2 Questions...

[njtomatoguy]

1. How do I clean the exterior of my steel stove properly. I bubbled over the steamer, and it left a rust mark. It has drywall dust, regular dust, etc. I was thinking of firing it up and wiping it with a damp rag while hot, wearing welding gloves, of course.

2. My recent huge score puts me 2 yrs out. This oak is an absolute bastard to split. It's stoppping the Ryobi. Should I let it "season" in the yard on a rack for the winter, to let it dry out some?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[budman]

1. How do I clean the exterior of my steel stove properly. I bubbled over the steamer, and it left a rust mark. It has drywall dust, regular dust, etc. I was thinking of firing it up and wiping it with a damp rag while hot, wearing welding gloves, of course.

2. My recent huge score puts me 2 yrs out. This oak is an absolute bastard to split. It's stoppping the Ryobi. Should I let it "season" in the yard on a rack for the winter, to let it dry out some?

Thanks,
Bob

Sand paper & paint & biger splitter :lol:

 

[njtomatoguy]

Budman- Thanks- I thought of a paint job, but the company is coming at 8 am tomorrow. As for the bigger splitter, my buddy offered me his "real" splitter whenever I was ready...

Everybody gotta be a comedian..

Seriously, thanks for the reply.

Bob

 

[MrGriz]

1. When I clean the glass on mine, I use a solution of hot water and vinegar. I'll usually wipe down the outside with that when I clean the glass. I do dry everything with a soft towel. You may need something a bit more aggressive to take care of the rust.

2. Think bigger splitter.

 

[njtomatoguy]

Thanks Griz,
I'll try anything right now. It's Mom and Dad toorrow. Gotta have it together for the parents!!
My buddy is very generous, and I have used his splitter at his house splitting his wood just for fun, but I HATE to borrow stuff.
Bob

 

[northwinds]

Thanks Griz,
I'll try anything right now. It's Mom and Dad toorrow. Gotta have it together for the parents!!
My buddy is very generous, and I have used his splitter at his house splitting his wood just for fun, but I HATE to borrow stuff.
Bob

I'm working on an oak that's only a bit smaller than the one you posted. I found it impossible to hand split in
the usual way--starting in the middle just gashes the center with deep, soft cuts. The wood grenade
disappeared in the middle of the round without effect and then wouldn't advance any further. However, I've
been able to split even the biggest rounds with my maul by working around the edges of the round. After
taking out slices all the way around, the center becomes "manageable". I thought that I was going to have
to wait a few months, but the big pile of rounds is starting to diminish, and the cords of wood are beginning to
pile up on pallets.

 

[Harley]

For a steel or cast iron stove, as everyone pointed out... it really should be a matter of a quick sanding - steel wool, wire brush, etc. to take out the rust and then touch up with some high temp. paint. I would usually do that as part of the cleaning each year, just to get it all done at one time (sorry - assuming it's black painted). I don't think the firing up and wiping is going to get it really cleaned up. Generally, what I would do after wire brushing is wipe the stove down with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol - it give you some moisture to pick up all of the dust on the rag and evaporates quickly and doesn't promote more rust on the bare metal. Then a quick shot of paint and the stove is looking "fresh" again.

On the big 'ole rounds of Oak... since you are 2 years out - I don't think it would hurt by stacking them up on the rack and let them dry out a little through the winter. By then, even though they didn't dry a lot, there should be some good cracks developing in them where the Ryobi might be up to the task. If not... then you could work on them with a maul and wedge to at least pop them in 1/2 - then you should be fine with your splitter. If that doesn't work by next spring - have your buddy bring his splitter over and at least bust them up a little bit. That was a good score on the scrounging... eventually those bigger ones will submit.

(Unless it's ELM... just had to throw that in for Warren)

 

[babalu87]

Either work the edges or let is sit a week or two, a crack may show you the weakest link.

A tea pot will hide that rust spot

 

[myzamboni]

Are your rounds longer than what the splitter is rated for? Try shorter rounds and see if the Ryobi goes through them.

 

[karl]

I dont know. I have a 5 ton splitter from Northern and it doesn't like oak. Also, I heard that oak split easier wet.

 

[jpl1nh]

Thanks Griz,
I'll try anything right now. It's Mom and Dad toorrow. Gotta have it together for the parents!!
My buddy is very generous, and I have used his splitter at his house splitting his wood just for fun, but I HATE to borrow stuff.
Bob

I'm working on an oak that's only a bit smaller than the one you posted. I found it impossible to hand split in
the usual way--starting in the middle just gashes the center with deep, soft cuts. The wood grenade
disappeared in the middle of the round without effect and then wouldn't advance any further. However, I've
been able to split even the biggest rounds with my maul by working around the edges of the round. After
taking out slices all the way around, the center becomes "manageable". I thought that I was going to have
to wait a few months, but the big pile of rounds is starting to diminish, and the cords of wood are beginning to
pile up on pallets.

I always split by hand and I totally agree with Northwinds. Work the edges and its not that hard from there. Probably work with a splitter too.

 

[Gooserider]

I just had a friend loan me his gas splitter - not sure just what size it is, but probably in the 20-30 ton range (used an 8hp Honda motor, mostly at fast idle). I found that my relatively green oak rounds split very easily with it, the pump rarely shifted to low, or only did for a moment, but I needed a full stroke on the ram to separate the two parts. The seasoned OAK rounds that had been cut for a year or two were more "explosive" - they would resist splitting and make the pump shift into low and really dig for a few seconds, then pop apart very cleanly. (This was on fairly "clean" rounds, gnarly stuff all bets were off)

However I will say I LIKE big splitters - I didn't find Elk's electric unit that impressive (sorry Elk!) it was OK but didn't seem that fantastic, but this unit I borrowed let me do all the remaining wood I had in about 10-12 hours, including all the gnarly stuff I was not touching with the hand splitting tools, my elm, etc. After I finish stacking and raking up the sawdust in the log pile area, I'm going to need another load of log length to keep me busy and get a head start on next year's shed stuffing.

Gooserider

 

[njtomatoguy]

Babalu- Great minds think alike- steamer covered the rust.

Thanks for all the ideas on the oak guys. My new plan is to split everything else, stack that, then just drag the monster oak rounds to the rack. Only problem with that is I also have a bunch of elm on the rack, so I'm moving everything twice. I was going to try taking one round and whacking it into smaller pieces with the chainsaw. Then I'll have oak chunks, not nice long splits.

 

[Bill]

When splitting with an ax I like to wait until the wood is frozen, seems to split better. You can also rip the big rounds in half with a chain saw and then try splitting.

 

[elkimmeg]

Goose how can you call my splitter wimpy?

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/elkimmeg/?action=view&current=esaysplit.jpg

 

[jpl1nh]

Goose how can you call my splitter wimpy?

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/elkimmeg/?action=view&current=esaysplit.jpg

BUT ELK it doesn't make a whole lotta NOISE like a "big" splitter does, so it MUST be wimpy :lol:

 

[budman]

Goose how can you call my splitter wimpy?

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/elkimmeg/?action=view&current=esaysplit.jpg

OH SH**.

 

[jpl1nh]

Goose how can you call my splitter wimpy?

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/elkimmeg/?action=view&current=esaysplit.jpg

BUT ELK it doesn't make a whole lotta NOISE like a "big" splitter does, so it MUST be wimpy :lol:

Doahhh!! didn't check out the link before I posted Guess it DOES mak a lotta noise! Yeah Goose!! call Elks splitter wimpy!! :red:

 

[Gooserider]

Goose how can you call my splitter wimpy?

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/elkimmeg/?action=view&current=esaysplit.jpg

That one isn't wimpy, but it's also not the one you brought to the Hearth Party.... The one you brought to the party was nice as electric splitters go, but I think my preference is for a gas unit. Your unit required being fussy about how one positioned the log in order to make it split, and otherwise seemed a bit limited on what it could do.

The one I borrowed went through almost everything I had - there was ONE chunk I couldn't get through - Oak and about a 4-5 way crotch, and even that I was able to get a bunch of small splits and chunks off of. 90% of the time I had the engine running at a fast idle, so I wasn't even pushing it that hard. But I was also doing some big rounds, and mostly splitting them close to down the middle, with very few repositions needed.

I also like a vertical split setup as it seems like less work to get the rounds into place. As I said, nothing wrong with the small electrics, but I figure if I'm going to spend money for a splitter (which I don't see happening any time soon) I'm going to want a bigger unit, something in the 20-30 ton range.

Gooserider

 

[MrGriz]

IMO comparing an electric splitter to a gas powered splitter is apples to oranges.

Electric splitters do have their stong points:
Quiet
No fumes or exhaust
No need to carry fuel / oil
Light weight

And their weak points:
Lack of power
Must have power source close by
Horizontal operation only (?)
Smaller log capacity

Conversely, gas splitters have their strong points:
Much more splitting power
Horizontal / Vertical operation (on many models)
Larger log capacity (again most models)
Much more portable (don't need a close power source)

and weak ponts:
Louder
Exhaust / fumes
Need to carry gas / oil
Has an engine to maintain

It's just like the wood / pellet debate. Pros and cons for each, you just need to select the one that fits your situation the best.

Just my .02

 

[fbelec]

hey tomatoguy

i just split a cord of oak fresh cut with a non hydaulic splitter and they just popped apart
try it again with your splitter but before you do sharpen up the splitters wedge and use
some spray wax or the like on the wedge, that made a whole lot of differents with my tuff stuff.

 

[fbelec]

for got to say that the splits were 18 to 20 in rounds. the spray works great.

 

[Gooserider]

IMO comparing an electric splitter to a gas powered splitter is apples to oranges.

Electric splitters do have their stong points:
Quiet
No fumes or exhaust
No need to carry fuel / oil
Light weight

And their weak points:
Lack of power
Must have power source close by
Horizontal operation only (?)
Smaller log capacity

Conversely, gas splitters have their strong points:
Much more splitting power
Horizontal / Vertical operation (on many models)
Larger log capacity (again most models)
Much more portable (don't need a close power source)

and weak ponts:
Louder
Exhaust / fumes
Need to carry gas / oil
Has an engine to maintain

It's just like the wood / pellet debate. Pros and cons for each, you just need to select the one that fits your situation the best.

Just my .02

I would totally agree Mr G! They are different tools for different functions in many ways. I think the electrics would be fine for light splitting such as making kindling, or when you have to work inside for some reason. They might make a good second splitter. However IMHO if you need to be able to handle whatever the wood gods send in your direction, a gas splitter is the way to go.

Gooserider