Repowering the old log splitter

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99 $ Harbor Freight Predator yet to taste some wood

 

What are the advantages of going from 5hp to 6.5hp? The tonnage of the splitter is determined by the hydraulics so it won't go from a 20 ton to a 25 ton splitter. Will the fuel economy be better ? I know it will be better but don't know why

 

Steadier pump/engine rpm under heavy load. Looks good!

 

I did the same a few years ago. There was a 5 hp Briggs on our Didier push through splitter. I replaced it with the same 6.5 212cc chonda predator.

It started way easier, the muffler doesn't fall out of the head now, it's way better on fuel, quieter, it does have more power, as it splits stuff that the old tired 5 hp would bog and stall out on, and then be a PITA to get to start.

Did I mention the predator starts up much better than that briggs?


Best repower ever.

Well, this one might take the cake.

Harbor Davidson

 

I too put the Predator on my slitter several years ago. The only problem was the Predator's output shaft was a little longer and had to use all thread and 1/2 dozen washer to couple it up. Best $99 I ever spent. It would have probably cost 1/2 that amount or more in parts to repair the Briggs The old Briggs got so it had very little compression and required ether to get it going. 3 years latter that Predator starts 2 or 4 pulls max., even on the coldest days. Normal 2 pulls max.

 

Small world. I did the same thing last week. I needed a vertical shaft engine. Took about an hour and works great. This engine is for mowers and the only problem is changing oil. Cannot tip splitter over to drain oil so I ordered a Motor Oil Suction Change Pump. takes 10w30 oil for break-in not sure if I should put synthetic in after first change.
Works great!

 

I just did the same thing with a used $75 Predator 212, but I went down from a 8hp Briggs to the 6.5hp Predator.

I found an old gas powered log splitter two weeks ago on Facebook Marketplace for $250. He said it runs good and he was only asking what I had paid for a used electric log splitter a couple weeks before that. I went out, checked it out, he got it started (after multiple pulls as it had been sitting 3 years) and I brought it home.

So I resold the electric log splitter.

Unfortunately the original old 8hp Briggs engine was very difficult to pull and very difficult to get started, requiring numerous pulls to do so. Frankly, I no longer have the stamina and strength to keep pulling it till it starts.

So I found a used Predator (Harbor Freight) 212cc 6.5hp engine for $75 on Facebook Marketplace off a broken wood chipper, and set about replacing the Briggs with this Predator motor.

First thing I discovered is that the hydraulic pump mount bolt pattern doesn’t fit the smaller Predator engine. So I researched hydraulic pump mounts for log splitters and found one in stock at Tractor Supply.

I brought it home only to realize the bolt pattern fits the Predator engine perfectly but the shaft length of the hydraulic pump and the Predator engine combined were too long to fit into this hydraulic pump mount.

Fortunately the Predator engine came off a chipper shredder and part of the chipper assembly included a four inch aluminum mount that offset the chipper assembly away from the bolt face around the engine shaft.

I was able to cut off the right thickness of this mount with a cutting wheel on an angle grinder, combined that with the new hydraulic pump mount, and it assembled perfectly. It’s the red piece next to the motor behind the black hydraulic pump mount in this photo. I had to mount the engine a little “crooked” on the engine mount because the low pressure hydraulic fluid return hose was too short otherwise.

I did put a new better spark plug in the engine, added 2 gallons of hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic reservoir, and it started right up and split the biggest knotty oak I could get my hands on.

There’s something very satisfying with never having swapped engines on a piece of equipment, managing to fabricate part of the pump mount with a simple angle grinder, then have everything work together as it was intended when you pull the rope on the engine.

And I only spent a third what a used gas engine log splitter would have normally cost.

 

Looks good. Do I see a oil leak on the axle? I also agree that it is nice to win one once in a while.

 

Thanks. I have never seen a working store bought (not homemade) gas log splitter come up anywhere online for $250, and I’ve been looking off and on for a very long time. They are usually $500-750 used around here, minimum.

While I was filling the hydraulic fluid reservoir, the fluid kept forming a big bubble in the stand pipe and bubbled up and flowed out, no matter how slow I poured in the hydraulic fluid. So it got all over the engine mount and axle and hydraulic arm when I filled it.