advice on repowering my timber harvester sawmill

[clint]

Howdy fellas,

I have a Timber Harvester 36hte band sawmill.  It is powered by a 30 hp siemens electric motor.  It has been sitting up for a couple of years now because I moved to a new property that does not have 3-phase service.  I have been toying with the idea of a 3-phase converter, but I think that I might actually get more use out of it if I repowered it with a diesel engine.  I also have an edger that runs on 3-phase (20 hp siemens).  I need to make a decision on it soon,  my wife is starting to throw a fit about the logs I have slowly been stacking up on the back of my property.  I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used both kinds of power before - what u liked or disliked about one or the other.  Also anyone who converted power sources -- any pitfalls I might need to watch out for.

[laffs]

they came witha dutze diesle if that helps

[pineywoods]

Been quite a few go the other way, gas to electric. I swapped out the gas burner on my mizer, removed a briggs and installed a liquid cooled kawasaki. It's fine. Wanted to go with a small diesel, couldn't find anything that wasn't too heavy and too expensive. Another option you might consider is a big 3 phase gen set. That would run the saw and the edger. used 3 phase gen sets are usually quite a bit cheaper than a single phase of comparable power.

[bandmiller2]

Clint, good advice given,for what you would spend to buy and mount a diesel on your mill you could find a used 3 phase genset and run everything and the homested when the power fails.Does your 3 phase mill have a seperate motor for the hydraulics or do they drive the pump from the main motor with the festooned hoses?,that may weigh on your decision.

[Just Me]

http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/endecaSearch?Ntt=generator&Ntk=P_Lot_Title&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Nty=1&Ns=P_Lot_Number|0&words=generator&cmd=keyword

Here is a source for large gen sets, quite often cheap/

I run my wood shop off of a 50hp Rotary converter, no problems. I paid about 2600 for it new.

[junkorgem]

I would defineatly consider a diesel genset. You should look into your total load requirement before shopping though. After you determine what you need you should be able to find one at a surplus site. It would be favorable, but more expensive to the phase converter option. I believe that it would be far more effecient price per kwh though.  If I remember, Groban Supply Company has a website with large military type portable gensets.

[bandmiller2]

Clint,if your not into large gensets you can make a rotory phase converter reasonally cheap if you have heavy enough single phase service coming on the place.Of course if you want to go mobile you need an engine.Electric is best especially in a closed/ heated shed.Frank C.

[jesse]

i changed from gas to deutz diesel 30ht25 timber harvester

[clint]

Thanks for the helpful advice guys -- I am looking into a gen set now.

[cubdriver55]

I bought a Timber Harvester with a 25 HP electric and I was going to switch it to diesel before talking to people on this forum. I ended up buying a phase converter and I will never saw with diesel again. I used to saw with a circle mill and listen to a power plant run all day and suck down huge amounts of diesel. Diesel is now about $3.50 a gallon so it is not that cheap to saw. I am amazed how cheap it is to saw with electric. I ran the mill with nothing else on and found out I am sawing for less than $1.00 an hour. I had even bought a big gen set and ended up selling it. If you are not moving the mill around just get a phase converter. If you are sawing some away from home buy a gen set and a phase converter for sawing at home. It will pay for its self in no time with fuel savings. I did not saw a huge amount last month but I sawed a fair amount. My entire electric bill for the whole month was $23.00. That would not be much more than a 5 gal can of diesel

[clousert]

We now build and repair the Timber Harvester brand mills.  For ease of use and best power/torque, the electric motor is the way to go, unless you need to be portable.  Have your local electric shop build you a "rotary phase converter" from a used electric motor, 25 hp unit.  You'll need 100 amp single phase with #2 wire to feed the converter. 

If you need to be portable, the diesel motor provides excellent torques and more steady RPM's while sawing, which can mean straighter cuts, but the price of diesel motors and retrofit is pretty steep. 

If you can get a rotary phase converter made for $1500, it's your cheapest deal and best power source.

 

[Wintergreen Mountain]

clint:

   I powered my Turner Mill with a Volkswagon 40hp 1.6L diesel engine. It is driven buy a hydrastatic pump and motor. The hoses are 50ft long so the power unit can be away from the mill head and operator . They drag and tag on the ground with no problem. Very little noise and heat at the operators station.  I am improving it as i go. A couple of pictures below.
Leon

[taluswood]

I'm quite interested in how the hydraulic motor worked out for you. I have a turner with a small 5hp electric on it. We live off grid so i run a pto generator which powers the mill, and charges our batteries. I've been thinking to try and harness the power in a better way though. The Hydraulic looks like a good option

[mmartone]

I would also like to have more info on the diesel and hydraulic. I have an izuzu 3 cyl diesel sitting and a parker hydraulic pump in the box. Any chance on a post and lotsa pics? Maybe a video of it running and cutting?

[Nomad]

     Interesting question, but old post guys.  Clint hasn't posted since 2011.  Wintergreen Mountain hasn't posted in 6 months.

[Cypress Man]

This is a real no brainer. Stay electric!!!!!  I would go with a phase converter. No hauling tanks of diesel/gas every day, no oil changes, oil filters, air filters, spark plugs, radiator fluid levels, fuel filters, etc... etc... etc... Been there, done that, but never again.

[thecfarm]

Could use that motor to power a wood splitter too. use quick disconnects to move the lines from one to the other.

[bandmiller2]

Electric solves the exhaust problem in a closed building.  You can hear the band cutting and have a conversation with coworkers. I've used boath and believe me electric is the premium mill power, unless of course your running a road show. Frank C.