3pt splitter

[currier1]

Just my opinion, but there is only one that I would buy after lots of research and first hand inspections of quality, design and ease of function............timberwolf tw 3HD

AGREED!
Made in USA...high quality build...had mine for 3 years now and love it.
Can't say enough good about it!
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Ken45101]

Yes, it's a little hassle hooking up a 3pt splitter, but I usually cut up a big supply of wood and the leave the splitter on for a week or two while I split everything I have cut. It's nice to have only one tractor out in the field and not have to have something else to tow out a splitter. It all depends on how you want to work.

The electric key start of the tractor sure beats starting a difficult engine with a rope!

I built an outfeed table to go behind the splitter and keep the splits off of the ground. I bring up an empty half cord rack with the forks on the tractor and load the rack from the table. Then I move the full rack to the woodshed and bring in another empty rack.

A lot depends on how you want to do your work.

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks to everyone for the comments about my homemade 3pt splitter. I really enjoyed building it and using it. Especially enjoyed the PTO pump which made it VERY quick. Total cost of materials was $1400.

My 3pt splitter burned in my shop fire 5 years ago. I now have a trailer mounted splitter. Overall, I prefer the trailer mounted version. It allows more versatility and frees the tractor to do other work while splitting.

Either way, I am always amused when I see/hear guys talking about labor saving techniques and then their splitter pictures show a unit without a catch table. I always chuckle. I am ALWAYS disappointed when I ocassionally drop a split piece off the table and have to pick it up off the ground. My current splitter also has a log lift which doubles as a stack table for large splits that need to be split again to reduce size.

 

[terryknight]

these are my opinions and experiences they may not work for you, but i figured i'd share them anyway. i have large CUT and utility tractors. i have stand alone splitters. the current one is a Yard machine 22 ton unit with a briggs and straton motor bought used for $900 with very little use about 10 years ago. in those 10 year i have split about 100 cords. i split a little more than 2 cords per gallon. even use ethanol free fuel it's not all that expensive. as for maintenance i have pulled the head once due to sticky valves and rebuilt the crab once that's it. i also don't take it to the wood i bring the wood to it so it never really goes more than 20 yards from the big shed to the pile and back. i wouldn't want to have to use a larger tractor to power a splitter doubt it would be worth it for the cost of fuel alone. however if i had a small tractor that sipped fuel it might be different. there it is so take it how you will

 

[Ken45101]

I think you point up a few good issues:

Moving the splitter: this varies from user to user

Maintenance: some people can do small engine maintenance, others cannot

Engine use: A lot of us just use a splitter for a few months a year. Sitting unused is not as good for most engines as getting used frequently. Keeping the tractor used year around is probably better, even if it adds extra hours, than it sitting unused for a portion of the year. In summer, I bush hog a lot. In winter, the tractor gets used for firewood. YMMV for each of us.

 

[Grant1]

I have had a Northern 3 point splitter of 7 years now. It has never let me down and has split anything I have put on it. I spilt approx. 2 cords a year

 

[Big Jon]

I have a 20 ton 3 point 2 way powerhorse splitter. I also run my rpm around 1500. With it being 2 way cuts cycle time. It is a little slow but love the lift to work out of a truck or lower to get the bigger logs.

 

[bubbacuse77]

Here is the one I made 2 years ago. It works for me because I only split about 2 cords a year and it is usually from some dead fallen tree in my woods on the side of a hill. I like being able to maneuver through the woods and back right up to my wood then use the top and tilt to keep it all level. The other thing I like is that I can just lower the 3pt and roll big logs on.

forgot to mention it has the prince re-gen valve on it and that makes all the difference in the world on speed.

Different strokes for different folks.:thumbsup:

 

[TerryR]

Yes, it's a little hassle hooking up a 3pt splitter, but I usually cut up a big supply of wood and the leave the splitter on for a week or two while I split everything I have cut. It's nice to have only one tractor out in the field and not have to have something else to tow out a splitter.
....

I built an outfeed table to go behind the splitter and keep the splits off of the ground. I bring up an empty half cord rack with the forks on the tractor and load the rack from the table.

Ken,

I'm confused about your method of work. You first say you like having only on tractor in the field, but the later part sounds like you are using a second tractor to carry off the split wood.

Having only one tractor, one of the virtues of a separate splitter is that I can drive my tractor so the FEL or the rear carry-all is right up next to the splitter and load it as I do the splitting, then take the load off and put it away.

Terry

 

[ovrszd]

As Bubba said above, Different Strokes for Different Folks.

 

[TomSeller]

As Bubba said above, Different Strokes for Different Folks.

Good one. Funny.

 

[PhysAssist]

How much is the three point log splitter and how many tons is it? I'm about to buy the Troy Bilt 27 ton gas log splitter at Lowes for $1,400 with the Honda engine. My brother has this splitter and it's easy to start and does a great job. What I like the most about it is that I can pull it to where the log is, cut it up, split it there and keep the mess out in the woods, then haul the split wood back.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_116418-270-24CF572B711_0__?productId=3806693&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-OutdoorPowerEquipment-_-LogSplitters-_-3806693&CAWELAID=1524980030&kpid=3806693&"cagpspn=pla"

If I had a splitter on the back of my tractor, I think I would hate hooking it up. I keep my mower attached to my tractor most of the time and dealing with changing implements would just add a lot more work to the whole process of cutting firewood.

Eddie

Hi Eddie,

We bought the same splitter for a bit more than that in 2011, and it hasn't disppointed us one bit. It's a real workhorse, and as easy to start as ever, despite my F-I-L filling it woth diesel requiring me to disassemble and clean out the carb. We removed the swing down leg in favor of a swing down cranked trailer jack with a wheel on the bottom (from HF) which gives me a ton of height adjustment to find a good working position regardless of the terrain. As you said, it's nice to be able to pull it to a site, make acmess there in the woods, and leave it there to decompose naturally. It also allows use in the vertical position to reduce the need to lift heavy rounds up onto it, though since I hate bending over, I'm thinking about getting another HF truck crane to use with my log tongs to lift the bigger logs onto the splitter. I haven't had too many I don't feel up to lifting yet, but it's getting harder and harder.

Just keep the diesel out of the tank, and it will do you fine.

Take care,
Thomas

 

[PhysAssist]

Don't want to get off the subject but I have the same splitter. I split about 6 cord a year and my neighbor does a cord for his hunting cabin. The only issue I had in the 10 years I've owned it is the insert between the couplers that connect the engine to the pump wore out. It started rattling like crazy. I replace both steel couplers and the insert (got them through Fastenall) for less than $20.

When I was deciding and researching which splitter to buy locally, I was at TSC, when a gu came in to exchange his splitter there, because the coupler spider had gone out 3 times within one year. He showed us that the only thing supporting the hydraulic pump and the coupling was a sheet metal box. This was on the TSC 22-T splitter, vs their 27(?)- T model which instead had a cast iron cage that bolted between the engine and the pump.

When we looked at the Troy Bilt 27-T at Lowes, we made sure it had the cast iron cage to avoid that problem. We have been using it for >10 cords per year of mixed hardwoods, including many gnarled twisted apple, wild cherry, and ash crotches and virtually any kind of lof capable of being split and burned.

Make sure that your cage stays securely tightened even if it requires lock-tite, and check your shaft alignment because wobble and play are your enemies there.

Take care,
Thomas

 

[Ken45101]

Ken,

I'm confused about your method of work. You first say you like having only on tractor in the field, but the later part sounds like you are using a second tractor to carry off the split wood.

Having only one tractor, one of the virtues of a separate splitter is that I can drive my tractor so the FEL or the rear carry-all is right up next to the splitter and load it as I do the splitting, then take the load off and put it away.

Terry

I use the FEL forks to move the firewood rack. The splitter is on the 3pt.

 

[Ken45101]

I'm thinking about getting another HF truck crane to use with my log tongs to lift the bigger logs onto the splitter. I haven't had too many I don't feel up to lifting yet, but it's getting harder and harder.

I did that, mounted the HF crane on the 3pt splitter, and replaced the hand crank winch with a HF 12v one. It lets me handle 24" rounds without endangering my back.

 

[TerryR]

I use the FEL forks to move the firewood rack. The splitter is on the 3pt.

Thanks, Ken,

I failed to understand that you were dropping off the racks, then moving the splitter into position with the same tractor.

Terry

 

[EddieWalker]

Hi Eddie,

We bought the same splitter for a bit more than that in 2011, and it hasn't disppointed us one bit. It's a real workhorse, and as easy to start as ever, despite my F-I-L filling it woth diesel requiring me to disassemble and clean out the carb. We removed the swing down leg in favor of a swing down cranked trailer jack with a wheel on the bottom (from HF) which gives me a ton of height adjustment to find a good working position regardless of the terrain. As you said, it's nice to be able to pull it to a site, make acmess there in the woods, and leave it there to decompose naturally. It also allows use in the vertical position to reduce the need to lift heavy rounds up onto it, though since I hate bending over, I'm thinking about getting another HF truck crane to use with my log tongs to lift the bigger logs onto the splitter. I haven't had too many I don't feel up to lifting yet, but it's getting harder and harder.

Just keep the diesel out of the tank, and it will do you fine.

Take care,
Thomas

We will be buying the 27 ton Troybilt log splitter from Lowes Saturday morning. We are getting low on wood and will spend the next couple of weekends splitting up some standing dead oaks. It's kind of last minute, but with the wood stove and the fact that the trees have been dead a year, should make it work out alright.

Thanks for the advice on the diesel, fortunately I keep all my diesel in a 200 gallon storage tank mounted to a trailer, and all my gasoline in five gallon gas cans. No chance of getting them mixed up!!

Eddie

 

[LD1]

The only issue I had in the 10 years I've owned it is the insert between the couplers that connect the engine to the pump wore out. It started rattling like crazy. I replace both steel couplers and the insert (got them through Fastenall) for less than $20.

Lovejoys are cheap and considered a wear Item on hydraulics. Just like belts, or chains and sprockets, etc. IF you check them every once in awhile, before the rubber is totally gone, you can get by just replacing the $2 spider...

We will be buying the 27 ton Troybilt log splitter from Lowes Saturday morning.

What made you decide on the troybuilt over a speeco huskee from TSC???

I know they are real similar in price and specs, but havent followed them in awhile to know what makes them different.

As to the rest of the thread, my preference is a stand alone. I use the tractor and trailer with the wood in it, would be hard to do with the splitter on the back. But that isnt the main reason. Speed is. It takes a good sized tractor to be able to have the hydraulics that a small stand alone has. The OP talking about a MX5100 would only be about equal in speed to a stand alone. But a stand alone runs a small $100 motor that sips fuel.

Only way I would even consider a 3PH would be one with a stand alone pump and/or a regen valve. And by the time you add a PTO pump, the cost of the splitter is now as much as a stand alone model.

But its all preferance. If you dont want to maintain another small engine, and dont worry about going slow, then save a few bucks and get a 3PH.

 

[PhysAssist]

I did that, mounted the HF crane on the 3pt splitter, and replaced the hand crank winch with a HF 12v one. It lets me handle 24" rounds without endangering my back.

Pictures or it didn't happen!



Seriously, I think you nailed it, but I would like to see any details you can show like attachment points etc, to save myself the trial and error otherwise like to be incurred.

Thamks,
Thomas

 

[PhysAssist]

We will be buying the 27 ton Troybilt log splitter from Lowes Saturday morning. We are getting low on wood and will spend the next couple of weekends splitting up some standing dead oaks. It's kind of last minute, but with the wood stove and the fact that the trees have been dead a year, should make it work out alright.

Thanks for the advice on the diesel, fortunately I keep all my diesel in a 200 gallon storage tank mounted to a trailer, and all my gasoline in five gallon gas cans. No chance of getting them mixed up!!

Eddie

?..and I thought that having red cans for gas, yellow for diesel, and blue for kerosene would work too, but within several months of each other, my wife put gas in the diesel Kubota, and my f-i-l put the diesel into the gas splitter. Fortunately, the kind folks here had provided me with a wide knowledge base, so I knew how to fix each of the two very different problems.

Congrats on your soon to be new toy Eddie, I hope you like it as well as we do ours.

The other mod I made was to enlarge the log "tables" on either side of the splitter's track near the anvil end by adding wooden platforms covered in sheet metal with reinforced edges to allow the logs to sit there, just make sure to allow adequate clearance between the inner edges and the splitter track (don't ask me how I know this).

Thomas