Ls tractor and log sitter

[shooterdon]

For occasional use, tying up your tractor to split wood slowly might be OK.

Seems silly to me to run a tractor when a small gas engine on a dedicated splitter will do the job faster.

If you are OK with slow, and do not split a lot, look at an electric unit if you can get the rounds near an outlet. No gas or oil issues to deal with.

 

[lostcause]

i did the splitter off the tractor many years ago and i'm still a believer because of the reasons that many have already listed:

one less engine to maintain - it seems that I always have a carb that needs cleaning.
how many hours will you really add over the life of the tractor?
convenience - set the height so you aren't hunched over, drop to the ground to roll large rounds on.

sure, the downside is speed, but...

I built my splitter with an 18" stroke cylinder because my stoves are meant to burn 16" logs. I don't waste any time cycling up to the log before it starts the split and it doesn't have to retract as far.
a stand alone with a two speed pump is faster with no load, but i believe mine is faster when it is in the wood.
I don't have any help most of the time, so by the time i finish the split, kick the handle into retract, put the split piece where it needs to go, and grab the next piece to split, it's already waiting for me.

I had a power beyond set up on my tractor already, so it was simple to do, as opposed to a bungee on a valve, but whatever works.
I found that on my old tractor (JD770) i had to run around 2000 rpm to get a reasonable flow out of the 5.6gpm implement pump. you may need to run faster to get the power & cycle time you need if you are on a 4.6gpm.

 

[KennyG]

I have a 3 point splitter and really like it but I don't know if it's the best choice for you. I have rear remotes. Using the loader connections would be awkward for me and require really long lines. I also have a two way splitter which makes the speed OK. I would not be happy with a one way splitter that I had to have a return cycle for because of my limited gpm. Two way splitters seem to be rare these days.

 

[ptsg]

i did the splitter off the tractor many years ago and i'm still a believer because of the reasons that many have already listed:

one less engine to maintain - it seems that I always have a carb that needs cleaning.
how many hours will you really add over the life of the tractor?
convenience - set the height so you aren't hunched over, drop to the ground to roll large rounds on.

sure, the downside is speed, but...

I built my splitter with an 18" stroke cylinder because my stoves are meant to burn 16" logs. I don't waste any time cycling up to the log before it starts the split and it doesn't have to retract as far.
a stand alone with a two speed pump is faster with no load, but i believe mine is faster when it is in the wood.
I don't have any help most of the time, so by the time i finish the split, kick the handle into retract, put the split piece where it needs to go, and grab the next piece to split, it's already waiting for me.

I had a power beyond set up on my tractor already, so it was simple to do, as opposed to a bungee on a valve, but whatever works.
I found that on my old tractor (JD770) i had to run around 2000 rpm to get a reasonable flow out of the 5.6gpm implement pump. you may need to run faster to get the power & cycle time you need if you are on a 4.6gpm.

I agree with everything you mention and I do the exact same thing.

I have 8.9 gpm at 2600 rpms, but I only run the engine anywhere from 1200 to 1500 rpms, which puts me around 5.15 gpm. I just hold the remote lever with a piece of wire and it's good to go.

For the occasional use, this is plenty good for me. I also only have a 3.5" bore cylinder, then again, good enough for my needs. Not to fast, not too slow. Just right as I'm not in a race anyway.

Having a dedicated engine for the log splitter, it's just another one to maintain plus the gasoline is very expensive here (7.20 US$ / gal) versus diesel ( 4.96 US$ / gal). I only run gasoline for the chainsaw and the lawn mower really.

If I was splitting wood in high volumes to sell, I would definitely come up with something a little faster, but just for the homeowner, this setup is plenty good.