New to me log splitter

[tmc_31]

Hey guys,

I may have lucked out and scored a log splitter

My son in law and I were splitting some firewood yesterday on our 6 hp TSC special when we loaded some mystery wood. The splitter went ungggg!!! Never made a dent in the wood. This stuff has been laying on the ground for two years now. The log was probably 18" in Dia. We went back to splitting the mesquite that we normally use for firewood and the TSC splitter worked just fine.

We decided that we either needed to buy another larger splitter, build another splitter or quit using mystery wood.

SIL took a piece of the mystery wood to the ASCS office to see if they could identify it, turns out it is American Elm. There is a lot of it on the ground where we are cutting.

SIL has a buddy that had been in the fire wood business and asks about splitter. The buddy tells SIL that he has an old home made splitter on a ranch about 40 miles away that he is not using any more since he bought a new one (from TSC). He says that the motor burned up about 6 years ago and we could have it for hauling it off. So SIL and I head out this morning along with his buddy and pick up this splitter.

Got it home, had some hoses made, hooked it up to my skid loader aux hydraulics and put it to work. Seems to work very well, no hose leaks and no cylinder leaks.

I have a couple of questions concerning the hydraulics.

The OD of the cylinder is 6" I am guessing that the bore is 5.5"
The rod dia is 2.8"
The stroke is 34"
The skid aux hydraulics specs are 21 gpm and 3000psi

I am curious about the cycle times. According to the calculators on the surplus center website the cylinder extension time should be about 10 sec at rated gpm and pressure. The extension time is actually 9.2 sec at WOT. Retraction time is slightly less at 8.9 sec. These were timed not under load.

I also timed the extension/retraction time at idle and at a hi idle setting (hi idle is advancing the throttle maybe 1/2" or so. The skid does not have a tach). Times were as follows:

Idle
20.6 sec to extend/17.9 sec to retract

High idle
15 sec to extend/14 sec to retract

I thought the retraction times would be more than the extension times, what gives?

What are the typical extension and retraction times for most commercially available 30-37 ton splitters running at normal speed?

According to the surplus center calculator I should be getting about 35 tons of splitting force at WOT. How much splitting force am I getting at idle and at high idle. The splitter doesn't hesitate at WOT or high idle, but at idle it struggles a little. This would be with a 18 American elm log.

We are still experimenting with this machine, we may put a new motor on it, (I have a 11 hp Honda that I am not using) or we may mount the rail and cylinder on a skid loader quick attach plate and use it that way with the skid aux power.

Tim

 

[J_J]

I figured extend time of 10 sec, and retract speed of 7.39 sec.

21 GPM

5.5 in bore

2.8 in shaft

34 in stroke

At idle, you have reduced pump rpm's, so the speed will be slower.

If your times were that much slower, then install a hyd pressure gage in the log splitter valve IN oirt with a tee and read the pressures.

Your cylseals could be worn.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Just as a side note - I don't know about down there but here, up north, elm is about the toughest wood you can find to split. If you can split it and get it dry elm makes great fire wood. It can hold a lot of water though.

 

[J_J]

Just some reading material.

Firewood: Choosing the right wood, splitting, and seasoning

 

[tmc_31]

J.J. I came up with those same extension times. They are not all that bad. At WOT they are pretty close to what we are calculating. However, I prefer to run the skid at idle to save fuel and it's easier on the ears. After I posted this, I did a little research on cycle times for commercially sold splitters that were close to the same size as I think this one is. I am assuming that the term "cycle time" refers to a complete extension/retraction cycle. Is this correct? Is the rating while splitting wood or with no wood in the splitter?. I will get a pressure gauge and check the pressures at the various operating speeds that I like to run. Why would my retraction times be quicker than my extension times? Would bad seals in the cylinder cause this? Not that it is a problem, I am just curious. I read through the Dave's Garden article, thanks, some good information there.

Gordon, I looked through the article that J.J. pointed me to and a Oklahoma State University study that both show the American Elm to be only fair as a fire wood. It appears that the heat content is somewhat lower than oak or mesquite (two woods that are commonly used as firewood here in West Texas. Also that it can be difficult to split. With this splitter, I think we have this problem covered. It will be interesting to try and split some unseasoned elm and see how that works.

I burned some of the elm last night in our wood burning stove. I found that the smoke is somewhat heavier that the mesquite. It seems to provide plenty of heat. It also seems to burn longer that the mesquite. It started easily. All in all, I was pleased with the way it burned. I will probably cut split and burn the elm for my own use, and reserve the mesquite for sale to customers.

Thanks guys,

Tim

 

[J_J]

There is less volume on the rod side, so therefore the cyl will fill faster.

Bad seals on cyl, and leaking spools or any leakage will cause a loss of pressure, and pressure is power.

If you split at idle, the cycle times will be slower. Instead of 21 GPM's, you maybe only using 5 GPM's to split.

 

[tmc_31]

Thanks J.J., that the lower volume to fill on the return stroke makes sense.

Tim

 

[tmc_31]

J.J,

The hoses that I had made to go from the skid aux hyd to the splitter are 3/8" hose. Would going to larger hoses, say 1/2" hose have an appreciable effect on the cycle time? the hoses are 10' long each.

Tim

 

[J_J]

Yes, in the 21 GPM range of your skidsteer, 3/4 in is recommended and will provide more flow with less resistance, but the price of hoses and QD's might not be acceptable.

What is the port size on the splitter? All four ports?

http://kuriyama.thomasnet.com/Asset/H SizingNomogram.pdf

The chart shows 1/2 in for 10 GPM flow.

 

[tmc_31]

J.J.,

I am tying the aux hyd from the skid directly to the cylinder ports. Then operating the cylinder from inside the skid. I have another guy loading the wood. The ports on the cylinder are 3/4". I looked at the chart you linked to, it is pretty interesting. I felt that my hoses were undersized but I was trying to get out as cheap as I could. I got the two 3/8" hoses made up with 3/4" ends for $80.00 plus tax. Not too bad, but I suspect that 3/4" hoses might have been quite a bit more.

Thanks,

Tim