iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Anyone here using an LT70 Superhydraulic??

Started by Percy, November 28, 2016, 10:24:00 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Percy

My 2003 LT70 is getting a little long in the tooth(like me) and I was looking at the realatively small amount of info online about this particular mill.

I was wondering if the engine hydraulics power the loader, backstops, turner, etc........... or just up/down, feed etc. The thing I dislike the most about my old 70 is how slow the up/down is.

Whats the realistic log size limit on the wide head model?? I spend alot of time positioning logs to avoid hangups and a few extra inches of clearance would make my day.

Can you run an extension on these mills?

Lastly, my accuset 2 system is realativly easy to learn as I've trained a few old coffin dodgers(myself included) to run my mill over the years. Does the new system with joysticks and all retain that ease of use/learning??


Thanks.

GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

fishpharmer

Percy, I would love to upgrade to an LT70 superwide myself.  Although I probably never will. 
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
Lucas 618 with 50" slabber
WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
Deere 5065E mfwd w/553 loader

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

Dave Shepard

WM has a video or two up on this mill. I believe it is offered with DCS controls. I doubt an extension is an option. All hydraulic functions are run off the head.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

barbender

Too many irons in the fire

Bluejay27

We've been sawing with an LT70 Super wide for 15 months now and all portably, so it has seen a bit of abuse.

The wide head will handle the 42" rating well unless the log is real knobby. The head goes to the same 36" max height and the frame is entirely the same as a non-wide mill, so that may be the bigger limitation. We've had to use a farm jack at times to help get keep the log in the arms. (Bit of advice: make sure the loading arms are on solid ground or they'll sink in and start go to pull the milk sideways...)

Regarding the engine driven hydraulics, they power everything. It only has a 40A alternator to run the debarker and blade guide. This is our only (working) Accuset mill, and my brother is the guy actually running it, but it isn't daunting to learn. And it has more diagnostics since this is tied into the engine and hydraulic systems too.

The hydraulic controls all function well and quickly. The recent updates give the feed more torque, they've had a few issues (blowing seals, stops rough when switching directions) but have them pretty well ironed out. We started with the low torque version and the updates fixed most of the issues we had.

The three current issues I can think of are:
1.) The auto clutch relay burns up after a few hundred hours (300+). It's a $4 part and you can swap it in a minute.

2.) The auto-down will sometimes miss the target and keep dropping, so you have to manually go up when it does. This happens once a day usually for us. And we have a potential fix we just installed. We put a 0.1F capacitor across the alternator terminals (not ideal location, but plenty of room). We measured 0.7vac when taxing the electrical system and this might might be screwing with the height sensor. The cap dropped it to 0.3vac. I don't have an oscilloscope, so using using a multimeter was my "good enough" way of measuring the electrical noise that might be causing the problem.

3.) The pin holding the head in place for travel needs to be reinforced. We do a lot of "offroading" with the mill which doesn't help, but the welded pin, securing pin, and brackets all need to be stronger regardless. We let WM know recently.

Overall, we're very happy with the mill and its capabilities. Just be aware that there may be issues but Wood-Mizer seems committed to fixing them. And ours actually has the prototype wide-head debarker, so they didn't have nearly as much ironed out when we bought ours.
'98 Wood-Mizer LT40HDD42 Super, '08 LT40HDG28, '15 LT70HDD55-RW, '93 Clark GPX25 Forklift, '99 Ford F550

Bluejay27

And the super is remote only, you can attach the cable to either end and it plugs into a standalone control box. The cable is at least 10', we're always right at the end (sawing towards). And it can take a 6' bed extension. For anyone with a cable track, if it ends at the axle, it has 6' extra travel, our '98 LT40 has the shorter track ending a few feet away.

And all the hydraulics are really fast. I know it's a consistent 15 seconds for my brother to finish a 12' cut and start the next one, and he doesn't cut it as close as he could. The loading arms almost throw logs on, you want to take it easy toward the top.
'98 Wood-Mizer LT40HDD42 Super, '08 LT40HDG28, '15 LT70HDD55-RW, '93 Clark GPX25 Forklift, '99 Ford F550

Percy

Thanks Bluejay. Very helpful. Im chewing the inside of my right cheek :D Really glad to hear it takes a 6 foot extension.....Hmmmmmmm
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

4x4American

Funny you should mention that Percy...I was just on the WM website looking at the 70super wide and there really isn't any information on it at all.  And their sawmill build thing is for the DCS not 70 super.  I wanted to see how much space there was in between the guides.  My 40 was just in at the WM dealer not long ago, and they told me that it's in nice enough shape they would give me a good deal on a trade in for it.  Where as there was a 2014 70 there sitting next to it, and I thought it had to have been 10 years old.  The thing was all tore up.  WM tech was saying that some people just don't understand how to treat equipment.  Although I'm probably not going to switch to a 70 super wide anytime soon, a guy can dream can't he?! 
Boy, back in my day..

Dave Shepard

The wide heads are + 6", so 34" between rollers.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

4x4American

I thought that standard LT70's already have a wider space between the rollers than an LT40 does, no?
Boy, back in my day..

Dave Shepard

Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

4x4American

Maybe the older ones did?  Jake told me that his portable 70 has a larger throat than his lt40 did, IIRC  ??? ???
Boy, back in my day..

Dave Shepard

Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Sixacresand

Quote from: 4x4American on November 29, 2016, 07:19:52 PM
I thought that standard LT70's already have a wider space between the rollers than an LT40 does, no?
I thought the LT70's standard hydraulics were super. 
"Sometimes you can make more hay with less equipment if you just use your head."  Tom, Forestry Forum.  Tenth year with a LT40 Woodmizer,

4x4American

Quote from: Sixacresand on November 29, 2016, 08:59:12 PM
Quote from: 4x4American on November 29, 2016, 07:19:52 PM
I thought that standard LT70's already have a wider space between the rollers than an LT40 does, no?
I thought the LT70's standard hydraulics were super.


Ask Jake how his stationary 70 hydraulics compare to the stock super 70 hydraulics  :D :D
Boy, back in my day..

Percy

Quote from: 4x4American on November 29, 2016, 07:19:52 PM
I thought that standard LT70's already have a wider space between the rollers than an LT40 does, no?
Maybe an inch. Mine has 29 inches of blade in the wind at max opening which Ive backed off the stop bolt as much as possible. My old 40 had nealy 28. I can only go about 35&1/4 above the bed.  I've never measured from the fixed guide to the mast. About a 13 inch throat, pretty much same as a 40...
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

Bluejay27

I know we can saw a 30" cant, and force a few more inches over the dogs. And the throat height is lower because of the drag back fingers, I think a little over 12". We don't use them, so it's tempting to cut the weldment off.
'98 Wood-Mizer LT40HDD42 Super, '08 LT40HDG28, '15 LT70HDD55-RW, '93 Clark GPX25 Forklift, '99 Ford F550

JustinW_NZ

Sorry to hijak into this thread.

But those who run/ran a 40 and then 70 how did you find it?
I have a 40super diesel and in the next couple of years want to add another mill which would probably by the super 70 i suspect.
Just wonder if people found them a good upgrade?

Cheers
Justin
Gear I run;
Woodmizer LT40 Super, Treefarmer C4D, 10ton wheel loader.

4x4American

Quote from: Bluejay27 on November 30, 2016, 09:15:08 AM
I know we can saw a 30" cant, and force a few more inches over the dogs. And the throat height is lower because of the drag back fingers, I think a little over 12". We don't use them, so it's tempting to cut the weldment off.


How come you don't use the dragback?
Boy, back in my day..

Bluejay27

Quote from: 4x4American on November 30, 2016, 05:58:24 PM
How come you don't use the dragback?

We mostly saw portably and not many huge jobs, so it's just the mill, my brother, and me, and I offload right from the bed. The only slow down is when we both have to unload the cant worth of lumber (sometimes I leave it so the dog board doesn't bow as much). I just pull pieces off from the end as the head returns. I'd try to pull from the hitch end just as the cut finished but the mill is too quick on the return.

Regarding the jump from LT40 super to LT70 super, it's about as big a leap as LT40 non-super to super. 25% more horsepower but it feels like it makes better use of it with the HP guides and longer blade (easily does 2000 bdft in softwood and can sometimes handle metal).

And the hydraulics are always fast, not just until they're loaded. The electric pumps are closer to "constant power" whereas the engine drives at a constant flow rate and just throttles up when it feels a load.

And the best part is the wide head makes any log easy. Switching to a 40, I'd get confused when a log wouldn't fit.

As far as actual production numbers, our best on the LT70 is 400 bdft/hr softwood (3200 bdft over 8 hours) compared to 250/hr (if even) on the non-super LT40 (no numbers for the 40 super, only just got it road worthy). This is without any support equipment (excluding cant hooks and a balanced breakfast). Although if you really want to up production, we're still testing it out, but slap a resaw attachment on the 40 and breakdown logs with the 70. We get 1500+ lft through the resaw which isn't hard to turn into 1000+ bdft/hr. The 70 super really shines as a log handling machine.
'98 Wood-Mizer LT40HDD42 Super, '08 LT40HDG28, '15 LT70HDD55-RW, '93 Clark GPX25 Forklift, '99 Ford F550

Percy

Thanks for the info Bluejay.   Hope Im not a payne..... ;D ;D ;D....Im not sure how the dual joysticks operate all the functions....Can you explain the process??
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

ozarkgem

Quote from: Percy on November 30, 2016, 11:08:37 PM
Thanks for the info Bluejay.   Hope Im not a payne..... ;D ;D ;D....Im not sure how the dual joysticks operate all the functions....Can you explain the process??
I think its like playing a C minor 7th bar cord and using the whammy bar at the same time. Lots of distortion.
Mighty Mite Band Mill, Case Backhoe, 763 Bobcat, Ford 3400 w/FEL , 1962 Ford 4000, Int dump truck, Clark forklift, lots of trailers. Stihl 046 Magnum, 029 Stihl. complete machine shop to keep everything going.

Bluejay27

You have a mode switch to select either head or bed mode. In head mode, one stick does up/down and the other is forward/reverse. There is also a trigger and a few buttons per joystick. I clearly don't run it enough, I can't even remember how many. One stick does blade guide, the other does debarker in/out, and you have buttons for autoclutch, step the accuset, and bump up (default 5/8" I think for the dragback).

In bed mode, one stick does the clamp and the other does the dogs staged with log turner angle and the loading arms. Buttons rotate the log turner chain, raise and lower toeboards, and a few just make the hydraulics build pressure without doing anything (no idea why).

And you have a center display with buttons that turns on lubemizer and debarker, sets up accuset, and the knob is how you set max forward speed (helps with fine tuning cut speed) and lubemizer duty cycle. You can also go into diagnostics for the engine and hydraulics, and fiddle with settings, including blade fpm. The engine throttle is servo controlled so it is always spot on.

Like I said, I'm not really familiar with the controls, but they aren't hard to learn, it's just getting into the flow of when to do what since everything is quick. And the control panel is awesome, I like having engine temp and hydraulic pressure right there. And the hydraulic tank temp (gauge on tank) seems to never go near 120F, which means the system is well designed. My only addition was a kidney loop filter (1 gpm electric motor plus an engine bypass filter) to make sure it lasts.
'98 Wood-Mizer LT40HDD42 Super, '08 LT40HDG28, '15 LT70HDD55-RW, '93 Clark GPX25 Forklift, '99 Ford F550

4x4American

Quote from: Bluejay27 on December 01, 2016, 07:59:52 PM
You have a mode switch to select either head or bed mode. In head mode, one stick does up/down and the other is forward/reverse. There is also a trigger and a few buttons per joystick. I clearly don't run it enough, I can't even remember how many. One stick does blade guide, the other does debarker in/out, and you have buttons for autoclutch, step the accuset, and bump up (default 5/8" I think for the dragback).

In bed mode, one stick does the clamp and the other does the dogs staged with log turner angle and the loading arms. Buttons rotate the log turner chain, raise and lower toeboards, and a few just make the hydraulics build pressure without doing anything (no idea why).

And you have a center display with buttons that turns on lubemizer and debarker, sets up accuset, and the knob is how you set max forward speed (helps with fine tuning cut speed) and lubemizer duty cycle. You can also go into diagnostics for the engine and hydraulics, and fiddle with settings, including blade fpm. The engine throttle is servo controlled so it is always spot on.

Like I said, I'm not really familiar with the controls, but they aren't hard to learn, it's just getting into the flow of when to do what since everything is quick. And the control panel is awesome, I like having engine temp and hydraulic pressure right there. And the hydraulic tank temp (gauge on tank) seems to never go near 120F, which means the system is well designed. My only addition was a kidney loop filter (1 gpm electric motor plus an engine bypass filter) to make sure it lasts.


Thanks for this detailed writeup.  It does help.  I was wondering if there was a bump up button for dragback.  That screen looks so small and hard to read though!
Boy, back in my day..

Percy

Quote from: ozarkgem on December 01, 2016, 06:53:27 PM
Quote from: Percy on November 30, 2016, 11:08:37 PM
Thanks for the info Bluejay.   Hope Im not a payne..... ;D ;D ;D....Im not sure how the dual joysticks operate all the functions....Can you explain the process??
I think its like playing a C minor 7th bar cord and using the whammy bar at the same time. Lots of distortion.
:D :D :D :D
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

Thank You Sponsors!