For some time now I have been considering converting a log splitter to run on an electric motor rather than a gas engine. The splitter I have been using (red one in the background) has had starting problems since the 2nd year after my dad got it. True a gas-powered splitter can be taken to the wood, but I think I can make a semi-permanent location work for an electric-powered log splitter. This will require a 220V circuit to run a big enough electric motor, so that is a bit limiting, but I have the skills to put in a 220V outlet where needed.
Donor Log Splitter
I managed to get a log splitter without a gas engine from a friend that does warranty repair work for the Tractor Supply stores in my area. He had some extra parts he was looking to get rid of. In my case these are all new parts and I have everything I need except the power source. It is a bit of a Frankenstein in that the hydraulic cylinder is on the bigger side of what is put in a log splitter and I think the pump is on the smaller side. I do have to option of mounting a gas engine on it if I want to in the future, but since the family already has a gas powered log splitter, this isn’t likely to happen.
Electric Motor requirements
The next question is to figure out what size electric motor would be right for this application. It is often said on the internet that you can get away with 1/2 the horsepower when replacing a gas engine with an electric motor. The reason for this is as a gas motor slows down in RPM’s it generates less power. There is a power curve related to engine RPM and you need enough power to keep the engine speed up in the range that generates the most power. Therefore you need to “up-size” the engine to make sure that a spike in load doesn’t drop the engine RPM down too far. Once the RPM’s start to fall, the power drops of as well, which causes further slowing of the engine and less power output. Once this starts to happen if you do not reduce the load your engine will stall. With a log splitter this just means just bringing the hydraulic valve back to center and giving the engine a chance to speed back up.
An electric motor is fundamentally different in that it (generally) has 100% of its torque available at 0 RPM. This means you won’t stall it like you will with a gas engine, as the RPM’s go down you get more power available. Of course if you have an electric motor that is simply not big enough you can stall it, but you do not have the same power drop off as RPM’s go down as you do with a gas engine.
Fortunately my son is currently going to the local Community College and some of his classes are in fluid power. Therefore rather than guessing we will be pulling the specs from the pump and the cylinder and calculating what size electric motor we really need, and then scour the internet to source it.
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