Tractor mounted log splitters......any good?

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Does anyone have any info or have used a tractor mounted log splitter?

There are a few 16 ton ones on e-bay for $395.00 that use the tractors existing hydraulics and simply hook up to the 3-pt connection.

Here is a link to one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Log-Splitter-3-...6QQihZ018QQcategoryZ29520QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Harley]

"This unit is built with a shorter stroke cylinder to give you the speed when your tractor has a GPM flow of less than 10 GPM"

Is the only thing that would give me a cause for concern. It may be capable of holding a 20" log, but it doesn't really say how far out the ram extends, if I read that right.

 

[Gooserider]

The description said it had a 3.5" x 18" cylinder - as I recall my usual specification rules, the size spec on a hydraulic cylinder is normally the piston diameter by the extension distance, not the overall size of the cylinder. Thus if the unit is supposed to handle a 20" log, then it should be able to run the ram down to within 2-3" of the wedge, which should be plenty to pop most anything except maybe elm...

However, this is E-bay, so I'd probably ask to make sure...

I did notice that this unit has a fixed wedge and a moving base pad, while a lot of other splitters I've seen have a fixed base and a moving wedge - is there any reason to prefer one over the other?

Also I'm a bit confused Mr S-H - a while back you said you didn't want a tractor mount splitter because you didn't want to have to run the tractor motor to split wood? Why the apparent change of heart?

Gooserider

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

Also I'm a bit confused Mr S-H - a while back you said you didn't want a tractor mount splitter because you didn't want to have to run the tractor motor to split wood? Why the apparent change of heart?

Gooserider

Good memory Goose as I did say that. apparantly I did not realize that keepeing my tractor at just over idle speeds was fast enough to run the splitter. I was under the impression from other posts that some tractors may have to keep the rpm's way up on the tractor in order to run the hydraulics fast enough. I was'nt sure if my MF 30e skip loaders pump gpm's were fast enough...(11gpm+). It turns out that my tractors pump is somewhere around 21gpm so it will be plenty fast enough to run any splitter.

Since you inquired about my splitter situation, I must say that I just purchased the Northern Tools 5.5 ton elcectric log splitter. While on the surface this seems to be a toy (and it very well may be), we only have pine up here and they are not that large. Usually around 8-10 inches in diam, occassionally 12. Anything more than what I bought (for $239.00 on sale now) would most likely just be overkill as all we have is smaller-soft pine.

I have not received the splitter yet as I just ordered it last week. I'll do a post on it after I try it out. I'm sure everyone will wait with baited breath for that one!!

 

[Gooserider]

That sounds like a reasonable choice, as your pines shouldn't be that hard to split, at least as long as they are reasonably free from knots - I've seen some posts saying that some of the knotty pines were almost as bad as elm, but more because they wouldn't split into straight stackable peices than because they wouldn't pop. It also sounds like you won't need to split all that much, though you'll need to drop a lot of trees to get the volume up.

You will want to burn big splits as much as you can to keep your average temps down and increase your burn times, so I'd say that you probably shouldn't split anything below about 5-6" diameter. That's my cutoff point even with hardwood (I cut and burn down to about an inch, but don't split the small stuff...) Even a 12" log I'd probably only go for about a four way split.

Hopefully the Northern splitter will do the job, if it does, the price is right.

Gooserider

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

That sounds like a reasonable choice, as your pines shouldn't be that hard to split, Hopefully the Northern splitter will do the job, if it does, the price is right.

Gooserider

Thats what I thought and for $239.00 how could I go wrong?. I like to buy really good tools once (which the little Northern tool 5.5 ton spliiter was never intended to be), so if I end up having to split a lot of wood every year, I may purchase a *real* spliiter. Right now I kind of have my eye on the Super-Split flywheel spliiter. It seems to be very capable and extremely fast. I believe its the fastest available splitter on the market and is good for anything other than huge rounds (which we don't have).

 

[Gooserider]

I've seen good reports on the Super-Splitter, but I'm not sure I like it from a safety standpoint - it seems a bit of a "bear trap" in that you can't abort a cycle the way you can with a hydraulic unit. The fast cycle time is nice, but I'd rather have something where you can say "oops" and reverse the ram if need be.

I've seen occasions where it is necessary to stabilize a log on the splitter beam by hand holding it, especially while starting the cycle. A hydraulic unit allows this and still lets you get out of the way during the few seconds it takes the ram to cycle. The SS seems like it would be to fast from the descriptions I've seen.

(Note that I only know about the SS from the descriptions and photos I've seen here and on it's website, I've never met one in person...)

Gooserider

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

Goose:

I copied this from the Super-split web site. Apparantly, it does have a manual lever that you must activate first to engage the splitter, and it can be stopped at any time.

What do you think?

The Super Split® Principle
After power is turned on (either gas or electric), the kinetic energy is stored in two revolving flywheels. These flywheels are firmly secured to a one-piece pinion gear. Because of the flywheel weight and RPM, being mounted on ball bearings and secured to the frame, the pinion gear has tremendous power advantage.

To transmit power from pinion gear to log, a rack gear is engaged by a cam-lock method (shown above). The rack gear, now fully engaged and locked in the pinion gear, moves out with a 12 to 24 ton force. At the end of the full 24" stroke, the rack being spring loaded upward and backward disengages the cam lock and immediately returns to start position.

For safety, SUPER SPLIT® is a semi-automatic machine. This means every cycle must be manually activated, but after activation will complete a full cycle. The rack, however, can at any time be returned by tapping down on operating handle. The flywheel will stall on overload. Several blows may be made to drive through any type of wood grain. Flywheel recovery time is about 1/2 second. If you have ever used a rack type arbor press or swung a heavy maul, you can easily see why the SUPER SPLIT® principle works so well.

 

[kellog]

Mr SH,

see the following thread (post 32) for a review of the Supersplitter.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/7603/P30/

 

[Hogwildz]

I personally used a Super Split for 8 yrs while landscaping/firewood etc. Never, EVER had a mishap. Mr. H is correct. It has a "T" handle lever that you pull up on to engage the ram. At any time you can push the handle back down to instantly abort the ram from proceeding any further out, and it just returns back to start position via springs. Fastest splitter I ever used. And still have my ponytail, hands, fingers, toes etc. Once your used to its cycle you can split alot of wood, seriously fast.
Also, I had split some serious rounds with one. 24"ers were not a problem. Red/white oak, maple hardwoods etc. Its a serious splitter, costs a bit, but if you have the cash well worth it.

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

Thanks for the link Kellog. I really impressed with what I have read about the Super-Split. I had just purchase a Northern tool 5.5 ton electric splitter just to get me going while I actually start doing research on a *real* splitter. It will depend on how much wood I burn a season as I have never burned wood before and I have no idea how much we may consume.

 

[begreen]

I am guessing 4-5 cords to start with. But it will depend on how much the gas furnace is relied on for backup and how well the house retains daytime sun warmth.

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

BeGreen:

Our house and location is very cold. Even though this time of year, Phoenix AZ can be near 120*, it gets below freezing here at night very often...(and yes, I mean now in the middle of june!) We live in one of the coldest towns in the country (in the summer) where the overnight lows dip into the twenties but the daytime is around 75* or so.

The nice part is that the winters are extremelly mild...(50-60* daytime temps very often!). Snow does not last long, only a day or two. You see, we live on top of a mountain in the middle of the desert at nearly 8000 feet so we get the nice cool temps in the summer and very mild winters.