I'm thinking about a 28 ton Dirty Hands Splitter. The reviews are very good, however there are a few that mention the hydraulics run hot, in excess of 240°. Those temps seem as though they could spell problems down the road for seals, gaskets and hoses. I've heard the hydraulic temps should not exceed 190°. Your input and expertise is greatly appreciated!
Both mine get hot. Never checked with a temp gun. Nothing that has ever concerned me though. I suspect reservoir capacity may have something to do with it? As far as hoses go, I think most have a pretty high temp rating. UV exposure, pulsation and friction are hose killers.
Optimum operating temperature for hydraulic systems on a splitter are 130-140 degrees, same as your home hot water, 180 is considered to start damage to some seals. Higher temps may be found in some industrial systems but they are using special seals designed for extreme temps.
Most of the standard commercial built splitters suffer from excessive temps. Thatis because they build them with too many restrictions in the hydraulic circuit. 1/2" hard line that is maybe 3/8" on the inside , fittings that sometimes are only 5/16" internal or less right angle turns instead of 45, and the tiny supply tanks which are sometimes not even plumbed correctly. Each of these create friction or in the case of couple with terrible design of the oil return line induce air into the oil creating even more friction not to mention reduced capacity due to air bubbles in the oil. So all that said you can reduce the heat build up by using Hy-Flow fittings , replace that hard line with a hose and add an additional tank preferable higher than the original and fed into the same to act as additional supply and heat reduction by radiation and just because there is more oil available so it rests a bit longer allowing for a bit more cooling time. My splitter in its OEM state ran so hot that after an hour if you touched the cylinder you would get a blister. It no longer has that problem and hangs in the proper temp range all day now even when it is 90 deg and the sun blasting on it ( well maybe it does get a bit warmer under those conditions but still in the saftey zone just the top end). This was accomplished by what I stated above.
A cheap or defective pump will raise temperatures also. If it has internal leakage causing repumping of fluid. Also it depends on the wood being split, more time on the second pumping stage will add heat. Most every splitter I have seen goes against common hydraulic engineering practices.
So what you're saying is you spend $1600 to $1800 for a splitter then you've got to spend another couple hundred to upgrade existing fittings and hoses. And even then you may have to add a second tank. Does anyone make the correctly to begin with?
Mine runs hot, but I always assumed that was normal... It will most likely continue to run that way, 'cos I ain't got the extree clams to do anything different.
This is the most beastly and well built splitter I've ever used. It has forward and reverse stroke detent. Push two levers and the ram will run the way out and return automatically. Log lifter/table, hydraulic 4 way wedge and Honda-powered...what's not to like? I rented one to check it out (price is out of this world to buy) and was thoroughly impressed. It is not moved around very easily unless hitched to something. It was obviously not targeted at consumers.
One of the comments was that that the return line entered the tank right beside the line going into the pump. That would seem to mean the pump is just picking up hot oil and sending it back to the pump to get hotter. The return oil doesnt mix and cool with the remaining oil in the tank. Maybe change where the return line enters the tank or add a second tank for the return line and that tank then feeds back to the primary tank. This would increase capacity and allow the oil to cool in the secondary tank. What do you think?
a 4 or 5 gallon tank plus the cylinder and a 11gpm pump - self explanatory - return lines mounted on top of the tank but no pipe inside on the otherside of the connection or mounted so high on the side as to be at or near the full level of the tank (got to leave some room for expansion so the tank is never 100% full) is what I was referring to. The oil returning to the tank does get mixed , even with out baffles. my 2nd tank ( about 2 gal) is connected to the primary tank with the return line unchanged- but because the second tank is above the primary , the primary is 100% full- no air to get mix with oil. The secondary tank acts as a reserve + as an expansion chamber and is the new location of the fill port as the original is now connected to the bottom of the secondary. simple & works very well. Yes I know that the rule of thumb is 11gpm pump 11 gal tank , biggest piece of sq tubing I had laying around at the time.
