Why I did not upgrade to a better splitter

[shooterdon]

A while back I started a thread on upgrading my DR Dual Action splitter. I wanted less than a 10 second cycle. Prices were high for a quality unit. There was no way I was spending $4000 to work my butt off and split wood!!!

Part of the rationale was that I am getting old...70 in a few months. Bucking logs, handling rounds and the work was more than I wanted to do now and what about in 10 years???

So, I decided to try out a processor. My fiancé and I picked up a diesel Dyna 14 this week. It retails for over $40,000. Rental cost was $450 for 16 hours. Below is a picture of what we processed in 15 hours. The unit rated for 10 cords per 8 hours but we did 12 loggers cords in 16 hours. That should yield about 10 full cords of splits.



Some observations:
- Cycle time was 7 seconds. Max log dia. is 14".
- Changing the chain was a bit of a PITA and took about 15-20 minutes. Worst part is the tensioning bolt is in an awkward place.
- Moving the unit from pile to pile took about 20 minutes
- The last cut on the log is another PITA. You either have to hold up the outfeed side or try to use the log clamp to hold the back of the log as you inch the log forward.
- Unit came with three sets of chains so no sharpening needed.
- Twisted logs can be a PITA but we were able to process every log we had.
- The wedge design sucks. It is a slip on and the horizontal piece gets raised by splits and debris under the wedge. A solidly mounted four way would be preferred for the logs we get.

Economics/Productivity
- The big factor in productivity is log size. It takes just as much time to cycle a 5" dia. log (split in two) as a 10' dia. log split in quarters. But if you have 10" logs you are splitting 4 times more wood. We had a lot of logs under 6" so it affected our output. This is the same with a conventional splitter that has a four way wedge.
- Fuel usage was less than 10 gallons for 15 hours for the processor. Tractor took 4 gallons.
- Bucking 12 loggers cords of wood would have taken at least 12 hours. and splitting another 15 hours. For about 27 hours of heavy work. We did the job in 15 hours with much less effort but had to have a tractor. With larger logs we would have been more productive Safe to assume the processor cuts our time half and effort by 75%.
- We should net 10 cords with a cost of $1100 ($600 for wood, $450 for processor, under $50 for fuel). $110/cord. That is a saving of about $70-90/cord for delivered hardwood. 10 cords will save us about $800 in propane at our current price ($1.40/gal) of propane.

Conclusions
- When buying logs, bigger is better. We had some small stuff and it really slows things down.
- Next time I will pick out everything under 5 inches and use a log cutting rack. Dumb to process logs that do not need to be split.
- Nice not to make the investment in more equipment that needs service and storage space.
- Much safer operation
- Easy enough that we should be able to burn wood longer than conventional bucking and splitting.
- We were pleased with our first attempt and will rent again next spring.
- We will be looking at the Brute Force processor to see if it addresses some of the shortcomings of the Dyna unit.

Sorry picture is upside down.

 

[Jstpssng]

"invalid attachment", but what you wrote is interesting. For your use it figured out to about 45 $/cd. I understand what you're saying about getting older... I always enjoyed splitting wood by hand but I now have my father's old splitter and won't go back to doing it by hand. For one thing it's a real time saver, no matter what some guys on TV claim who claim "My monster maul will beat a splitter" yet only split clean, straight grained wood.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Funny, picture corrects itself at this end anyway.

 

[bullbreaker]

Part of the rationale was that I am getting old...70 in a few months. Bucking logs, handling rounds and the work was more than I wanted to do now and what about in 10 years???

So, I decided to try out a processor. My fiancé and I picked up a diesel Dyna 14 this week.

Listen bucking logs , wrestling rounds , the other work AND a fiancé at 70 ? I'am more impressed by you than the Dyna 14 !
Dang it bless Ya ! Then they call the other guy SuperMan ? IMO the man of steel got nothin on you Don ! :laughing:

 

[Jstpssng]

Now I can see the picture and by saving it to my hard drive was able to turn it over. Yet nothing I've tried will post it right side up, so people will just have to stand on their heads to view it.

 

[oosik]

I'm 78 and gave up "handling" firewood over 30 years ago. I AM impressed with your effort and results Don. BTW - the pic flips 180 degrees for me.

 

[fried1765]

Listen bucking logs , wrestling rounds , the other work AND a fiancé at 70 ? I'am more impressed by you than the Dyna 14 !
Dang it bless Ya ! Then they call the other guy SuperMan ? IMO the man of steel got nothin on you Don ! :laughing:

At nearly 70, I think I would call "shooterdon" a ....cradle robber!
And....why not ????

 

[Cliff_Johns]

That's a great analysis. Thanks for thinking it through and posting it.
The other nice thing about renting this is not having yet another piece of equipment sitting around the rest of the time. Every inch of shed space is important.

 

[grsthegreat]

If i burned lots of wood i would definately like a different, faster splitter than the one i have now. Mine is a 3 point hitch style. Slow moving but i dont full cycle it between logs. I still have all my fingers after 20 years using it so i feel glad i stuck with it.

I made my own after a few years of renting a unit with self contained motor as i had to run it nonstop to finish my wood and return it so as not to add another day of rental time. Now i only split for an hour or 3 any time i feel like it in the cool of the morning until my pile is done.

I sm just now starting a new pile of wood for use in a few years time. My back hurts everytime i look at pile.

 

[Oaktree]

I understand what you're saying about getting older... I always enjoyed splitting wood by hand but I now have my father's old splitter and won't go back to doing it by hand. For one thing it's a real time saver, no matter what some guys on TV claim who claim "My monster maul will beat a splitter" yet only split clean, straight grained wood.

I hear ya. I bought a secondhand splitter about 10 years ago and never looked back. Now if they can only come up with a way to automate stacking it!

The unit rated for 10 cords per 8 hours but we did 12 loggers cords in 16 hours. That should yield about 10 full cords of splits.

Curiously, is "logger's cord" a local term? Never heard it before.

How many years' worth of wood is 10 cords for you? I know some people who go thru 7+ a year...a rig like that would be a big help for them. I use somewhere between 3 & 4, and it probably wouldn't be worth the expense for me. Don't really mind the bending and lifting (yet...I'm about the same age as you so that day will come eventually!)...I'll just do it in cool weather.

BTW, the picture came out just fine here, though the thumbnail was upside down.

 

[fishheadbob]

I'm 72 and used to go through 20 face cords per year but got tired of sore backs and visits to the chiropractor. About 5 years ago I splurged on a geothermal system which has finally payed for itself. Since I still have the 3 point splitter and other wood tools I make 6 or 7 face cords out of dead ash, blowdowns, and whatever happens in the woods; it's nice to have a hot crackling fire on a wintry night. When it's bitter cold and windy I'll fire up the wood furnace to take some strain off the geothermal.
Best part of this is the pressure is off me; I don't have to worry about getting enough processed for the next winter. I keep thinking that that pile of cherry needs splitting, then remember that there is no urgency, it can wait.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm 72 and used to go through 20 face cords per year but got tired of sore backs and visits to the chiropractor. About 5 years ago I splurged on a geothermal system which has finally payed for itself. Since I still have the 3 point splitter and other wood tools I make 6 or 7 face cords out of dead ash, blowdowns, and whatever happens in the woods; it's nice to have a hot crackling fire on a wintry night. When it's bitter cold and windy I'll fire up the wood furnace to take some strain off the geothermal.
Best part of this is the pressure is off me; I don't have to worry about getting enough processed for the next winter. I keep thinking that that pile of cherry needs splitting, then remember that there is no urgency, it can wait.

My father was in his late 70's when he gave it up, although it was because of his Alzheimers. A couple of times he had the fire department there because he started a fire without filling the boiler with water...
Before then he had given up cutting it himself and would buy 8 foot loads delivered, where it would set for a year to dry. He had a cordwood saw to go behind the tractor and we would spend a weekend cutting the wood. My job was generally taking it off and throwing it into the KB5, then he's take it down and dump it at the house and come back for another load.
When we were cutting big pieve I'd have to brace myself so that he weight of it wouldn't pull me into the blade when it came off the table...

I hated that saw. It was the first thing which went after he passedaway.

 

[skipmarcy]

I rarely split anything in the 5" range, the majority of my wood is blow-downs and LARGE trees to boot. I have to use my splitter (Woods 27 ton) vertically and do 20" length for my 24" firebox. A lot of my stuff is over 30" in diameter and I use my rock bar to move them into place and tip it up. I only do oak, hickory, walnut, cherry and elm. I stack my wood on racks I made and they measure the 20" wide x 6' high x 12' long. I usually go thru 2 - 3 of these racks a year here in TN as supplemental heat and I currently have 8 racks tarped. What I burn is usually stacked for 2 years or a little more. I'll be 66 in a couple of months ...

 

[Industrial Toys]

I mostly burn ELM since so much of it dies from disease. . It would be interesting to know how the drying process works. Is there anything unique to ELM? I should know having cut dead elms with my Dad already back in the early 70s. Some trees rot really fast and others are dry and hard as nails years after dying. I HATE seeing all this standing dead wood go to waste. I know ELM doesn't quite have the BTUs of maple.

I have to say, that my Fancy Electronic controlled splitter has been everything I had hoped for.

I addressed the two most annoying things about splitters I had used. I went for quiet operation and automatic split cycle, not having to stand there and wast time while it splits.

Just need to add a table and it will be perfect (for me).

 

[shooterdon]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

To answer the question on "loggers cord", it is a made up of 100" logs and stacked 4'x4'. So a bit more than a real cord. I believe some people call it a pulp cord as it is what many of the pulp mills around here specify.

I normally go through 5-6 cords a year but heat with propane as well. I figure about 60-70% wood and 30-40% propane.

I did not mention that I broke my ankle a while back so "manually" processing wood would have been very difficult this year anyway. I got "lucky" when I decided to go with a processor for my needs.

I have another 20 logger cords to process. I will be "smarter" about it this time and pick out the logs that can be cut to length and used. See below:



It will take about two days to do the sorting but I can do it when it is too hot to do much else.. Nice to have an A/C cab tractor!!! One of my friends is a Vet and needs the money so I will likely have him cut all the small logs to length. He loves to run a saw so it works out.

BTW a few of the locals have come over to admire the piles. A few others are looking to piggy-back on our next rental. Rental is $300/day or $450 for two days. With the right logs, it spits out a LOT of firewood in two days. Figure about 7-8 cords per day. By splitting the 2 day rental with a neighbor I can process 7-8 cords for $225 and not break a sweat. Have to love technology!!

Of course, there are downsides. Processor rental costs are bound to go up. As more people experience what my neighbors have seen, rental demand will increase. As demand goes up, users will need to plan better as getting one is next to impossible during the peak season. Lastly, it is not the way to deal with turning "free" wood from logging sites (unmarketable short logs), blowdowns and limbs into firewood. I will be keeping my DR splitter for the "free" wood I get.

The advantage of a high end log splitter is that once it is purchased, the economic pain is behind you if you are healthy enough to do the work. As in most things, one size does not fit all.

This is in perspective of "rural living" where firewood is the main or only source of heat. With only 20 acres, I must purchase logs. I have found what works for me.

 

[shooterdon]

I rarely split anything in the 5" range, the majority of my wood is blow-downs and LARGE trees to boot. I have to use my splitter (Woods 27 ton) vertically and do 20" length for my 24" firebox. A lot of my stuff is over 30" in diameter and I use my rock bar to move them into place and tip it up. I only do oak, hickory, walnut, cherry and elm. I stack my wood on racks I made and they measure the 20" wide x 6' high x 12' long. I usually go thru 2 - 3 of these racks a year here in TN as supplemental heat and I currently have 8 racks tarped. What I burn is usually stacked for 2 years or a little more. I'll be 66 in a couple of months ...

Wow. Not many 30" trees in my area that go to firewood. If they are any "good" you might consider selling those for bandsawing into lumber. Should be worth a lot more than firewood. In the 7 years I have been here, I had one tree that size to process. An old maple that was too close to the house and looked iffy. I had a pro come in to take it down and he bucked the base for me as my saw was too small. Wound up using a tractor with tongs to hold sections over the splitter and "chipping" away at it to get it split up. **** stupid way to do it but it got done.

I moved the two largest rounds to the 100 yards range and use them for backstops. I guess they will get "split" eventually.

 

[Oaktree]

I mostly burn ELM since so much of it dies from disease. . It would be interesting to know how the drying process works. Is there anything unique to ELM? I should know having cut dead elms with my Dad already back in the early 70s. Some trees rot really fast and others are dry and hard as nails years after dying. I HATE seeing all this standing dead wood go to waste. I know ELM doesn't quite have the BTUs of maple.

I don't mind burning elm, it's stringy and tough to split and needs a hot fire to catch, but once going it burns well. Like you say, hate to let a dead standing tree go to waste.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Listen bucking logs , wrestling rounds , the other work AND a fiancé at 70 ? I'am more impressed by you than the Dyna 14 !
Dang it bless Ya ! Then they call the other guy SuperMan ? IMO the man of steel got nothin on you Don ! :laughing:

If you quit, it's not long until you can't. Use it or lose it.

 

[skipmarcy]

Wow. Not many 30" trees in my area that go to firewood. If they are any "good" you might consider selling those for bandsawing into lumber. Should be worth a lot more than firewood. In the 7 years I have been here, I had one tree that size to process. An old maple that was too close to the house and looked iffy. I had a pro come in to take it down and he bucked the base for me as my saw was too small. Wound up using a tractor with tongs to hold sections over the splitter and "chipping" away at it to get it split up. **** stupid way to do it but it got done.

I moved the two largest rounds to the 100 yards range and use them for backstops. I guess they will get "split" eventually.

I DID sell the log off the red oak I had to take down year before last, it was 18' long and 30" at the SMALL end, what the mill goes by here. That stump at the cut is almost 46". The one largest limb on that tree was 22" diameter and buried almost 3' into the ground when it was cut off and fell. By the way, I loaded that 18' log onto my carhauler gooseneck with my 40 hp Mahindra and some ingenuity.

 

[Jstpssng]

I DID sell the log off the red oak I had to take down year before last, it was 18' long and 30" at the SMALL end, what the mill goes by here. That stump at the cut is almost 46". The one largest limb on that tree was 22" diameter and buried almost 3' into the ground when it was cut off and fell. By the way, I loaded that 18' log onto my carhauler gooseneck with my 40 hp Mahindra and some ingenuity.

That was a big log!!! It must have weighed a bit more than your tractor. I'll not try to guess the weight of it this time, I've been corrected too many times. Yet I'll bet that you knew it was on he trailer when you were going down the road.