Home made wood splitter power

Well it's coming along. Maybe pictures is a few days. If somebody doesn't give you all of what you need it isn't cheap but may be better than store bought; and maybe not.

I got into this and started buying parts and doing the math and all and have gone through several cycles of "am I doing the right thing" but I am in it and have to continue or loose the investment.

Today things are moving right along. I am encouraged at the progress and it will work. Bad part is that I am in it at around $600 and I had the splitter with 4x24 cylinder and 15 hp tractor to power the cylinder rather than my tractor. To do it right costs just keep adding up.

But you need the fluid tank, pump, the control valve, adapters so that you can belt drive the pump as the larger air cooled engines are not setup to direct drive pumps (hydraulic or water) , belt that will drive 15 hp and sheaves, high press. hyd hoses, machine shop work to build adaptors you can't as you don't have an end mill and on and on.

Today I dismembered the wiring harness attempting to adapt it to the requirements: Engine start, alternator to battery, engine kill. Seems simple enough but the Scotts wiring harness was a total night mare. One minute 12v is on red, then on black like house wiring, not electronics. Ground is yellow, but white is engine kill. Start is green from the switch, but green provides the ground for the head lights. I guarantee you If I were the supervisor and some dim witt sent me this wiring harness schematic to use to build no telling how many lawn mowers, I would have him by the nap of the neck and the belt and throw him out of the plant.

Will take some pics, maybe and post in a few days. Lots of parts not in yet.

Mark

post some pics of what your making i got lost here someplace, im not sure just what kind of setup you making. but sounds interesting

Direct drive pumps can be used by using a Lovejoy coupler to just about any one cyl. engine. I use a one cylinder diesel - 11 gallon per minuet two stage pump and can split anything I can get onto the beam running at a fast idle. The splitter is not super fast but will run non stop for at least 10 hours on a gallon of fuel.

I'm with Jim on direct driving the pump. They don't typically like the side load a belt puts on the shaft.

The hydraulic components you need... I hope you're scrounging Ebay, otherwise you'll spend a fortune!

One of the folks on here mentioned that I couldn't belt drive my pump when I first posted about the project. I had an original design in mind but posted, in all honesty, fishing for feedback identifying "gotchas" I overlooked. I checked it out and sure-nuf. So I took the spindle off the deck of the mower and am using that to relay the power from the engine. The spindle will drive the pump.

The pump mounts to that on a 1/4 steel plate that I am having made at the machine shop (having slots milled in it so that I can adjust belt tension....cost? Don't know yet) and will be coupled to the pump via a pump mounting bracket using the Lovejoy couplings taking all but radial load off the pump shaft.

That was a good bit of the $600 right there. Pump was $184, control $70, tank (that I decided to buy rather than try to build....probably a wise choice), another $70, pump mount $70, Lovejoy couplings....2 sets as one shaft is 1/2 the other 5/8 another $70, 5VX600 5/8 cogged drive belt $30, hydraulic fittings $30, hoses $50, and 2 inner tubes for old tires that won't hold air any longer $30. I have the hyd. fluid so I don't have to buy that.

It just adds up. However, yesterday I took everything but the engine off the mower and power washed it. Decided to chuck the sheet metal except for the part where the steering wheel and switch are located which is also where the gas tank mounts on the engine side. Took all the pedals and deck drive controls off and basically have a frame with 4 tires with an engine sitting on it.

Today I started mounting the parts I have and it's starting to look like something. I'm starting to have fun! Makes it all worth while..........and I now have a much simpler wiring harness. Grin

Mark

Seriously considered building a splitter, but if buying new parts, the cost was higher than an already built that was on sale. So bought a 28 ton machine for less than $1000 and saved the labor. A home built machine could be more robust than a store bought unit and one might be able to justify the extra cost/durability if in the firewood business. For my own consumption, no.