The video today highlights the negative side of utilizing a single stage pump for a wood splitter. First off, a LOT of horsepower is needed it the relief valve is set extremely high. If not, you will kill a 30 or 40 hp tractor easily. We however, rely on the speed of the ram to act as a maul in initiate the splitting process on hard to split pieces. But to ensure that happens, you have to run the pump at full gpm at the rated rpm. You have to understand also that the stresses on the mechanical components take a tremendous hit when operating it in that manner and the shock to the welded components takes its toll over time. I like to run at mid to high idle because that way I'm not wasting an excessive quantity of fuel. Plus it's easier on me physically. I don't have to work nearly as hard but the detriment is the occasional hard to process piece of wood.
You'll see the way to wallow the piece around like your drunk buddy that lost a bet and is mudwrestling a hot chick in that 'out of the way' bar most red necks are familiar with. For the record....I had to ask....never seen it firsthand.....jus' sayin'. LOL Anyway back to reality now with the story. It IS a bit of a pain because the piece has to be physically manipulated into submission....again, like the hot chick in the mudwrestling pit. But eventually in this wood splitting scenario we always end up the winner of the battle, or come out on top speaking metaphorically. Now I've got to say there have been some that were too huge to even roll onto the beam in the kneeling position and had to be noodled with the chainsaw into smaller pieces first. But no matter, if we could have gotten 'em to the beam we would have won those battles as well. Hydraulics are your friend.
Now a two stage pump has its benefits in the scenario created on the last large piece in the video. In the first stage of a comparable gpm rated pump, the ram will receive the same quantity of oil and move at the same speed as a single stage pump....but....when it produces pressure at a predetermined point it automatically switches internally to a lower gpm output, slowing the ram but increasing the capacity of the splitter. What it has essentially is a pair of pumps, one being a high flow low pressure pump and the other being a low flow high pressure pump. When the wedge or the pushblock meets the pre-determined point, internally the flow is switched from one pump to another. As soon as that force is no longer required, it switches back to the higher volume lower pressure pump. Make sense..?? That's how they are able to design a small splitter with a small horsepower motor that can develop 25 ton, 30 ton and higher.
We can easily increase the internal bypass of the control valve on this splitter to increase the splitting capacity, but I do not do that because of not wanting to overburden the beam or wedge. Consequently from time to time we engage a gnarly piece that seems to stall the splitter. I have developed my own technique of running this machine that results in what I feel is an acceptable level of operation and also seldom have a component failure. It's currently on the third lovejoy coupling in 45 years, the second control valve and a broken pipe fitting due to a stack of wood falling onto the hose side of the machine. A while back, I noticed a stress fracture finally forming on the weld at the base of the wedge. So I ground the weld down to parent metal and burned another double pass with 7018 low hydrogen rod.
Now I get viewers from time to time that suggest a 4 way wedge. Well, that's not going to be an adaption anytime soon. A 4 way creates a new wrinkle for the type of wood I mostly process. We do get some real nice straight grain oak, ash and hickory but for the most part we get knotty rounds created by branches or forks in trees from tree trimmers. There's a whole new set of stresses involved in splitting pieces like that with a four way. As a matter of fact, a single stage set up (IMO) is not suggested for that scenario. The whole thing about my channel is doing things economically as possible by recycling as many components as possible while building a project. I'd have to buy a new 28 gpm two stage pump for starters....then design either a hydraulically operated cross wedge that would lower out of sight and be adjustable for the different size rounds or a slip over 4 way that's easily removed. This has worked fine as it is for over 45 years and the thought of redesigning it now is not appealing. That, my friends, is THAT !! #farmlife, #oak, #farmall
2 ноя 2023
