3 pt. wood splitters

Are 3pt wood splitters any good? I allready have a tractor or am I better off to get one with a motor and on a transport.What do you think?

Depends a lot on how many gpm your tractor is rated for. Too low = too slow.

All I've ever seen are horizontal only which makes big rounds a pain....literally.

I have one and it does a nice job for me. I was able to buy mine used from a friend that was upgrading to run a splitter off his skid steer and he made me a pretty good deal I couldn't pass up.

I usually split by myself so for one person operation it works well - not too slow, not too fast. Mine also can go vertical and I have done this for big rounds.

Since buying my Fiskars X27, I pretty much do all my splitting by hand except for the reject pile of knarly stuff. I do this with the 3 pt splitter when the pile gets big enough. I enjoy splitting by hand plus I find most of my splitting is done in small increments. Being able to grab the Fiskars and head out for a short period is faster for me rather than firing up the tractor and taking off one attachment (winter = rear blade) and hooking up the splitter.

As mentioned, you need to add the cost of a PTO pump to get reasonable cycle times if your hydraulic flow (gpm) is too low. At that point you're in the price territory of a nice tow-behind splitter. Also, you're limited to running your splitter to wherever your tractor is.

The 3-pt splitters make sense for some folks, but not for me.

Not my first choice but I have split a lot of wood with mine and have all of $150 into it. My pump is just under 9 gpm and isn't the end of the world for cycle time especially when splitting stuff you can short stroke.

If you've got a 50HP tractor... with a big hydro pump on board... then a 3 point splitter makes sense..... if you take my 33SHP JD1050.... with it's 7.5 gpm 1800 PSI pump... then it really makes no sense. Which is why I've got a tow-behind splitter...

What's the tractor? That's usually the most important part of the decision. One that taps into your tractor's hydraulic system is the least expensive and a good option if you've got the flow/pressure to make it go. One that runs off a PTO pump is better for smaller tractors but often just as expensive as a self-powered option. Often if you've got a big enough tractor to run the splitter off the hydraulics, it won't be very fuel efficient compared to a self-powered unit.

I've seen both horizontal only, vertical only, and convertible type units. Pick your poison.

The tractor has 60 hp. and has a add on hydraulic system on it.I am not sure of the gpm but it is alot faster than the old one that came with the tractor.The splitter I am looking at the beam will sit level with the ground or raise up for the smaller stuff. I dont have any splitter experience so just looking for suggestions.How long does a gallon of fuel on a self powered unit?

Mine will run 3+ hours flat out. Drop the throttle to 3/4 and it goes a lot longer.

I have a tractor(75hp). I prefer a splitter with it's own motor, for all the reasons pointed out above.

Hi - A relation of mine got an inexpensive 3 Point set up from China recently. Once He read the instructions it ran pretty well. It has the ability to split vertical ; )

The vertical feature came in really handy because he injured his hand and it was vertical only all Winter. He rarely asks for help so I was more than willing to pitch in. He had me cutting and loading pretty much all the while. No waiting around for the splitter. We're usin large 4WD tractors with plenty of pump capacity.

ATB,
Mike

I have a tractor as well and bought the tow behind with its own motor. Much easier to use and move around, and I can pull it around with my little mower when the ground is a little softer. Doesn't tear up the yard as much. Also I take it out and split some for friends at their places. Much easier to hook up splitter then load tractor and pull it over.

I would think the fuel savings and impractical nature of having to run a farm tractor every time you want to use the splitter would make a stand alone unit more attractive. How much fuel does a farm tractor use per hour running a splitter? Is there a concern of putting extra hours on the farm tractor? If you can find a used one (three point) cheap, it may pay off. The stand a lone units are in short supply used.