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The log splitter build


steve b

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As winter draws near I thought this might be of interest to some .

A client of mine has a nice 110hcpu exTD now 200Tdi and wanted a log splitter run by the LR . A pto/pump and tank with some pipework

was available from another client's 300Tdi 110 HT - it was running a High pressure(25bar!) on board compressor to a large receiver which I had stripped out when he bought it to bring back to std from being a mobile workshop . So this was all installed with a return line block with a PRV and the in and out quick fit couplings , we used parker hiflo style as these are a drip free release .

The base trailer is an ex-services demountable generator trailer , so nice and sturdy and compact . The client got a 4.5" dia x 24" travel ram s/h from a local hyd specialist giving me all the main bits . He wanted to be able to use it vertical or horizontal so with a bit of working out I found a Ford Cargo cab jack would be suitable to lift and lower the main splitter beam .

The beam is 203 x 203 46kg and about 2m in length , all the platework was profiled on an Esprit HD cnc plasma cutter . The foot is 30mm

S275 plate with ribs in 25mm S275 underneath.

Most of the rest of the plate is 10mm with 20mm for the ram mount box and the base of the wedge

The front knife section of the wedge is Hardox 500

We didn't want to shorten the trailer frame so took a guess with the cog but ended up having to put a bit of nose weight on - about 70kg found in the scrap bin

I managed to include a bit of LR on the build by using a RRC axle bump stop to rest the beam on in the horizontal position.

With the prv in the return block set to 190bar I then set the prv in the spool valve on the splitter to 180bar giving a max spltting tonnage of about 20tonnes . In use the gearbox is run in 5th and the tickover lifted to about 1500rpm giving a time to press to max travel of about

10 sec with a return speed of about 7sec .

We had the plug in pipes from the splitter made about 10m so it could be run a small way from the truck if access is too tight to get any closer . The trailer was fitted with rear stabiliser legs to make the standing up of the column nice and safe .

It's now been in use for 6 months and the Hardox blade is as sharp as when it left my workshop so pretty happy with it overall.

The paint is arrow red to match the Hicap with gloss black

cheers

Steveb

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Thanks :) and yep my thoughts too , although to get the same level of performance it would have to be about 25-30hp

perhaps one of those 3 cyl Kubota watercooled diesels often found in chippers . Fuel use on the LR seems pretty small too when working it for a few

hours by the way

cheers

Steveb

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haha , it is for business use so as always it's about output

It was a very satisfying project , all the calc's for pressure and speed worked out

..search youtube for logsplitters and you'll see there are much bigger machines - the mental spinning wheels with axe heads

bolted on are worth a look just for the ffs factor

cheers

Steveb

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  • 3 months later...

A bit of an update , we are now looking into making the splitter self contained , so I'm looking for a small diesel such as a Kubota, preferably with

an hydraulic pump around 14+cc/rev . Any suggestions where to look ? And what sort of power required ? - I'd estimated around 25hp

any pointers much appreciated

cheers

Steveb

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A lad at work is bipuilding similar, we went over to the scrapyard and found a few forklifts looking pretty with a hydro pump already on the back. what about an old escort engine and box bit pump grafted onto a driveshaft? This 1.8's were fairly economical and you'd have gears to go through to keep fuel consumption down. I once went round the back of a house to find an escort van on a log with a front tyre missing, the wing half hacked off with an axe and a belt round the rim driving a saw bench,

Will.

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That did cross my mind , the price of Kubota / Yanmar diesels is pretty high even well used it seems .

Think I'll keep an eye open for a small diesel scrapper car , my only reservation is governing the engine speed

under load then off load , I don't want the pump over-speeding . It may provide an ideal opportunity to add a steam

engine style governor :P

cheers

Steveb

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That is a very impressive build Steve. Well done.

Your wedge design is very similar to mine, only I didn't use any 'special' materials for the cutting edge.

Here is my somewhat smaller machine. One day it'll run off the Landy, and I might even get round to painting it too.

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That's almost exactly the same design as mine just a little smaller Michael, very nice .

It's amazing just how much can be split in an hour or two .

I used Hardox 500 because we use it at work , otherwise it would have been S275 as you have done

Mine was scaled up to suit the end user who does like to work his kit hard

cheers

Steveb

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  • 4 months later...

Ok , the owner of the splitter has found a small diesel on an auction/sale site , it's a Bernard V4 aircooled

diesel about 40hp . My question is : does anyone on here have any experience of these French power units?

cheers

Steveb

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  • 4 months later...

Ok a bit of an update , I've found what I think should be an ideal power unit , that V4 was a bit too exotic for the job . It's a Kubota 3 cyl diesel water cooled 950cc unit .My question is does anyone know the bhp and torque figures ? I think it's around 25hp , also is that enough for a std. LR pto cat 3 hydraulic pump with a direct coupling to the engine ?

cheers - pic's to follow when it's underway

Steveb

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The one we looked at was , as an engine it looked great but speaking to a few local engine re-con people no-one had heard of one , location location as they say . It had seized on one bore but was running again but rough 40hp apparently in good order

cheers

Steveb

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The hp required is based on pressure and flow. So playing with the calculator at http://www.hydraulicsint.com.au/hydraulic-calculator.html and using the pressure/flow figures from the old superwinch/fairey 525 manual it comes up with a 'tad under 14hp required (well it did it in KW but I converted it)

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Actually I did that calculation at the 1500 RPM recommended speed for the dowty pump, what speed does that diesel develop it's 17hp at?

EDIT: Just checked, that 17HP is developed around 3000rpm, so I think you'll have to gear it down as I think the pumps I've seen shouldn't run over 1500rpm, if you were to run it at 3000rpm the HP requirement would be too high for the engine anyway.

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14 hp is the figure I'd come to at 2500rpm though , all the pumps I've used over the years have been rated to 2500 rpm . I'm sure there are slower speed units - say designed to bolt to a 240/440v electric motors running 1400rpm , but all the plant app pumps tend to be 2500rpm units

I'll get the spec off the one I plan to use and see what it's ratings are

cheers

Steveb

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Will be interesting to see how the build turns out :) My calculations were at 175 bar btw, I guess yours were a bit lower or a smaller pump (22cc in my case).

Another option that seems favoured by commercial log splitters is the two stage pump, that allows for a smaller engine without sacrificing speed.

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Yeah a 2stage pump had crossed my mind too , for slightly different reasons , with the existing set up as driven off the LR it maintains a much higher travel speed as the load goes up , resulting in tougher wood getting ejected to either side when it splits at some speed . A lower flow at high pressure would probably stop that ,

Going to look into it a bit more so we can maximise the set up . I'm starting to wonder if the torque output of the Kubota is not quite enough to run the LR size pump

more to follow

Steveb

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