polaris - 25 August 2008 02:33 PM

BrotherBart - 25 August 2008 11:38 AM

Yep. I replaced my five horse Briggs on my 1988 20 ton splitter last year with the Chinese knock-off of a Honda 6.5 horse engine at Harbor Freight. Just coasting it splits anything in sight so running at half speed it ought to drive that formerly eight horse driven splitter. The thing just cost $129 and with a coupon it was under a hundred. At that price I bought one for either a spare or to put on my compressor. Be sure to watch the shaft size on whatever you get.

I love that little engine. Starts and runs like a dream.

The tough thing about going down in Hp(and even more importantly in torque) is not so much the inability to accomplish the task but a significant increase in cycle times.

A whole lot of cycle time is the RPM which is going to be 3650 with most small engines.

Another source for honda knock offs.

Never used one, but they have caught my eye.

BrotherBart - 25 August 2008 02:52 PM

polaris - 25 August 2008 02:33 PM

BrotherBart - 25 August 2008 11:38 AM

Yep. I replaced my five horse Briggs on my 1988 20 ton splitter last year with the Chinese knock-off of a Honda 6.5 horse engine at Harbor Freight. Just coasting it splits anything in sight so running at half speed it ought to drive that formerly eight horse driven splitter. The thing just cost $129 and with a coupon it was under a hundred. At that price I bought one for either a spare or to put on my compressor. Be sure to watch the shaft size on whatever you get.

I love that little engine. Starts and runs like a dream.

The tough thing about going down in Hp(and even more importantly in torque) is not so much the inability to accomplish the task but a significant increase in cycle times.

A whole lot of cycle time is the RPM which is going to be 3650 with most small engines.

I maybe misinformed(it happens a lot) but if cycle time is primarily rpm influenced then why wouldn’t a 1cyl 25cc 2 stroke work as well(or nearly as well) as a 12 hp on a 20-28 ton unit.

The no-load cycle time would be fine if that 2 stroke could be run at 3600 RPM. The only work being done is to overcome fluid resistance to flow through the fittings. Once you hit a log and need some work to be done then the 2 stroke would stall.

polaris - 25 August 2008 04:01 PM

BrotherBart - 25 August 2008 02:52 PM

polaris - 25 August 2008 02:33 PM

BrotherBart - 25 August 2008 11:38 AM

Yep. I replaced my five horse Briggs on my 1988 20 ton splitter last year with the Chinese knock-off of a Honda 6.5 horse engine at Harbor Freight. Just coasting it splits anything in sight so running at half speed it ought to drive that formerly eight horse driven splitter. The thing just cost $129 and with a coupon it was under a hundred. At that price I bought one for either a spare or to put on my compressor. Be sure to watch the shaft size on whatever you get.

I love that little engine. Starts and runs like a dream.

The tough thing about going down in Hp(and even more importantly in torque) is not so much the inability to accomplish the task but a significant increase in cycle times.

A whole lot of cycle time is the RPM which is going to be 3650 with most small engines.

I maybe misinformed(it happens a lot) but if cycle time is primarily rpm influenced then why wouldn’t a 1cyl 25cc 2 stroke work as well(or nearly as well) as a 12 hp on a 20-28 ton unit.

Well, it goes something like this:  Cycle time is the result of the displacement of the pump (Gal per. Min.), in conjunction to the diameter (or volume) of the cylinder that the fluid is being supplied too.  The gal. per min. number can be increased in a couple of ways.  Increase rpm or increase the size of the pump (increasing the pump size usually means increasing the hp running it).  Most pumps don’t like extreme rpm because of cavitation of the fluid, but up to 3600 rpm (which most splitter pumps are rated for) this is not a problem.  Pulling a pump requires a reasonable amount of torque (per hp) which a 2 stroke is not well known for, as well as the higher rpm of a 2 stroke may be counter productive above the 3600 rpm.

Pumping fluid is a HP game and unless you can gear the 2 stroke to run at its proper RPM (say 10,000 RPM) and put 3600 rpm to the pump then the 2 stroke won’t be making much HP for pushing fluid.

smokinj - 25 August 2008 09:33 AM

churchie - 25 August 2008 08:56 AM

Simple as that, need a Briggs and Stratton 8hp horizontal shaft for my buddie’s splitter, any ideas where I could get a good used one.  Maybe these are not common on the market and getting new is the only way, wasn’t looking forward to paying ~$400 retail.

Thanks

Try all the mower shops in your town one of them should have a used one

Ats what I was thinkin’. If not a complete engine you may be able to get all the big chunks. Also, where can you get a new one for $400?...that sounds pretty reasonable actually.