confused about log splitters

[oosik]

I think I might have misrepresented my difficulties splitting the pine. The really big stuff was just plain hard to manhandle. My Didier was a horizontal splitter. The big rounds had to be laid down on the splitting I-beam. The big stuff was always "stringy" and, most often, didn't split clear thru - cleanly.

So..... reposition and hit it again. In retrospect - I should have had a really wide splitting wedge for the large stuff. Something that could be slipped over the knife like wedge that came on the Didier.

The only time the splitter had to "shift down" to its slower speed, higher hydraulic force - - a fork in the trunk or driving thru a particularly large knot.

Once you were splitting rounds that were 10' to 12' up from the butt - it split easily.

 

[Deere Dude]

I bought a stand alone 22 ton 30 years ago and put oak, hickory, poplar and other junk trees through it and split maybe 3 full cord a year. Never had problems except for a ram centering gizmo that cost $50. Very happy with it. I split a few 36" year old oak logs vertically but that was a chore to make the first split in a 36" log.

A couple years ago I bought 6 ton? electric for splitting small railroad tie pieces for campfire wood. It works good for that but trying a 20" oak may be way to slow and unhandy. Maybe a couple 20" dried pine logs might work but it would be painfully slow. I use it to split fire starter wood now and everything else goes through the 22 ton.

 

[grsthegreat]

I absolutely can't stand those pissy azz engine driven splitters. BUT they are highly effective. Buy one on sale, buy one with a quality HONDA, use stabilizer or better yet non-ethanol fuel and be done with it.

3PH splitters are a major pain to move around, store and take on and off. And often SLOW, but you say that doesn't matter to you.

To each their own, but putting mine on tractor takes less than 5 minutes....way less.

 

[Everhard]

I went with a stand-alone. Works either horizontal or vertical. I'm with those that need the tractor to do other things (hauling split wood to stack etc) so that ultimately was the deciding factor.
25 ton splitter - I have found nothing that will stop it. The ugliest wood - big "Y" chunks where the grain completely changes direction the splitter never stops - if the wood won't split because of the grain changing direction it just cuts thru it and the round eventually gives up. Like most it's a 2 speed so it goes fast until it needs more power, most of the time it goes fast. I've seen the electric models they are much slower and of course you are limited to where you can split given the need for power.
Personally I prefer splitting in the horizontal position so the really big stuff that I can't lift I first split down to manageable sizes using the splitter vertically then I switch to horizontal.
last comment my trailer has a hitch on the back so I can pull trailer and splitter to the pile, leave the splitter there and go back and forth with the trailer.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

We LOVE our 3 point pto powered splitter...

I cut all the wood over a trailer a trailer as we chainsaw it out of the tree, using the tractor to lift the logs, then pull the loaded trailer home. So I don't need to use a tractor to bring the wood to the splitter. It really cuts down on the heavy lifting and how many times you have to handle the wood.

I bought a quality, long lasting tractor in the first place, so I don't care about the few hours I put on it splitting wood!

SR

 

[grsthegreat]

Way my property is set up, i limb all the trees out where they fall and chip the branches there. I cut the wood Into aprox 6 -6.5 foot lengths then haul those to my splitting pile by my shop. There i cut the rounds while still on forks as i hate kneeling over with chain saw. I may have 6-8 lengths on forks at a time, so after everything is cut i go get another load. At the end of the day, i put on the bucket and push the rounds into a pile. Im semi retired do only need to cut wood a few times a week when its cooler out, not rushed to cut only on weekends like when i worked full time. This method works great for me. Come splitting time i hook splitter to 3 point and back into pile. I sit on a round and feed logs into splitter without lifting anything, just roll and stand piece on-end. I pile splits to one side and the wife is moving these to storage area as i split. When all logs around splitter are finished, i move tractor to a new section. With the method i use, i dont need a stand along unit. Tractor is running around 1200 rpm or so, as the splitter works great at this speed. Works fast enough for my needs, and i like my fingers. Without fingers, my nose would be lonely.

 

[shooterdon]

Before you spend money do a lot of thinking about your process and your log supply/type. Sawyer Rob is a strong proponent of the 3PH type but his situation is NOT common. Look at his profile under Tractor...."several brands". Most of us have one tractor.

My advice is to rent a stand alone. Likely a $50 investment for one day. Maybe a neighbor has one you can borrow to try out.

I went through a lot of head scratching and research when I looked at buying a better splitter. Speed mattered to me and also ease of use. I decided investing over $3000 on a "good" splitter was not the right solution of me...it is for others. One solution is not for everyone. I rented a wood processor and a month later sold my splitter. I will never use a splitter again to put up firewood, and I burn about 6-7 cords a year. But I buy most of my logs. With only 20 acres, harvesting my wood for 100% of my needs is not feasible. Any trees that are blown down or need to be removed are cut to 6-8' lengths and piled up for processing. The smaller (less than 6" dia) stuff is cut to length and not split.

My gut feeling is for the occasional user who does not heat with wood, an inexpensive electric splitter is a good option. Quite, and no engine maintenance.

DO NOT buy a splitter for the worst case logs you want to split. Buy what will be easiest and fastest for 99.9% of the logs you process. With my old splitter I had three or four rounds I decided were not worth the effort to split. Those rounds came from a very large maple tree I had to have removed. My little 16 ton unit was fine for everything else I split for 8 years of wood processing. Having a 35T monster would have been silly.

 

[grsthegreat]

Before you spend money do a lot of thinking about your process and your log supply/type. Sawyer Rob is a strong proponent of the 3PH type but his situation is NOT common. Look at his profile under Tractor...."several brands". Most of us have one tractor.

My advice is to rent a stand alone. Likely a $50 investment for one day. Maybe a neighbor has one you can borrow to try out.

I went through a lot of head scratching and research when I looked at buying a better splitter. Speed mattered to me and also ease of use. I decided investing over $3000 on a "good" splitter was not the right solution of me...it is for others. I rented a wood processor and a month later sold my splitter. I will never use a splitter again to put up my firewood, and I burn about 6-7 cords a year.

My gut feeling is for the occasional user who does not heat with wood, an inexpensive electric splitter is a very good option. Quite, and no engine maintenance.

DO NOT buy a splitter for the worst case logs you want to split. Buy what will be easiest and fastest for 99.9% of the logs you process. With my old splitter I had three or four rounds I decided were not worth the effort to split. Those rounds came from a very large maple tree I had to have removed. My little 16 ton unit was fine for everything else.

good points. Also, depends on wood your splitting. All i have is pine and fir. We dont have hardwoods here. I also dont go thru much wood per season. If i did 6-7 cords, that would be a whole different thing. On a bad year i bet i dont go thru 2 cords. It is nice to have propane heat for the times im feeling lazy.

 

[Carl_NH]

I run an adapted 3PT splitter on the front of my B21 from the BH connection and longer hoses. I bought the ramsplitter 25 ton and they put legs and a stand on it and can remove the stand and put the beam near the ground for the big logs.

I use the BH to lift and hold logs - cut about a half cord, then swap the hoses back to the splitter and start splitting.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Before you spend money do a lot of thinking about your process and your log supply/type. Sawyer Rob is a strong proponent of the 3PH type but his situation is NOT common. Look at his profile under Tractor...."several brands". Most of us have one tractor.

I DO have several brands, but I only use them one at a time! lol

Stage your wood to split, on a wagon or trailer and save your back, work smarter not harder!

SR