40c running a wood splitter?

[Swawpy]

Was thinking of building a wood splitter for another winter project. I havent given to much thought yet as to design, but probably something I could drive dozer up to and pin to blade for transport and split off the front of the blade. I would like to run hyd hoses into a set quick couplers that will "T" off of the loader valve. Any thoughts about adequate flow and pressure to run wood splitter at a decent RPM would sure be appreciated. Also not sure how long these 2 cylinders like to run without much load? Any advice, comments, and criticism gladly accepted. Ive got about a 30" stroke cyl that is about 4" diameter I would like to use. Thanks guys!!!

[Lavoy]

4" ram at 1500 psi will only get you about 9 tons of force, make sure that is enough.
Other than that, they will all day on not much fuel at that kind of load. I would however, run at a reduced throttle setting.
Lavoy

[NNAATZ]

i'm thinking you need more like 20 or 30 tons and like 5 or 6 in or bigger cylinder, but it's going to cycle the cylinder slower.

[FarmLife]

Look in Northern Tool or TSC for a manufactured wood splitter and find the cylinder specifications and that should tell you what size works for the size of wood you are looking to split. All this can most likely be found with a little time surfing the net, I would try looking on MTD's site for a splitter or Husky (which is what I beleive TSC carries).

[Swawpy]

thanks for the replies- when sizing your cyl you must know your operating psi and gpm. Unless someone already knows the psi I think ill figure a way to tap a gauge in and log how much pressure and at what RPM. I wont bother to build a splitter if it turns out ill have to run the engine very fast to get acceptable pressure. As far as the flow or GPM I just assume that since at 1000 RPM I can lift the blade and power down and lift the crawler nose up that there should be adaquate flow (thats stroking two smaller cylinders). Anyway I figured someone along the line had surely tested operating PSI. I dont have any books to read through the hydraulic or system troubleshooting chapters to get any specifications or maybe a psi operating range. I was just thinking I would have a heck of a set-up if I could tow the trailer behind the crawler and fasion a splitter mounted off the blade. I would like to build the splitter where I could split vertically or horizontally with a table. Maybe even build it so it could be free standing and run off anything with aux hydraulics. If anyone is interested I can post my psi/rpm readings. Thanks for any input.

[NNAATZ]

it's the square inch surface area of the piston in the cylinder that will determine the force of the ram at a given pressure, gpm will determine the speed or how fast the cylinder will fill and operate. try the internet for the simple math formulas on hydraulics.

[JR]

Swampy,

Go back to may 07 in Show & Tell and I have a picture of a splittter I made for my dozer.
JR

[wwattson]

I'll take a crack at the formulas:

For ram force, the formula is:

(cylinder diameter/2) x (cylinder diameter/2) x 3.14 x psi pressure

or

cylinder radius squared times PI times the pressure

so for a 5" cylinder the ram force at 1500 psi is:

2.5 x 2.5 x 3.14 x 1500 = 29,438 pounds or 15 tons

For ram speed the formula would be:

(GPM x 231) / ((cylinder diameter/2) x (cylinder diameter/2) x 3.14 )

or GPM converted to cubic inches per minute divide by the area of the cylinder

So say the pump is 2 GPM; the ram speed is:

(2 x 231) / (2.5 x 2.5 x 3.14) = 23.5 inches per minute

or better pack a lunch with a 2 GPM pump 'cause you're gonna be there a while at 2 minutes a log (1 minute to extend 2 feet and another minute to retract)

Somebody let me know if I screwed up.

[Swawpy]

Lavoy / Watson- You both mentioned 1500 psi, is that what I should make at rated speed or just thrown out there for example?

Watson you also mentioned 2 GPM, if so, yes I will pack a lunch, a large lunch. Actually it wouldnt kill me to skip a few, then maybe I could swing a maul again.

JR- that is simple inginuity at its finest, unfortunately working by myself without an angle blade and driving back and forth, climbing in and out, up and down.... getting tired just thinking about it.

Thanks again and happy halloween! Not one trick or treater yet, I guess all the candy is mine.

[teighs]

If your 40C has a PTO, you could get a pto driven pump from Northern Hydraulics, add a reservoir to your splitter and you will have a complete unit that can be driven by any machine with a pto.

[wwattson]

Both were just examples in my case. I'm guessing that most tractor hydraulic pumps would be in the range of 1500 - 2500 psi and flowrates on the order of 10 - 20 GPM but I don't know the ratings of these crawlers.

[NNAATZ]

i would like to say there 11 or 12 gpm, as a guess

[Swawpy]

thanks for the help all- Ive got a winch mounted so no pto. I also scoured the web and came accross a relief valve cracking pressur at 900- 950 for a jd 40c and 420. Not much. I found that will make about 6 ton with a 4" ram. I think commercial splitters make up to 25-30 tons, probably more. I think a much bigger cyl would be to slow, but I will keep playing and see what I come up with. A little trial and error, Im certainly not accustomed to getting things right the first time anyway!

[Lavoy]

No matter what brand of loader you have, it most likely has a Hydreco pump on it, about 15GPM at 2000RPM. Most likely the pressure relief in the valve is set at 1500 PSI, that is pretty common for this vintage of machine.
If the pump is good shape, it will make pressure regardless of RPM, slight drop at lower RPM. If you have loader that you have to rev up to get it to lift, it is because the pump is weak, too light of oil, etc.
Lavoy

[Swawpy]

Thanks Lavoy- thats what I was looking for. I knew I come to the right place. I think I have a holt blade (its posted under 40c in show and tell). I can lift the blade or the front tracks off the ground at idle, just slow. Well thats great news, I was a bit discouraged at the 900-950 psi. On a different note I had read in another post about a 420 that had caught fire and was having a hard time getting appraised value (or something to that effect- I dont remember exactly). I want to insure mine and a ballpark figure would sure be nice to make certain I could replace it. I know you cant hardly value a machine from a picture but whats a fair price for another with comparable equipment?