would a power steering pump work to drive a saw bar on a processor

[dhilbert]

I am planing on building a processor, for cheap if I can, and was wondering if a power steering pump will have enough pressure and flow to drive a saw bar. Wasn't  planning on a high volume processor, just something to make it easier on the back. Mounting a chainsaw on a pivot, I think will be louder than I want to work with. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks, Dan

[beenthere]

Welcome back Dan.

Might be a little light, but maybe worth some experimentation to see just what psi and volume of flow you can get from the ps pump.

[pineywoods]

Nope, no way..

[Ianab]

As the saw is stationary it can be powered by a 4 stroke or electric motor.  Both quieter than a 2 stroke chainsaw, and readily available in as much power as you need. Just adjust the gearing / sprocket size to get the chain speed right.

Ian

[r.man]

If you mean can the pump produce enough pressure to push the bar down through the cut then the answer is a definite yes. Once saw one adapted to run the cylinder for a dump box. Reservoir had to be extended to hold enough fluid but it worked well for years.

[r.man]

After rereading your post I think you mean will it drive the saw chain and to that I say I don`t know but I think it would be worth a try. Probably want the biggest power steering pump you can scrounge but  a prototype with whatever is available might answer your question.

[muddstopper]

To run a saw motor, I seriously doubt the steering pump will work. The motor is probably going to require close to 20gpm to be effective and I am pretty sure no automotive type steering pump is going to even approach that amount of flow. The size of the lines exiting the pump tell me the pump is low flow. Also will come into play is the oil capacity of the pump,a big pump would require a tank capacity bigger than a quart of fluid, 20gpm means a 20gal oil tank. And then there is the pressure issue, I dont know the psi rateing of a steering pump, but just looking at the hydraulic hose being used, I am going to guess the pressure rateing at under 1000psi. I used a steering cylinder off a tractor to lift my splitter blade and blew the seals out of it at 1750psi.

I guess what I am trying to say is, I dont know if the steering pump will work or not, but the clues tell me it would most likely be a busted experiment.

[GF]

I highly doubt there will be enough volume and pressure to do that.

GF

[ely]

ive seen gm power steering pumps used for a number of different operations, some were quite elaborate engineering feats....
you should do well if you use at least a 5 gal size resevior for the fluid. the main deal is use enough fluid to keep the system from over heating the oil.
doesent sound like you will over work it with the saw.

[r.man]

Adding more capacity to the pump should not be a big problem. My friend only needed a bit more fluid so he extended the existing reservoir but a secondary one could be piped into the original without much trouble. I agree that it doesn`t look compatible but I have seen and done things that the average person wouldn`t bother with. Innovators wouldn`t succeed if they listen to people that don`t think it can be done. Most of the time those people are right, but not all of the time.

[Al_Smith]

If you have intentions of driving the saw with a hydramotor you're obviously going to need a pump that equals or exceeds the flow of the hydramotor .

Power steering pumps can be from aprox 850 PSI to maybe 1500 .1500 might do it but the volume wouldn't  support the needs of the hydramotor .Oh it would spin the chain but it would be slow as a snail .

[r.man]

Tortoise and the hare.

[dhilbert]

Yea I should have mentioned, I wondered if it would run the chain. I guess it would be worth a try, If it doesn't work all I would have to do, is change out the pump with a real hyd. pump. The rest of the work, fabing and plumbing will have to be done anyway. Just thought I would try and save some pennies if I could. Thanks guys for all your input so far.

[muddstopper]

Just wondering what size hyd motor you are planning to use for the saw motor. I did a little looking and found that most automotive type pumps only put out 400-800psi but can surge upto 1000psi under certain conditions. A big truck pump might do more, I dont know. I never saw any numbers concerning gpm, but I didnt really do a through search. I know its nice to be able to work outside the conventional box to accomplish something, but this time I am afraid you will be spending a lot of time and effort on something you probably wont be satisfied with. I'm by no means an expert and this is only my opinion, so take it for whats it worth.

[dhilbert]

I was doing more research and found out p/s pumps only put out 2-3 gal/min, way too little to run a hyd motor on a saw.  Oh well I just thought if I could make it work I could save some cash. Thanks for your input guys, I hang out here once in a while, do way more reading and learning than I do talking. Great site. Thanks  Dan.