# Troy-Bilt 27 ton needs a new control valve



## tomc585 (Sep 30, 2014)

Been searching to find a replacement control valve.
The over priced Troy-Bilt / MTD # is 918-0481A  which is an Energy valve (MODEL 0C000908, I think, It says Energy 326890) on the detent cover is $97
Is there any other replacement options I'm not finding?
Rebuilding isn't an option since the casting has a crack at the inlet port.


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## RAVinMetrowest (Sep 30, 2014)

$130 at Northern Hydraulics:

http://northernhydraulics.net/catal...valve-0c000908-energy-manufacturing-1655.html


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## tomc585 (Sep 30, 2014)

Thanks, I saw that but that's $30 more than direct from Energy ($121 with shipping, looking for a coupon code)


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## triptester (Sep 30, 2014)

Found a valve on Ebay it should fit.. Normally all log splitter valves are interchangeable unless they are directly mounted on the cylinder which requires the work port nearest the handle to operate the retract port of the cylinder.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-SPOOL-SPE...ic_Hydraulic_Valves_Parts&hash=item43ca157c23


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## tomc585 (Sep 30, 2014)

thats how mine is mounted.  looks like it would work. I was just a little weary of the quality of this valve.


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## triptester (Sep 30, 2014)

The valve looks like a rebadged  Energy valve. All splitter manufacturers use hydraulic components made by others.


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## tomc585 (Oct 1, 2014)

Ordered it, will post a follow up after it arrives and is installed.


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## tomc585 (Oct 9, 2014)

So the new Speeco control valve came and its identical. I am very pleased with it so far. It even looks like a better quality, raw casting is much better than the original Energy brand.
The only thing was that the valve spool assembly was inverted for my splitter. All I had to do was take it apart and reassemble it the other way. Its installed and ready for new hydraulic fluid.


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## bantam21 (Feb 10, 2018)

tomc585 said:


> So the new Speeco control valve came and its identical. I am very pleased with it so far. It even looks like a better quality, raw casting is much better than the original Energy brand.
> The only thing was that the valve spool assembly was inverted for my splitter. All I had to do was take it apart and reassemble it the other way. Its installed and ready for new hydraulic fluid.



Tom...i need to replace my valve (rather than rebuild it).  I had a couple questions i was hoping you could answer.

1) How difficult was it to invert the valve spool assembly on the Speeco control valve? 

2) How difficult was it to install the Speeco once that was done?

Any advice wood be great appreciated.  

Jim


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## VirginiaIron (Feb 10, 2018)

bantam21 said:


> Tom...i need to replace my valve (rather than rebuild it).  I had a couple questions i was hoping you could answer.
> 
> 1) How difficult was it to invert the valve spool assembly on the Speeco control valve?
> 
> ...


If it is identical to the energy/nortrack valve it is not hard.  On my lift spools, after removing the handles, all I did was remove the two bolts holding the handle support and spin it down into the opposite position, did not have to disassemble the actual valve, reinstall bolts. Make sure the system is off and any pressure is zeroed. Bolts had Allen heads.


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## Jags (Feb 10, 2018)

Tom hasn’t been on the site since 2016 - so I wouldn’t hold my breath for his response.  As Mr. Iron stated above, it is basically just spinning it around. Should be pretty straight forwards.


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## kevin j (Feb 10, 2018)

Sounds like Tom is long gone, but for benefit of others, a cracked inlet port is very likely overtightened NPT pipe threads trying to stop a leak. NPT needs teflon tape or sealant. It wedges outward and can crack ports, distort housings, or bind up spools.   I hate NPT.  Use SAE ORing boss when you can.


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## salecker (Feb 11, 2018)

kevin j said:


> Sounds like Tom is long gone, but for benefit of others, a cracked inlet port is very likely overtightened NPT pipe threads trying to stop a leak. NPT needs teflon tape or sealant. It wedges outward and can crack ports, distort housings, or bind up spools.   I hate NPT.  Use SAE ORing boss when you can.


I have found hemp to be the best for NPT threads,you score the threads with a chisel wrap with hemp apply a little dope to hold the hemp in place and tighten.If you do happen to have a leak the hemp swells from contact with liquid and the leak is gone.
 When i built my system i had over 150 threaded joints,some of them recycled fittings,zero leaks when tested with 80PSI air.
 It takes a little longer to do each fitting properly with hemp... No leaks Priceless


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## Manly (Feb 13, 2018)

salecker said:


> I have found hemp to be the best for NPT threads,you score the threads with a chisel wrap with hemp apply a little dope to hold the hemp in place and tighten.If you do happen to have a leak the hemp swells from contact with liquid and the leak is gone.
> When i built my system i had over 150 threaded joints,some of them recycled fittings,zero leaks when tested with 80PSI air.
> It takes a little longer to do each fitting properly with hemp... No leaks Priceless



Hemp? Dope? None of that is legal around these parts.


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## VirginiaIron (Feb 13, 2018)

Manly said:


> Hemp? Dope? None of that is legal around these parts.


Fortunately for me, the level of dope dissipates as I move away from the machine- ha ha.


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## salecker (Feb 14, 2018)

Manly said:


> Hemp? Dope? None of that is legal around these parts.


Not the kind you smoke.
It is strands of hemp fiber like used to make rope.Go to an older plumbing shop and they should have it.
When i was building my storage i thought i would do some comparisons because i was skeptical about the time required to use the hemp properly,and of hemp it's self.The guy that helped me design my sytem was amendment that it was better that any other methods of sealing threads.He was right.
My tanks had multiple holes i had to plug to test the welds.
I tried just Teflon. tape,just pipe dope and the hemp method.I had 6 holes per tank to seal for the test.The hemp ones were the only ones that didn't leak,i was able to get some the others to seal with extra tightening,except for a couple of the Teflon treated ones.
 Good enough test for me to use hemp from then on.I even use it on the air line fittings on my trucks.Any threaded fitting that i touch now gets hemp on the threads.


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## Ashful (Feb 14, 2018)

Having worked (4th generation) for my family’s plumbing business when I was young, and working on a lot of old houses, I’ve seen folks use all sorts of combinations of tapes, ropes, and dopes.  I never seem to have trouble with the right number of turns of a good Teflon tape, on a quality fitting, so I personally don’t get it.

Buy good quality fittings, get tape of the right type (they’re color coded now, folks) and width, and learn to put the right number of turns on the fitting.  The only time you need to resort to dope on tape is when dealing with poorly-cut threads, like threaded copper sweat fittings.

If you prefer dope, that’s fine alone, but I’m not familiar with many rated for oils at hydraulic pressures.  I use Rectorseal No.5 all the time, on PVC fittings for water, or other fittings for gas.  It is not rated for hydraulics.

The only surprise I found when switching the valve out on my Speeco splitter was how ridiculously tight they had most of the fittings.  Since they’re using the fitting as the mechanical means of holding a valve on which the operator will be yanking, I guess they went at least a full turn beyond what would be normally required.  I think I had a 48” pipe wrench on that valve body, before I got it to turn, which is stupid tight for a 1/2” NPT fitting.


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## bantam21 (Apr 21, 2018)

VirginiaIron said:


> If it is identical to the energy/nortrack vale it is not hard.  On my lift spools, after removing the handles, all I did was remove the two bolts holding the handle support and spin it down into the opposite position, did not have to disassemble the actual valve, reinstall bolts. Make sure the system is off and any pressure is zeroed. Bolts had Allen heads.



I installed the SPEEDCO value and the handle works in the opposite manner!  I believe this is because the Ports A and B are reversed on the SPEDDCO.  I believe the was what TOMC see was referring to about disassembling the SPEEDCO and reversing the value body   Can you or anyone tell me how to do this?!?! 

 Thanks in advance,

Jim


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 21, 2018)

No. I cannot. Sorry.


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## Jags (Apr 22, 2018)

Reverse the hoses at the output ports. Fixed.


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## triptester (Apr 22, 2018)

The valve spool can not be reversed.


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## bantam21 (Apr 22, 2018)

Jags said:


> Reverse the hoses at the output ports. Fixed.



You mean Ports A and B?


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## Jags (Apr 22, 2018)

bantam21 said:


> You mean Ports A and B?


Yep.  If the direction is backwards just swap the hoses around (That is.. If I am understanding your issue correctly).


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## Ashful (Apr 22, 2018)

Jags said:


> Yep.  If the direction is backwards just swap the hoses around (That is.. If I am understanding your issue correctly).



Hold on, there.  Speeco uses a short nipple one working port as the mount for this pump, and I don’t think you’d want to reverse inlet and outlet.  Your only option is to re-mount it on the other working port, and spin the valve 180 from its current orientation.


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## bantam21 (Apr 22, 2018)

triptester said:


> The valve spool can not be reversed.



Thank you for your response but I'm confused because this user TOMC said the following...

"So the new Speeco control valve came and its identical. I am very pleased with it so far. It even looks like a better quality, raw casting is much better than the original Energy brand.
The only thing was that the valve spool assembly was inverted for my splitter. All I had to do was take it apart and reassemble it the other way. Its installed and ready for new hydraulic fluid."

Are you saying it cannot be disassembled?


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 22, 2018)

When you say the valve operates in reverse what do you mean?
1 The the handle is pushed away from the log, to the rear,  and the detent is pushed in toward the rear and the piston comes out to split the log?
2. The handle is pushed toward the log and the detent is engaged, the piston pulls in and retracts away from the log?


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## bantam21 (Apr 22, 2018)

VirginiaIron said:


> When you say the valve operates in reverse what do you mean?
> 1 The the handle is pushed away from the log, to the rear,  and the detent is pushed in toward the rear and the piston comes out to split the log?
> 2. The handle is pushed toward the log and the detent is engaged, the piston pulls in and retracts away from the log?



Again I thank you for your advice and help....

When i pull the handle toward the log, the wedge goes away from it and i have to hold it.  

When I push the handle away from the log, the wedge come forward and i dont have to hold the handle and it keeps going.


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 22, 2018)

bantam21 said:


> Again I thank you for your advice and help....
> 
> When i pull the handle toward the log, the wedge goes away from it and i have to hold it.
> 
> When I push the handle away from the log, the wedge come forward and i dont have to hold the handle and it keeps going.



Great. All you have to do is reverse the handle flange, item # 8, and the pin that supports the handle. Item # 8 and refer to my original instructions. When the PIVOT points on the handle change you reverse the operation even though the handle travels in the same direction.


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## bantam21 (Apr 22, 2018)

VirginiaIron said:


> Great. All you have to do is reverse the handle flange, item # 8, and the pin that supports the handle. Item # 8 and refer to my original instructions. When the PIVOT points on the handle change you reverse the operation even though the handle travels in the same direction.
> 
> View attachment 226013



THANK YOU!!

Omg! Can it really be that easy?   Even if the A nad B ports are different!?!


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## Ashful (Apr 22, 2018)

VirginiaIron said:


> Great. All you have to do is reverse the handle flange, item # 8, and the pin that supports the handle. Item # 8 and refer to my original instructions. When the PIVOT points on the handle change you reverse the operation even though the handle travels in the same direction.


But he said the detent is on the forward stroke, not the return stroke.  If he follows your direction, he will indeed reverse the handle direction, but the detent will still be on the forward stroke.  There are two issues with this, safety and the fact that the detent will pop everytime it builds pressure.


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 23, 2018)

Ashful said:


> But he said the detent is on the forward stroke, not the return stroke.  If he follows your direction, he will indeed reverse the handle direction, but the detent will still be on the forward stroke.  There are two issues with this, safety and the fact that the detent will pop everytime it builds pressure.


The poster needs to check his own instruction manual for the proper operation and instructions regarding this process.
From my quote of his comment on post #28:"Again I thank you for your advice and help....

When i pull the handle toward the log, the wedge goes away from it and i have to hold it.

When I push the handle away from the log, the wedge come forward and i dont have to hold the handle and it keeps going." 
My understanding, from his comment, the fix is rotating item #8.
By reversing/rotating item # 8 the handle moves in the same direction but the spool action is reversed and the detent will be properly called for when the piston retracts with no detent in the extending position.


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## triptester (Apr 23, 2018)

Here is a diagram of a valve handle change with the handle on the same side as the ports. By changing pivot points the valve handle can also be positioned opposite the ports.


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## Jags (Apr 23, 2018)

I had forgotten that the valve mounts directly to the cylinder on the speedco splitters.  Good catch.

On the flip side, VI and TT have the fix. Basically changing the lever pull from a push to a pull or vise versa. But does that deal with the detent position?


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 23, 2018)

Jags said:


> I had forgotten that the valve mounts directly to the cylinder on the speedco splitters.  Good catch.
> 
> On the flip side, VI and TT have the fix. Basically changing the lever pull from a push to a pull or vise versa. But does that deal with the detent position?


Maybe? I think we all hope so.


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## Jags (Apr 23, 2018)

VirginiaIron said:


> Maybe? I think we all hope so.


I don’t think its gonna....


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 23, 2018)

Jags said:


> I don’t think its gonna....





Ashful said:


> But he said the detent is on the forward stroke, not the return stroke.  If he follows your direction, he will indeed reverse the handle direction, but the detent will still be on the forward stroke.  There are two issues with this, safety and the fact that the detent will pop everytime it builds pressure.



I think it will but I can't see the valve/operation, and Ashful's post about safety has me second guessing myself and referring the user to his operating instructions. Triptesters diagram, imo, validates my original presumptions about changing the position of flange #8.


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## triptester (Apr 23, 2018)

On Energy log splitter valves the port nearest the handle is the retract port with detent. On Prince log splitter valves the port farthest from the handle is the retract port with detent. Which port that controls retract varies with brand.


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## Ashful (Apr 24, 2018)

Jags said:


> I had forgotten that the valve mounts directly to the cylinder on the speedco splitters.  Good catch.
> 
> On the flip side, VI and TT have the fix. Basically changing the lever pull from a push to a pull or vise versa. But does that deal with the detent position?


No, it will not.  Detent is in the spool, of which the orientation is not changing.  Reversing item 8 will reverse handle direction, but will keep the detend on the extend stroke.  You must remove valve from cylinder, and re-attach via the other working port.  Leave item 8 and the handle alone.


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## bantam21 (Apr 24, 2018)

Ashful said:


> No, it will not.  Detent is in the spool, of which the orientation is not changing.  Reversing item 8 will reverse handle direction, but will keep the detend on the extend stroke.  You must remove valve from cylinder, and re-attach via the other working port.  Leave item 8 and the handle alone.



Thank you everyone for your input.  Is removing the valve from the cylinder difficult?  

Jim


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## Ashful (Apr 24, 2018)

bantam21 said:


> Thank you everyone for your input.  Is removing the valve from the cylinder difficult?
> 
> Jim



Not if you’re the one who installed it.  However, mine installed by the factory was on there very tight.  I remember using a 40 inch pipe on the end of my wrench, to get sufficient leverage.


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## Jags (Apr 24, 2018)

Jags said:


> I don’t think its gonna....





Ashful said:


> No, it will not.



Yeah, that was just my tongue in cheek manor of giving bad news.


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## Ashful (Apr 24, 2018)

Figured as much, Jags.  ;-)

BTW, you’ll want to pick up a small tube of hydraulic pipe dope (eg. LocTite 567) for reassembly.  Don’t be using regular dopes designed for household plumbing, they may not hold up well in a hydraulic system.


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## triptester (Apr 24, 2018)

Here are the instructions for an Energy valve which should be similar to the Speeco valve.

http://www.energymfg.com/pdf/17498X.pdf


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## VirginiaIron (Apr 25, 2018)

bantam21 said:


> Again I thank you for your advice and help....
> 
> When i pull the handle toward the log, the wedge goes away from it and i have to hold it.
> 
> When I push the handle away from the log, the wedge come forward and i dont have to hold the handle and it keeps going.


So when you pull the handle toward the log is the valve pushed in or pulled out? 
What side is the handle bracket, #8 on- upper or lower?


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## bantam21 (May 4, 2018)

VirginiaIron said:


> So when you pull the handle toward the log is the valve pushed in or pulled out?
> What side is the handle bracket, #8 on- upper or lower?


Can i disassemble the new value and reverse it?  Is this what TomC was talking about in his original post about the Speeco value?


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## Ashful (May 4, 2018)

Not that I'm aware of.  Is switching the working ports impossible?  Are you sure you didn't get the inlet and outlet reversed?


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## VirginiaIron (May 4, 2018)

bantam21 said:


> Can i disassemble the new value and reverse it?  Is this what TomC was talking about in his original post about the Speeco value?



I have no idea, sometimes the internet creates a communication gap. (In the gentlest of tone) I think it's best to take the splitter to a qualified shop so they can evaluate the problem, propose a solution, and make the corrections.


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## triptester (May 5, 2018)

Valve linkage for Energy style valves when using direct cylinder mount. Valve on right is for direct cylinder mount.


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## Tsugazi (Dec 6, 2021)

Hi all, Has anyone ordered the O-ring rebuild kit?  I looked on the Energy website and it the kit costs $15 but the least expensive shipping method they offer is UPS and it costs $21.  This is ridiculous for 3 O rings.  Has anyone tried a third party vendor, like eBay or any other online entity?  Just wondering whether the O-rings might be incorrectly sized/wrong thickness, etc.  Any input would be appreciated. Cheers, Doug


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## salecker (Dec 7, 2021)

Tsugazi said:


> Hi all, Has anyone ordered the O-ring rebuild kit?  I looked on the Energy website and it the kit costs $15 but the least expensive shipping method they offer is UPS and it costs $21.  This is ridiculous for 3 O rings.  Has anyone tried a third party vendor, like eBay or any other online entity?  Just wondering whether the O-rings might be incorrectly sized/wrong thickness, etc.  Any input would be appreciated. Cheers, Doug


Take yours apart and go to a hydrolic shop,they probably can match your orings


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## Montanalocal (Dec 7, 2021)

Everyone should have an o-ring assortment.

Amazon product


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