IH 140 hydraulics for wood splitter

[Dave F.]

Was thinking about converting a wood splitter to work off of my IH 140 tractor hydraulics, I Know I need a bypass block (Will the one that Earl sells work on the 140 tractor? I bought one from him for my cub/ snowplow conversion works great.) any way I know you run the hydraulic hoses from the bypass block to the wood splitter control valve. But when not having the the valve hooked up. do you still need a jumper hose between the ports on the by passblock so nothing will dead head the system? I know enough about hydraulics to be Dangerous. Thanks Dave F.

[BigMatt]

I do know the bypass block is the same for the Cub and the 140. I am not sure about the jumper. I assume you need a relief valve somwhere in the system to keep from deadheading the system.

Rudi made a log splitter for his Cub. Here are the threads - maybe they will help. :

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=56291&p=463744&hilit=cub+mounted+log+splitter#p463744

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=56701&p=466756&hilit=cub+mounted+log+splitter#p466756

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=56403&p=464573&hilit=cub+mounted+log+splitter#p464573

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=56703&p=466775&hilit=cub+mounted+log+splitter#p466775

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=56704&p=466787&hilit=cub+mounted+log+splitter#p466787

[Rick Prentice]

Dave, there's different bypass blocks that have been made. If you get this multi-purpose one type it'll work:
TMpic

but some blocks were designed to only fit the cub and that extra triangle piece was omitted. I'm pretty sure Earl made them both ways.

Study some pics and info on the hydraulics to get familiar with the flow of things. That'll save you from making any mistakes down the road. If you mount an "open center" control valve for your splitter use, things will work fine and you. The type "open center" simply means when the control valve isn't being used, the fluid simply flows straight through the valve and the touch control will work normally(if everything's routed correctly). Buy a control valve with the built-in pressure relief adjustable between 1000 and 1200 psi and you should be fine. If you already have a valve but it doesn't have an adjustable pressure relief, one can be added like Rudi did to protect the tractor's pump.

Rick

[BigMatt]

Wow, I didn't realize they made different bypass blocks. You learn something new every day!

[Dave F.]

Question for Rick P. The log splitter I am getting uses the frame as the hydralic oil tank, How do I plumb this into the hydralic bypass block for the IH140? My orginal ideal was to do away with the engine & hydralic pump on the splitter & use the tractor to power the splitter. Thanks Dave F.

[Rudi]

Dave:

I ain't no hydraulic guy at all but I sure learned an awful lot from Rick while I did mine. I would imagine that all you really would need is to install the by-pass block, plumb two quick connects at the back of the 140 to plug the hydraulic hoses from the splitter into. Remember you have to have a pressure relief valve in that circuit, be it a separate item or one in the valve itself. You don't want to see what happens if you don't trust me Since you already have an auxiliary tank under the splitter the one thing I would do is drain that, flush the system and then refill with the same fluid you have in the 140. Remember you may also need a jumper hose to close the system when the splitter isn't hooked up so you don't deadhead your hydraulics. Believe me, you don't want to do that either ...

[Dave F.]

Rudi, I've already ordered a bypass block from Earl, I think the valve on the splitter has a relief valve, not sure how to plumb the tank into the tractor's hydralic system? Also what did you use to flush out the hydralic tank ? Thanks Dave F.

[Rudi]

Dan:

Earl is a top end fabricator.... and his stuff is simply great. When I need another by-pass block ( the two I have are already spoken for on projects), it will definitely be an Earl creation. Get your valve checked or ensure with the manufacturer's data that your valve indeed does have a PRV. I initially thought that the Cessna Eaton valves I was using have an in-board PRV but I was very wrong on that count.

I flushed my system with Hy-tran believe it or not and then again with Perma-Tran. I didn't use a lot, just enough to make sure that it was clean. I think you could use just about any good petroleum solvent which is what the GSS-1024 calls out to clean parts etc., cause all you want to do is to clean out any trapped condensation from the system. Once the fluid is clear, it is flushed.

And now I understand what you are asking. Without looking at your tank all I can say is that there must be an out port ... possibly at the bottom/side of the beam. That would be where it the hose would lead back to the return port on the 140. This would also be where the filter would be as well... gotta have one of them. There must already be a hose from the out port on the valve to your existing tank which would be the return line for the valve. The pressure line would be from your existing splitter pump to the valve. Connect the pressure line from the 140 to this line/port and you should have your circuit. I hope that makes sense.



This one shows the frame tank, return line with the filter connected to the out port of the valve. The in port of the valve is connected to the pump/power pak. I am assuming yours is not a direct connect to the frame tank.

I found the thread where I did an upgrade on my auxiliary tank and it might be useful. Not Getting Much Seat Time, Lots of Time With Ellie Though

[Rick Prentice]

Dave, sorry for the delay in responding. Do you have an idea what size cylinder it has.The case diameter, piston size, and length. The big issue will be the displacement of cylinder fluid versus the reserve capacity of the 140 t/c unit. Even though you have a 2 way cylinder, the fluid still raises and lowers with each cycle of the cylinder. You have the entire cavity volume when the cylinder is out all the way and when the cylinder is closed(retracted) you have that same area minus the area of the piston that's taking up space. If that difference is greater than the reservoir of the 140 t/c unit, you'll need to add another tank up high with a breather. My thinking right now is to still use the log splitter tank, but you'll have to remove it's breather and install a solid plug, then fill the splitter tank full of fluid(splitter cylinder and t/c cylinders need to be fully closed(retracted) to get the proper level). If the fluid drop in the t/c doesn't go low enough to starve the 140 pump, you're good to go, but if it sucks air then another tank will be needed to keep the t/c reservoir with needed fluid.

I'll try to draw a sketch later today of my thoughts. There's a lot of things come into play with doing this safe so you don't break something.

Rick

[Rick Prentice]

Dave, I have this so far but I'm still studying the hookup to use the splitter tank also. The issue right now is the height difference between the t/c reservoir and the splitter tank. We'll figure out something.

click to enlarge

The danger part of using the tractor's hydraulics and a detachable splitter attachment is the "Dead Head" possibilities. You'll notice if you unplug the splitter connections AC and BD, you'll have to remember to reconnect A into B to complete the flow to prevent "Dead Heading". By installing the quick connectors with the male/female ends like I have shown, it'll eliminate any mixup.

Hooking up the splitter tank for added fluid volume and connecting to the t/c reservoir is the tricky part to maintain the proper level and not drain or suck air from each other.

Do you know what size tank and the cylinder size. That'll help dial things in.

Rick

[Rick Prentice]

I keep coming up empty on a simple plumbing job. Without making a change with the manifold tubes, I just can't get a simple hookup that'll use the splitter tank and circulate all that fluid and still tie in to the 140 system. To tie in to the 140 system with both the pressure and return systems would be too complicated and sooner or later a line would be left disconnected and break something.

The problem is with the splitter tank being lower than the t/c tank and combining the two so the t/c still functions. The only way I see things ever working is to make up a new manifold line setup that would have the ability to unplug the t/c block and plug into the splitter. That would require a new setup with hoses and quick connects and not use the hard steel tubes. Once the splitter was done, you'd unplug it and plug back into the 140's t/c unit. That setup would be complicated for anyone not familiar with hydraulics and you did mention:

I know enough about hydraulics to be Dangerous. Thanks Dave F

Sorry Dave. Maybe someone else has an idea, but I don't have anything more simple.

Rick

[Rudi]

And that Dave is why I asked Rick to help me out He be the man for hydraulics. I never thought of the problems that Rick brought up. I really thought that what he designed for me would probably have some application for your setup.

The danger part of using the tractor's hydraulics and a detachable splitter attachment is the "Dead Head" possibilities. You'll notice if you unplug the splitter connections AC and BD, you'll have to remember to reconnect A into B to complete the flow to prevent "Dead Heading". By installing the quick connectors with the male/female ends like I have shown, it'll eliminate any mixup.

Rick's mention of a jumper to connect A to B when you remove the splitter is important. I have jumpers for both the front blade hydraulics and the rear connections for the splitter valve and they are used whenever those assemblies are disconnected from Ellie. If you do not complete that circuit you WILL deadhead the system and that is a royal PITB - btdt more than once .

I really hope there is a solution to your quandary.

[ricky racer]

Dave, if you have the splitter complete with engine and pump, why go to the bother of plumbing up the 140 hydraulics? If the engine is no good you may want to drive the existing splitter hydraulic pump with the PTO or replace the pump with a PTO driven pump. Would that be an option?