Log Splitter Cylinder

A log splitter cylinder is a hydraulic cylinder designed for the construction of a log splitter and meeting the requirements of a reliable log splitter. A log splitter is used to split larger tree trunks and branches into smaller logs. It is mostly used for producing firewood. In most applications, the piece of wood is driven against a splitting wedge or cross and split.

Characteristics of a Log Splitter Cylinder

Log splitters are usually equipped with a hydraulic system driven by a power take-off (PTO) from a tractor or similar vehicle. Less common is the use of a hydraulic power unit or propulsion by a separate internal combustion or electric motor. Log splitters are available in vertical or horizontal designs. Inexpensive devices with lower splitting force are driven by a threaded rod instead of hydraulics. Modern conventional log splitters weigh around 50 kilograms and operate with a splitting force equivalent to a weight force between four and eight tons.

Single-acting or Double-acting Log Splitter Cylinders?

There are two designs of a working cylinder. The single-acting cylinder performs work in only one direction. A double-acting cylinder is capable of performing work in both directions.

Log splitter cylinders typically operate with a double-acting hydraulic cylinder, as the piston must be retracted when loading a new log to provide sufficient space for a new piece of wood. However, work is only performed during the extension movement.

The most important function of a hydraulic cylinder is to convert the energy from the hydraulic fluid into a linear force. In almost every log splitter application, a differential cylinder is used. A differential cylinder has a piston rod on only one side of the piston, resulting in two different effective areas. The circular area on the piston side acts completely when the piston rod extends. The annular area on the rod-side surface of the piston rod acts when the piston rod retracts. This explains why the retraction speed of a log splitter cylinder cannot be equal to the extension speed.

How a Log Splitter Cylinder Works:

During both stroke movements of the log splitter cylinder, the same pressure acts. However, the area on which this pressure acts differs due to the function of the differential circuit. In conventional hydraulic log splitters, the so-called piston ring area on the piston rod side of the cylinder is only half the size of the entire piston area on the piston bottom side of the cylinder. When the splitting process starts, the rod side of the cylinder is supplied with oil, and the piston side to the tank is opened with a control valve.

During the return stroke, the piston bottom of the log splitter cylinder is pressurized. A greater force is generated on this surface because the effective area is larger than on the rod side. This allows the oil on the rod side to be carried along by the movement and escape. In this case, the following applies:

The more oil displaced on the rod side and the more oil supplied on the bottom side, the faster the return stroke occurs.