# Running a stand alone wood splitter with tractor pto pump



## Eightball1313 (10 mo ago)

Hey all,

So i got an old 80's Ford 1210 tractor, super nice condition. Got it at a local auction for a fair price. 

I currently use it for mowing the field behind my house, works just fine with the 3 pt hitch ford finish mower i had already. i want to use the tractor for more things just to use it because why not?!

Well i have a 16 gpm pto pump and i have a champion 27 ton log splitter that i use to split wood at my house, works just fine. I had a brainstorm about putting some quick connects on various hydraulic hoses and converting the splitter to run it off my tractor pto pump. Id make it so i can switch back and forth from the tractor pump or the pump on the splitter, just in case id ever need the two stage pump on the splitter for some nasty hunks of wood or something.

So right now, the pump on the splitter is an 11 gpm 2 stage pump. It only has like a 5 to 6 gallon hydraulic reservoir, which i feel is already small for an 11 gpm pump?? shouldnt the reservoir be like twice the gpm of the pump? Like 22 gallons? I feel like all the store bought log splitters have really small reservoirs compared to their pump size so maybe its not as big of a deal as i thought... How do you guys feel a 16 gpm pto pump would be with that sized reservoir? Do you think it will overheat the oil quick? Since the pto pump would be a single stage pump, my plan would be to only really hook it up and use it on nice, easier splitting wood and save the knotty stuff for the 2 stage pump. Id hook up pressure gauges and the whole nine yards and set everything up accordingly, im really just curious about the reservoir size and running a 16 gpm pump on it, i dont plan on running the pump continuously for hours on end but you never know, so im just curious what you guys think.

It would be cool to me to use the tractor to split wood with the splitter and pto pump i already have!


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## BinVa (Sep 21, 2020)

Your hyd tank capacity is basically irrelevant since it's a closed system and continuously circulating. The gallon per min. pump rating will effect the cycle rate of the piston. Don't think you're going to have a problem.


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## BinVa (Sep 21, 2020)

Depending on the engine(tractor) speed and fuel burn....it may be a wash for fuel costs between gas or diesel(?)... B


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## Eightball1313 (10 mo ago)

BinVa said:


> Depending on the engine(tractor) speed and fuel burn....it may be a wash for fuel costs between gas or diesel(?)... B


yeah i hear you, its just a project for fun in the end lol. thanks for your reply, i really was concerned about the hydraulic tank capacity but between your response and someone else's from another forum it sounds like i shouldnt have any issues in that aspect!


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