Gas log splitter or 3PH?

[wampum]

As far as the hour meter on tractors,I can not say one way or the other. I did however run a Cat D-9 for several years,and do know at idle it was not an hour to hour thing. You had to run hard to get your hours,that was one way the boss knew you ran all night or not............. On the 3 point log splitter,one thing I have not heard mentioned was the size of the tractor pump. The smaller the pump(GPM) the slower the splitter. I ran mine on a 32 HP tractor,it did o-kay,on my 454 International it did better. I could be wrong but if you have a smaller CUT,it may be real slow. A PTO pump could make a world of difference,of course that would jack the price up considerably. ...... I used a maul and my 3 point for years and got by with it,it does a good job. It is so much faster with the stand alone for me,it is at least triple the speed of my 3 Point. I could have speeded that up if I had a bigger tractor with a bigger pump. Do not get me wrong,if you like the 3 Point,that's great. I have just found that personally the stand alone is easier to use and a whole lot faster. As I get older,for me it is also easier to use the FEL to lift large rounds,use the FEL as a table and just roll the rounds on the splitter. Very little bending,that really helps me a lot.

 

[JoeG]

There are hour meters and there are proof meters. Both indicate hours but the proof meter registers hours at a given RPM. A tractor with both an hour meter and a proof meter will always show a higher number of hours on the hour meter than on the proof meter.

I'd much prefer to have a proof meter but alas, my current tractor only has an hour meter on it. Since I run it at various RPM's I only get a very rough estimate of how much work the engine has done.

 

[pat32rf]

When I ordered my JD4300 I had them include power beyond. Since then I've been given two home-made 3pth splitters, one off a 60hp tractor with a 4" ram. Once I installed a 2.5" ram ($100 sale price) it worked a lot quicker.
I normally split about 4-5 bush cord/year and sometimes have a helper so I dump the logs at the splitters, which stay at the woodsheds, then cut, split and pile for an hour or two when I get ambitious. Only takes a minute to plug in the hoses and when I'm splitting 1500rpm lets me hear the radio....

 

[tessiers]

I've got both and they both have advantages and dis-atvantages.

3 point
Always starts
Less expensive
easier to position

Self Contained
Doesn't tie up the tractor
faster cycle time


My 2 cents
Both cycle faster than I do, the guy complaining about slow cycle times is usually not the one toting wood

I find the tractor uses about the same fuel as my self contained splitter, the small gasoline engines are far less efficient than the small diesels.

I am not a small engine guy and I have trouble with the self contained splitter running once in a while, My tractor fires every time, at least it always has.

I like moving the 3 point much better, if my tractor can't get there how in the **** can I get a splitter there. I change the table height quite a lot and find by setting the beam on the ground I can roll about any piece on with a cant dog, I tried the vertical but once you turn a round piece onto its flat end moving it gets a lot harder. You do not have the loader option with the 3 point though.

I do like the self contained if I just need to split a small load of wood because it is all ready to go, no un-hooking whats on there and hooking up the 3 point splitter. I also like the self contained when I go to camp, it tows much easier than a tractor.

Bottom line is I like them both, nobody should have just one.

 

[some zilch]

I can't imagine lifting every piece wood to put on a splitter...vertical is the only way I can use one...

i cant imagine bending over constantly, or kneeling all the time. horizontal is the the only way i can use one.

if the round is that heavy, i'll hang it off my forks.

Whaaat? Are you sure about that. Although Einstein proved that time is relative, I'm not so sure that tractor hours are computed that way.

An hour is recorded on the meter for each hour the tractor is running regardless of the RPM.

not true, cupcake. my kubota has a mechanic hour meter, and 1 hour of engine idleing does NOT make for 1 hour on the meter. my tractor only shows 60 hours, but i guess it has at least 300 hours of actual engine run time. i dont use it at full throttle, therefore, it does not count an hour as an hour. kinda odd, but thats how it is.

 

[Mousefield]

Getting back to the wood splitter part of this post.
As I got my gas/hydraulic wood splitter first no point for me to have a 3pt one. Got a Woods 7 ft backhoe with my CK35 so I could pull small logs out of the bush, lift them to cut and put the larger rounds on my splitter. Not able to lift what I could 10-20 years ago. Find it easy to move the splitter around our property. This unit was a used rental that I had used a few times before buying it. Has a nice table to put the rounds on.
Give some thought to the next 5-10 years when deciding what you need/want.

 

[Wedgie]

I definitely feel that the self-powered log splitter gives one greater flexibility. I have had two different log splitters with gasoline engines, and as much as I love attachments for the tractors, have never considered a 3-PH splitter. I have a hitch welded on the back of the log splitter frame so I can take the tractor, splitter, and wagon down in the woods in one trip. I can then use the tractor and wagon to haul loads of split wood up to the storage area while the splitter remains in the woods for the day.

I can also use the tractor to grab logs and large branches and pull them to the site where the splitter is stationed. If I have long branches or small logs I can use the front loader and a set of tongs to hold the branch or log off the ground while I cut it into firewood lengths.

I have had the current splitter for over 30 years and finally had to replace he original engine with a Honda engine of the same HP. Great move!

 

[newbury]

This is probably thread hijacking but...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/1390618-post8.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...150221-b7610-hour-meter-tach-revolutions.html

Like I said, not on my ride.

 

[nh DRAGON]

I enjoy the two stand alone splitters we have but if I was to get one for the tph I would go with the Hycrack and just run off the pto with out hydraulics. But for now this works.

 

[Youare]

Most 3pt splitters are pretty slow unless you get a pto pump. Sure don't need to run a tractor to split logs , I went with a super split : Log Splitter, Wood Splitter - Super Split(R)
nice height so you don't have to bend over all the time and boy is it fast ! Love it.

I purchased a Super Split 4 years ago. I spit around 10 full cord a year. This splitter is one of the best investments I have made in a long time.

Randy

 

[nh DRAGON]

Randy, I like the idea of the Super Splitter it is about time they worked to improve the old style stand alone. Would it work with a four way? I had not seen this type of splitter before, Thanks for sharing!

 

[groundcover]

Youare - I agree ,nice machine , I could never go back to a 'old fashioned' splitter !

mousefield - knock the bucket off, make up a wedge for the hoe, pick the round,swing over the pile , give it a squeeze and there you are, never have to get off your butt !

 

[gwdixon]

not true, cupcake.

Thanks for the clarification Cowpatty.

Yours truly,

cupcake

 

[greg_g]

Thanks for the clarification Cowpatty.
Yours truly,
cupcake

More importantly, are you willing to come to terms with the fact your "it can't be" position is a few pounds shy of reconcilable?

//greg//

 

[gwdixon]

More importantly, are you willing to come to terms with the fact your "it can't be" position is a few pounds shy of reconcilable?

//greg//

You know... this topic has been researched and there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer, only personal stories about a particular tractor.

In Minnesota it would be illegal to have an hour meter that does not reflect clock hours.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=325E.166

There is a Hobbs-type meter that measures "on" time:

Hobbs meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and a Tach Timer:

Tach Timer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then there is this post from Net Tractor Talk:

"My local Kubota dealer said the new Kubota hour meter read with the key on, while many older tractors/equipment hour meters were set to register at or near operating rpms. My snow cats seem to register hours much slower than my new Kubota. This info came to light when I had to delay my hydraulic oil change for lack of parts. The dealer said with the newer hour meters they tend to show more operating hours than older style hour meters on equipment and to not worry about the extra 10 hours of use on the break in hydraulic oil in the L39."

It appears to me that there is more than one possibility and that an alternate viewpoint is fully reconcilable. Then the question arises if others are willing to drop the condescending attitude and accept a coexistent conclusion.

 

[greg_g]

Then let me restate my suggestion. Record the hours and tenths on all your Kubotas. Start all the engines and let them IDLE for two hours. At the end of the two hours, record what's on each hour meter. Give us an honest reporting here, and actually join the group who have shared "personal stories about a particular tractor".

//greg//

 

[TommyJD790]

I spent a lot of time researching log splitters before I got mine about 2 weeks ago.
It's a 16 Ton Ramsplitter that runs of my power beyond.
When it comes to speed, I'm the limiting factor, not the cycle time.
I only use this thing about 2 hours at a time, because after that I get bored and my back gets sore. In that amount of time, I get a good amount of wood split and I don't really burn that much fuel. I was actually impressed with how little fuel I did burn.
I like the sound of a diesel engine running at just over idle, but I don't care for the sounds of a lawnmower engine screaming.
I figured, I have a tractor now, I might as well use it.

TommyJD790

 

[gwdixon]

Then let me restate my suggestion. Record the hours and tenths on all your Kubotas. Start all the engines and let them IDLE for two hours. At the end of the two hours, record what's on each hour meter. Give us an honest reporting here, and actually join the group who have shared "personal stories about a particular tractor".

//greg//

I'm not going to put six clock hours on my tractors to resolve this little issue. Eight counting a John Deere 125 mower.

Tell you what I will do. I'll start a threat in the General Owning/Operating section and see what others have found. That will get the topic out of this thread where it is inappropriate and onto another forum that it is more likely to get informed responses.

OK - here is the new thread. There is already some information posted. Now this thread can go back to splitters.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/164597-hour-meter-operation.html

 

[HSSC]

Stand alone splitter came before the tractor. Splitter is close to 30 years old with a Honda motor. Change the oil, clean a jet now and then, good to go. One or two hours on the splitter is enough for me. Save the rest of the wood for another day. ( my back is older than the splitter ) My splitter was almost $ 3000.00 way back then. With the tractor and the money a bit tight now days I'd go with the less expensive tractor mount as I burn about 4-5 cords and only sell a few cords. I like my stand alone splitter and glade I have it but I don't sell as much firewood like when I bought it all those years ago.

 

[dodge85rc]

If I had to do a lot of splitting this is what I would get
YouTube - skidsteer Firewood processor