Log splitter buying ?

[TomSeller]

Here's a pic of my 37 ton splitter. We have a lot of dead hardwoods and they're hard as cement. They sure burn nice in the fireplace though.

What brand is yours? Looks nice

 

[TomSeller]

Somewhat surprised that no one mentioned the split fire splitter. I have a Split Fire 255 with the wedge on the cylinder and a bolster on each end allowing one to split in both directions, both out and back. .

I mentioned Splitfire as one if those often talked about on TBN. I have heard good things about them.

 

[JRL305]

I got it off of eBay over 5 years ago. It doesn't have a brand name on it but the 9hp motor is a Chinese knockoff of a Honda. It was all apart, on a pallet and I had it delivered to my workplace. I put it together enough to tow it home and then finished the assembly there. It came with a 4 way wedge but our hardwood kept getting stuck on it. I took it off and I don't miss it. I've split some pretty old hardwoods and it might slow down on the big ones, but it's never met a log it couldn't split.

 

[Dead Horse]

We had a stake body dump that held about 2.5 cords of splits. With as many as 3 guys on the landing, we did two of these in an 8 hr day as many as 6 times a week if we were cutting a big plot. There was very little money in making firewood as opposed to mill stems back then. A split cord went from $60-$75. We'd make trips to the Cape Cod where they were getting almost double for the stuff. (Can't cross state lines with wood anymore around here). Firewood making just beat stuff up and was rather labor intensive in comparison to other types of logging.

Still a hard way to make a buck...... some guys do it up here, they buy stems and either run them through a processor or buck and split using saw and splitter. Then you have to season it and deliver it....... HARD way to pay the bills! I do it for recreation, and get heat, exercise, "feel good" and property management benefits out of the effort.

No way I could afford to be set up right to sell wood commercially and actually make minimum wage! Mine is strictly a labor of love.

 

[Herkypilot]

I just tried to split some green Hickory today with my NH 30 ton splitter. It has a 4-way knife on it. It wasn't going to happen on the big rounds. Dang those are heavy too. This is the first time I've found something it won't split. It would probably work if I take the wings off the 4-way. You would think 30 tons of pressure would be enough. I guess not. I'll be waiting until next fall to split those when they get a little drier I suppose.

HP

 

[LouieJunior]

I mentioned Splitfire as one if those often talked about on TBN. I have heard good things about them.

I wonder if the two way Splitfire splitter sacrifices some of its power with the cylinder configuration - as opposed to direct force without the offset wedge?

 

[JRL305]

Yeah, you gotta take those wings off. Mine would split but the wood would get wedged in there. It has a guard that's supposed to strip the wood off the 4 way but it bent like a pretzel. My 37 ton has a huge cylinder and nothing stops it.

 

[arrow]

I just tried to split some green Hickory today with my NH 30 ton splitter. It has a 4-way knife on it. It wasn't going to happen on the big rounds. Dang those are heavy too. This is the first time I've found something it won't split. It would probably work if I take the wings off the 4-way. You would think 30 tons of pressure would be enough. I guess not. I'll be waiting until next fall to split those when they get a little drier I suppose.

HP

This is odd to me as well. I had a hickory log last season (kind of stinks or smells good depending on your nose when you cleave it) My splitter had little trouble with the 4way. This was on 14"-18" rounds so I don't know if we're comparing apples and oranges here. Could be the construction of the 4 way wings as opposed to just the 4 way wedge you toss onto a horizontal splitter such as i have. My splitter is only a 5 hp with a rating of 16 tons.

 

[FTG-05]

Best combination I have found is grapple plus a sawbuck.
After felling & limbing, cut trees into 9' lengths. Skid them out to trail.
Carry 9' log lengths with grapple. Pull grapple up to 6' long sawbuck divided into 18" compartments.
Roll logs one at at time off of grapple and onto sawbuck. Overhang evenly on both sides & cut 9' log into
six 18" fire log segments. Wash, rinse, repeat. The sawbuck really helps. Logs are well supported, no kickback.
Also dividing into 18" compartments helps to get relatively uniform fire log lengths without taking time to measure.

Grapple plus sawbuck works very well for us.

Pics of your sawbuck?

Thanks,

 

[sdef]

Some other brands I recall being mentioned on TBN are:

Wallenstein
Splitfire
Northstar

I have the 30 ton Northstar with the Red Honda GX engine on my list.

Me too. My local store has one assembled on display. I am waiting for it to come down in price below the current $1899 (plus a $100 gift card on top of it). I like the engine guard, the GX 200 cc Honda engine with auto. idle control, the 8.5 gallon oil reservoir, the strong log table and the tongue jack with large wheel.

Second choice is a Dirty Hand Tools 28 ton or 35 ton, but they will have to be quite a bit less expensive than the Northstar.

 

[pinetree10]

Congratulations on your purchase.

For what it's worth, I have no regrets with my Wallenstein. I don't use it very often but it came with a 4-way wedge that slips on and off the single wedge and the Honda engine that came with it starts easier than any other engine I've ever started. It wasn't an inexpensive purchase but I'm sure it will last the rest of my life and the next guy's too. I've run pine, maple, oak, and cherry through it and the two-stage works great. Have fun with your new splitter.

 

[TomSeller]

Me too. My local store has one assembled on display. I am waiting for it to come down in price below the current $1899 (plus a $100 gift card on top of it). I like the engine guard, the GX 200 cc Honda engine with auto. idle control, the 8.5 gallon oil reservoir, the strong log table and the tongue jack with large wheel.

Second choice is a Dirty Hand Tools 28 ton or 35 ton, but they will have to be quite a bit less expensive than the Northstar.

Right, it is hard to beat that Northstar splitter, particularly with the GX Honda engine. No equals to the GX line of gas engines.

 

[crazyal]

I've got one of the MTD splitters. It's the 27 ton from Lowes with a Honda on it. Had it over 10 years now and the only problem I had was the lovejoy connector between the engine and pump sheered it's "teeth". But It was more my fault as the dampener between the connector started to break apart and I didn't immediately stop. I do skid logs and found that the dirt can be a problem. I tend to cut so that the dirt is on the side of the log where the chain exits.

 

[Ken45101]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I have a 3 pt mount Timberwolf TW3-HD. The 3pt is a major drawback for when something else is on the tractor (e.g. bush hog) and you want to split for an hour or two.

HOWEVER, once I get the beast hooked up, it sure does a wonderful job! Mine has the 4 way wedge and that really cuts down on rework. I am in the process of building a 6 way wedge (Timberwolf offers a 6 way as an option but the cost is ridiculous.)

The other major feature I love is that the wedge is fixed, the pusher moves on the cylinder. Why is this so good? #1 if a piece doesn't split all the way or gets stuck, you do not have to wrestle it loose. Just let the next piece push it through! #2 it drops the splits beyond the end of the splitter, not at your feet where they get in your way.

I have even raised up the end of the splitter on the 3 point so that the splits go right into the pickup truck bed Try that with a stand alone splitter with the wedge on the ram!

I have yet to find anything that the Timberwolf won't split, no matter how gnarly, knotty or twisted the log is.

 

[TomSeller]

The other major feature I love is that the wedge is fixed, the pusher moves on the cylinder. Why is this so good? #1 if a piece doesn't split all the way or gets stuck, you do not have to wrestle it loose. Just let the next piece push it through! #2 it drops the splits beyond the end of the splitter, not at your feet where they get in your way.
.

Very nice for horizontal splitting. Not so much for vertical.

 

[Ken45101]

Very nice for horizontal splitting. Not so much for vertical.

True, but I very, very rarely used the standalone in a vertical position. It just didn't work well trying to move and position big rounds by myself.

On the 3pt splitter, I added a Harbor Freight truck crane and winch for retrieving and lifting the big rounds. That's a slow process. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like the super big rounds, I'd prefer to keep stuff in the 14-16" max range.

 

[almost13ranch]

Well, this is a long thread, but I still want to put in my $0.02. I was looking at a TPH splitter because of the cost. Even at a higher engine speed, there's no load on the engine until you actually move the splitter handle. I'm not sure there's a huge amount of fuel usage, is my point. What I did do was find an old splitter from a guy that was selling out and moving to Arizona. By old, I mean the frame was old. It had a brand new engine, pump and cylinder. I added a larger oil tank that I made from an air tank off of a big truck and a hydraulic filter. I'm glad I went this was because I use the FEL to lift big rounds and stack as I split in the bucket to move it to the pile. I only gave $500 for the splitter and have about $50 more in the tank and filter.

 

[Dead Horse]

I often set my TPH splitter on a couple of large rounds in the cutting yard. (heavy bastage, no one is gonna steal it, for sure!) and when I want to do some splitting, sidle up to the hydraulics end of it with the tractor. The hyd hoses on the splitter are long enough so even with a bush hog or other implement on the lift, I can attach the splitter hosed to the quick disconnects on the tractor.

I also have remote hyd lines on the back of my F 350 Franken-truck and can run the splitter from that unit too, just tossing the split wood into the dump body. I have a wheel set I have been meaning to rig up to the splitter. With a pintle hitch on the other end of the splitter, it can follow the truck around, OR be attached to the TPH on either of two tractors I use for fire wood chores.

The set up is versatile, reliable and simple. to each their own. BTW, I am VERY happy with this years fire wood crop..... Nice and dry, lights like paper and burns hot and long. Well seasoned wood is definitely worth the wait!

 

[Dead Horse]

I often set my TPH splitter on a couple of large rounds in the cutting yard. (heavy bastage, no one is gonna steal it, for sure!) and when I want to do some splitting, sidle up to the hydraulics end of it with the tractor. The hyd hoses on the splitter are long enough so even with a bush hog or other implement on the lift, I can attach the splitter hosed to the quick disconnects on the tractor.

I also have remote hyd lines on the back of my F 350 Franken-truck and can run the splitter from that unit too, just tossing the split wood into the dump body. I have a wheel set I have been meaning to rig up to the splitter. With a pintle hitch on the other end of the splitter, it can follow the truck around, OR be attached to the TPH on either of two tractors I use for fire wood chores.

The set up is versatile, reliable and simple. to each their own. BTW, I am VERY happy with this years fire wood crop..... Nice and dry, lights like paper and burns hot and long. Well seasoned wood is definitely worth the wait!