Mobile Hydraulic Pump Has Many Uses

Mobile Hydraulic Pump Has Many Uses John Humeniuk gets a ton of use out of his mobile hydraulic pump. It powers his log splitter, grain conveyor, sawmill, dump trailer and more. There’s no need to pull up a tractor with hydraulics when he can use his truck with the pump or the pump alone. “I have an old grain trailer with a lift cylinder on it that I use for wood, sand and more,” says Humeniuk. “With the pump in the back of my truck, I can drive into town and dump a load of firewood. The auxiliary pump works great if I’m splitting wood too.” Separating the splitter from a tractor was the reason he decided to build a mobile pump in the first place. He’d built a hydraulic-powered splitter to mount to his tractor’s 3-pt. He put it on skids so it would be easier to move around. “I got to thinking that a separate motor and pump would be handier than running the hydraulics off of a tractor,” says Humeniuk. “I discovered I could build one for about $1,200 to $1,300, while I would pay $3,000 for anything like it online.” He’d put one together about 10 years earlier, but decided it was time for an upgrade. The new one has a 5-hp Honda 160 engine with an electric start that he bought for about $800. A 16-gpm pump was $150. He estimates the valves, battery, hoses, coupling and incidentals added several hundred more. His first pump had the reservoir on the end. He moved it to a spot under the motor, battery and pump on the upgrade. The more compact design makes it easier to move. Humeniuk used 1-in. square tubing for the frame and 1 1/2-in. tubing for the skids. A “picking ring” added to the crossbar on the top of the frame makes it easy to pick up and set down with his loader or an excavator. “I put a detent valve on it, so I can use it with my wood splitter for take-off and return,” says Humeniuk. “It’s also been great for use with my Timber King 1400 sawmill. With the aid of the auxiliary pump, I’ve upgraded the sawmill to include many of the hydraulic features of the next model up. Building and adding them myself saved many thousands of dollars.” A piece of steel tubing pinned to one side of the auxiliary’s frame lets him run hydraulic motors, too. He raises the tubing, pulls the detent down, and lowers the tubing to hold the valve in the open position. The pump also makes it easy to move equipment with hydraulic cylinders around. “I can set the pump in the back of the truck, back up to a disc or bushhog, and raise it up for towing to another location,” says Humeniuk. “No tractor needed.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Humeniuk, 303 4th Ave. SE, Baudette, Minn. 56623 (ph 218-434-1113; jhbuttercup@mncable.net).

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