I have a 100 HP tractor and it is VAST overkill to run a splitter. I run it off a Kubota 3710....... 35 HP..... vastly more torque than needed. I will overload the hydraulic pump into PRV mode way before I even notice a drop in rpms of the 3710's diesel engine. 100 HP tractor is just going to use 3x as much fuel and you will get nothing out of it.
The hydraulic system on the Hesston 100-90 I have puts out about 2500 PSI, pre PRV actuation, essentially the same as what the hydraulic system on the 3710 puts out.
If I had to use my big tractor to run my splitter, I would have purchased a stand alone splitter instead. The 3710 was the perfect size tractor for me to run a TPH splitter, not the least because the exhaust pipe is pointed towards the front of the tractor, rather than out back towards the work station.....
I noticed your pile of logs looks remarkably free of dirt, so you must have it perfected. Do you drag them high?
Wouldn't that be "carrying" them Tom.
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Well, I don't know, he said he skids them. I often cut trees at the edge of a field so I can grapple them back to where I want them, but that doesn't work well in the woods unless you cut them short or have a wide roads between the trees. I thought maybe he skids them with the tractor end up high and just gets the ends dirty.
Someone mentioned stand alones not having a 4-way wedge. Mine does. So it's not exclusive to a 3pt model.
. Also block them using the Grapple. No more bending over, cutting into the ground, etc.
Best combination I have found is grapple plus a sawbuck.
After felling & limbing, cut trees into 9' lengths. Skid them out to trail.
Carry 9' log lengths with grapple. Pull grapple up to 6' long sawbuck divided into 18" compartments.
Roll logs one at at time off of grapple and onto sawbuck. Overhang evenly on both sides & cut 9' log into
six 18" fire log segments. Wash, rinse, repeat. The sawbuck really helps. Logs are well supported, no kickback.
Also dividing into 18" compartments helps to get relatively uniform fire log lengths without taking time to measure.
Grapple plus sawbuck works very well for us.
Most decent stand alones do offer 4-way wedges. Not at all exclusive to 3pt models.