Hit or Miss powered log splitter? Anyone build one?
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Gooserider
Mod Emeritus
If you do a search, I think I recall seeing some discussions of antique splitters and such a while back, I think some of them used hit or miss engines, but I'm not sure. At least a couple were seriously scary machines - like the big flywheel with a wedge on it that was running around 10rpm... Get the log ready and get your fingers out of the way or they are GONE....
Gooserider
Gooserider
TreePapa
Minister of Fire
rowerwet
Minister of Fire
don't see why it couldn't be done, you would want a belt drive for those rare times when it got stuck, not likely to though with all that inertia in the big wheel.
Gooserider
Mod Emeritus
Not sure what that wheel splitter was using for power, just that it was impressive... I'm not sure I've ever seen an H/M engined splitter but I'm sure it would be possible - the pump isn't going to care what's driving it as long as you either use an appropriate set of belts or gears as needed to get the RPM's into the range the pump wants to be run at... Of course it would also make for a big machine - one of the advantages of the newer engines is their smaller size for a given amount of power...
Gooserider
Gooserider
Gooserider said:
I'm with you on all that. I think that it would just be cool to have it putting away while the ram is working so much seemingly faster. You know what I understand is that the hit or miss engine is actually a really efficient concept. It regulates engine speed not with fuel but with spark. The weighty flywheel is running for "free" until the engine fires when the RPM's drop too much. Its a rather great idea instead of having an engine run like nuts but with a lightweight flywheel.
would be really cool to see. May eat up couplers and pumps with the changes in torque, but still fun to see.
They actually regulated speed with fuel mixture. If it just cut out spark, it would still use the same fuel amount, just send it through unburned. Then, when spark came back, yikes on the exhaust!
Usually the flyball governor held a valve open so there was no intake or compression. Just ran on inertia until the rpms dropped.
Before farm electricity, they were coupled to loads that varied a lot: water pumps, grain mills, elevators, saw mills, shingle makers, etc.
Really fun to here 100 of them going at threshing shows, under all stages of loads.
My brothers FIL died last year and the estate sale had about 200 old engines. half old small engines, half old enough to be stationary hit & miss ones. He was seriously tempted to bring home truckloads, but just bought a few for family history.
k
They actually regulated speed with fuel mixture. If it just cut out spark, it would still use the same fuel amount, just send it through unburned. Then, when spark came back, yikes on the exhaust!
Usually the flyball governor held a valve open so there was no intake or compression. Just ran on inertia until the rpms dropped.
Before farm electricity, they were coupled to loads that varied a lot: water pumps, grain mills, elevators, saw mills, shingle makers, etc.
Really fun to here 100 of them going at threshing shows, under all stages of loads.
My brothers FIL died last year and the estate sale had about 200 old engines. half old small engines, half old enough to be stationary hit & miss ones. He was seriously tempted to bring home truckloads, but just bought a few for family history.
k
I suppose it could work as good as any. Though you'd be doing a lot more hittin' than missin' when splitting a big chunk of wood. If you went hydraulic, the keys would be to get a belt/pulley system set up to drive the pump at it's rated RPM while the engine is at it's rated RPM. You would also have to use a pump that is either rated for a pulley (meaning it has large bearings that can support the lateral load) or if you have a direct drive rated pump which don't have bearings to support a lateral load, you would have to build some sort of short pulley shaft/support system, then drive the pump from that, so the pump would see only a twisting/torque load. Lastly, 5, 7, or larger hit/miss engines are relatively big chunks of iron...probably outweigh the hydraulic cylinder several times over.
Of course there are other methods too...something like the stickler screw-type splitter or the supersplit flywheel driven rack/pinion system could work, too.
Of course there are other methods too...something like the stickler screw-type splitter or the supersplit flywheel driven rack/pinion system could work, too.
cozy heat said:
Now that right there is what I was thinking. A H/M on a supersplit design would be cool AND efficient. The down side to a H/M on a 2 stage pump would be when you really started working it with a tough log. The flywheel of the engine will loose inertia, and it will take a pretty big H/M to reclaim that while it is still pulling (so to speak).
A supersplitter is designed to use inertia to begin with, so you would be doubling its effect. Flywheel on the splitter and a flywheel on the engine. Ooooh...I can hear it "bark" from here.
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