Hydraulic help needed

jeepinmatt

jeepinmatt

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Stanley, NC
Id like to add an auto feed system to my chipper. There's a guy who sells a tach that can trigger forward and reverse solenoids based on programmed parameters. I can get it for $375, which is way too much for a tach, but reasonable enough for what it can do. But the "kit" includes a reversing valve, and is $1100. Paying $700 seems like an awful lot for the valve though. Here's the link to the kit:
Wood Chipper Auto-Feed Plus Upgrade Starter kit | eBay

Anybody know where I can find a similar valve for a couple hundred bucks?
 
The "reversing valve" is nothing but a 12v 4/2 valve. Assuming your machine has reverse already plumbed it should not be hard. Maybe a 4/3 valve with either closed ports "stop" or an open center "float" in the middle.

Not that you're ever going to use the chipper but I have several plc's sitting around that would potentially work--does your machine already have any sort of digital tach signal? I might have a couple valves too.

If I'm understanding right, if the engine bogs to a certain rpm it just shits the limb back out?
 
 
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braxton357 said:
If I'm understanding right, if the engine bogs to a certain rpm it just shits the limb back out?
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At least half correct. Once the engine drops below a certain speed, it stops the forward feed, momentarily reverses to remove the load from the spinny-choppy, then resumes forward feed once specified rpm is reached. I'll look through that other stuff you posted tomorrow when I'm more coherent.
 
I get all my hydraulic stuff from Shopping

They your valve doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary. If you don't find what you need on their website their customer service is very good. I was building a pallet lift using some less than standard components and they were able to work with me and get me the correct valve.
 
braxton357 said:
I believe the only thing that really makes sense here is an engine swap. 6bt or a BBC with zoomies maybe.
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Already spent more than I wanted on a 4B rebuild...
upload_2018-1-10_11-8-56.png


It had enough power before the piston started tapping the head, but I want to be able to skidsteer load some logs without having to babysit the feed.

catfishblues said:
Would attaching a microswitch to the governor arm to trigger the solenoid make more fiscal sense? It would determine load based on the arm's swing, not a tach signal that may not exist in your unit.
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Not sure. I needed to get a tach for it anyway, so I thought I could kill 2 birds with one stone, but I want it to be a $700 idea, not an $1100 idea. Since it's a diesel, I don't think there is a typical governor arm, if my memory serves me correctly (and it probably doesn't, I haven't seen this thing assembled since January of 2015).
 
That auto direct counter/tach above with a $15 inductive pickup on the flywheel will do it. The one I posted has two relay outs you can send to a larger relay to control your valve
 
Metto said:
Arduino is your friend
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I have too many "friends". Thats why I'd rather pay a premium for the tach instead of learning a new hobby. I know the parts are cheap and the logic is simple, but I also know I would have to dedicate many hours to it to get everything to work the right way.

Futbalfantic said:
what happens if the reverse feed fails?
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The motor might stall. Currently it has a lever arm for forward or reverse. So you leave it in forward and it feeds at a constant speed. If you put in too big of of a log, it will just feed it until it stalls out the motor. Not a huge deal, but the hydraulics are driven by the same shaft as the disc, so you can't reverse them without engaging the disc also.

R Q said:
Why do you have a chipper?
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To make chips! :D
Bought a bucket truck and chipper a couple years ago to do a few tree jobs. Also did some work around my house, parents house, neighbors house, etc. Made some money, saved some money, sold the truck and kept the chipper.
 
jeepinmatt said:
The motor might stall. Currently it has a lever arm for forward or reverse. So you leave it in forward and it feeds at a constant speed. If you put in too big of of a log, it will just feed it until it stalls out the motor. Not a huge deal, but the hydraulics are driven by the same shaft as the disc, so you can't reverse them without engaging the disc also.
Click to expand...

OK. I was going to say. May want a professional product if failure would mean risk of life/limb
 
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