Hydraulic power question...

spandit · May 31, 2019

I have a hydraulic vertical log splitter that fits on my 3-point hitch. It's pretty good but on the really gnarly stuff, it can't cope.

What determines the strength of a hydraulic cylinder? With my loader rams I have to increase engine RPM for it to lift but would this hold true for the accessory hydraulics? I generally set the hand throttle to around 1000rpm which is quiet enough to not wear my ears out and gives a fast enough flow rate to operate the cylinder effectively.

sotxbill · May 31, 2019

Hydraulic pressure and cyl size determines what you can split... Flow rate determine how fast you can split.

And a ford 3000 is rated somewhere around 2175 lbs, but only at higher rpms, not at low rpms.

AND IIRC 2175 [b:35ebc24eea]lb per square inch[/b:35ebc24eea],,, on a [b:35ebc24eea]1 square inch[/b:35ebc24eea] cyl will push around 2175 lbs on the wedge???

So a 2 sq inch cyl will have twice the power to break harder wood or bigger logs than a 1 inch sq cyl but will operate twice as slow.

Notice I said 2 [b:35ebc24eea]sq inches [/b:35ebc24eea]of area vrs a 2 inch cyl. maybe a hydraulic person will chime in.. but you start to get the drift of how it works.

Sean in PA · May 31, 2019

As Bill said, how strong the system will be depends on the pressure and the piston size in the cylinder. The flow rate only affects the speed that the rod will move.

Does the splitter have its own motor and hydraulic system, or is it powered from the tractor's hydraulics? I think that once you get above around 1400 to 1500 rpm on the engine the tractor's hydraulics are capable of reaching the relief valve pressure, which is, as Bill said, around 2100 to 2200 psi. If the splitter is being run off of its own motor then the maximum pressure available may be less. Even if it is being run off of the tractor's hydraulics, it may have its own relief valve that would open at a lower pressure than the one on the tractor, so that might limit your pressure.

Hydraulic power question...

spandit

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sotxbill

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Sean in PA

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