New PTO Splitters, what to ask, what are the gotchas
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You just need more tractors!
We use the forks on our FEL tractor to load the splitter all the time. Ours is a 4' splitter though, the forks make a perfect table, load it up and go. Plus big logs are very doable.
K
The 1920 is a great tractor but by no means a hydraulic powerhouse. (Run 2 of 'em on a golf course, one setup as a TLB and the other is a bare tractor)
Is this the splitter we're discussing?
http://www.walcoequipment.com/file/wood splitter_renegade_q.pdf
I agree with Jags that the power off 2100 psi or so on a 4" cylinder isn't going to be all that impressive. For your machine I'd say look for a splitter with a PTO pump or go with a self-powered splitter.
Is this the splitter we're discussing?
http://www.walcoequipment.com/file/wood splitter_renegade_q.pdf
I agree with Jags that the power off 2100 psi or so on a 4" cylinder isn't going to be all that impressive. For your machine I'd say look for a splitter with a PTO pump or go with a self-powered splitter.
Yes it is MasterMech, the Horizontal. I've used my neighbours splitter before, a home made one, not sure the specs and although sluggish it was useable. As I mentioned above, the tractor is barely used, so I was thinking of alternate use, and Im just too friggin stubborn to sell it, and during mud season, I use it to get out of my road. It is a great little tractor. Most of the wood I split is softwood (spruce), I've been lucky to need much hardwood up here, due to the mild few winters. Im 49 and the hand splitting is getting a bit much. So maybe I should consider the standalone splitter. I use to own a 5 ton electric and that little thing was great, thats why I initially thought a 15 ton hydraulic would suffice.
Man - what you need is the last splitter I just built. A 3.5 inch ram with a 16 gpm pump. Its a little speed demon at about 15 ton. Something like that in that soft wood would make for some serious production.
@Jags, the shipping would kill me
I do like to split by hand. In mid Feb when temps go to -10c (14F). I just get the coffee and the 8lb maul and go. But as I get older, Im too busy cooking and gardening. What wood species do you burn?, or is it time to kill this thread and carry over to the other forums?...Tis the time of year...
I do like to split by hand. In mid Feb when temps go to -10c (14F). I just get the coffee and the 8lb maul and go. But as I get older, Im too busy cooking and gardening. What wood species do you burn?, or is it time to kill this thread and carry over to the other forums?...Tis the time of year...
- thats okay, my splitter isn't for sale. I was actually referring to the specs of the splitter.
Nothing wrong with this thread. As long as you have question that are pertinent, keep posting.
Ok, then, back to splitters. Let's assume that I'm ok using a tractor for wood splitting, all inefficiencies aside. I've owned one of those 4 ton electric splitters and to be honest, it was great, it handled 70% of my needs, alas I sold it thinking I was going back to hand splitting; bad decision. So would a 15 ton match with my tractor. Once again 2133psi at 7.8gpm?. I dont see any hydraulic splitters smaller than that. So if a 4 ton use to meet my needs, I would think a 15 would.
The hydraulic pressure of your tractor will dictate how powerful any plug-in hydraulic splitter will be. You are limted by that low 2100 psi pressure regardless of what splitter you buy. The advertised tonnage of the 3 pt splitters you've been looking at assumes your tractor can achieve 3000+ psi, which it cannot.
Example A:
Splitter is advertised as a 20 ton unit, has a 4" diameter cylinder.
Area of a circle is Pi * Radius squared right?
So 3.14 * (2 * 2) = ?
3.14 * 4 = 12.56 sq in of piston area
12.56 * 2100 = 26,376 pounds of force
We will convert that to tons by dividing by 2000....
26,376 / 2000 = 13.188 Tons of force
So that "20 Ton" splitter is only capable of making 13 tons plugged into your tractor. In fact, to acheive the advertised 20 Tons, you're tractor would have to make nearly 3200 psi of hydraulic pressure, something very few small tractors actually do.
Downsizing the splitter to a unit advertised as a 15 ton, which most likely sports a 3" cylinder, would only make the problem worse.
3.14 * (1.5 x1.5) = ?
3.14 * 2.25 = 7.065 sq in piston
7.065 * 2100 = 14836.5 lbs of force
14836.5 / 2000 = 7.42 Tons
Hence the recomendation of a tractor mounted splitter with a PTO powered pump (independent of the tractor hydraulics) or an engine powered unit.
Example A:
Splitter is advertised as a 20 ton unit, has a 4" diameter cylinder.
Area of a circle is Pi * Radius squared right?
So 3.14 * (2 * 2) = ?
3.14 * 4 = 12.56 sq in of piston area
12.56 * 2100 = 26,376 pounds of force
We will convert that to tons by dividing by 2000....
26,376 / 2000 = 13.188 Tons of force
So that "20 Ton" splitter is only capable of making 13 tons plugged into your tractor. In fact, to acheive the advertised 20 Tons, you're tractor would have to make nearly 3200 psi of hydraulic pressure, something very few small tractors actually do.
Downsizing the splitter to a unit advertised as a 15 ton, which most likely sports a 3" cylinder, would only make the problem worse.
3.14 * (1.5 x1.5) = ?
3.14 * 2.25 = 7.065 sq in piston
7.065 * 2100 = 14836.5 lbs of force
14836.5 / 2000 = 7.42 Tons
Hence the recomendation of a tractor mounted splitter with a PTO powered pump (independent of the tractor hydraulics) or an engine powered unit.
Yes, yes, yes Master Mech nailed it. No problem with using your tractor, just not the hydro system on it. Look into splitters that run a PTO pump and you will be MUCH happier at the end of the day.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
flyingcow
Minister of Fire
Butcher
Minister of Fire
Like others have said, a 3pt splitter with a pto pump and seperate oil reservor would be the way to go. Not only for speed but also less wear on the tractors hydrualic system. If i was to run 1 off the hyd. system of my Oliver 1750 I would be really afraid of overheating the oil and lunching the whole system. That gets pricey to fix.
Plumbing into a typical remote connection (or loader connection) and tying off the lever would put a lot of heat into the oil. If you were to plumb in anything with it's own control valves (log splitters and backhoes are typical) then I recommend they be plumbed into the Power Beyond ports of the spool valve.
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