Accessories for older MTD 25 ton splitter

[ToltingColtAcres]

My trusty splitter died and I was able to get a 25 ton replacement for cheap money while the small engine repair shop works on fixing it.

25 ton is an MTD unit branded as "Yard Machines" which was sold by Lowes about 15 years ago (it's still shown on their web site but says 'currently unavailable').

Does anyone know if there are accessories available, such as a 4-way wedge or larger side wood trays, somewhere?

 

[brenndatomu]

Pics of your particular machine would be helpful

 

[ToltingColtAcres]

 

[qwee]

I have that same vertical shaft B&S engine on an older splitter I bought a couple of months ago. My B&S engine is a little tired. I've started having to use starter fluid. I took the carb off and things were corroded. Anyways, the good news is there are many used vertical shaft motors in the world - from pressure washers and lawnmowers mostly. Lawnmower engine's shafts are too long (3+"). But pressure washer engines are usually the right size (1&7/8").

I just bought a good running Honda GVC engine off a pressure washer for $65. Will it fit? I just unbolted the B&S and the Honda fits. The BS motor has 3 bolt holes, and the Honda has 4 but they line up, so 3 bolts will hold the Honda down. More good news - pressure washer pumps go out before the motors so it is easy to get a vertical shaft motor. One problem on my swap though is the exhaust is going to blast right into one of the hydraulic hoses. I'll make a shield for the hose.

 

[ToltingColtAcres]

I'd be happy if I could find a side tray and a 4-way wedge so processing would go a little easier on my back, until I get my other splitter back. Unfortunately the small engine place is swamped with work and they're saying 6-8 weeks backlog and then it'll depend on what it needs and if they can get the parts.

 

[John Mc]

Larger trays would be very easy to fabricate. That’s something you don’t have the equipment to do yourself, just take it to a local fab shop and tell them what you’re looking for.

A couple of thoughts:

1. If that’s a horizontal/vertical splitter and you plan on actually using it in the vertical mode, make sure that whatever trays you add don’t interfere with flipping it into vertical mode.
2. Consider carefully how big you want to make the trays. It’s great to have a big workspace, but the wider the trays are, the further away you have to stand from the log you are splitting. This can be hard on your back, if it forces you to stand at an awkward distance from the log. I’ve seen where someone made lopsided trays: the tree on the operator side was narrower, allowing the operator to stand closer to the work. The one on the opposite side was larger, allowing for a bigger staging area.
3. Consider whether you’d rather have a cradle, which catches and holds a split piece, or a work table, a large flat surface which may be easier to slide pieces around on.
4. I’ve seen some homemade designs where somebody made a wooden staging table of the right height and just park the splitter next to it. (One design I’ve seen the person remove the existing cradle on that side, so the table could come up very close to the splitter beam. with the right design, you can stage a large number of rounds on this infeed table.

Making your own four-way wedge is tougher to do. The finer points of the design are less obvious. It also takes some top notch welding skills to fabricate one that will hold up. I’ve not seen a lot of them that work well on a splitter with a moving wedge. The design is a more straightforward on splitters where the anvil moves and the wedge is stationary.

 

[brenndatomu]

The best thing you can do to that machine is to abandon that vertial engine setup...go with a cheaper/more common, and larger horizontal engine, buy a new larger pump, bolt it directly to the engine with a common log splitter pump adapter. If you go larger on the engine and pump, it will make that terribly slow machine a good bit faster...spend money on upgrades instead of wasting it on a repair shop to fix what is there now.
As for the trays, there are universal log splitter trays out there that are easily adapted to just about any machine...or just make some.
My 2 cents...

 

[John Mc]

The best thing you can do to that machine is to abandon that vertial engine setup...go with a cheaper/more common, and larger horizontal engine, buy a new larger pump, bolt it directly to the engine with a common log splitter pump adapter. If you go larger on the engine and pump, it will make that terribly slow machine a good bit faster...spend money on upgrades instead of wasting it on a repair shop to fix what is there now.
As for the trays, there are universal log splitter trays out there that are easily adapted to just about any machine...or just make some.
My 2 cents...

I agree the upgrades described make a lot of sense if this was going to be a long-term machine, I thought from one of the OP’s posts that this machine was just to get him by for 6-8 weeks. A new pump and engine on what is supposed to be a temporary splitter that is already running (if I understood his posts correctly) seems as though it might be hard to justify. Certainly worth considering if he’s keeping this long term.

 

[ToltingColtAcres]

this is just a temporary machine until i get my 35 back from the local repair guy. I only paid a couple hundred for it, I don't want to drop a lot into it since I'll either flip it when I get my other machine back or I'll just keep it around as a spare. The wood tray and 4-way wedge are items I have on my 35 which make life a lot easier. I can live without them on this machine in the short term, but I figured I would ask if anyone knew of accessories which were made for it (work smart, not harder) since i'm burning a lot of PTO over the summer which I'll use in part to process my (seemingly) never-shrinking supply of logs.

been to several places locally that sell accessories but they seem designed for specific machines the place sells (e.g. the tractor supply wedges and trays mount to their countryline units but don't match up with the mount points on this machine. same for lowes.

edit: looks like home depot sells a generic steel plate w/ pre-drilled mounting holes for their units (https://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDMAX-34-Log-Table-for-Full-Beam-Log-Splitters-YUS850/316787693) . I ordered it, even if the bolt-holes don't line up I can always drill new ones on my drill press. So one item solved

 

[qwee]

I just started using an old child's desk in place of side cradles. It works fine. It gives me a place to slide wood chunks onto.

 

[brenndatomu]

I just started using an old child's desk in place of side cradles. It works fine. It gives me a place to slide wood chunks onto.
View attachment 339743

I've seen where people have built huge work areas out of lumber/plywood...not attached, just sits "beside" like that desk.