ning
Elite Member
I mostly split black oak and scrub oak; the "splinters" make fantastic wood for my grill, and kindling for the wood stove.
Log splitter
- Thread starter bunyip
- Start date
- Views: 4605
I mostly split black oak and scrub oak; the "splinters" make fantastic wood for my grill, and kindling for the wood stove.
oosik
Epic Contributor
When I used wood for heat - I split the only wood I have here. Ancient, huge Ponderosa pine. Most were 32" to 36" on the butt. A REAL PITA to roll up onto a horizontal splitter.
I dug a trench with the bucket on the FEL and a much smaller horizontal side trench down at one end. Roll the splitter down into the trench and push the rear wheel on the one side into the smaller horizontal side trench.
AH - HA - - now the horizontal I-beam of the splitter is dead level with the surrounding ground AND up tight against the one side of the trench. Made an almost impossible job, at least, doable.
What, other than this, is REAL aggravation. The splitter pushes the wedge completely thru the giant chunk without anything splitting off. So, pull the chunk off - rotate 180 degrees - try again.
By the time I got down to 24", or so, in diameter - things would usually be going much better.
All the aggravation, sweat, sore back, neck, arm muscles and I still miss everything involved in burning fire wood.
Knowing that there was five well seasoned full chords of pine out in the woodshed had a very satisfying feeling as I would go into the fall season. AND off to the side, but still in the woodshed, a freshly cut, stacked five chords, waiting for fall - next year.
Ah - but that was near 40 years ago - I was a young fellow then and could withstand all the necessary effort. Now - I turn a dial on the wall, forget all those days, relish in the comfort & ease that all electric heat can provide.
I dug a trench with the bucket on the FEL and a much smaller horizontal side trench down at one end. Roll the splitter down into the trench and push the rear wheel on the one side into the smaller horizontal side trench.
AH - HA - - now the horizontal I-beam of the splitter is dead level with the surrounding ground AND up tight against the one side of the trench. Made an almost impossible job, at least, doable.
What, other than this, is REAL aggravation. The splitter pushes the wedge completely thru the giant chunk without anything splitting off. So, pull the chunk off - rotate 180 degrees - try again.
By the time I got down to 24", or so, in diameter - things would usually be going much better.
All the aggravation, sweat, sore back, neck, arm muscles and I still miss everything involved in burning fire wood.
Knowing that there was five well seasoned full chords of pine out in the woodshed had a very satisfying feeling as I would go into the fall season. AND off to the side, but still in the woodshed, a freshly cut, stacked five chords, waiting for fall - next year.
Ah - but that was near 40 years ago - I was a young fellow then and could withstand all the necessary effort. Now - I turn a dial on the wall, forget all those days, relish in the comfort & ease that all electric heat can provide.
OP
bunyip
Elite Member
electricity is cost prohibitive and we don't have gas apart from big bottles and that is also cost probitive for heating.
oosik
Epic Contributor
Yes - I completely understand bunyip. When we lived in Anchorage - everything was natural gas - they almost gave it away. Electricity, on the other hand, was UBER expensive. 1982 in Anchorage - electricity was 26.5 cents per Kw hour. I think thats where I learned to live in a house with only one light on - in the room you were currently occupying - and NO more. It still carries over to this day and it drives my son bonkers.
Here in the Pacific NW - and especially with our local co-op electric utility - electricity is UBER cheap. Currently - 6.5 cents per Kw hour. Our local electric utility is one of the top four in all of the USA. AND they bust their hump to maintain that rating.
Thirty seven years out here and only one "extended" outage and it was only 28 hours. However -the utility does notify its customers - via personnel email - of planned, maintenance outages in the summer - usually two - each being two hours long.
I'm so spoiled at the connivence of a well run, maintained utility - I would be hard pressed to live where a standby generator system was considered required or normal.
Here in the Pacific NW - and especially with our local co-op electric utility - electricity is UBER cheap. Currently - 6.5 cents per Kw hour. Our local electric utility is one of the top four in all of the USA. AND they bust their hump to maintain that rating.
Thirty seven years out here and only one "extended" outage and it was only 28 hours. However -the utility does notify its customers - via personnel email - of planned, maintenance outages in the summer - usually two - each being two hours long.
I'm so spoiled at the connivence of a well run, maintained utility - I would be hard pressed to live where a standby generator system was considered required or normal.
OP
bunyip
Elite Member
WE pay about 45c kwh some places are cheaper, we have solar 4.5kw and run a heat pump for hot water which is cheaper than off peak, our infeed is 11c kwh.
There is gas running past us now but we only use it for cooking so will stick with the bottles, a bottle lasts about 2 years, 90lb and costs about $120 plus 55 a year rental.
Supply charge for either is over $1 a day.
There is gas running past us now but we only use it for cooking so will stick with the bottles, a bottle lasts about 2 years, 90lb and costs about $120 plus 55 a year rental.
Supply charge for either is over $1 a day.
MH8675309
Platinum Member
I still split with a hand maul and rarely find some thing I cant split but there is much to be said for knowing when its time to use it for "chainsaw bait"
Hahahaha Yes, anymore when I see those old splitting mauls and steel wedges lurking about the shed or barn, I just smile and am perfectly content that I don't need to use them anymore. The old back couldn't stand the shock.
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
We heat with wood and LOVE the heat it produces!!
All the decent wood goes to my BSM, the rest is shoved through the 4-way on my splitter to be heat,
SR
All the decent wood goes to my BSM, the rest is shoved through the 4-way on my splitter to be heat,
SR
Oaktree
Super Member
I hear ya. Bought a (secondhand) splitter about 10 years ago, wonder how I ever did without it. As one of my neighbors says, the older I get the more I appreciate hydraulics.