Iron & Oak tractor powered splitters

Boy, there is nothing much more simple and relatively inexpensive than a small engine. I realize you have a tractor and may not see the need for another "motor" around. But you will never run a tractor as cheap as a small engine. My 5hp honda on my splitter can run hours on less than a gallon of gas. A tractor would never dream of running so cheap. I recently debated the same issue of buying a splitter to run off my Bobcat. I was glad I didnt got this route. Why put the extra hours and use more fuel on the bobcat. I find the splitter more versitile with its own engine. It has enabled me to split wood away from my own property, that I otherwise would have never been able to haul home.

the only iron and oak splitter i've seen was at an ace hardware store and it had its own engine. i agree with reaperman, better to find one with its own engine, much more versitile.

Now you got me thinking my John Deere 318 lawn tractor has a hydraulic take off with two fittings on the fount with snap quick disconnects. Could this be hooked up to a splitter? This would do what you are thinking about. I engine. one pump, cuts grass, blows snow, pulls wood cart, runs wood splitter. I dont see why not.

I'm not familiar with Iron and Oak splitters, but I have experience with Timberwolf TW-3 PTO driven splitters. Boy, If I had a full size tractor that's what I would own. The tractor can just sit there and idle and It smashes through the biggest rounds you can find. Neat product.

[quote author="cmonSTART" date="1203214612"]I'm not familiar with Iron and Oak splitters, but I have experience with Timberwolf TW-3 PTO driven splitters. Boy, If I had a full size tractor that's what I would own. The tractor can just sit there and idle and It smashes through the biggest rounds you can find. Neat product.[/quot
I was thinking of using my 62 hp Allis Chalmers and save $. But most large engines do not like to run for hours at idle. Even the owner's manuals warn against it. So I guess a small 5 or 8 hp would be best both for the tractor and the atmosphere and pollution.

DriftWood said:

Now you got me thinking my John Deere 318 lawn tractor has a hydraulic take off with two fittings on the fount with snap quick disconnects. Could this be hooked up to a splitter? This would do what you are thinking about. I engine. one pump, cuts grass, blows snow, pulls wood cart, runs wood splitter. I dont see why not.

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The hydraulics on those tractors are lacking in PSI and GPM relative to what is required of a splitter, and are definitely lacking in oil capacity or hydraulic oil cooling ability. I have seen supplemental hydraulics added (powered off a clutch on a stub shaft off the flywheel-side of the engine, or belt driven) to garden tractors, but I suspect that this would quickly become cost-prohibitive unless you had ready access to discounted or free splitter parts.

On a related note, I've been thinking about adding a front end loader to my geardrive Wheelhorse tractor, and by the time I priced out the creative setup required to rig a pump off the PTO, I figured out that it would be easier and cheaper to just setup a standalone engine/pump/reservoir setup to use as a counterweight off the back of the tractor...

Nick: You pose a nice dilemma. I am going w/ the loader splitter, when I build it, for the reasons you mention. I think I'll be able to hook a splitter to my loader, go right where I want to, and split whatever comes along. I THINK, anyway. As for fuel, I bet the loader is going to idle, and a diesel perking along does not burn much. Your small engine/reservoir/trailer has an initial expense, too, plus (minimal) maintenance. If you are splitting only for yourself, I'd bet you will have a hard time paying for the extras if you went w/ a self-powered splitter. Something to consider, anyway. Too, if you ever want to, you can always add on an engine/reservoir/trailer to the loader-splitter. Food for thought. Good luck, either way. j

NickR" date=" said:

My 414 cu in , 95 hp JD 6605 isn't big enough to run the splitter?

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I think that was in reference to a LAWN tractor, though I saw a video of a small lawn tractor splitting fairly big wood w/ an "upside down" splitter on a boom. Looked pretty slick. I don't know the specs on your 6605, but my skid-steer delivers 24 gpm at 3100 psi and has 43 hydraulic hp (85 net on the engine). I am sure your tractor has the ponies to split nearly anything that grows.

Sounds to me like the last two posters have more than enough pressure and flow to run a splitter, but if it was me, I'd look long and hard at whether I wanted to use those nice toys to split wood, or if I wanted to use them to move wood to the splitter, and to the stack after it was split. I think I'd chose the latter.

-Dan, and wishing he had this problem!

Dan: My plan, at least, is to dump the wood onto a trailer w/ the loader as much as possible, drag the trailer near the boiler, then hang the splitter over the trailer to split. I then hope to be able to throw the wood right from the trailer into storage, either inside next to the boiler or just outside. I don't really think installing a chute into the boiler room is appropriate, but if I get real lazy about it.... We don't have real large diameter trees, so there won't be much problem loading wood onto the splitter itself. I am going to try to minimize man-handling wood as much as possible, but I know I am going to be doing that a lot, despite my intentions to the contrary. Muscle work is just a given. We'll see how all this pans out in reality..... later. j

I have a 3 point splitter from northern tool for $499 in the summer you may see it for $399 a good deal I split about 10cd with mine last year.my tractor is 30hp with a 8.9gal per min pump it has a cycle time about like a gas splitter in high stage but does not slow down ever.a 5hp splitter spends most of the time splitting hardwood in low range pumping about 2 gal a minute,mine is much faster splitting,if you have a tractor already to me it makes good scence,If you are only splitting wood for yourself how many hours are you putting on your machine 10 or 15 maybe, that's what I bought it for.Every gas powered splitter I used Its seems I was always fiddeling with it half as much as I was using it.I back the tractor up to my dump trailer raise the splitter up waist high and set it just inside the trailer and the splitter just pushes the chunks right in I will never go back!You may be on track with your big tractor If it pumps enough at idle,10 or 15 gpm would be very fast.

Loggie: I have not run any kind of splitter, but it just seemed that using the skid steer was best for me, and I can't imagine it slowing down much on anything we have, even w/ a 4-way. Right, splitting for myself I shouldn't be putting too many hours on the meter, and probably at low speed or idle. Besides, everything I can do to justify this purchase to my wife is a big plus! Glad to hear your tractor is a wood animal. j

j I guess you could say I'm very happy with my set up and when I'm finished with for the season with I just lean it in the corner of my shed.Tell your wife that new splitter came with the skidsteer and you had it the whole time ;-)

I must admit that as far as I'm concerned, multiple engines are a PITA, as each one needs it's own prep, has it's own starting drill, requires that much more maintainance, and spends that much more time sitting around unused with consequent adverse effects on reliability... I don't have a big tractor, nor could I justify it. The GF does have a Sears lawn tractor, but it would be a real challenge to get power off of that as the only real place that power comes out is the bottom for the mower deck...

OTOH, I have an Arien's snow-blower that is little more than a 10hp motor sitting on a gear box, with a front power output, and a removable snowblowing attachment... That is plenty of power for many tasks, why couldn't one design a mod kit that would let you replace the snow blower attachement with a collection of other tools, like say a wood splitter (self propelled!) a brush cutter, a roto-tiller (maybe?) and even a generator? It would seem like not that terribly difficult, most of the time you wouldn't need the drive part so you'd have 10 HP of power, and be able to use the motor all year long, keeping it from getting the gummed up carb and other headaches of unused engines.

Gooserider

loggie said:

j I guess you could say I'm very happy with my set up and when I'm finished with for the season with I just lean it in the corner of my shed.Tell your wife that new splitter came with the skidsteer and you had it the whole time ;-)

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Oh you don't have to do that, just give her the splitting maul for five minutes and she will tell you to get whatever splitter you want!

Ken