Gooserider
Mod Emeritus
I actually don't see a slow cycle time as a safety feature - if anything I think it's a RISK factor...
I help a friend with his wood business, and do a lot of splitting, some using a 20-ton MTD with a ~15 second cycle time, and some using a Super-Split flywheel inertial splitter with a 2-3 second cycle time... My personal 30-ton HF unit also has about a 15 second cycle.
When I'm on the slow machine (and it's still slow, even when short cycling, which I do most of the time) I have plenty of time to zone out and start thinking about other things, and not pay all that much attention to what I'm doing - and sometimes try doing last second position shifts on the wood, since I have plenty of time to work in while waiting for the wedge....
OTOH, the Super-Split is scary-fast, and you are pretty much forced to stay focused on the task at hand, as you don't have TIME to start thinking about other stuff before the cycle is finished and you have to start setting up for the next split...
I suspect if I had a 20-second cycle machine, I'd be falling asleep at the lever waiting for it...
Another item for consideration, and it's a mod that I've occasionally considered trying - All the TSC / Huskee machines I've seen have had "clevis mount" cylinders - where you had a full length beam with the cylinder attaching by a clevis mount at the the cylinder end, and by the moving wedge / pusher mount at the piston end... At least some of the MTD machines I've seen use a "trunnion mount" cylnder where the cylinder attaches by some "ears" that are welded to the base of the cylinder next to the rod, and the beam is that much shorter... The clevis mount is very much an "industry standard" and if you should ever develop a problem with the cylinder, it is something that just about any supplier can sell you a replacement instantly, and in easily interchangeable larger and smaller sizes. OTOH, the trunnion mounts are specialty items - you can only get them from the equipment maker, and probably will be limited to just the size that came on the machine...
Since I have a 30 ton, with an appropriately matched cylinder and pump - it means I still get the 15 second cycle time, because I have a 16gpm pump... I have found that the 30 ton capacity is not really all that useful - my pressure gage says I almost never even go over 2,000psi working pressure when splitting - and am sure I could do just fine with a 20-ton capacity... For a couple hundred dollars, and a few hours work, It would not be hard for me to replace my clevis mount 5" cylinder with a 4" one - this would drop my capacity to 20 tons, but probably also get me down into the 8-10 second cycle time... The idea is tempting....
Gooserider
I help a friend with his wood business, and do a lot of splitting, some using a 20-ton MTD with a ~15 second cycle time, and some using a Super-Split flywheel inertial splitter with a 2-3 second cycle time... My personal 30-ton HF unit also has about a 15 second cycle.
When I'm on the slow machine (and it's still slow, even when short cycling, which I do most of the time) I have plenty of time to zone out and start thinking about other things, and not pay all that much attention to what I'm doing - and sometimes try doing last second position shifts on the wood, since I have plenty of time to work in while waiting for the wedge....
OTOH, the Super-Split is scary-fast, and you are pretty much forced to stay focused on the task at hand, as you don't have TIME to start thinking about other stuff before the cycle is finished and you have to start setting up for the next split...
I suspect if I had a 20-second cycle machine, I'd be falling asleep at the lever waiting for it...
Another item for consideration, and it's a mod that I've occasionally considered trying - All the TSC / Huskee machines I've seen have had "clevis mount" cylinders - where you had a full length beam with the cylinder attaching by a clevis mount at the the cylinder end, and by the moving wedge / pusher mount at the piston end... At least some of the MTD machines I've seen use a "trunnion mount" cylnder where the cylinder attaches by some "ears" that are welded to the base of the cylinder next to the rod, and the beam is that much shorter... The clevis mount is very much an "industry standard" and if you should ever develop a problem with the cylinder, it is something that just about any supplier can sell you a replacement instantly, and in easily interchangeable larger and smaller sizes. OTOH, the trunnion mounts are specialty items - you can only get them from the equipment maker, and probably will be limited to just the size that came on the machine...
Since I have a 30 ton, with an appropriately matched cylinder and pump - it means I still get the 15 second cycle time, because I have a 16gpm pump... I have found that the 30 ton capacity is not really all that useful - my pressure gage says I almost never even go over 2,000psi working pressure when splitting - and am sure I could do just fine with a 20-ton capacity... For a couple hundred dollars, and a few hours work, It would not be hard for me to replace my clevis mount 5" cylinder with a 4" one - this would drop my capacity to 20 tons, but probably also get me down into the 8-10 second cycle time... The idea is tempting....
Gooserider
