Hydraulic log splitter on a 3-point hitch work well?

[yspm]

I figured this would work every bit as well as a trailer-drug standalone with its own motor, but when I tried to buy one with my new CUT, my dealer said that a CUT's GPM was too low and that splitter cycle time was poor. Anyone here have experience with one of these? How do they compare to a standalone unit? I want a 20 ton one.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I spoke to a dealer about this when I was tractor shopping and they recommended to me that in the size of tractor I was looking at (well under 40hp) not to use a splitter. They said that the use of a splitter is just too much for the hydraulics of the small tractors and the fluid can overheat and cause damage as well. They said "bigger tractors" are ok, but I didn't ask how big they meant by "bigger tractors," but I have always assumed that 40hp and up should be no problem. Wish I knew more, lol.. They recommended 'just go out and buy a nice Honda powered one. They're not that much more expensive anyway." Thing is, with the price of fuel, if you're using a much larger tractor, it would seem you're going to go through a lot of money in fuel, and STILL might be better off with the standalone unit, despite the extra storage space and maintenance.

I think there is probably somewhere a sensible limit. I mean, I still think I could probably get away with splitting 3 or 4 cords a year (what I normally use) with my little 26 hp. tractor, but would likely be pushing the envelope if I were to do 30 or 50 cords a year, like part time firewood sellers probably do.. Anyway, I'm still doing it by hand, and haven't even been doing the 3 or 4 cords a year, mostly just buying the wood. $1500 for a splitting machine buys quite a bit of firewood.. and is no maintenance.

 

[pat32rf]

Around here, $1500 would buy enough split wood for one winter.
I have a free standing splitter with a 2 1/2" cylinder that I power with my JD4300. The cylinder is just a little on the small side for some of the big brutal chunks but they are a small percentage of my wood and it just means taking a smaller bite. (Less power but a faster cycle time.) I could probably double my cycle speed by increasing the RPM but 1500rpm lets me hear the radio, 2500rpm doesn't.
I'm like you, only splitting 4-5 bush cords/ year, but my fluid doesn't get any hotter than it does while using the hoe or just running around in the bush. As long as I can hold my hand on the hoses/piping then the fluid is under 130deg F, and my engine temp always stays the same, summer or winter, idling, splitting or road running.
(JD4300HST)

 

[ayelvington]

I have the Harbor Freight 14 ton splitter mounted to 3-point hitch on my BX-24 and running off of the hydraulic loop. Yes, it's very slow. No, the hydraulics don't get hot (nothing compared to summer use).

I have no regrets. It only cost me about $450, I can drive up the tree, it's one less engine to service, and it was cheaper than one visit to the ER for chest pain.

YouTube - Harbor Freight 3-point log splitter attached to a Kubota BX-24

I say "go for it!"

 

[grnspot110]

Can't answer your question --- yet! I'm in the process of re-modeling my hmde. splitter I built for my 1958- JD 520. The plan is to add a control valve to the splitter (on the 520, I used the tractor control), then hook to the bucket cylinder connections. Tie back the joy stick & go to work!

I talked to the dealer shop foreman, he said he saw no reason it shouldn't work. My local supplier was out of the valves yesterday, so I'll have to wait until next week for th valve, then have the hoses made up.

It will not be fast, but I work alone & am not in a hurry anyway! At the most, I'll be splitting one 16' trailer load at a time. ~~ grnspot110

 

[lungdoc]

We use a Splitfire 3203 14 ton 3 point splitter on a 4320 Deere (48 hp). Works very well and easy to store and maintain. You do lose the use of tractor for other tasks when wplitting but for our once-a-year splitting session of maybe 10 cords it works great. We had a big group of guys, at first splitter seemed slow compared to their splitting by hand, but after several hours the splitter just keeps chugging away and was doing more and more of the work.

 

[inveresk]

I bought a 12 ton 3 pt splitter from Northern Tool. I split about 4 cords a year and have had the splitter for three years with no problems. The cycle isn't quick but most logs split well before the blade has gone anything close to all the way. One weakness in the design is that the ram isn't rust proof and develops pock marks if the ram is left extended. I have to remember to withdraw it fully after each session of use.

The splitter places far less strain on the tractor than the front loader or backhoe. A much lighter tractor than my 33 hp should easily be able to cope.

 

[BeeferMan]

I've been considering a 3 pt splitter to replace/augment the standalone one I have now. I notice that many of the 3 pt models seem to use the "ram in a box" rather than I-beam construction.

Thoughts on that?

I would think that that while overall the box has pretty good strength characteristics, there will be stress points on the box structure where the cylinder attaches and the wedges sit that might not be able to take advantage of the advantages of box structure? Are these points typically heavily reinforced?

I can appreciate good engineering, but sometimes just plain raw strength has its appeal as well!

 

[MarkV]

I have had one for years that I run on a 21 hp tractor. It is slower than a stand alone but no issues with heat or power. Mine is horizontal only and what I have never liked was the height the 3pt. would set it at. Too much bending for my old back. I now have mine built into a higher stand and bring the wood too it.

MarkV

 

[brandoro]

I have a home built splitter that I run with the tractor hydraulics. It isn't too fast but I like not having to count my fingers after each split. The hydraulics barely get warm from running it, nowhere near as hot as the transmission (oil reservoir) gets when mowing. I used a 4" cylinder and run the tractor at 1600-1800RPM. I find that the splitter speed is a good match for the pace I can sustain at that RPM range.
My splitter isn't exactly a 3 point splitter, so far I have it temporarily mounted on the carry all but might put it on a small trailer at some point.

 

[Gordon Gould]

As you can see from the posts many people are happy with thier 3pt splitters. One question I have is your 20 ton requirement. This might be hard to get. A splitter with a 4" cylinder will only give you 15 ton if your tractor has the typical 2500 psi hydraulic system. ( Pi X r squared X psi ). The splitter may have 25 ton written all over it but you will only get 12 to 15 ton if it has a 4" cylinder with your 2000 to 2500 psi hydraulic pressure. That being said - in most cases 12 to 15 ton is enough. Search some old threads --there is alot of info on splitters here. ( A 3" cylinder, which is faster, will only get you 7 to 9 tons )

 

[lungdoc]

Our 14 ton unit goes through everything we've thrown at it including lots of gnarly hardwood. Hard to imagine needing more unless you have a lot of oak or extremely hard wood.

 

[MikeInEburg]

I agree that most folks are happy with 3-piont hitch and understand that it won't be as fast as a stand-along unit. When I was making this same decision, the desire to avoid another engine was overshadowed by the desire to have front end loader available to lift the larger rounds for me. I roll them off of the bucket and onto the splitter, avoiding lots of heavy lifting. It has worked great thus far...
Mike

 

[Furu]

I use a Speeco three point splitter on a JD 4720. Cycle time is a bit slow ( 6 seconds) in idle but if you bump the RPM just a bit, cycle time is much better and if any faster could result in a pinch problem. As well as being better than idling the engine for long periods with all the problems than can create. Below is the company description. I am VERY happy with the unit. It is I beam construction.

LS400197 is a 3-point hitch log splitter. Fits tractor categories 1 and 2. Splitting force and cycle time depend upon tractor hydraulic pressure. Tractor hydraulic system should be capable of delivering 6 to 25 gpm of oil at 1500 to 2500 psi for adequate splitting force and speed.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I agree that most folks are happy with 3-piont hitch and understand that it won't be as fast as a stand-along unit. When I was making this same decision, the desire to avoid another engine was overshadowed by the desire to have front end loader available to lift the larger rounds for me. I roll them off of the bucket and onto the splitter, avoiding lots of heavy lifting. It has worked great thus far...
Mike

This is the way I feel also. A stand alone unit makes more sense for my use. The splitter and mess stay at the landing where the wood is skidded to. Normal size stuff gets split into the bucket then loaded into the 1-ton. Big stuff is lifted onto the splitter in the bucket.

 

[Matt W]

Another option:

Has worked well for me. Can be dropped and still used if the tractor is needed otherwise. A result of getting a deal on the splitter and owning an 8N at the time.

 

[sixgun]

I have a 3pt model with its own oil reservoir and 11 gpm pump that is powered by the tractor's pto. No worries about cycle time and messing with tractor hydraulics, and I can get away with fairly low engine rpms. I wish the reservoir on the splitter was bigger (it's about 8 gallons), because it does get pretty warm after about an hour or two.

I have gotten around the loss of tractor use issue by staging my rounds ahead of time in a straight line pile and just inching my way down the line. After they're all split, off comes the splitter and the tractor bucket/carryall box are use to get it to the stacking area.

 

[955er]

I have a 16 ton ramsplitter for my 955. 7.2gpm, 2500psi. At 1800rpm it moves plenty fast. At 2500rpm it outruns me. I agree with earlier posts. If you are going 3 point, go with a 3.5 inch cylinder or less.

 

[DanD78]

I run one on my JD 3320 using the power beyond system. I run the engine at 1500 rpm and it works faster than my old body wants to. I think the pump on this tractor is rated at 8 gpm. I do miss not having the tractor to lift heavy logs on to the beam with the hydraulic top link you can lower the beam to the ground and roll the big chunks on to the beam instead of lifting. I need to fab a catch table to keep thet big chunks up at the wedge to make them smaller.

Dan

 

[mooseracing]

For some of us that have older tractors you can build them to be as fast as standalone without any problems. There are plenty of affordable 20-40 gpm hydro pumps that can be purchased. The other nice thing is having a single stage pump can make the tractor splitter faster since it doesn't drop to the slow stage.

I don't have a front bucket, so I make sure all my rounds are small enough to lift, which 90% of the time isn't a problem, or they then get noodled.