Flywheel logsplitter

[MiserableOldFart]

This is probably best suited for commercial firewood operations that have a steady supply of modest sized wood, because it's horizontal and I don't think for those really big gnarly stump pieces, plus they are about twice the price of hydro machines, but the simple fact of the matter is they are really neat fun just to watch. For anyone looking for an electric splitter to use in a garage, they might make sense as well..

I ran across these a couple years ago and had a difficult time finding their website again, but I think they are interesting enough that people might like to see them in action.

Log Splitter, Wood Splitter - Super Split(R)

 

[LD1]

I too think they are neat. A simple yet effective design.

I have often thought about building one but I never knew what one actually costed. I would think a hydraulic splitter would be more expensive to manufacture.

A hydraulic splitter has some pricey components. A ~$250 cylinder, A $80 valve, A $130 pump, Plus a tank, hoses, and a filter unit. Total of about $600 right there. Those SS splitters still have the beam, wedge, and motor. But instead of the hydraulic stuff, they have flywheels, and a rack and pinion gear. I wouldnt think that would cost as much as hydraulics, but I could be wrong.

A few of the variables that I would want answered before I even attempt to build one (if ever) are:

How long does that rack and pinion last before wearing teeth off??

And as you mentioned, how does it handel tough stuff?? Knotty peices, crotch peices, Dead elm??

It seems all the videos for various brands/types of splitters all show them splitting easy straight grained stuff. Like ash or red oak. NEVER and string elm or hickory or crotch peices.

I could handel replacing a rack and pinion every so often cause they probabally arent that expensive, but if it cant split the elms and hickorys, then I would end up spending more time chucking peices to the side for the HYD. splitter than actually splitting wood.

 

[Craig Clayton]

I looked at the quality of the wood and if they had not cut it to 16" lenghts and left them at 8ft the pieces are furniture grade. What happens when a nasty piece goes in the same kind that stop the hydraulic machines unless you have a 4" cylinder or 5". Plus once it starts the stroke how do you stop it mid stroke? I know that it must work on the same prinicple as a metal shear press, that is why they have double safety and a guard on the presses and people still lose fingers.
Craig Clayton

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Yeah, it's pretty standard for videos like this to show especially good wood being split. If the number of tons they mention on their site are accurate, I would imagine they do ok on tough stuff, but again, I don't see them or anyone else putting 30 inch diameter stumps on there.

The cost of the machines is about double what a hydraulic splitter would cost, roughly $2500 to $5000.

I have no idea how long the gears last. One of the testimonials on the site is a guy who asked "what breaks on this machine?" and the seller said "the wood." The buyer said they were right, but then if he said they were wrong, they wouldn't have it up..

 

[Ductape]

I'll add a few comments since I've spent many hours running a super-split. I work off and on on my neighbor's farm, and he owns an old super split. I'd guess he sells between 35 and 60 cord per year as part of his farm operation (depending how much he clears during the winter). His is probably twenty or more years old, and has survived being in his barn when it burned to the ground. A new (used) motor, and it was off and running again. Super-Splits are very fast, as you saw if you watched their videos. Great for firewood production. It almost slices the wood, as opposed to splitting it. The wedge is quite narrow and sharp. It will slice through knots relatively easily. It will split anything you can lift onto it , and stuff you can't lift onto it. Once in awhile, you will have to whack a piece of Elm two or three times to get it to split..... but most wood is split in the blink of an eye. It's not for everything though...... really big, gnarly pieces are better off done with a hydraulic splitter. As far as how long the rack or pinion lasts........ his still has both original pieces, but the rack has been touched up with a welder and grinder. Both pieces probably should be replaced, but he is much too 'thrifty' to spend the $350 or so for the new parts. I've been burning wood for heat for years, and own a hydraulic splitter from a big box store. I'm beyond happy with my splitter..... it's plenty fast enough for me. I don't ever see me being concerned about needing anything as fast as the Super Split for the ten or so cord per year I split. I can certainly see why someone selling alot of wood would pay double what I paid for a Super Split. I don't think they are for everyone though...... once you engage the rack, the ram is going. Not a machine for kids or inexperienced folk. Here is a picture of my neighbor's old SS.

 

[boxygen]

I saw the Supersplit at once of the AG fairs a few years ago for the first time. I too was skeptical at first. Once you watch it in action for a short while, its easy to see why you would want one. They are much faster than a hydraulic splitter. They do have the power to do knotty wood too. I forget the numbers but I think he said that he could split a whole cord of wood in about 30 minutes. You can split it as fast as you can get in on and off the carriage. They are relatively expensive but would be a cool tool to add to your collection. I still split by hand because Im still fairly young and foolish but I could see picking one of these up as I become less young (and probably more foolish).:thumbsup:

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I looked at the quality of the wood and if they had not cut it to 16" lenghts and left them at 8ft the pieces are furniture grade. What happens when a nasty piece goes in the same kind that stop the hydraulic machines unless you have a 4" cylinder or 5". Plus once it starts the stroke how do you stop it mid stroke? I know that it must work on the same prinicple as a metal shear press, that is why they have double safety and a guard on the presses and people still lose fingers.
Craig Clayton

That was the first thing that caught my attention too.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

YouTube - WORLDS FASTEST LOGSPLITTER

What real men use to split wood.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

That is quite a contraption. I think I'd be afraid to get near it, but it's gotta be safer than the rear wheel spiral cone type I've seen called the world's most dangerous tool..

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Ductape, that's a cool old machine. I didn't realize they had been making them that long. Pretty amazing longevity considering the volume of wood and the trauma the machine has been through, too!

 

[20 20]

I saw one at a show couple years back, they were having problems, so I never watched it in action.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

That is quite a contraption. I think I'd be afraid to get near it, but it's gotta be safer than the rear wheel spiral cone type I've seen called the world's most dangerous tool..

It was so dangerous looking I had a hard time even watching it on video. It must to have been shop built. One slip in it could split your head.

 

[kidr]

I looked at the quality of the wood and if they had not cut it to 16" lenghts and left them at 8ft the pieces are furniture grade. What happens when a nasty piece goes in the same kind that stop the hydraulic machines unless you have a 4" cylinder or 5". Plus once it starts the stroke how do you stop it mid stroke? I know that it must work on the same prinicple as a metal shear press, that is why they have double safety and a guard on the presses and people still lose fingers.
Craig Clayton

I saw one at a fair too. It was horse driven, you can adapt it to anything . Horse, water wheel elec . gas.The operator split a pretty gnarley piece for me. When it jammed he just recycled the plunger a couple of times and went right through it. You can stop the pluger and recycle at any time. the wedge is not on the plunger if you notice ,so it can't get stuck. Fun machine but too expensive.There is another less expensive made by Wood Wolf. I don't see it being any more dangerous than hydraulic.

 

[rogerpeterson24]

Very effective and efficient machine, especially for the commercial purposes. After watching that video I am pretty much sure that this machine will be of great use in the future. It was working very smoothly, somehow I doubt whether it was cutting huge wood bundles or just the plastic sheets.
_____________________________________________
logsplitter

 

[MikeD74T]

Really does a nice job on that fork tender oak, but the piece with the knot wasn't any faster than hydraulic. Don't see any option for stopping the ram once it's in motion. Know a guy that had two and loved them, but he was very equipment consious & tougher than oak himself. MikeD74T

 

[kidr]

Really does a nice job on that fork tender oak, but the piece with the knot wasn't any faster than hydraulic. Don't see any option for stopping the ram once it's in motion. Know a guy that had two and loved them, but he was very equipment consious & tougher than oak himself. MikeD74T

The ram can be stopped at any time and recycled. Just lift the actuating lever. It can be brought back the whole way or just a few inches. DR has just come out with a similar splitter. I haven't checked it out yet.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

The DR looks like a nice machine, but someone needs to figure out a way to get them to work vertically for bigger stuff before they can really be "all -purpose" for the home heating crowd. For someone doing it commercially, or someone who buys wood in log length and it's all reasonably sized, they look great.

 

[ferguson123]

Scary machine

 

[Garandman]

The ram can be stopped at any time and recycled. Just lift the actuating lever. It can be brought back the whole way or just a few inches. DR has just come out with a similar splitter. I haven't checked it out yet.

I just bought one! A K28 - two 55 lb flywheels.

SuperSplit has been around a long time, based in W Bridgewater, MA. Many of the firewood operations around here use them, though most also have a hydraulic splitter for wierd pieces.

Before buying the DR Pro K28 I spoke to a user of one from Vermont. He said that he doesn't split firewood-length logs on the first whack about 1 out of 100. You can let the handle go, let the machine spool up and give it another whack. The model I bought will do 24" lengths but I've bucked everything to 15-16" (small stove!) so I don't think I'll have any problems.

Lots of videos from users on youtube.

 

[motownbrowne]

Nice video, garandman.

I have been coveting a super split for a long while now. A couple things, one I bet that rig would handle oak just fine. I split lots of oak, maple, and ash. The ash is easiest, then the oak. Red or white not much difference for me.

I also split lots of poplar, which looks a bit like that sycamore, at least in how it splits. It's real stringy and gave even my neighbors hydraulic splitter (nothing too fancy, 22 ton speeco) a workout. I found the best thing was to lop off the edges first and then tackle the middle instead of splitting the whole block at once. For the real big ones, over 20" in diameter, I'd even cut into the grain with my saw (a couple inches is all it takes) before driving the maul into the block. That made a world of difference.

Anyway, great video. It's good to see someone who will acknowledge the limitations of their machine. All the videos of super split splitting 18" long 14" diameter straight-grain ash, cedar, and redwood don't prove much except that they can do that particular task faster than a hydraulic model. But that's not saying much. I can split straight grain wood faster than a basic hydraulic model with a maul.

Thanks again, and congrats on the new splitter!