wood splitter motor swap

[cmyoung2]

Have an older Huskee splitter(22 ton) with a 650 series B/S engine. Just broke the intake manifold tube and can't find a replacement, so looking to swap a Predator engine. I know I'm swapping a vertical shaft for horizontal, not a real issue. But what would be the advantage of a 6.5 HP vs 8 HP? I think it has the normal 11gpm pump. I think I got the unit in '06, have had no issues other than replacing a hose and a couple of lovejoy couplings, but I do realize the current pump may not last forever. I'm like most and would alway like things faster, but I'm also old enough to know that sometimes faster may not be good. Thansk

 

[i7win7]

call small engine warehouse, they may have a direct replacement engine

Buy replacement gasoline engines for lawnmowers and equipment from Small Engine Warehouse

Buy replacement gasoline engines for lawnmowers and equipment from Small Engine Warehouse

www.smallenginewarehouse.com

 

[5030]

Preds (Lifan) motors are good motors.

 

[cmyoung2]

Does an 8hp motor have an advantage over the 6.5hp?

 

[5030]

Hard to say.

 

[tom3]

Power wise 8 vs 6.5 hp probably not an issue in this application. But mounting and mating the output shaft might be a problem. If the original motor was an I/C engine it may have a better duty rating than the Predator for running under constant load but those HF engines seem to do the job pretty well.

 

[ruffdog]

Does an 8hp motor have an advantage over the 6.5hp?

The bigger engine will have heavier crank/flywheel which will help starting, especially in colder weather. (flywheel effect)

 

[MossRoad]

call small engine warehouse, they may have a direct replacement engine

Buy replacement gasoline engines for lawnmowers and equipment from Small Engine Warehouse

Buy replacement gasoline engines for lawnmowers and equipment from Small Engine Warehouse

www.smallenginewarehouse.com

No kidding. If you can get a direct replacement vertical shaft, it would be a lot easier than switching everything over to accommodate a horizontal shaft engine, even if it was a bit more initial cost.

 

[dodge man]

I wouldn’t want to mess with going between horizontal and vertical shaft engines. Knowing log splitters my guess is the lower hp engine will do ok but mine does grunt some when hitting a knot sometimes.

 

[John_Mc]

Without seeing the layout of his splitter, it's hard to say how tough the swap from vertical to horizontal would be. If it's not a complex switch, I'd prefer the horizontal anyway.

The 8 HP engine should be able to drive a 16 GPM, 2-stage pump, if you want to speed things up a bit. That's what is on my splitter: There is a bracket that bolts to the Honda GX270 engine and the pump mounts to that (connects with a Lovejoy coupler). If you could find one of those brackets, the swap to a horizontal engine would be rather simple (though I have no idea how many $$ you'd have in to it).

 

[MIkeWard]

HF has a vertical shaft Predator engine that is a simple drop in replacement for an old Huskee.
I did mine and was simple and quick swap.

 

[MossRoad]

I think it's lower HP.

 

[cmyoung2]

Got the engine swapped on the log splitter. Replaced the B&S with a 8hp Predator. Pretty easy, needed a mounting bracket for the pump(RuggedMade), a plate to mount the new motor(scrap ) and a longer hose. I think I like the pump higher off the ground, much easier to get to and less likely to catch a stump, even though it is more exposed. Motor seems to catch the first pull, even at 30, plenty of power. My thought is with the 8hp, if the pump goes(it is 15 years old) then a 16gpm pump may be an upgrade.
Of course, fix one thing more shows up. Flat tire, when I jacked it up found the bearings were bad, so new bearings and tubes in both tires. Hopefully good for another 15 years, then it may be someone else's problems.

 

[MIkeWard]

 

[MIkeWard]

thought you all would br interested in results
predator did really well

 

[hcallaway]

Thanks for sharing

 

[cmyoung2]

I have run the splitter now for a couple of hours. I like it!! Motor starts easily even in 20 degreeF, runs smooth, doesn't change sound while splitting, even through knots. Seems to be easy on fuel, though I don't have a way to measure that, it is still on the first tank.