Help with my new 22-ton Huskee Splitter

[JJEGLBS]

My father-in-law and I just split the cost for a new 22-ton Huskee log splitter. We plan on trying it out for the first time tomorrow. Before we do, I have a couple of questions --

- while looking at it, we moved the beam to the vertical splitting position and the hydraulic hose was twisted and very tight. It looks like the people who put it together (at Tractor Supply) just got it a bit twisted when tightening a nut and it twists more when raised. It looks like this can be easily fixed by removing the nut at one end of the hose and untwisting. The question is can I do this with hydraulic fluid in the splitter? I would guess yes since the engine has never been started, but want to make sure.

- how to I make sure that the people at Tractor Supply put the proper amount of hydraulic fluid in it? (the operator's manual was not of much use here).

- any tips other than (check and change the oil) to keep this thing running as best as possible?

Thanks.

 

[smokinj]

check the manul it will tell you what to do if you have oil in the engine and it will tell you how to chech the oil in the hydraulic all will be good

 

[Shipper50]

My father-in-law and I just split the cost for a new 22-ton Huskee log splitter. We plan on trying it out for the first time tomorrow. Before we do, I have a couple of questions --

- while looking at it, we moved the beam to the vertical splitting position and the hydraulic hose was twisted and very tight. It looks like the people who put it together (at Tractor Supply) just got it a bit twisted when tightening a nut and it twists more when raised. It looks like this can be easily fixed by removing the nut at one end of the hose and untwisting. The question is can I do this with hydraulic fluid in the splitter? I would guess yes since the engine has never been started, but want to make sure.

- how to I make sure that the people at Tractor Supply put the proper amount of hydraulic fluid in it? (the operator's manual was not of much use here).

- any tips other than (check and change the oil) to keep this thing running as best as possible?

Thanks.

If we have the same splitter which I think we do, mine came with no oil or hydraulic fluid in the splitter. It came with oil and fluid in bottles that I had to put in the splitter myself.

My one suggestion is, make sure all the bolts and nuts are tight on a regular basis as I ran my this past month in the cold and found some things had gotten loose.

I am not sure about the twist in your hose, but I would think if you haven't run it yet and don't have full levels, you could take the hose off and straighten it out.

Good luck, its a great splitter for the money in my opinion.

Shipper

 

[woodconvert]

My father-in-law and I just split the cost for a new 22-ton Huskee log splitter. We plan on trying it out for the first time tomorrow. Before we do, I have a couple of questions --

- while looking at it, we moved the beam to the vertical splitting position and the hydraulic hose was twisted and very tight. It looks like the people who put it together (at Tractor Supply) just got it a bit twisted when tightening a nut and it twists more when raised. It looks like this can be easily fixed by removing the nut at one end of the hose and untwisting. The question is can I do this with hydraulic fluid in the splitter? I would guess yes since the engine has never been started, but want to make sure.

- how to I make sure that the people at Tractor Supply put the proper amount of hydraulic fluid in it? (the operator's manual was not of much use here).

- any tips other than (check and change the oil) to keep this thing running as best as possible?

Thanks.

Yeah, unfortunately the fine help at TSC can be less than desireable.
First, make sure your hydraulic and engine oils are to the full levels. On mine there is a hydraulic dipstick on the reservoir. Check your manual but i'm sure yours is there too. Mine came from TSC with "some" hydraulic oil in it (I needed 2 or 3 more gallons...can't remember. It came with 5gal "free"!). The engine oild dipstick should be readily visible on the engine.

As for the twisted line, yes, loosen the nut while verticle and rotate it so it's not binding and re-tighten it. You'll prolly get some fluid spillage but have some rags on hand. No biggie.

As for maintenance, change hydraulic oil and engine oil on the shceduled interval in the manual. Maintain that interval for the engine oil. The hydraulic oil is filtered and doesn't go "bad". Unless there is water in there you don't need to change it (but that is up to you..it's your investment) after your first change for some time.

Keep the engine oil changed and clean, keep a clean air filter on it and you are in business for a long long time. Oh, and do go around and check the fasteners on it...like I said above the help at some TSC's can be less than desireable and they do "miss" tightening some things. If you are going to be towing it double check the wheel/hub fasteners as well as the hitch fasteners for obvious reasons.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

If it's twisted, then it seems you might be able to quickly loosen the fitting, untwist, and tighten the fitting again with minimal fluid loss and without removing it.

 

[JJEGLBS]

My father-in-law and I just split the cost for a new 22-ton Huskee log splitter. We plan on trying it out for the first time tomorrow. Before we do, I have a couple of questions --

- while looking at it, we moved the beam to the vertical splitting position and the hydraulic hose was twisted and very tight. It looks like the people who put it together (at Tractor Supply) just got it a bit twisted when tightening a nut and it twists more when raised. It looks like this can be easily fixed by removing the nut at one end of the hose and untwisting. The question is can I do this with hydraulic fluid in the splitter? I would guess yes since the engine has never been started, but want to make sure.

- how to I make sure that the people at Tractor Supply put the proper amount of hydraulic fluid in it? (the operator's manual was not of much use here).

- any tips other than (check and change the oil) to keep this thing running as best as possible?

Thanks.

Yeah, unfortunately the fine help at TSC can be less than desireable.
First, make sure your hydraulic and engine oils are to the full levels. On mine there is a hydraulic dipstick on the reservoir. Check your manual but i'm sure yours is there too. Mine came from TSC with "some" hydraulic oil in it (I needed 2 or 3 more gallons...can't remember. It came with 5gal "free"!). The engine oild dipstick should be readily visible on the engine.

As for the twisted line, yes, loosen the nut while verticle and rotate it so it's not binding and re-tighten it. You'll prolly get some fluid spillage but have some rags on hand. No biggie.

As for maintenance, change hydraulic oil and engine oil on the shceduled interval in the manual. Maintain that interval for the engine oil. The hydraulic oil is filtered and doesn't go "bad". Unless there is water in there you don't need to change it (but that is up to you..it's your investment) after your first change for some time.

Keep the engine oil changed and clean, keep a clean air filter on it and you are in business for a long long time. Oh, and do go around and check the fasteners on it...like I said above the help at some TSC's can be less than desireable and they do "miss" tightening some things. If you are going to be towing it double check the wheel/hub fasteners as well as the hitch fasteners for obvious reasons.

Thanks woodconvert! I'll pick-up some more hydraulic oil before I get started. The manual says to use "SAE 20 hydraulic oil or automatic transmission fluid (Dextron II)". Is one better than the other? Does it matter what Tractor Supply put in (probably hydraulic fluid -- but can they be mixed)?

 

[Andre B.]

I would think the hose would have a swivel fitting on one end.
Maybe the hose is on backwards.
In my experiance twisted hoses end up as leaking hoses.

 

[woodconvert]

My father-in-law and I just split the cost for a new 22-ton Huskee log splitter. We plan on trying it out for the first time tomorrow. Before we do, I have a couple of questions --

- while looking at it, we moved the beam to the vertical splitting position and the hydraulic hose was twisted and very tight. It looks like the people who put it together (at Tractor Supply) just got it a bit twisted when tightening a nut and it twists more when raised. It looks like this can be easily fixed by removing the nut at one end of the hose and untwisting. The question is can I do this with hydraulic fluid in the splitter? I would guess yes since the engine has never been started, but want to make sure.

- how to I make sure that the people at Tractor Supply put the proper amount of hydraulic fluid in it? (the operator's manual was not of much use here).

- any tips other than (check and change the oil) to keep this thing running as best as possible?

Thanks.

Yeah, unfortunately the fine help at TSC can be less than desireable.
First, make sure your hydraulic and engine oils are to the full levels. On mine there is a hydraulic dipstick on the reservoir. Check your manual but i'm sure yours is there too. Mine came from TSC with "some" hydraulic oil in it (I needed 2 or 3 more gallons...can't remember. It came with 5gal "free"!). The engine oild dipstick should be readily visible on the engine.

As for the twisted line, yes, loosen the nut while verticle and rotate it so it's not binding and re-tighten it. You'll prolly get some fluid spillage but have some rags on hand. No biggie.

As for maintenance, change hydraulic oil and engine oil on the shceduled interval in the manual. Maintain that interval for the engine oil. The hydraulic oil is filtered and doesn't go "bad". Unless there is water in there you don't need to change it (but that is up to you..it's your investment) after your first change for some time.

Keep the engine oil changed and clean, keep a clean air filter on it and you are in business for a long long time. Oh, and do go around and check the fasteners on it...like I said above the help at some TSC's can be less than desireable and they do "miss" tightening some things. If you are going to be towing it double check the wheel/hub fasteners as well as the hitch fasteners for obvious reasons.

Thanks woodconvert! I'll pick-up some more hydraulic oil before I get started. The manual says to use "SAE 20 hydraulic oil or automatic transmission fluid (Dextron II)". Is one better than the other? Does it matter what Tractor Supply put in (probably hydraulic fluid -- but can they be mixed)?

I think what I used in mine was the TSC home brand hydraulic fluid...I think it's "Travelers" brand?. I topped it off with whatever they put in origionally and after my first hydraulic oil change I used the same stuff (I live in farm country and knowing many farmers, they say hydraulic fluid is hydraulic fluid). I wouldn't mix different types to be on the safe side (but that's just my opinion). Also, read your manual as I believe it tells you different viscosity's for different temps...if you are going to use it in the cold of winter you may want to go with the thin stuff (I don't but I could see where it would be easier to start with the thinner fluid). Oh, one last opinion and just my opinion, when you start it up, always let it warm up for a bit at idle. It's good to let stuff warm up gradually, let the oils warm up before you giver 'er hell.

 

[Gooserider]

One thing that may be in your manual, and might not, is that it's a good idea to "prime" the hydraulic pump before starting the engine for the first time (and after any time you've drained a lot of fluid out of the machine)

To do this, either tie the control valve into the extend position, or get a buddy to hold it down, while you pull the engine over a dozen times or so, with the ignition turned OFF. The pump is primed when you start to see the piston extend an inch or two... Some folks advise pulling the plug while doing this to make it easier, but I didn't bother as the engine didn't pull over that hard....

This keeps the pump from ever running at speed while "dry" - according to many of the hydraulic info sources I've looked at, running the pump dry will probably not cause any immediately obvious issues, but may result in premature failure a few years down the line.

Once the piston moves, you can put the valve back to neutral, then go ahead and start the engine. Cycle the cylinder several times before trying to split anything - you will likely have very jerky piston movement at first due to the air in the system. Run the cylinder back and forth and it will get better as the air gets flushed out. Cycle a half dozen times, after it smooths out, then shut off the engine and check the hydraulic fluid - you will likely be low, as the cylinder, hoses, and other plumbing will take a gallon or two to fill them up - which you'll need to make up for...

Good luck and happy splitting,

Gooserider