Hydraulic cylinder

[48rob]

Is there a difference is speed between a 24" cylinder, and a 30" cylinder assuming the ram and piston are the same size, and not counting the fact that the longer cylinder would of course take longer to travel because of the longer length?

I have a 30" cylinder now, and am considering installing a shorter 24" cylinder.
Just wondering if the power/pressure/speed changes with the length of the cylinder, as opposed to the bore diameter.

The splitter is set up to split pretty long pieces with roughly 28" of travel.
I'm splitting all my wood at 16".
Even short stroking, I'm wasting a lot of time going a few inches farther than I need to, as it is hard to judge just where to stop.
And then when I do, the control lever sticks and retracts all the way anyhow...

The long cylinder I've got has a minor leak at the seal.
I may be able to get a good used 24" cylinder pretty cheap.

Thanks

Rob

 

[FuzzyOne]

I would try one of these stops before replacing the cyliinder. There are members here that use them.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/agricu...with-finger-tab-1-1-8-in-to-1-1-2-in--1832997

 

[triptester]

If the bore size is the same speed will be the same ( inches per second ) just more distance to travel with a longer cylinder.

One method for shortening the stroke would be to drill some holes in the top of the beam to stop the push plates full return.

 

[Corey]

To expand on that a bit:

If the bore size is the same:
The downward/extend stroke *travel* speed would be the same, though the 30" would take 1.25x as long as the 24" to complete it's travel

If the rod and bore size is the same:
The upward/retract stroke travel speed would also be the same, though again 1.25x as long for the 30" stroke

If the rod size is different:
The cylinder with the larger rod would travel up/retract with faster speed, though we'd need specifics to tell which would complete the faster stroke.

If bore sizes are different, then all speed bets are off. The larger bore would have more power and slower travel speed, but would have to know specifics to determine which would complete the faster stroke.

 

[48rob]

Thank you all for the help, it is appreciated!

Looks like creating a home made stop to keep the cylinder from fully retracting is the easiest and cheapest way to accomplish the goal!.

Someone here gave me a link to a neat calculator for hydraulic cylinders, so if the leak gets so bad that I decide to replace it, it should be easy enough to compare power and speed based on size.
(broken link removed to http://www.baumhydraulics.com/pages.php?pageid=4)

I also came across this page that has a cutaway of a cylinder, good for those of us who have never seen the inside of one.
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=HYP604

Rob