"Troy Bilt" 27 ton log splitter, add winch? (Not 20 ton. Helps to know your own equipment)

[bvanek]

You must have soft woods.... I have oak rounds that causes my 20 ton splitter to groan

yes, maple, alder, and Douglas fir.....some cherry laurel that is harder. Maple and alder are soft hardwoods and not ideal for heating but I have 12 acres of these and Doug fir, so it's a free supply.
Last season. I burned about 3 cord Oct-Mar, The temps were about average, but the usual colder dates were warmer and the usual warmer dates were cooler?.... had to fire back up in late March and mid April with snow and cold air from the gulf of Alaska.....This pattern is still in play today. Warmer days but nighttime still in the low 40's. In the mid 30's in May.

I can see why it becomes a personal choice especially with the type of wood you burn. So far, I'm getting by splitting with a maul.....I use an 8 pounder so the extra force it generates makes a difference. I have had to use a wedge on the large knotty rounds and this certainly stirs my interest in moving towards a mechanical splitter. That 8 # maul is a good one and has the right profile as well....does make a difference. (but you have to catch the outer edge of the round to get the "one time whack")

I grew up in Hood River Valley OR...we had oak, fir and apple wood (it was a fruit growing region and they would pull up older non-producing trees and replant with new varieties) Plenty of firewood and was the go to source for many. You could not split it and had to cut it before it dried out (like cutting through a rock). The lower trunk averaged about 8-10" and branched out with several 4-6 inch secondary limbs. The right size for a stove and no splitting. Most people back then had larger stove openings and could fit the trunk pieces as well..Excellent firewood but you better have a chainsaw file handy. The oak had similar branching characteristics and the fir was usually only used as a hot starter fire or rekindle. The oak was good firewood but left a lot of ash.

 

[bvanek]

Unlike you we bring 10 to 12 foot long logs that we gather all year when we find them back to the wood yard using a dump trailer and the 4060 to load them. We stack them and then buck and split them once a year in early fall or early spring. That way we do not handle short rounds more than we have to since we pick the logs up with the tractor and buck them right next to the splitter. Cut, drop, roll onto the log loader, and split.

I am fortunate that the wood splitting and gathering is a neighborhood project for three families so we can have five or more of us doing the bucking and splitting. I like splitting the wood, but it's nice to get it all done in one or two weekends and even nicer to look out at the back yard and see 6 cords all neatly stacked in IBC cubes.

I use that method as well. Cut (in the woods) into similar lengths along with larger branching depending on the tree. Pick them up with pallet forks, yard them to my wood shed, and roll them onto home made log rack near my wood shed. This cutting platform base is two large cedar logs one 28" and the other 24". Then 3 perpendicular cedar log rails (8") so there is a slant 28" to 24" so the cut logs can roll into place ("dogs" on the end to stop and removable pins as stops if needed). I use this method when the wood is farther away and when I have a bunch of smaller branch logs. It's just a matter or deciding which method might be more practical. ( I don't have much flat land and some of it is deeply wooded).......does save time and avoids the extra handling like what you said. Also you can cut several of the smaller wood on the rack with one pass. But I'm still the old guy with the maul after that. However about half of these are small enough so they don't need to be split.

I am pretty much on my own where I live. Pretty isolated and neighbors don't do wood. My kids, grand kids, etc. have moved to the big city where physical work is almost unheard of. And, like you, there is something about that filled up wood shed that just makes one feel accomplished. Simple reward but does bring a smile. Have always enjoyed cutting firewood.