from the pump. All you will see is flow in GPM's.

If you stalled the pump, it wood appear that the log splitter was working at max, possibly with a weak engine.

To test the relief pressure, hold the lever in the extended stroke until the pressure gage reads a high pressure.

The pump is rated for 3000 psi.

If you can't get the rated pressure, then the relief valve is improperly adjusted or the cyl seals are leaking, with a remote possibility that the log splitter valve is bad.

If you can't do the test and adjusting, do as wdchyd said, by taking it to a hyd shop where they can do a flow and pressure check, and cyl integrity check.