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What HP

Started by richard boyd, August 20, 2015, 08:30:09 PM

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richard boyd

   I have a 93 lt40 that I bought from a widow. Someone had stolen the engine off the unit and her husband put a honda 24hp engine on it a few years before he passed away. I have been sawing large oaks with boards as wide as 20inchs and have to slow the saw so slow that I have to help push the head along so I don't over load the engine. Needless to say i'm wanting to put a bigger engine on the mill. I have talked to wm and they told me as long as I stay under a certain weight so I don't over load the up/down on the mill I would be fine.  I have found a deal on a 36hp kohler and was wondering if this would be to much engine for this mill. It's in the weight limits they gave me but over the hp of what they told me. Thanks for your replies.

Magicman

First, Welcome to the Forestry Forum, richard boyd.  Adding your location and sawmill to your profile helps with questions.

Personally I do not see a problem, but have you talked back with WM to get their opinion?  They may have been just giving you a general hp range.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

pineywoods

Weight is critical. The head lift mechanics on these older mills is a bit marginal. If your new motor is fairly close, there is an easy fix. Do a search of "faster up for older woodmizers"  shows how to add garage door springs to take some of the load off the head lift mechanism. I added it to mine when I swapped out the old 18 hp briggs for a liquid cooled kawasaki. I'm happy happy with the swap. I'm  surprised the honda is not adequate. What size pulley on the crank ?
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Ga Mtn Man

Welcome to the forum richard boyd.

I'd have thought that the 24hp Honda would be more than adequate.  The standard engine on new mills is only rated at 26.5hp.  Perhaps some other issues going on with your mill?

 
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

richard boyd

Thanks for the replies.I don't remember the size of pulley. It's the pulley wm sent to me for this mill. I would have thought it would have done a better job than what it does. I was told it doesn't have enough torque.Sawing soft wood it will do better but put big oak logs on it it bog down.

ScottInCabot

Weird?

I've cut dried Hickory measuring 19" across the cut with a 10hp on a little LT10!  I could only dream of having that big Honda.  That garage spring sounds like a good fix though....




Scott in Cabot
Timber framing RULES!

boscojmb

I would not go any less that 36 HP. There are a whole bunch of LT40's that came from the factory with the C2.2 (51HP) Caterpillar. I have a different mill, but the same C2.2 engine. I still want more power.
You will never regret having a bigger engine.
I would find out what the weak link is, that is preventing you from going with the 36HP or bigger engine and fix it.

John B.

Log-Master LM4

Kbeitz

Kinda hard to believe. My engine is only a 13hp honda...
If I push my unit to hard it will smoke the belts but it never bogs down.
I would try putting a we bit smaller pulley on your engine before I would change engines.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

47sawdust

The previous owner put a 20/24 hp Honda on my Lt30.I have had no problems with it for torque.I just sawed 2k bf of red oak that had been down for 2 years.The largest was about 20'' diameter.While I had to reduce my cutting speed from pine it still cut without bogging down.
Mick
1997 WM Lt30 1999 WM twin blade edger Kubota L3750 Tajfun winchGood Health Work is my hobby.

thecfarm

richard boyd,welcome to the forum. What's all the lumber being used for? Is this your first mill?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Chuck White

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Richard Boyd!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Nomad

Welcome Richard.  Is your band really good and sharp? 
Buying a hammer doesn't make you a carpenter
WoodMizer LT50HDD51-WR
Lucas DSM23-19

Ox

Welcome to the forum.  There must be something wrong because I have a 13hp engine running around 4600 ft/min. blade speed and milled a 30" diameter black cherry into slabs.  It was slow but doable.  20" logs I go through no problems.  Maybe your blade was duller than you thought?  Not enough set on the teeth?  Is the engine running on both cylinders?
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

richard boyd

This is my first bandmill. Lumber is going to be used for cabinets. Blades are brand new woodmizer blades with 9% set on them.I spoke to wm when I got the mill and the guy told me before I ever ran it I would have a problem cutting hard wood with this engine on the mill because of torque {lack of}.The pulley on the crank isn't but about 3 inchs around. As far as soft wood it will cut fast.

GAB

Quote from: Ox on August 21, 2015, 10:47:58 AM
Welcome to the forum.  There must be something wrong because I have a 13hp engine running around 4600 ft/min. blade speed and milled a 30" diameter black cherry into slabs.  It was slow but doable.  20" logs I go through no problems.  Maybe your blade was duller than you thought?  Not enough set on the teeth?  Is the engine running on both cylinders?

You might also check the drive belt tension as there could be a loss of power transfer if it is loose.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

Beavertooth

Richard
  I had a 1988 model LT40HD with a 24 Onan on it. I put 38hp Kohler and had no problems with up and down on it. It is a whole different sawmill with that much more horsepower and you will never regret it I can assure you. If I remember right all of the Kohler's  say 34, 36, 38,and 40 hps weighed the same. The 40hp was $400 more than the 38 when I bought mine and I could not see paying that much more for 2 more hps. If you put that 36 or 38 on you will be able to run 7% blades for everything you cut and you will be very glad about that. With the 7% you can cut anything you want with that one blade. Pine, Oak, Hickory, Pecan, Poplar or whatever. The guy I talked to at WM when I done mine was Greg Brock if I remember right. He told me all I had to do was shim the new enginge up 1 inch and put a different length belt on it. He told me what length but I have since forgot what it was. I have since sold that mill and now have an LT70. I truly hated to get rid of it but sold it to help pay for the LT70.   
2007 LT70 Remote Station 62hp cat.

richard boyd

Thanks for the info Beavertooth. I've talked to some of wm guys and they said it should work. As for the engine on it now it runs good but will bog down if you push it much at all when sawing hard wood.

Dave Shepard

I sawed a lot of oak with the 24 hp Onan on a 93 LT40, no problems, even in 24 inch cuts. Sure, it was slow, but it did well for the hp. Definitely do the garage door springs on that mill if you upgrade. The up/down works will really benefit from that.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Chuck White

Last year I replaced the 24hp Onan engine on my mill with a 25hp Kohler.

I ordered the whole shot from Wood-Mizer and they sent me the engine, wiring, new (different size) drive belt, new (different size) alternator belt, 1" shim blocks to mount the engine on, and a new shield to cover the belts and the pulley on the back of the engine!

Took us about 2 hours to do the change-out!   8)
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

richard boyd

Mr. white did you see any change in how it sawed.Like more pep less sluggish or anything? 

hackberry jake

I changed from a 13hp Honda to a used 20hp Honda and it seemed like I didn't gain any power. I then noticed that one side of my exhaust wasn't getting hot at all so I took the valve cover off and one of the rocker arms had bounced off and that valve wasn't opening. You might check that. After I put the rocker arm back on the gain in HP was easily noticed. Especially in wider cuts.
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EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

sandsawmill14

i dont have a woodmizer but i run a 25 hp kohler engine on my b20. all of my logs are over sized as i contract saw the logs that are to big for a local scragg mill(23"+) i sawed a little over 17k bd ft of r/o in the last 2 weeks and the 25hp does fine in a 20" cut but you have to give it time. it takes about 90 seconds for me to make a 8' cut 20" wide. if your motor wont pull the cut something is wrong other than hp. if its just slow then you may be expecting to much. i have that problem every time i switch from gum back to oak ;D.  i am running the woodmizer silvertip 10 degree blades.
but you wont be sorry of more hp its just if you need/want to spend the money or not. im going to look at another sawmill  but if it doesnt work out im gonna put a 30 hp electric in the place of my 25 hp gas. that will change things ALOT :D
hudson 228, lucky knuckleboom,stihl 038 064 441 magnum

Chuck White

Quote from: richard boyd on August 21, 2015, 09:18:14 PM
Mr. white did you see any change in how it sawed.Like more pep less sluggish or anything?


The biggest difference that I noticed was the response was quicker when I engaged the blade, and gas economy was better!

It does seem that when it came right down to power, the Onan had a little more "lugging" power!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

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