Any log splitter Guru’s here?

[penth2o]

Just bought a homemade log splitter. It has a Briggs & Stratton 5hp 206 cc motor.
A John S. Barnes Corp pump, Boss 2500 psi Ram Industries cylinder and a Cross valve.
I don’t know if the components are industrial and overkill for the 5 HP Briggs motor or not.
the motor is tired and has been rigged with a different carburetor and having serious problems running.

My question would be, can I go for a bigger motor and what would you guys recommend brand and size wise.
thank you for the help.

 

[larry_g]

Hydraulic Log Splitters & Accessories | Boss Industrial

Boss Industrial primarily specializes in professional-grade log splitters that can be also used for residential purposes. With uncompromising safety features, Boss log splitters are tested by renowned entities, to pass the requirements of European standard.

boss-industrial.com

Have you visited the above site? It they have different models with different HP's. You may have to study the parts pages to figure out what model yours started as..

lg
no neat sig line

 

[58Yeoman]

A lot of guys like the Predator from HF. It's about 12hp, IIRC. I had one on a minibike and almost killed myself. Sold the mini and engine separately. I had gotten it on sale for $99, but that was almost two years ago.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

The important thing is to match the pump to the engine. You can use a bigger engine with a 5 hp pump, but it won’t gain you much if anything in ram speed while splitting. You should check the hp requirements of the pump you’ve got to help you decide what you want to do.

 

[PCustoms]

Match the engine on the pump.

Short answer, get another 5hp. If just fix the one you got.

 

[Rst277]

Buy a Honda engine of the correct size. Never worry again.

 

[claymont]

hp requirements for hydraulic pumps driven by engines Not reality for log splitters.
For a log splitter, you only need a higher pressure, or a certain percentage of it, for a short period of time to "split" the wood in most cases. So, the time needed for high pressure is low in most cases(max pressure is hardly needed in most cases). After that, cycle time(gpm of the pump) comes into play; which a has a lower horse power requirement. What happens if you hold the direction valve in the retract position when the rod is fully retracted; does it stall? If so, the motor is undersized(assuming the relief valve is functioning). Engines stop when they can't motivate. 5gpm at 2000psi=6hp 5gpm at 200psi=.6hp

 

[NUTTSGT]

Buy a Honda engine of the correct size. Never worry again.

That's what I did when the carb on my splitter started to have issues. The original B&S 5hp engine was 30 plus years old. Found a Honda unit at the local surplus store that has a ton of mower stuff....local to MTD.

 

[PoorUB]

Why go with bigger pump? Get the specs for the pump, then decide what you need for a replacement engine, HP wise.

More than likely the pump is sized to the engine and requires roughly 5HP. A 10HP engine will not make it split wood faster.

 

[finn]

The pump will only pump what it is designed to pump. Typically one would select an engine with enough power such that when the pump demand increases to its maximum glow, the governor opens the throttle plate to maintain crankshaft speed , ie, no rpm sag under load. Any available power above that simple isn’t used or useable

Doubling available engine power just allows the engine to maintain the speed setpoint with less travel on the governor. It won’t increase pump flow or pressure. Essentially, the bigger engine just operates at a lower load factor.

 

[greenskeeper]

v8 is the only logical replacement engine

 

[kbs2244]

go with the 5 HP from HF
they are no name copies of the Honda
and they run just as well

 

[dcg9381]

A lot of guys like the Predator from HF. It's about 12hp, IIRC. I had one on a minibike and almost killed myself. Sold the mini and engine separately. I had gotten it on sale for $99, but that was almost two years ago.

There is a 5-6hp version too. Apparently a great little motor.

OP, I dunno if how you can tell a motor is tired if the carb is wrong though.. There are some great replacement carbs (cheap) on the market today. But if the motor is bad, predator is a good option.

 

[PCustoms]

OP, I dunno if how you can tell a motor is tired if the carb is wrong though.. There are some great replacement carbs (cheap) on the market today. But if the motor is bad, predator is a good option.

$50 for a new carb, a plug and maybe an air filter seems to make sense to me.

 

[brownbagg]

amazon has those china copy carbs cheap. i put one on my lawn tractor, my weed eater. I like them

 

[Uncle murph]

Just bought a homemade log splitter. It has a Briggs & Stratton 5hp 206 cc motor.
A John S. Barnes Corp pump, Boss 2500 psi Ram Industries cylinder and a Cross valve.
I don’t know if the components are industrial and overkill for the 5 HP Briggs motor or not.
the motor is tired and has been rigged with a different carburetor and having serious problems running.

My question would be, can I go for a bigger motor and what would you guys recommend brand and size wise.
thank you for the help.

I have an old Deere number 5.It had a briggs on it but I replaced it with a 5hp Honda.You can literally put wood in it sideways and it will shear it.Its a brute,don’t know what you would need more horses for.

 

[PCustoms]

I have an old Deere number 5.It had a briggs on it but I replaced it with a 5hp Honda.You can literally put wood in it sideways and it will shear it.Its a brute,don’t know what you would need more horses for.

I actually do that quite a bit if I have an odd length. Get it stuck on the wedge, then shear it the rest of the way with the next round.

A lot faster)safer then going to get the saw and trying to trim 4" off a split piece of wood.

 

[penth2o]

Thank folks.

The initial post was about a homemade splitter I bought because an 85 foot oak tree fell down on my house taking out my garage, laundry room, bathroom and closet trashing trusses and drywall inside.

I have six more trees the same size half down from the same storm or leaning towards the house.



After first run I joined these groups to get the feel of what parts were what and the terminology.

This thing has ancient industrial components on it. (pump,valve and cylinder. )

I wanted to get the specs so I knew what I was dealing with. The JS Barnes pump is obsolete and I cannot find any specs online nor the seven groups I joined. The company that took over them won’t/doesn’t give out info or maybe they don’t know since it’s so old. The Cross valve and Boss cylinder are AWOL online according to serial numbers.

I wanted to match or at least get to know all of my components.

The 5 HP Briggs & Stratton carburetor was shot and the choke and throttle was hacked from another machine. The carb was not usable.



Thanks for all the input as I learned quite a bit in a short amount of time.

Instead of spending $162 for the correct carb and still having many more unsorted problems with the Briggs, I went to Harbor Freight and spent $145 on a Chinese knockoff 6.5 HP instead of 5 and am back in business.

Now I just have to make a wedge as this ridiculous thing this previous owner made is not right.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... That wedge ain't very pretty, but it appears to work Ok,.....
The biggest problem I see with the unit is, there's no oil tank, cooler, or filter.....
As is, the oil is gonna get hot, 'n efficiency will drop,....
A 5 gallon tank, with fins welded to it would be a major improvement,.....
A filter on the suction line would also be nice,.....
If the pump dies, Surplus Center carries the newer 2 speed pumps which allow quicker cycles, 'n automatically goes to a slower higher pressure low speed when crowdin' the wood,....
Of course, they also carry any other parts you might need for it too,.....

 

[penth2o]

Thanks for the info. Right now I need to get this 85 ft tree out of my way. After that I will start adding and replacing components to making this a REAL log splitter instead of this redneck JackPine abortion.

Good info. I was wondering why no filter. Also wondering if the oil tank was big enough. It’s Channel beam with the ends welded running the length of the axle.

 

[PCustoms]

Thanks for the info. Right now I need to get this 85 ft tree out of my way.

You realize you can cut the tree up and worry about splitting it later, right?

 

[penth2o]

Yes. But I have 6 or 7 more 80 footers coming down in the next couple weeks.
Gotta get it outta the way.
Got interrupted by this tree coming down through my house from drilling a well, running plumbing to house and pole building. Making a driveway. Landscaping a front lawn not to mention I was in the middle of a total kitchen and living room remodel. Both rooms are gutted. Or were…
Got my 1 inch oak flooring, wood ceilings and lighting done. Most of my cabinets are done and I just installed my Quartz.
this was all while working 60 hrs at UPS. I just retired a few weeks ago and need to get to a point where I can travel. I was suppose to be on a two month motorcycle trip right now.