Sprocket Size???

[Coon]

Hey all you hydraulic geniuses,  I need help. (In more ways than one :D :D)
I am currently building myself a hydraulic wood splitter.  I am using an old 9 hp Briggs and Stratton engine and have a hydraulic pump off an old John Deere AR tractor.  The pump has a 15 toothed sprocket on it that is 2- 2 1/2 inches in diameter.  The tag on the pump says to run the pump between 500 and 1000 RPM.  I would like to know what my sprocket sizes should be on both the pump and the engine?  Would I benifit from running pullies and a belt instead??  I will be using a ram that has about a 32-36" stroke.  It comes off an old D8 Cat. 

**I will be adding an auxillary tank for extra hydraulic capacity, BUT How much cqapacity will I actually need?  The pump has about a 2 gallon resevoir on it???

Brad.

[Timburr]

I'm no genius here, but I do dabble in hydraulics.

Gearing formula...No. of teeth on driver (engine)                 Driven rpm
                        No. of teeth on driven (pump)        =        Driver rpm 

For example, if your Briggs governed out at say 3000rpm and your pump was turning @ 1000rpm, then the pump sprocket/pulley would have 3 X the teeth/diameter of the motor.

A 9 hp engine would be able to power a pump flow of 7 to 10 galls a minute, so make sure the pump matches the engine.

Pulleys and belts are quieter and transmit more power.

A D8 ram is a bit overkill...very slow, but it certainly won't break in that application  ;D What size bore is it,about 6"? A ram this size will take about 3 to 4 gallons to fill and you may need a total reserve capacity of 4 galls. or so.

Can't help you with your other problems though :D :D

Cheers Tim.

[Woodwalker]

Coon, try this link to some online hydraulic calculators.
http://www.baumhydraulics.com/calculators.htm

[Coon]

Thanks Timburr and Woodwalker. 

That was exactly the information I was looking for.  Got it all figured out now.
I will pick up a couple of pullies tomorrow or Friday when I go to town. 

Timburr,  we had that cylinder on another wood splitter a couple of years back.  We broke the frame on the splitter and the engine we had threw a rod through the side of the block so we decided to just scrap the whole issue.  The ram was not in the least bit too big or too slow.  We found that it was just right actually, especially when we got to splitting twisted maple or tammarack or Jackpine. 

I will be using a stationary splitter head and using the ram to push the block.  From there the pieces of firewood will drop down onto a conveyor and loaded or put onto a pile.  The whole unit I have in the works will eventually become a complete firewood processor that I will have another engine and larger pump on for driving my log advance and saw off of.

Any input is greatly appreciated.  It is proven that the more brainpower you have when building something the better the end result of the product will be.... look at the forum pig roaster for instance.   I just don't seem to have enough of that thing they call brainpower these days.  I guess it would help if I could get my head to quit spinning. :D :D

Brad.

[D._Frederick]

If your pump is in the range of 12-15 gallons per min. (range of old tractor hydrualic system), your 9 hp briggs may not handle wood with a lot of knotts.

[Coon]

The wood we generally cut, split, and sell are not all too knotty.  We generally sell aspen, spruce, birch, and ocaissionally get a few small orders for other species such as tammarack, jackpine,  and maple.

I have used these 9 hp Briggs and Stratton for as long as I can remember.  As far as I am concerned they were very under-rated in the hp category, and could power grain augers and such alot better than many other engines in the same hp range.

The splitter is definately starting to shape up.  I stripped the body off a '79 Chev 1/2 ton and remanufactured the frame into a trailer.  With a few cross braces  welded into place I will be able to mount my splitter components.  Keep in mind I built the trailer larger than I need for the splitter to accompany the future components that will be added to build it into a complete firewood processor. 

Brad.