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  • Writer's pictureBeckside Machinery

Log splitter or Wood Splitter



Most log splitters or wood splitters, such as a venom log splitter, use a hydraulic cylinder (like these) to push a cut piece of log into a sharpened wedge, which splits it.


The cylinder is driven by hydraulic oil, struggling, produced by a hydraulic ram. An engine, or motor, drives the pump shaft, and supplies the facility for the system. The oil from the pump runs to a hydraulic valve, which provides control over the movement of the cylinder.


The oil source may be a hydraulic reservoir (tank) which is connected on to the inlet port of the pump. Most use AW32 viscosity (approx 10 wt.) hydraulic oil, which is in fact a crucial a part of any mechanism. there's a vented filler cap on the reservoir which allows air to “breathe” in and out. an easy air cleaner in it keeps dirt out.


There is, or should be, a filter within the return line from the outlet of the valve to the reservoir. (Suction strainers within the inlet line aren't a substitute for a return filter and aren't recommended.)


A hydraulic safety valve controls the utmost pressure which may be created by the pump, and may be a relief valve. it's usually located within the housing of the directional control valve. it's rarely within the pump. Without a relief, most hydraulic pumps will build pressure until something breaks, sort of a hose, or the cylinder, or the pump itself. you'll check best log splitter for sale.


HYDRAULIC LOG SPLITTER CIRCUIT.


THE hydraulic ram

Most log splitters use a 2-stage gear pump which may be a special sort of hydraulic ram . they're rarely utilised in the other hydraulic systems. But they're widely available and comparatively cheap log splitters for sale.


Single Stage Pumps

Let’s start with the fundamentals . Gear pumps are the foremost common, and least expensive sort of hydraulic ram . They contains 2 shafts, each with a gear which meshes with its twin to drive oil from the inlet port to the outlet or pressure port. Oil is trapped within the cavities between the gear teeth and carried round the outside of the gear toward the outlet port. The meshed gear teeth within the centre keep oil from returning to the inlet side. One shaft stands proud of the housing and is driven by the engine. the opposite shaft is hidden within the pump housing. The one gear drives the opposite .


Gear Pump Diagram drawing

Single Stage Gear Pump

Two stage pumps give splitters great performance using small engines. A 2-stage pump consists of two gear pumps during a single housing, and a bypass valve. One gear set is about 3 times the dimensions (length) of the second. When the valve is in neutral & system pressure is low, both gear sets are pumping oil into the system. With a “16 GPM” pump, they're going to pump 16 GPM when the pump shaft is rotated (by the engine) at 3400 RPM. That is, the mixture of the outputs from both gear sets equals 16 GPM.


When the valve is shifted it moves the cylinder quite quickly. But when the log hits the wedge, the resistance increases, and pressure is protected against the pump. Now the bypass valve comes into play. When the rear pressure reaches 700 – 800 PSI, oil from the larger set of gears is allowed to pass back to the inlet side of the pump (at almost 0 PSI) instead of being forced out the pressure port. therefore the only oil being forced out is from the tiny gear set. This takes tons less horsepower and allows the utilisation of a fairly small engine to develop the high necessary to separate wood, while giving the cylinder good speed when not under an important load (which is most of the time). The opening and shutting of the bypass is automatic, activated by the pressure . It’s so smooth it’s usually difficult to note it's happening. So 2-stage pumps give our log splitters the simplest of both: high once we need it, and high speed the remainder of the time.


Conclusion

We sometimes see hand-crafted log splitters with single stage pumps, often reused from another sort of machine. they're usually quite slow unless a way bigger than normal engine is employed.


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