DR Rapid fire Log splitter???

[IslandTractor]

Firewood

Good website that gives BTU's of wood.

I figure we probabally average 25 million BTU with the mix that we cut.

So thats 25M/BTU for $130

Propane is 93000btu /gallon
So it would take 268 gallons of propane @ $2.15 to match the 1 cord of firewood.


Electric is 3.14 BTU per watt, so it would take about 8,000 Kwh to equal a cord.

And the funny thing is, people have the nerve to complain about wood prices.

That is interesting. Of course one also has to factor in the relative efficiencies of the heating devices. Electric, while expensive, is essentially 100% efficient at least with resistor heating. Propane I am guessing is similar to natural gas furnaces which are 80-90% efficient these days. Wood burning stoves lag behind as I recall and are maybe in the 60-70% range. That still leaves wood being quite economical but the difference isn't quite as great as when just comparing BTU/$ in the fuel itself.

[Scooby074]

How about a Pneumatic splitter.... I like how it throws the wood

At least you wont get buried in your pile of splits

True air powered log splitter - YouTube



Just watched that DR comparison video... I think they picked the worlds slowest hydraulic spitter for comparison. My 120V electric splitter could split faster.

[DAY]

Interesting numbers!
Add in the satisfaction that you do not need an outside source (electricity) of ignition (gas/oil burner) to keep warm during a blackout.
-And there is also the knowledge that you are supporting a LOCAL small business enterprise!

[IslandTractor]

Interesting numbers!
Add in the satisfaction that you do not need an outside source (electricity) of ignition (gas/oil burner) to keep warm during a blackout.
-And there is also the knowledge that you are supporting a LOCAL small business enterprise!

True. On the flip side there are some quality of air considerations with wood burning. Not so much an issue in rural areas but there have been some nasty fights in suburbs when one person's wood fire creates ash or smell that affects a neighbor with health problems. I don't think this is very common though as few suburbanites really heat with wood.

[dwost]

Hi Guys, I purchased the Speeco unit a couple weeks back. I've modified it and bypassed the button for one handed operation (Do at your own risk, I don't take responsibility for anyone hurting themselves) and am modding the handle next to sit forward for better ergonomics. There are several others that have also provided pictures of this. I've posted up some pics and a review on Arboristsite. These are a great buy in comparison to the SS or DR. I've only split about a face cord but it powered through some knotty oak without issue. A great investment for sure and much simpler and less messy than an hydro unit! I have the same username on there as well.

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood...t/180355-6.htm

[DAY]

i read a few comments over at arborsite- enough to tell me that the TSC unit is not ready for prime time. Maybe version 2 will fix the glitches.

[dwost]

i read a few comments over at arborsite- enough to tell me that the TSC unit is not ready for prime time. Maybe version 2 will fix the glitches.

You may want to check again and take a look at page 9 and the video that BSD just posted up. This will give you an idea of the units performance.

[crazyal]

If we can pick the piece up and get it on the machine, there isn't a problem splitting it. We have put 24" + logs on it and it busts through like nothing is there. If we can't pick it up then we bust it in half with the hydraulic splitter standing vertically and then split the halves from there with the inertia machine.
The inertia splitter will split the curved pieces too. You just butt the piece up against the wedge end and the ram will be to the piece the moment you leave go. These peces we usually toss to the side and split them with the hydraulic machine, though, due to the safety aspect. If you don't have everything lined up nicely it can throw the log off the machine. Better to split 4 other pieces in the same amount of time that it takes to mess with one of those.

That's my problem. I don't want to have two splitters.

One thing I really like about these splitters is it would be real easy to replace the gas engine with an electric motor. You would have near quiet operation. Once the flywheels are up to speed the motor would have little load so it wouldn't use much power.

[SPYDERLK]

Id sure like to see a demo of it doing stuff that is actually hard to split - that has to be hammered all the way thru stalling the engine repeatedly or breaking teeth and still wont let go and has to be gotten off the wedge somehow.
larry

[John_Mc]

Id sure like to see a demo of it doing stuff that is actually hard to split - that has to be hammered all the way thru stalling the engine repeatedly or breaking teeth and still wont let go and has to be gotten off the wedge somehow.
larry

The links I posted earlier in this thread show a SuperSplit busting up some somewhat gnarly pieces. (in the video, the SuperSplit is built into a larger systems for handling logs and round wood, but the splitting mechanism itself is unmodified).

The pieces aren't quite as bad as what you describe, but they are something that would tale a bit of effort with my hydraulic splitter. It's nice to see a more "real-world" example. Most splitter manufacturers like to demo their units on stuff like white ash or other easy-to-split species (you know the stuff... if you look at it too hard, it just about splits itself.)

John Mc