I am interested in a horizontal / vertical splitter for larger rounds. Ideally I'd just keep the splitter in the vertical position, sit on a milk crate and as I split off smaller pieces from a round throw them in the wheelbarrow next to me.
What I want to avoid is having to pick up splits from the ground...
It's like I need a third hand. One to man the control of the splitter, one to hold the round, and one to peel off the splits and chuck them into the wheelbarrow as I chew off slices from the side of the round.
Any tips here? Do you use a foot to keep the round from falling over while your one hand is manning the controls and the other is peeling off splits and throwing them into the wheelbarrow? Thx.
Oh boy! Yes I think perhaps I can help you out a bit here. First, congratulations on the splitter. MTD has made some good ones. Ours is older than your's and it has basically been trouble free. Ours also has a 5 hp B&S rather than the 5.5 yours has. The two are also built quite a bit different too as MTD attempted to save some dollars when building it. Not sure if they did it right or not but they did keep the cost down. Here is what our splitter looks like:
So now let's get to the nitty gritty on splitting wood.
1. It would advisable for you to put some oil on that beam occasionally and for sure before you put it away for a long time. Use an oil can and just sort of draw a straight line 2 or 3 times across the beam and then run the wedge out all the way and then retract it. But even before you retract the wedge, you might also consider running just a thin line of oil behind the wedge to further spread it over the beam. Note: don't use grease here; use oil.
2. You mentioned hauling the trailer at highway speeds.
Whoa! I would not advise doing that at all. I've seen this done only once and could hardly believe my eyes. This guy had to be going 65 mph with the splitter happily bouncing away behind his truck. I don't think he could even see it in his mirrors so had no idea how it was towing. Nope. These things are not designed for highway speeds.
3. The trend is for the newer splitters to not have a throttle. I hate that. First, I hate starting an engine and running it at full throttle right away. Let it warm a minute or so at least. Second, before shutting down, I do the reverse. Slow the engine, then drop the beam from vertical to horizontal. If this is the last it is to be used for some time then go through the oiling and leave the engine on slow speed while doing this. Then shut it off.
4. You might want to consider removing the front stand and replacing it with one like is used on boat trailers. Consider buying one with 2 wheels rather than a single wheel (wish I had done that!). With 2 wheels it might would be easier moving the splitter on grass and/or unlevel ground.
5. Your splitter is very poorly designed for horizontal splitting. Look at the video and take notice of your stance. The wheel is in your way so you have to bend forward and you also have to make a long reach to hold the log on the beam. I can guarantee you that I would last at best about 5 minutes if splitting had to be done that way.
6. Also while splitting horizontally, you were not sure which side of the log you wanted to grab hold of as the log split. You first held one side but then changed your mind and went to the other side. This shows how unsure of yourself you are and I do not mean this to be putting you down but only pointing out a way for you to improve.
7. In the video you mention not allowing the wedge to go all the way back up and you did fine one time. However, you forgot after that and did let the wedge go all the way. If you just practice doing it a few times it will become a reflex and you won't even think about it. In the video you were handling the splits and simply forgot about the wedge. Again, it can become a habit quickly and you'll do it without thinking very soon and this will save time. However, if you want a little breather, then that is okay too.
Now let's go to the vertical mode:
8. First is sitting. You used a log which is fine but whatever you use, place it directly behind the splitter and not off to the side. Also, as you were doing will work but your backside might get a bit sore before you are finished. A pad of some sort will be a big help to you on this. As you know, I use a milk crate or something similar because at that height it makes moving the larger pieces much easier. I can place both elbows on my thighs and in that way use leverage rather than muscle power to lift and/or turn the logs.
9. You might consider when you bring wood home, rather than just throwing it into a heap, stack it a little bit. You do not have to be particular with the stacking (at least I don't at this point) but if you stack it, this will save you a lot of work and time later when the splitting begins. Here is one picture that was taken showing our splitter next to the stack.
10. Notice that the wood stack is on the left and the splits are on the right (looking from behind the splitter). This works well and can be another time saver. One thing I do many times is while the wedge is going through the splits, naturally the right hand is on the lever so the left hand can be used to reach for the next log. I'll even do this with the hookeroon (or pickeroon). Also, with the logs on the left, as you do the splitting you occasionally will move the splitter ahead a few feet so that you don't have to over-reach for the logs. This is a quick and easy task so it won't really cut into your splitting time at all. It will save time instead.
11. Now we'll go to the point where you began to split the log vertically. You did sit after placing the log on the splitter. Quite naturally I would have been sitting even to do this. But wait! As the wedge had just started into the log, the wedge itself had only went in a couple inches, you suddenly raise from the sitting position....to help the splitter! Why do we have hydraulic splitters if they need help in that way? It does remind me of a video I once saw on youtube and the guy was showing the art of using a hydraulic splitter. I could hardly believe just how much work he was doing and wondered why he even bought a splitter. Let the machine do the work!
12. Also at that point you had the words on the screen about using the handle control to decrease cycle time. Good point indeed! However, you did that a couple times then forgot about it and let the wedge go all the way up. Again, practice and it will become a habit and you won't find that wedge all the way up when you get the next log on. It will actually become a reflex.
13. One more time, view that video again and pay particular attention to how your body moves. Then the next time you split, keep this in mind and remember the point of letting the machine do the work. While it is working, relax! Sit down! There was no need to lift your butt off that log and there was no need to pry that split apart. Oh you do have to once in a while but not until the splitter has done all it could. While it is working, you should not be. In addition, once you raised your backside off that log, you forgot the log was there and was on your feet for the rest of the splitting. Sit! Relax!
While I was typing this, I was interrupted when some company came so I sort of lost my concentration and may have left out some points. For sure I goofed and erased something that I should not have and the Undo did not undo so it was lost. I do not remember what it was either. This sort of thing happens as one ages.... Yes, I hate it.
I will view the video again later after looking over some of the other posts so may chime in here again.
Hopefully this has helped not only you Bster13, but others who are just starting to use a hydraulic splitter. In addition, I've already asked my wife if she would assist me in taking a video while I split some wood. I won't promise it will get done tomorrow but will do it as soon as possible. Then I will invite all to critique me and hopefully show me a few new twists. Warning; trying to convert me to splitting horizontally will not be helping me!
Btw, just in case I forgot to mention this, SIT! RELAX! Let the machine do most of the work; at least the hard part.
