Another Firewood Processor

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Again I wanted to thank KiotiKen for turning us onto the Cubic Firewood Nets, or firewood bags from bagsupplies.ca

We couldn't be happier for the price. Three of the four people involved with the processor are using them.


We have some varied methods but I just hanging the bags in the bag holder and clamping them in.


Then I lean into the holder and tie the drawstring on two sides of the bottom together (this prevents the bag, or really a sleeve, from blowing out the bottom). Next I throw some pieces in the four sides to keep the bag expanded while filling.

Next we fill, however, if you want a decent bag you can't just let it run on its own and tend to it once it's full. You probably need to check on it and rearrange the logs 2 or 3 times during the fill. Otherwise the pieces will not stack in tightly enough and you will have something that resembles a mushroom cap (bag) on a stem (pallet) when you open the bag holder.


After it is full we pull the clamps and tighten the top drawstring.


Open the bag holder up and there you have it, a face cord in an easily transported package. How could you not love it?

 

[Jim Timber]

Some kind of guided trajectory on your outlet chute is needed to get the bin/bag's to stack nicer. What I saw of your current setup places them in a downward orientation when your full bag shows a horizontal base. If you can get them to hit something and bump sideways in free-fall, that might be all it takes.

You'll probably still need to adjust the load as you go to tweak it, but that's something your helper can do while not getting the logs on the deck. Doesn't sound like you're running this beast solo anyway, so it's just one more task to keep up with.

 

[jonix]

Long time ago i saw a processor that have a splitter trough with a couple of big springs under..seems to work just fine..the springs absorve the impact of the logs, and mostly all drop in place..

My firewood processor is working fine now, but got lots of problems too..mostly broken steel, broken push plate, and the wedge..today i weld it for the fourth time..eucalyptus is hard ..upgraded to 50 Ton, and i am working with a 404 pitch, with good torque but poor chain speed..works fine..done 400 Tonnes or firewood since the machine start working, about 3 months ago..if there were no problems, with nice 30/40 cm diameter round wood, i can do 4 ton/hour..

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Jim, I see what your saying but I have no idea how to even attempt to accomplish it. Split pieces of firewood run up the conveyor in all orientations. Sometimes up to 3 pieces drop in all together. Sometimes the pieces are spaced out and sometimes they are right back to back. I think there are way too many variables to know just how a piece is going to fall in order to correct it. But if I'm missing something or you have an idea throw it out there. It would be great if the bags stacked themselves a little less chaotically.

jonix, I think most of the issue with the drop into the splitter trough is that the wood will hinge at the back where it is being cut. Then the front comes down and hits the top point of the wedge. That hangs up and after the cut is done the back will drop down end first into the trough. Many processors out there (yours included, jonix) have a cylinder that meets the end of the log as it is advanced. Does that cylinder aid at all in keeping the log straight when it drops or is it used to sense the log and turn off the log advance when it reaches the cylinder?

I've been wondering how you ever made out with your processor, so thanks for posting!
I worked out some of our production numbers into metric tons.
We've run a total of 76 tons of wood. and at most we've been able to run 3.4 tons per hour into our firewood bags. It's nice to see how we're doing compared to others. I'm sure that you will get everything rebuilt and improved for next season.

 

[Jim Timber]

If you had some way to restrict them, like an arm or roller that only let one pass at a time? Then you could have some other mechanism to orient them as they pass individually down stream, and then eventually wind up in the bin.

Just thinking out loud here. I know splits have a mind of their own, and my sorting and containerizing experience has been mainly nice round precision machined parts. Not really apples to apples.

 

[ultrarunner]

Again I wanted to thank KiotiKen for turning us onto the Cubic Firewood Nets, or firewood bags from bagsupplies.ca

We couldn't be happier for the price. Three of the four people involved with the processor are using them.


We have some varied methods but I just hanging the bags in the bag holder and clamping them in.


Then I lean into the holder and tie the drawstring on two sides of the bottom together (this prevents the bag, or really a sleeve, from blowing out the bottom). Next I throw some pieces in the four sides to keep the bag expanded while filling.

Next we fill, however, if you want a decent bag you can't just let it run on its own and tend to it once it's full. You probably need to check on it and rearrange the logs 2 or 3 times during the fill. Otherwise the pieces will not stack in tightly enough and you will have something that resembles a mushroom cap (bag) on a stem (pallet) when you open the bag holder.


After it is full we pull the clamps and tighten the top drawstring.


Open the bag holder up and there you have it, a face cord in an easily transported package. How could you not love it?

Went to the link and could not find pricing...

Any idea of final cost to the lower 48 and in what qty?

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

They come in bales of 100.
Last time I ordered it was $380 Canadian for the bale and $109 Canadian to ship them to NY

In the end I paid $384 US after the exchange rate.

They will sell them in quantities less than 100 but the price is per bag. I forget what they told me.

 

[kiotiken]

They come in bales of 100.
Last time I ordered it was $380 Canadian for the bale and $109 Canadian to ship them to NY

In the end I paid $384 US after the exchange rate.

They will sell them in quantities less than 100 but the price is per bag. I forget what they told me.

You're welcome, I'm glad they're working out for you. When I bought bags last year, they were $3.50 each and shipping was $35, but I only bought 50 bags. I can see the price going up since they import the bags and our dollar has tanked with the price of oil. You're getting a %30 discount with the exchange rate right now, not a bad deal at all.

 

[jonix]

over this last years I tried out some diferent ways to put firewood inside something..now i´m working with improvised 2m3 round containers i made from steel wire mesh, on wood pallets..

- I already tried a system like the PACKfix from POSCH (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=packfix+from+posch), but with a square form instead a round one. Very cheap metod, as issues like the unpackage (the mesh grabs to firewood and it´s hard to separate them) and the mesh has to be ultraviolet protected, other wise you´re gonna have lots of them fall in the ground. And you have to "arrange" mannually the wood as the pack fills up, or you gonna have lots of "side holes" that will not help your Pack stay straight. The wood as it dry, "moves" itself, and if you don´t have a straight pack..some picks:

-I tryed something like this too:
think this can work with the PACKFIX metod, but instead a mesh net, you can add a mesh bag like yours, and as the firewood fills in, the PACKFIX form rises up.

...working with a conveyor I figure out that is better if there were nothing in the end of it..the firewood piles up always in the same spot..if you have someking of piecelike you do to work with two pallets at the same time, you have to put some kind of stopper, to absorve the speed and descend angle of the firewood into the bags. I quit using this, think work better only with the conveyor and the right speed of belt travel.

Anyway, from your pictures, i think you will never achieve what your looking for..i work with 30cm log lenght cuts (thinks yours is twice long), and even so, for round containers with 1,25 cm diameter (round is better- as no corners , i have to sometimes put my hand in there to arrange the wood..I tryed out with larger containers and figure out that larger is better..in your case, i think for the lenght cut you are working with, you will need bags with 2 or 3 meters wide

..my processor as someking of a shelf below the cut "zone" that receives the cutted log..then that shelf drops, and even so there are many logs that not drop in place..if you don´t have somekind of shelf, the only thing that can control the horyzontal angle of the log fall, is the speed of the cut in the last few log inches..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IHTqlLc1QA

 

[muddstopper]

Wildbill, been meaning to ask you, How is that .58cuin parker saw motor working out for you. In the videos, it seems to be cutting pretty good, just wondering how it does in the larger wood.