Splitfire Splitter rented for the weekend
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DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
So, where do you live? How did it work? How long was the defined rental period? How much did it cost? Thanks...
We live in Western Manitoba, straight North of Rugby, North Dakota.
The splitter rents for $75 Canadian per day but when you book it for a weekend they only charge you for one day. I took the bonus route of booking it over Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend (Columbus Day for the USA).
The splitter worked incredibly well when there were two of us and the best was three people 2 feeding and unloading while one person worked the hydraulic lever. For one person it is a but frustrating because there is no lock out on the handle to return the splitter head because it splits both ways.
This means that for one person a one way splitter would be a better use of time and energy.
The four way head performed well but on a couple of nasty "unsplittable pieces we had to take a second run at them. Not one piece of wood got stuck on the splitter nor did we find a single piece that we could not split.
The splitter rents for $75 Canadian per day but when you book it for a weekend they only charge you for one day. I took the bonus route of booking it over Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend (Columbus Day for the USA).
The splitter worked incredibly well when there were two of us and the best was three people 2 feeding and unloading while one person worked the hydraulic lever. For one person it is a but frustrating because there is no lock out on the handle to return the splitter head because it splits both ways.
This means that for one person a one way splitter would be a better use of time and energy.
The four way head performed well but on a couple of nasty "unsplittable pieces we had to take a second run at them. Not one piece of wood got stuck on the splitter nor did we find a single piece that we could not split.
SolarAndWood
Minister of Fire
The largest rounds we ran through the splitfire were 32 inches. We then took each quarter and resplit them on anything that was too big for our stove.
We like our splits relatively small, in part because we have never been far enough ahead for larger splits to season. Now that we are a year ahead these should be fine.
We like our splits relatively small, in part because we have never been far enough ahead for larger splits to season. Now that we are a year ahead these should be fine.
Adios Pantalones
Minister of Fire
When I've seen films of this I worried about safety stuff- any worries in operation? Pretty impressive productivity with it- I'll say that
SolarAndWood
Minister of Fire
Did you have to run the wedge all the way through the bigger rounds before they fell apart? I am curious as to how much of a productivity improvement I would get with a 4 or 6 way. Right now, I rarely have to go more than a few inches into the round before it splits.
[quote author="lowroadacres" date="1286951003"]I posted a lot more pics in my woodshed thread about thanksgiving weekend but for the gear head in all of us checkout this beautiful piece of machinery we rented for the weekend.[/quote ] I'm happy with my splitfire fire unit as well. Bought it two years ago, 4 way wedge and single wedge too. Thought I'd miss my supersplit, no way. Log lift too makes a great staging area too. Glad I bought it. I can even lift the tung and wheel it around which makes it handy.
Concerning safety I treat a splitter the same as any other tool. Communicate clearly with the people with whom you are working, keep hand clear of moving parts and take proper breaks so fatigue doesn't become a factor.
As far as volume goes this machine can churn it out pretty much as fast as one's capabilities to keep it loaded.
One area where this rental unit is a bit frustrating is the tongue weight makes it hard to move around easily for one operator. In many ways it is a two or three person machine.
If I could have put more bodies in the mix without taking away everyone's long weekend we could have doubled the production on the weekend. I would love to put this machine to its maximum on a semi load of log length wood. If one had three of my friends on chainsaws and three people on the splitter, and and a "wood elevator" to get the wood piled up away from the splitter a person could scream through a huge load of wood in a weekend. If I were running a firewood sales operation this machine could definitely be a part of it.
At the same time, pacing one's self, cutting, splitting, loading, hauling a quarter cord load at a time over the course of time one might be further ahead.
Small bite sized chunks are often the best way to do things. In my case I have been blessed this year with some large scores of wood delivered right to my home so we needed to do a weekend like this.
With the question of whether one needs to run the splitter head right through the wood it depends on the wood. The smaller less knotty rounds only needed a touch from the splitter head while the largest knotty ones need the head to be run right through.
It also depends on the wood variety.
As far as volume goes this machine can churn it out pretty much as fast as one's capabilities to keep it loaded.
One area where this rental unit is a bit frustrating is the tongue weight makes it hard to move around easily for one operator. In many ways it is a two or three person machine.
If I could have put more bodies in the mix without taking away everyone's long weekend we could have doubled the production on the weekend. I would love to put this machine to its maximum on a semi load of log length wood. If one had three of my friends on chainsaws and three people on the splitter, and and a "wood elevator" to get the wood piled up away from the splitter a person could scream through a huge load of wood in a weekend. If I were running a firewood sales operation this machine could definitely be a part of it.
At the same time, pacing one's self, cutting, splitting, loading, hauling a quarter cord load at a time over the course of time one might be further ahead.
Small bite sized chunks are often the best way to do things. In my case I have been blessed this year with some large scores of wood delivered right to my home so we needed to do a weekend like this.
With the question of whether one needs to run the splitter head right through the wood it depends on the wood. The smaller less knotty rounds only needed a touch from the splitter head while the largest knotty ones need the head to be run right through.
It also depends on the wood variety.
Did you find any difficulty with the "return" split? Did it want to drop splits on your feet? I have looked at this design as well as wedge on ram designs only to see that as a problem. I have never run one, so I really don't know. I kinda like the wedge at the end of the beam so I can push the splits off the end. So - how are the tootsies?
I have the 30 inch model, stuff on the return usually stays right on the side ramps built onto the splitter. I bought the 30 inch stroke model for a Paxo 60 gasification boiler I use to have at another house. Now back to a woodstove in the house I'm in now, that takes 24 inch pieces of wood. What's nice for me, with the long stroke, on 24 in pieces I can start a split, have it pop apart and still have enough room on the return to drop in another 24 in block without moving the ram back to take up the 6 inches of difference. So basically it gives me alot of working room and really doesn't slow me down. It's been a great splitter. Just added a tiny tach and hour meter when it was brand new.Jags said:
Funny thing. We didn't have any splits hit the feet. Having never used a splitter with the wedge on the end I can only imagine that it might be easier to work your way down a pile of wood and leave a long pile as you move the splitter along the way.
I just keep a wagon along side my splitter and throw the wood in as I split it, then bring it to my wood racks.lowroadacres said:
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