log splitter attachment. Yes or no

[WilliamBos]

An overlooked advantage of a 3pt. splitter is that no one will ask to borrow it ...

Exactly. And one less engine to maintain, one fuel to buy, which is one of the reasons we bought ours.

 

[radioman]

i guess it all boils down to how much wood you need split and how much time.

 

[bjcsc]

i guess it all boils down to how much wood you need split and how much time.

Sort of. What it initially boils down to is how much tractor you have and math. In my case, I've got 14GPM at 2800PSI. On my 3pt. splitter I'm running a 4x24 cylinder with a 2" rod. At rated RPM, this gives me a splitting force of ~35,000lbs and a 5.6 second extension time and 4.2 second retraction time (less than 10 second cycle time). I'm also running a 4-way wedge. This is acceptable, even at lower RPMs. Now you look at your statement. I'm just splitting wood for my fireplace, and I'm in South Carolina and it's only cold enough for a fire here about 30 days a year. Would I do it this way if I found myself living somewhere with 6 months of winter and needed to split multiple cords? I probably wouldn't... (well, technically I probably would because I would move ). You have to evaluate both things: tractor's capability and expected volume. Each persons analysis will be different...

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Northern has the smaller back-and-forth splitter "Powerhorse Horizontal Log Splitter — 13 Ton, 6.5 HP" marked at $699 until 12/6 in the store flyer. ($300 off)

Hate to sound like a salesman but that seems to be the deal of the year for splitters. I have the older 3-point model and am satisfied with it. I can see where the little dual action tow model would be handier.

 

[arrow]

I have a 3 point splitter on a JD 790 and I am very happy with it. I split 30 or so cords per year and it will split as fast as I can work. I use a 4 way wedge some of the time and a single for the tough pieces. Given my hydraulic pressure I am getting a little over 20 tons with a 24" stroke. I have never timed the cycle though. The maint was really the deciding factor for me. I have several pieces of equipment that have their own engines and when they go they will be replaced with a PTO shaft if possible.

I have an aquaintence looking to sell his 3 pt set-up. I have a JD 750 but I do not know if its hydraulics are strong enough as I was thinking of a 4-way wedge myself. Which leads me to another question. A 4ww will cost $200 to fit this splitter. If I have a 10" round of red oak, On my current, single wedge gas powered splitter (20 ton), I'll lay it in for about 4 or 5" and most of the time it will split almost all the way down, I then turn it over and split it again making 4 pieces in about 10 seconds. Will a 4 way be more productive? I have never used one so I am not sure of a comparison.

 

[dodge man]

I just went through the same thing. It was cheaper to buy a stand alone for me. I needed to add rear hydraulic hook ups to mine. Then add in the price of the 3pt splitter, it would have cost me about $250 more. I don't regret going with a stand alone. I was feeling that I had to use my tractor as much as possible, even though it would cost more and not work as well. Don't get caught in that trap.

 

[pat32rf]

My BIL hates to split wood but has a 65HP Massey and a massive vertical
3ph splitter he built with a 4" ram. I borrowed it (he hadn't used it in years), leaned it up against my woodshed (tied the top) and hooked it to the power beyond of my JD 4300. Worked good but slow. I finally bought a 2.5" cylinder for it and things speeded up considerably.
I then spotted another home-made splitter sitting at a buddies.(His wife later told me that she's been cutting the grass around it for 7yrs as he has a self contained that he uses instead) This splitter has a longer 2.5" cylinder with a narrow fixed wedge and moveable push pad. The rest of the splitter is built around a ten foot long 5" square tube (1/2" wall) and weighs twice what it needs to. This one I left laying on blocks (horizontal) and find that it just keeps pushing the split pieces out of the way as I work. They get piled by my helpers.
In my case I haul or skid the logs to the woodshed where they are cut up and pushed into a pile beside the splitter. When I decide to split for a while, I just plug into the splitter, rev up to 1200rpm and turn up the FM....I seldom split anything over 14" diameter so lifting the blocks onto the splitter isn't a problem. I split about 5 bush cords this fall and still have another pile of dried hardwood logs sitting there as an emergency supply if its a cold winter.
A stand alone/self contained would only appeal to me if it were a tiltable unit with an electric start, on big wheels and really inexpensive..... ;-)

 

[john_bud]

What's quicker, a 5-8 hp honda dedicated unit or a tractor based unit with 12-18 gpm at 2000 psi?

I can't imagine the small units putting out the juice the bigger tractor has. But, I never checked the flow numbers either!

jb

 

[J_J]

Aw, just get one of each. Enough about which one is better.

 

[dodge man]

John Bud, believe it or not, the dedicated units are faster. Maybe not as much power. They are two speed units, the hydraulics move really fast until it hits a load, then you get more power but slower movement.