The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts A crazy idea?

One of the reasons I got the Big Bolt was for hauling firewood, and the dump bed sure is nice...handling the wood one less time. But lifting some of the pieces into the back is hard on an old guy. I started thinking about a wood splitter on the back and just throwing the split pieces in the back...Northern Equip. has attachments for a 3 point hitch, and uses the hydraulics on the tractor to power it.

If I put a selector valve in the hoist's hydraulic lines to change from the dump to the woodsplitter, would this work? Would the hydraulic pump have enough pressure...ect? The hoist,

The pump,

Let me know your thoughts on this.
Thanks
Bill

WCKaner,

I think the idea is very sound. Plumbing the splitter utilizing the existing pump could be easily accomplished.

The only things that would have to be verified would be the output of the pump and its pressure setting.

I would guess the pump would make 1500 psi without much trouble. Measure the lift cylinder and compare it to the splitter you intend to buy.

If the truck will lift the bed in an acceptable amount of time, it will extend a similar size cylinder in the same time. Boosting the engine RPM would boost the output GPM and shorten the cycle time of the splitter.

A very cool project. Do some E-bay shopping, and you could get by on a minimum budget..good luck.

Stuart

how about putting a lift gate on the back of the old beast?

A problem that I would forsee would be keeping the engine cool while fast idling sitting still for extended periods of time. May have to put cooling fans in front of your radiator to remedy that problem,
Scott

I'll have to check out the engine temp. thing, didn't think of that. maybe an aux. elect. fan??

The lift gate idea is good. I thought I'd tow a splitter to the woodcutting site. And cut and split there, less mess at home. Just dump and stack.

Why not buy a self contained spliter? They are more moeny but would save wear & tear on the truck. I would bet by the time you get a 3 point hitch spliter set up you would be into it about the same as on of the others.

Log Spliters

I guess I always do things the hard way. If I just bought the cheapest self-contained splitter for about $1000, or built my own for about the same amount of money, my own would be the way I want it, with a tilt bed, heavier duty...etc.

I just mentioned the already made 3 point attachment, but you could buy the cylinder, valves, hoses, and steel, seperately and weld it all together.

The already made splitter would also have wear and tear on an expensive small engine and hydraulic equip. I think the old Chevy is more dependable, it's been dumping something for forty years.

But most importantly, I'd lose out on the fun of building something and playing with it.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I'd agree the self contained one might be a little more user friendly.
I'd look at setting it up to slide into a receiver hitch;I already have a couple of tools built that way,a large vise and a grinder. I'm planning for a drill press next. (might have to add a couple more hitch sockets and up-size the power inverter though)
Speed

Bad idea. What you have is an old scissor hoist that has a piston pump inside a reservoir connected to a PTO. Depending on the pump it probably doesn't have much GPM but could be OK. Pressure isn't a problem for these (OK to 2500 psi)but the reservoir size isn't large enough to handle additional cylinders and stay cool. Probably is about 12-15 qts based on the lift cylinder size. The valve is likely a 3-way valve for raise/lower/hold. You'd need another(seperate) 4-way valve to operate the wood splitter cylinder, i.e, push/pull/hold/open positions and 2 hoses with quick disconnects somewhere. Don't be fooled by the two hoses as even the 3 way valve have a return port that gets the oil that is from the top of the cylinder stroke when it is fully extended. It could be a 4 way valve but not likely on an old truck hoist. However it will have low PSI on the down side which may not be suitable for a wood splitter system. Engine cooling may be a problem as others has suggested and the old piston pumps WILL NOT with withstand more than 1000 RPM. These units are for intermittant use only and your talking about continious duty.
Bottom line: I would pass and just buy one with an engine on it and save your money in the process. Not a Crazy Idea But Not a Good Idea.

I have been inside a lot of these old systems and the Williams pump is nominal at best.

If you already have a tractor with a 3 point hitch (class II or III) why not just use the lift action of it against a wedge built into a frame with return springs to re-open the "jaws" of the splitter. If your 3 point has down pressure your halfway there and forget the springs, just make the framework and wedge. Very simple design.

Dave,
That's the info. I'm looking for. It's good to know that the piston pump is not suitable for this job. That's why I brought the idea up here, I knew I get some advise that I could put to good use.

I like the tractor splitter idea!!

Thanks,
Bill