How to Hook Up an Hour Meter on a Small Gas Wood Splitter Motor

A wood splitter uses a small four-stroke gas engine to power a hydraulic pump, which powers the wood-splitting ram. The engine's ignition system does not rely on a 12-volt battery; therefore, adding a typical hour meter that relies on a 12-volt ignition system is impossible. Fortunately, there are self-powered hour meters containing an internal battery. These hour meters use an inductive pickup to sense actual engine operation. Adding an hour meter to a wood splitter helps you determine when maintenance is necessary. An hour meter also helps you generate an accurate bill for a rented splitter.

Things You'll Need

• Denatured alcohol
• Rag
• Drill bit set
• Drill
• Box wrench set
• Wire ties
• Electrical tape

Instructions

1. Locate a suitable hour meter mounting location. Position the meter away from the hot exhaust and muffler. Do not drill-mount the meter on the gas tank, engine crankcase or any other surface where drilling a mounting hole could cause damage.

2. Mount the meter by using the supplied screws or double-sided tape. Use the mounting hole template when you drill for a screw mount. Use the drill bit size recommended by the manufacturer. Clean the mounting surface with denatured alcohol and a rag if you will use double-sided tape.

3. Route the inductive pickup wire from the hour meter to the spark plug wire. Keep the wire away from the muffler, exhaust and belts.

4. Wrap the inductive wire tightly around the spark plug wire. Take three to four turns around the spark plug wire.

5. Loosen an engine bolt with a box wrench. Place the hour meter's ground wire under the bolt and retighten the bolt.

6. Secure the inductive pickup and ground wires from the hour meter to the existing wire harness. Use either electrical ties or electrical tape.

References

• M & D Small Engine LLC; Tiny-Tach
• Go To Design Technology, Inc; Standard Tiny-Tach --- Installation Instructions