Now that I have my small diesel engine - what should I do? Build a splitter or retrofit the engine?

[NoPaint]

So I bought a 7hp diesel engine. Runs real good and is quiet at idle. Its so torquey I think I can use a pump that a 7hp gas engine couldn't run. Only problem is that its huge and obscure shaped so it could be difficult to adapt easily.

Question is:

Should I buy a splitter and retrofit this engine OR should I built a splitter starting with the harbor freight PTO splitter. The PTO splitter is only 14tons so I don't know if I could bump that up with a big pump (16-21gpm?)?

So tell me, what would you do?

 

[Danno77]

So I bought a 7hp diesel engine. Runs real good and is quiet at idle. Its so torquey I think I can use a pump that a 7hp gas engine couldn't run. Only problem is that its huge and obscure shaped so it could be difficult to adapt easily.

Question is:

Should I buy a splitter and retrofit this engine OR should I built a splitter starting with the harbor freight PTO splitter. The PTO splitter is only 14tons so I don't know if I could bump that up with a big pump (16-21gpm?)?

So tell me, what would you do?

I don't have an answer to your question, but I am curious as to what kind of engine it is. Most diesel engines that small I've seen are horizontal shaft, is yours?

 

[NoPaint]

Yup it sure is horizontal shaft. Its a lombardini and its pretty old but like I said it runs real well.

 

[Danno77]

sounds like a nice engine. Here is a spec sheet for what is probably a similar (but newer) Lombardi engine. It does (like most diesels) have a butt-load of torque. I think it would make a great genset engine, but i like your idea to use it to power a splitter. Personally, i'd dig around and find an old rider mower that takes a horizontal shaft engine and throw that in there. So, not that you asked what i thought it would be good for, but I just thought i'd throw that out there anyway!

(broken link removed)

 

[SolarAndWood]

How fast does it turn? You will probably have to use a belt drive with different size pulleys if you want to use the standard splitter pumps instead of the usual direct coupler.

 

[Jags]

How fast does it turn? You will probably have to use a belt drive with different size pulleys if you want to use the standard splitter pumps instead of the usual direct coupler.

According to the manual linked above - its a 3600 rpm engine. So RPM is not a problem for the splitter pump. I would venture a guess that a diesel of that size would pull a 16 GPM pump fairly easily. The next step up (22 GPM) pump may choke it, not to mention that a 22 GPM pump is quite a bit more cash than a 16. Rough rule of thumb for gas engines is GPM / 2 = HP.

You will have a torque advantage with the diesel, but it will not be a huge advantage with the small HP engines.

 

[Highbeam]

Pumping fluid is a HP game, torque won't get you much here. That said, when a diesel engine is rated for 7HP I tend to believe it more since they have a thing called torque rise where as the RPMs are pulled down by the pump load, the engine has more torque available. Compare this to a gas engine that has a peak HP and torque at the same 3600 rpm so things fall off fast as the engine RPMs dip.

Another reason that the PTO splitter from HF is 14 tons is that the standard tractor hydro system is capped at a much lower psi than the typical log splitter. Your splitter pump will put out more psi so you will get more tons of force but be warned that the components may not be up to the additional force.

HF is full of crap about it being a PTO splitter. Their "PTO" splitter does not hook to the PTO shaft. Instead it hooks up to the remote hydraulic outlets available for most tractors. If it was truly a PTO splitter it would be very expensive. To make the HF PTO splitter work you would also need to add a hydro fluid reservoir and filter. Basicly the only thing you're getting from HF is the beam, ram, hoses, and valve.