logsplitter EV conversion

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diymirage

HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
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so i picked me up a little log splitter a while ago
right now it has a 5.5 horse honda GX150 on it

i am pretty sure i have a 110volt hot tub motor kicking around

it looks like the GX simply has a flexible spine coupler on the output shaft, which runs a pump which provides the pressure i need to operate the cylinder


so, here is my thought, if i can get a matching coupler on that hot tub motor, i could remove the GX and install the the electrical motor, and not have to listen to the GX roaring

does that sound like a plan, or would the EV not have the balls to spin the pump fast enough ?

the electrical motor is rated at 1.5 HP and spins at 3540 or 1770
 
I don't think a small electric motor is going to impress you with performance...............
 
found one with a 1.3 hp motor, they say it can only be run up to 23 seconds at a time. others showed 2 and 3 hp motors, both rated at 15 amps. A hd extension cord would be needed and bigger the better if you are running any distance. try the motor you have if not to costly for the parts. maybe it'll work out fine for your application.
 
1.5 horse isn't very big. Not sure the torque output on the gas motor but I suspect a 3 horse electric motor is closer to what you would find in a light duty residential log splitter.

The hot tub motor is just moving water, not really doing any work with said motor
 
I like your thinking.

See if you can find a 220 volt 3 hp electric, that will have 4 times the power as the hot tub motor.

Lots of the wood spliters have a 2 stage hydraulic pump and when the splitting gets tough like on some old twisted up Elm, the pump kicks down and that takes power to keep it pushing.

Also like your idea cause sometimes I have done splitting in an open shed, and the exhaust from a 5 hp gas coming back at you is not a good thing. Even being outside if the wind is not right, you are catching wiffs of that exhaust. Not Good.

Only trouble is being close to a power source.

☆☆☆☆☆
 
Ear muffs would be a lot easier! I wear them while using our wood splitter. The wood inventory control specialist (wife) wears them too. She thinks they work a lot better than they actually do, because when she yells and asks me something, I just mouth the words without using my vocal cords during the reply!

:rofl:
 
For hydraulics the Rule of thumb is:
1 HP is required for each 1 gpm @ 1500 psi
gpm = gallons per minute
ex: a 5 gpm pump operating at 1500 psi would need 5 hp or at 3000 psi would need 10 hp.

The Formula is; HP=PSI x GPM / [1714 x 0.85]
At the minimum you would need the operating pressure of the system and the gpm of the pump.
a schematic of the system would also be helpful also. [pump info, valve(s), relief settings, cylinder size etc]
Flow = speed
Pressure = force
you are essentially reverse engineering the hydraulic system.
Hope this helps.
 
thanks for all the replies guys
the main reason i want to do this is to get something quiet, and well, it sounds like a fun lil project

(you guys ever watch some of the DIY logsplitter videos on youtube? some of those are brutal)

1.5 horse isn't very big. Not sure the torque output on the gas motor but I suspect a 3 horse electric motor is closer to what you would find in a light duty residential log splitter.

The hot tub motor is just moving water, not really doing any work with said motor
i guess thats where i dont fully understand how this whole deal works
isnt the pump just moving oil ?

but it is blatantly obvious that 1.5 HP is quite a bit less then 5.5
but it is what i have, and if i had to go out and buy a new one that would sink this idea before it even takes off

Ear muffs would be a lot easier! I wear them while using our wood splitter. The wood inventory control specialist (wife) wears them too. She thinks they work a lot better than they actually do, because when she yells and asks me something, I just mouth the words without using my vocal cords during the reply!

:rofl:
thats hilarious...sounds like something we would do
i actually do most of my splitting and stacking along or with the boy

specially when im alone i wear my worktunes (ear muffs with bleutooth speakers build in) and just jam out

For hydraulics the Rule of thumb is:
1 HP is required for each 1 gpm @ 1500 psi
gpm = gallons per minute
ex: a 5 gpm pump operating at 1500 psi would need 5 hp or at 3000 psi would need 10 hp.

The Formula is; HP=PSI x GPM / [1714 x 0.85]
At the minimum you would need the operating pressure of the system and the gpm of the pump.
a schematic of the system would also be helpful also. [pump info, valve(s), relief settings, cylinder size etc]
Flow = speed
Pressure = force
you are essentially reverse engineering the hydraulic system.
Hope this helps.
i will run out to the shed later and see if i cant find some info on the pump
(i dont recall seeing anything on there, but i havent really looked for it so who knows)

i do think its a pretty decent little machine
when i bought it a few years ago it needed a new cylinder so i might be albe to find that info
 
thanks for all the replies guys
the main reason i want to do this is to get something quiet, and well, it sounds like a fun lil project

(you guys ever watch some of the DIY logsplitter videos on youtube? some of those are brutal)


i guess thats where i dont fully understand how this whole deal works
isnt the pump just moving oil ?

but it is blatantly obvious that 1.5 HP is quite a bit less then 5.5
but it is what i have, and if i had to go out and buy a new one that would sink this idea before it even takes off


thats hilarious...sounds like something we would do
i actually do most of my splitting and stacking along or with the boy

specially when im alone i wear my worktunes (ear muffs with bleutooth speakers build in) and just jam out


i will run out to the shed later and see if i cant find some info on the pump
(i dont recall seeing anything on there, but i havent really looked for it so who knows)

i do think its a pretty decent little machine
when i bought it a few years ago it needed a new cylinder so i might be albe to find that info
Think of it as the difference between paddling water and then trying to push water through a hose and make something move on the other end. Even in the hot tub, the pressure at a jet might be 5 psi. The pressure in your log splitter is probably 2000 psi. Granted, you're getting mechanical advantage to work in your favor via pumps and piston sizes but the fact remains: making water move around a hot tub is little more than glorified splashing, but the splitter is trying to make mechanical parts move through serious resistance.

And no, mechanical engine horsepower and electric motor horsepower don't really equate to one another. They do but they don't.
 
It's a massive over-simplification, but think of hydraulics like a lever or a pulley. The hydraulic pump compounds the force available from the engine. Going from 5.5hp to 1.5 will reduce not only the speed the ram would move, but also the force available.

Yes, technically a lower power motor will make the pressure and the ram will just move super slow - in reality the breaker will be tripping every time things get tough and the motor will stall out unless geared way down, and now the ram is moving even slower yet. In effect, the pump and motor must be sized to match one another to some reasonable degree and going from 5.5 to 1.5 is not close enough.

There are electric wood splitters out there. They tend to run slower, but work great for when you want to split a few peices but don't need to do it for 2hrs or in a remote location.
If I were dead-set on doing a DIY type deal, I think a 220v motor out of an old clothes dryer or air compressor would be where I'd look. Driving the pump off an elec motor, I would also look at running a belt rather than direct-drive with the flex coupler. That way you can vary the ratios a bit to see what works best and limit the current (amps) being drawn by the motor.
If you can't run a 220v motor for the project, then I wouldn't even bother. There's just not much juice available to do 'real' work with 115v outlets.

My wife hates loud noises, so I run the splitter, and she runs the axe.

1678983478962.png


1678983220231.png
 
There's a reason they put a 5.5 hp engine on the splitter. One thing is it's portable and you can split wood in your yard or in the woods. Second is the pump and ram needs that much power. If you could get by with less they would make it with less.

electric car1.jpg
 
While I am no Honda fan what so ever (give me an old school Briggs or Tecumseh or Kohler any day) there's no way if go electric on something like that.
Growing up we had electric everything... Weed eater, hedge cutters, power washer, concrete edger. .. when I was old enough, I bought my first gas powered weed eater and I was hooked. No way I was going back. I know have multiples of gas powered everything. (But I don't have a log splitter)
 
There's a reason they put a 5.5 hp engine on the splitter. One thing is it's portable and you can split wood in your yard or in the woods. Second is the pump and ram needs that much power. If you could get by with less they would make it with less.

View attachment 1716064545
Did....
Did you....
Did you just rig that up for this discussion?
 
There's a reason (true) 5 HP eclectic motors cost what they do.
 
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