Ideas for splitter cylinder length. European methods? Multiple rounds at once?

[Scooby074]

Im in the process of designing a splitter. I intend on having about 25 GPM 2500-3000 PSI and am going to use a prince Autocycle valve, with a 4 way wedge and need to decide on a cylinder length.

Im curious if anyone over here is using the European method of splitting wood where they split longer rounds, say 3-4' into quarters to dry, then cut to length ~16" before use, usually on a small buzzsaw.

Ive noticed that some of the pro splitter companies, (splitfire, timberwolf plus others ) give the option of longer cylinders up to 4'. I know that outdoor boilers can take a large split, but im wondering about doing the Euro method... Or perhaps splitting several rounds at once, in one cycle of the ram. This could be a time saving. The cost difference between a 4 or 5" dia x 24 and a 36" or 48 cylinder is negligible, so thats not a concern.

If anyones interested, heres a couple videos that illustrate the different methods:

Multiple rounds in one cycle:
YouTube - Binderberger Spaltgigant 40to. mal anders, Fastest log Splitter

YouTube - Posch splitmaster log splitter

Splitting longer individual "rounds":

YouTube - Spaltgigant 40 Tonner im Einsatz

YouTube - SplitMaster 26 30

Cutting the dried long splits for burning (also shows nice stacks of long splits):

YouTube - Wipp Sage


YouTube - CutMaster 700

Am i missing something here? Why the 4' method? Trying to think outside the box... maybe this is a better way???

 

[moose13]

I must be missing something as well because i don't see the time savings.
The first video it seems about a 1/4 of their wood is smashed into junk. They would have been better off with a 4 way wedge than that contraption they are using. And cutting to size after split? Hmm not me, the trick i have found in all aspects of firewood from cutting to burning is HANDLE IT LESS. The more times you touch every piece of firewood the less efficient you are. I fall a tree, chunk it up to 18-19", load trailer bring home, kid rolls chunked wood off back of trailer directly to me and the splitter, split, stack. DONE, enjoy cold adult beverage.

Are you looking into processing firewood to sell or just home use?
These methods might work if you had a few helpers.
Like i said maybe i am missing something too.

 

[Scooby074]

Just for me right now. If i ever get around to building a processor, then maybe ill look at selling.

This 4' method seems to be the main way of doing things over there. They must figure its better.

I agree with handling wood the least amount possible. With the 4' system, i think it would save on stacking, as you only have to handle wood 1/3 the time. I dont cut trees off my own land so processing the log into 16" rounds in the woods doesnt work for me. Mine arrives in 8' lengths. I hate stacking and leave my wood stacked outside, covered, till i burn it. If I had a tractor that could lift a full pallet of stacked wood, id likely go that route instead. Processing the long splits before taking a days wood inside might not be that bad???

I dont like the multi-wedges they use either, Wastes alot of wood.

 

[crash325]

Long wood dries out more slowly than short wood. Most of the drying is out the end grain and the cracks that develop.

Cut to length = 1 trip to the saw - Also you only need to stack it 1 time.

A lot more time to enjoy and adult beverage. :thumbsup: :licking:

 

[Scooby074]

Another euro clip dealing with cutting bundled 1m splits. "Now thats a chainsaw!!!!"

YouTube - Buendelsaegen

 

[crazyal]

I'm not sure if I would want to deal with some of the larger rounds in a 4 ft length.

 

[jimgerken]

Looks like they eventually cut them down to about our standard 2 foot length anyway, in various ways. Not sure what playing with the four-footers buys them.
YouTube - HOLZundTECHNIKlutz's Channel

 

[Scooby074]

I'm not sure if I would want to deal with some of the larger rounds in a 4 ft length.

Im pretty sure they are 1m in length, so approx 3'... But yeah a 3' round could be a handfull.....

Looks like they eventually cut them down to about our standard 2 foot length anyway, in various ways. Not sure what playing with the four-footers buys them.
YouTube - HOLZundTECHNIKlutz's Channel

Some seem to burn even smaller pieces. If i was to guess i'd say these pieces were 6". I do like the stacking/wrapping system at the end though. Interesting. Looks like baler wrapping.
YouTube - Growi-Bündelsäge mit Reinigungstrommel

YouTube - Spalter auf der KWF 2008

This seems to be the common process over there. Many of the foreign videos showcase this technique. Few of the euro videos showcase our cut to length and split technique with a manual splitter. In most of those videos a firewood processor was used.

The technique of binding into rolls is familiar to me. When i worked in a sawmill, the stickers would arrive in rolls like that. When they would get gathered up in the planer mill, they would re-bundle them into rolls using the same technique of a round frame to stack in, and a strapping system to hold the roll in proper shape. Those would then be lifted back into the sawmill by a grapple. Applying this system to firewood is new to me

 

[glastron23]

Don't know about you people but the less i handle wood the better, like Moose said cut-split-stack-reach for a cold old.....
now HERE is a CHAIN SAW
YouTube - V8 Chainsaw 6

 

[Scooby074]

Don't know about you people but the less i handle wood the better, like Moose said cut-split-stack-reach for a cold old.....
now HERE is a CHAIN SAW
YouTube - V8 Chainsaw 6

I'm All about the cold ones!!

But i hate stacking. Stacking 32-36" pieces would cut my stacking in half. The number of "cuts" would be the same in the end, however most of the cuts after the initial sectioning of the log would be automated or semi automated. Plus youd end up with half the splitter cycles.

I think thats why the europeans adopted this system.

Check out this really unusual processor. Looks like a manufactured unit. What a crazy wedge system!

YouTube - Fendeur léger FM66 Roto

edit: Looks like it was built by these guys (Aficor) out of Switzerland. $ http://www.aficor.ch/en/index.html

 

[woodgrub]

hi,i have splitter mounted on my ute,cut,split,load at stump.drive home,finished.

 

[woodgrub]

i cut 12 to 14inch,use losplitterloglifter if rounds are too heavy on to splitterbench,split and straight into 3cub cage on ute.job finished,,deliver to client,i cut ironbark,greybox mostly asthey are premium hardwoods and get premium price.

 

[woodgrub]

cutting firewood into 1 foot blocks,splitting,loaded,delivered,wood is handled to a minimum.i also tow 2 cub trailer behind 3 cub ute, splitter mounted on ute means i can cut and split,load anywhere without double handling,when i leave the forest the splitwood is ready to be delivered. every other cutter up hear tows splitters to the forest,when they could be towing a load home behind their loaded vehicle.

 

[Renze]

YouTube - Mottimaster Klapikone

this is what i bought, on advice of a relative in finland who lives a couple of miles from the factory.
Nothing beats this in speed, it does splinter a bit but chainsaws make a lot of fines too...
We will make a splitting jaw this summer, to cut bigger logs to a size that this mottimaster will eat: YouTube - Spaltzange

The mottimaster eats populars as big as the blade opening will accept. fresh oak up to 7 inch, dried oak 5 inch.
the shear bolts break sometimes when you hit a knot but they are standard M8x35 bolts.

 

[Scooby074]

I think im in love!

YouTube - Film Bündelautomat

Im pretty sure the bundles at the end are 1.5 m3. If so, ~2 would be a cord. Having someone come up with a grapple and drop say 16 of them in my yard for the winter would be pretty good. No muss, no fuss. nice and neat and ready to go. NO STACKING!!! :thumbsup:Sure beats a dumptruck piling a mountain of splits in my yard.

Locally HW logs are about 100/cord. Split wood is $185-200/cord dumped in your driveway, not stacked. Would there be a market for either bundled long splits to be cut by the end user (less likely due to being a completely unfamiliar technique) or bagged 18 to 24" splits (more likely)? As shown in this video YouTube - Film Kurzholzautomat

How much would someone pay for the benefit of no labour and mess to clean up? Could it be profitable ???:thumbsup:

 

[Scooby074]

YouTube - Mottimaster Klapikone

this is what i bought, on advice of a relative in finland who lives a couple of miles from the factory.
Nothing beats this in speed, it does splinter a bit but chainsaws make a lot of fines too...
We will make a splitting jaw this summer, to cut bigger logs to a size that this mottimaster will eat: YouTube - Spaltzange

The mottimaster eats populars as big as the blade opening will accept. fresh oak up to 7 inch, dried oak 5 inch.
the shear bolts break sometimes when you hit a knot but they are standard M8x35 bolts.

They are a cool machine. Is it Hard to hold onto the log when the knife cuts it? It looks to kick around a bit. I wonder how it'd work in our wood over here. lots of larger oak and hard maple. Ash. Little Birch. Nobody buys/sells poplar for firewood.

Any opinions on the 1m "long" european splits compared to the NA style of cut to length, then split? Advantages?

 

[bem1965]

Hi!

FYI in europe we do not have a common way to process wood into heat!

If I were to build a woodprocessor I would take a look at many different solutions!

I like a system as others here, were you do not handle the wood more than nessesary!
Take a look at YouTube - Transportador PW
A Swedish system by takskydd taks臾erhet sn?臘ke vedklyv takbryggor vedkap vedmaskin - Per Wikstrand AB
We have a lot of trees (280 hectars) this processor take timber up to 28 cm diameter (11 inches), bigger trees we send to the sawmill.

I use a similar machine with transporter (or whatever it is called in english). The split wood is either dumped directly into the one of the woodsheds and left to dry until next winter, or the split wood is dumped into mesh sacks that are stacked to dry. As others here I do not like to handle the wood and I only stack wood in 60 litre sacks (about 16 gallons). These sacks are a perfect size to transport and sell. This machine is ideal for a one man operation!

All the best from a small part of Europe!

 

[lostcause]

i think it depends a lot on what you have around for equipment to handle the wood. i cut and stack everything so that the finished project is 16" and no bigger in diameter than a 4x4. i have a small splitter that i built myself to run off my tractor's hydraulics. last year i cut and split 7 cord, but since i split into such small pieces, i would bet that i actually cycle the splitter as much or more than some people who split 15+ cord a year. i will say that splitting is by far the slowest and most tedious part of my process, but i don't know if there is any better way for me. here's a few things i would think about:

if you don't intend on having a log lift then it would be pretty awkward to put green 2' diameter, 4' oak logs up on a splitter bed.

if you don't have a good saw rig to then chop the 4' split pieces up, then it might be a nuisance. i needed a little extra wood one winter and i got a good deal on what they call "limb wood" around here. it was all 4' lengths of rounds that ranged from 2" to 6" in diameter - basically, stuff that doesn't need to be split. the only thing i had to cut it with was a chain saw, and to be honest, it was rather tedious chopping all those small rounds into 16" lengths. if i had a tractor mounted cordwood saw, it probably wouldn't be as bad.

i like to have all my wood cut and stacked under cover before winter hits. i don't want to have to be out in the snow finishing the processing of my wood so i can burn it that night. if i cut and split it long, i would have to stack it then, and then unstack it to chop it to length, then re-stack it to have it ready before snow. seems like more handling instead of less.

i don't think there is any perfect way to do it that covers everyone's needs. if it were me, i'd think about how you want the final product and then weigh the pros and cons of the different methods.