looking at getting a splitter..any pro or cons with gas or electric...I will be splitting ash and elm..thank in advance..ZZZim CROWN on the rocks...ZZZim
donatello
Get a GAS splitter. My bro has a Timberwolf that I borrow and it works GREAT. If he didn’t have it, I would buy the same one.
I was at an old retired guys house the other day. He showed me his electric splitter and how it split. It was a DR brand that could only handle 16"logs. It was soooooo slowwwwwwww. If you don’t burn much and the logs are smallish and you have ALOT of time on your hands (like being retired) then check-out the electric, but buy the gas anyway.... You can’t split those larger rounds or crotch wood (you know what I mean red face) You don’t want to turn away those larger rounds. You WON’T be sorry! I scrounge for free wood. Everybody grabs the smaller stuff first and I end up getting the main trunk cheese ! I love it!
Get a 20+ ton gas and be done with it. Spend all the time saved watching football, drinking beer or both…
And as I understand, elm is REALLY tough to split. That would probably render the electric splitter almost useless.
jeffman3
I have 28 ton Swisher with 10 1/2 B&S;engine. This thing will split anything I can physically move over to it.! Elm is very tough in the crotch pieces, and Truly I don’t think an electric will do the job. Get one that stands up vertically, that has enough guts, and you can split anything that you move over to it and knock over under the wedge! The 36"+ locust we cut at the tree dump finally made it grunt a bit, and we had to run the motor at just under full throttle, but that round was a very large, twisted, snarly, multi-crotch (three different ring circles), piece of very hard, dense, wood. It more cut it, then split it, but it did the job! Anything less, and it would still be at the tree dump. We split allot of elm, some of it larger, and that stuff is tough! Get the largest, most powerful, gas splitter you can almost afford, and you will not regret it!
justplain said:donatello
Get a GAS splitter. My bro has a Timberwolf that I borrow and it works GREAT. If he didn’t have it, I would buy the same one.
I was at an old retired guys house the other day. He showed me his electric splitter and how it split. It was a DR brand that could only handle 16"logs. It was soooooo slowwwwwwww. If you don’t burn much and the logs are smallish and you have ALOT of time on your hands (like being retired) then check-out the electric, but buy the gas anyway.... You can’t split those larger rounds or crotch wood (you know what I mean red face) You don’t want to turn away those larger rounds. You WON’T be sorry! I scrounge for free wood. Everybody grabs the smaller stuff first and I end up getting the main trunk cheese ! I love it!
Get a 20+ ton gas and be done with it. Spend all the time saved watching football, drinking beer or both…
And as I understand, elm is REALLY tough to split. That would probably render the electric splitter almost useless.
jeffman3
I have 28 ton Swisher with 10 1/2 B&S;engine. This thing will split anything I can physically move over to it.! Elm is very tough in the crotch pieces, and Truly I don’t think an electric will do the job. Get one that stands up vertically, that has enough guts, and you can split anything that you move over to it and knock over under the wedge! The 36"+ locust we cut at the tree dump finally made it grunt a bit, and we had to run the motor at just under full throttle, but that round was a very large, twisted, snarly, multi-crotch (three different ring circles), piece of very hard, dense, wood. It more cut it, then split it, but it did the job! Anything less, and it would still be at the tree dump. We split allot of elm, some of it larger, and that stuff is tough! Get the largest, most powerful, gas splitter you can almost afford, and you will not regret it!
I would not base my purchasing decision on what the above two have said because they have only seen the cheap under powered electric splitters perform and not a 240 Volt 5 HP electric splitter which would wipe the floor of a gas powered one easily in a split off duel contest since the torque curve shoots up a like a rocket and is MUCH greater than a gas engine when an induction motor is under heavy loading such as going through a knot in a log. Here is what I mean: .....
.....Remember to have the proper pump for the RPM speed of chosen motor. Gas is only advantageous when portability is required.
zim said:looking at getting a splitter..any pro or cons with gas or electric...I will be splitting ash and elm..thank in advance..ZZZim CROWN on the rocks...ZZZim
I have seen what is readily available to the average consumer. That’s right, all I’ve seen were the cheap underpowered electric splitters… Where can you buy a splitter without the motor, electric or gas? Home Depot,Lowes,Northern Tool? You may be able to, but I haven’t seen it. And which splitter (brand and model number)would you use to make this cool franken-splitter? Why not give this info also? Can it be done, Hell yes. But the average guy just wants to split wood and be done with it. The readily available GAS powered splitters are reasonably priced,will pretty much handle any wood you and a buddy can lift onto it,has a warranty,and comes pre-assembled.
Remember to have the proper pump for the RPM speed of chosen motor.” NOW you possibly/probably need a different pump?
How much is that and do you need to make brackets? Is this a direct “bolt-on” to the un-named splitter?
If your electric Franken-splitter was readily available to the average consumer for purchase (pre-assembled) at a competitive price, then you would have a valid point.
CK-1 said:Most of the splitters listed in this thread are over kill.....
One thing to keep in mind of the 220/240V electric splitters is cost of operation. I know of an individule that bought one of these and after 4 hours of continueous use, his next monthly electic bill had gone up by $200.
TIFWIW
jeffman3 said:CK-1 said:Most of the splitters listed in this thread are over kill.....
I guess it depends on the size and toughness of the wood you trying to split. I didn't think I would ever need a heavy duty high tonnage splitter, but once I got it, I found that I could take wood that others wouldn't touch because I could split it and they couldn't. If the diameter of the log is under twice the length of the bar on the saw and I can physically move the round to the splitter, I can process it for the stove! I get wood that others leave because it is a big crotch piece, or just to tough for the equipment they have. It all depends on what you want to split if 28 tons is over kill. I find that it is just right for me. I made it grunt good, and I truly believe a lesser splitter wouldn't have done it. Now that wood is in my rack, dry, and waiting for cold weather. I find that the bigger the round the more splits I can get from it, and the less time I spend running the saw. We can fill the truck with splits in half the time (or less) with really big rounds vs. smaller rounds and stove diameter branches.
I read once that if you have to much splitter you may never know it, but if you don't have enough splitter you will find out in short order. I decided to spend a couple hundred more and take anything I can cut and move, and don't feel, at all, that I bought to much splitter. Love this thing! :cheese:
justplain said:One thing to keep in mind of the 220/240V electric splitters is cost of operation. I know of an individule that bought one of these and after 4 hours of continueous use, his next monthly electic bill had gone up by $200.
TIFWIW
This does not validate your argument that the operating cost of an electric log splitter is more expensive than gas. In actuality the price per kilo-watt hour is a few cents for your electrical energy bill compared to the cost per kilo-watt hour of chemical energy (the fuel) of what your gas splitter uses based on price of fuel. Let's not forget either that your gas engine will only be at best 35% efficient so its fuel consumption will be greater than the electrical energy consumption of the electric log splitter.
If you don't believe me then run the math yourself. Look at your energy bill and see how much they charge you per kilo-watt hour. Then find how many kilo-watt hours is in gasoline to find cost per kilo-watt hour.
Anyways, the majority of people will say an electric log splitter lacks portability since you are limited in range of the drop cord which is a true statement and the ones in the hardware stores are underpowered Chinese junk. Also they do not sell the premium ones (with the 3 to 7.5 HP American made motors) in hardware stores. One could also argue the initial cost if the premium versions were available. Those are the only negatives of electric. Everything else is zilch.
I merely stated that anyone considering an electric splitter be aware of the operating costs. $200 for four hours worth of use vs $10 of gas for the same amount of time is fairly significant. You can throw all the math at it you want, but the fact remains most folks would be quite surprised when their electric bill showed up.
Nothing more......nothing less.
Jags said:I'm not an electric splitter guy either, but I am pretty sure you could run a 200HP electric splitter for 4 hours for 200 bucks. Yes, I did say 200HP.
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