Tractor driven splitters?

[daTeacha]

I tore a rotator cuff or something a month or so ago. I finally saw the doctor last night and he said no woodsplitting for several months. I have plenty of wood on hand that I split with my 8 lb maul, but this incident has set me to thinking about a splitter run by the tractor hydaulics. Both shoulders have had surgery about 20 years ago and may be prone to further injury as A.G.E. syndrome develops. Throw in a little gout and osteoarthritis, and the idea is looking pretty good.

I've seen trailer mounts and 3 point mounts, both in the $600 range. What kinds of tractor powered splitters do you guys use?

 

[dmccarty]

Rich,

I think this thread will get moved to the Attachments area before long.

There are threads over there about hydraulic wood splitters.

About a year ago I bought a hydraulic wood splitter from TSC. Its the Hardee/Speedco brand but I think it was more than $600. More like $700-800. I bought it because my back is not so good anymore and I like to put up 4-5 cords for the season. I did it all by hand before.

The splitter I have is not as fast as by hand on a per piece basis. But I could only split wood by hand for 2-3 hours before I was beat. And if it was a round that was a fork or twisted it was not getting split. The tractor splitter does all of that easily and I can split for 6-8 hours straight without a problem.

The splitter works and works well. It goes from horizontal to vertical with the pull of a pin. The splitter is close to the tractor so it does not take much room. The only complaint I have is that when the splitter is vertical the control lever is close to my face/eyes when I'm splitting the woods. Not really a big deal since I split almost always split with it in the horizontal position. The other problem is that wood chips gather at one end and its not real easy to get them out of the groves on the splitter. Not a big deal but it there was a hole or grove it would be easier.

The real nice thing about the splitter is that I am standing up straight when running the thing. Not bent over like most of the engine splitters.

The splitter hooked to my JD4700 is not real fast but that is ok. Real fast is going to cause an injury as far as I'm concnered. I had two close calls this weekend for some reason but since the splitter is not super fast I could pull my hand out of the way. My glove got caught twice

I wish I had an extract 2-3 feet of hose length. I measured what I thought I would need before I bought the splitter. My hope was to be able to keep other implements attached to the tractor and drive up behind the splitter so I could use it. I think one could do this but it would be tricky having the splitter go into the vertical position. It seems like the 3PH keeps it from tipping over.

So far it has split maybe 6 cords without a problem. I wish I had bought it years earlier....

Later,
Dan

 

[ovrszd]

I built my 3pt splitter and use a PTO pump. My splitter is fast and very strong. I like the 3pt concept and the speed of the PTO pump. But I spent twice what you are talking about spending.

 

[shaley]

Check the local classifieds and Craigs List for a broken self powered unit. A friend gave me a MTD 20 Ton that had a bad motor and missing valve. I had a valve and new hose. Now I just plug unit into the rear remotes and go.

 

[wolc123]

Consider a self powered machine. Usually not much more expensive and frees up the tractor for other usage (moving wood,etc.).

 

[grnspot110]

I built a vertical splitter for my 1958 JD 520 several years ago. Uses the tractor hydraulics, not fast but I work by myself so it keeps up with me. The cylinder was the big expense, about $200, used H-beam from county bridge dept. $50, hoses & couplers, eveything else was scrap I had on hand.

 

[greg_g]

What kinds of tractor powered splitters do you guys use?

I use the Huskee brand three point hitch splitter sold by Tractor Supply Company. I understand it's actually made by SpeeCo. They're $670 now, but I took mine home for under $600 (not including hoses) because the paint faded from sitting outside the store all winter.
Tractor Supply Company - COMPLETE 3 PT. LOG SPLITTER

//greg//

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've got a TSC/SPEECO 3-point splitter. I bought it several years ago for around $500. It's not the fastest splitter in the world, which works out real well, considering I'm not the fastest splitter operator in the world. A faster cycling splitter would be useless to me, as I couldn't keep pace with it over a full day. I use mine on a tractor with a 4.6GPM pump and have had no serious difficulty with that relatively low flow rate. You'll find all sorts of brands and models with more impressive specs, but how often do you feel like pushing one to it's limits?

 

[daTeacha]

Thanks, guys. I thought this thread didn't get posted. I just got lucky tonight and had time to visit and noticed a PM from Bird that directed me here. As usual the information is top notch. Now I've posted another question in the owner/operator forum about the hydraulics on these things and my grapple plumbing. It might end up here, too, but at least I'll know enough to come looking for it.

 

[Diesel-ME]

Rich,

There are several good threads on this topic - more good reading if you search.

But seeing as how you are asking about tractor driven splitters, I'll chime in and say that I really like my American CLS brand splitter. When I'm fitting up wood I start by piling the trees in one huge pile. Then I use my forks to lift logs off the pile and cut pieces off and push the stove-length chunks to each side of the tractor. When I have good sized piles, I back the tractor in between the piles and start splitting.

Everyone has their own personal preference, but I prefer the 3PH mounted splitter because the engine noise is away from the work area AND when you have a huge log to split you can lower the splitter to the ground and roll the log on to the I-beam.

In my neck of the woods, several tractor dealers carry this brand splitter. They are made in America to your specs. If your machine does not put out enough hydraulic flow you can always get a PTO mounted pump. I'm able to run my splitter at not much more than idle speed. The more RPM , the faster the cycle time.

~Paul