I am in my second season of wood burning. Last season was a real learning curve. I had my stove installed in October and, yes, I bought "seasoned wood" from a local vendor. Needless to say, it was an interesting Winter.
Anyway, to be on topic, I bought a 5HP electric/hydraulic splitter which, after the second replacement (third unit) turns out to be a decent machine.
A machine like this obviously has limited capability. Some say to sharpen the wedge. Some say to spray the wedge with Pam cooking spray. I also tried something else which I thought I would share with the other owners of similar splitters.
With the larger/longer/tougher logs I made a shallow (a couple of inches deep) cut at one end of the log with my chain saw. You may want to make two cuts (+) before splitting. The combination of a sharpened edge on the wedge and the "head start" it gets when the sides of the wedge get into the groove the chainsaw makes in the log really creates an advantage. I can cut larger rounds with no problem.
Of course, I always recommend not to exceed the manufacturer's recommended log size limits, but I found that my machine often can't cut up to those limits without the extra advantage this method creates.
Opinions are welcomed!
Anyway, to be on topic, I bought a 5HP electric/hydraulic splitter which, after the second replacement (third unit) turns out to be a decent machine.
A machine like this obviously has limited capability. Some say to sharpen the wedge. Some say to spray the wedge with Pam cooking spray. I also tried something else which I thought I would share with the other owners of similar splitters.
With the larger/longer/tougher logs I made a shallow (a couple of inches deep) cut at one end of the log with my chain saw. You may want to make two cuts (+) before splitting. The combination of a sharpened edge on the wedge and the "head start" it gets when the sides of the wedge get into the groove the chainsaw makes in the log really creates an advantage. I can cut larger rounds with no problem.
Of course, I always recommend not to exceed the manufacturer's recommended log size limits, but I found that my machine often can't cut up to those limits without the extra advantage this method creates.
Opinions are welcomed!
