Author Topic: $7958 for a firewood processor ! (Read 18450 times)

genesis5521 · « **on:** December 21, 2009, 08:49:15 pm »

I just found these two pretty recent post on the internet for a $7958 ($8400 Canadian dollars) firewood processor. This processor is not a heavy duty, high volume unit. But for $7958 US dollars (plus the cost of the 4-way wedge and hydraulic log lift which are accessories), this is the cheapest processor I've found. It eliminates all of the lifting and bucking, and lifting, and lifting again, which is what I do now. This thing doesn't cost much more than a full blown splitter with all the goodies, and they only do the splitting, whereas this unit loads the logs, bucks the logs, and splits the rounds, without any lifting. It will do up to 16 inch diameter wood. I don't think I've ever received logs that big when I order a full trailer of 8 foot logs. I burn 5 full cords a year, and like to keep a three year supply on hand. I don't sell firewood, but if I got a unit like this, I'd probably sell a few cords each year just to make the unit pay for itself.

Check out these web sites:

http://edmundston.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-equipment-Firewood-Processor-Winter-Special-Now-On-W0QQAdIdZ173304759#

and this

I emailed them only to discovery that they do not sell to the US market, yet. Their email back to me indicated that they hope to sell to the US market in the near future. They are in the process of working through USA legal and liability issues.

So what do you guys think of this unit? Pros, cons, positives, and negatives.

Now if Santa could just get this puppy down my chimeny ~~~~

Thanks for your input guys, and Merry Christmas to you and yours <><

Don

Rocky_J · « **Reply #1 on:** December 21, 2009, 09:18:30 pm »

Sorry, you're in the wrong place. Goodbye spammer.

Mooseherder · « **Reply #2 on:** December 21, 2009, 09:24:11 pm »

You're gonna need a Big Wood Shed.

Jeff · « **Reply #3 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:20:21 pm »

This gentleman in not a spammer. He is looking for insight on a product that he found.

zopi · « **Reply #4 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:38:11 pm »

Looks pretty weak to me..a 9-10 foot 16" red oak log weighs in between at 800-900 lbs...I don't think that dinky little loader is stout enough..the pictures do not give enough detail to form an opinion on the meat of the machine, and there is not description of the cutoff mechanism..which is the big choke point in production....i'd love to have a little processor, but like any other tool...cheap is not a recommendation.

genesis5521 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:54:56 pm »

Quote from: Jeff on December 21, 2009, 10:20:21 pm

This gentleman in not a spammer. He is looking for insight on a product that he found.

Thanks Jeff. Now come on guys. Give me your honest opinions on this firewood processor. I was gonna try to build one, but at their price, I don't think it would be worth my time and effort, unless you see something I don't.

I don't need a super fast, heavy duty commercial unit. I just wanted something that processes firewood a lot more efficiently than I do now. Now I have go out and find the trees to cut. I get a permit from the US forest service to take "standing dead or down trees" from the Nicolet forest. Then I have to cut the trees. Then I have to buck the trees. Then I have to lift the rounds in to my trailer. Then I have to unload my trailer. Then I have to lift the rounds on to my little Ryobi electric splitter. All this is a lot of work (as you all well know). Once, I ordered a full trailer of 8 foot logs (was about 12 full cords). That saved me a lot of work. But I still had to buck those logs, and that took me a few weeks. Then I had to do all the split'n. I was gonna get a faster splitter. Checked them all out on the internet. I liked and could afford a few of the really nice ones. Then I found this processor, and fell in LUV ! And that's why I need and value your opinions, cause LUV is blind! Again, I'm only looking to do 20 to 30 cords a year with it. I'll be 64 tomorrow (12/22), and while I enjoy making firewood, it's taking me longer and longer to do it. So I'm looking to the future.

Hi Mooseherder. I keep my firewood pretty well protected in a 30 X 40 pole barn. I have 10 full cords stored there now and 5 full cords spread around my house, which has an 8 foot overhang, for use this winter. I could easily store 16 more full cords in my pole barn and still have room for my other toys. If I got this unit, I would try to sell maybe 20 to 30 full cords a year, until it's paid for.

Reddog · « **Reply #6 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:08:48 pm »

Don, Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

For a machine to speed up home firewood production, it looks interesting.
The main thing I see missing from looking at the bigger commercial units is a hold down for when the saw comes down.
On the last piece you would need to be careful having you hand that close to the chainsaw portion.
Without seeing it up close it is hard to tell how well it is built, weld quality and components.

genesis5521 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:22:42 pm »

Quote from: Reddog on December 21, 2009, 11:08:48 pm

Don, Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

For a machine to speed up home firewood production, it looks interesting.
The main thing I see missing from looking at the bigger commercial units is a hold down for when the saw comes down.
On the last piece you would need to be careful having you hand that close to the chainsaw portion.
Without seeing it up close it is hard to tell how well it is built, weld quality and components.

Hi Reddog; I have a hunch that this is what they were referring to when they emailed me back and said they were working through legal and liability issues so they could market in the US. I just hope that any changes they need to make don't significantly increase the price.

Zopi has a good point. Cheap is good, as long as it's not junk. If I did settle on this unit, I would drive to their plant (798 miles from me) to get a live demo of this unit. If it measures up, I'd bring it back with me. But I need to know what to look for, and that's where you guys come in with your critique.

Their email to me said it would be at least 6 months before they could market in the US. Then (if they decide to) it will take them a year or two to set up a few US dealers/distributors. I hope that down the road aways, we see this unit in the "Sawmill & Woodlot" firewood processor competition.

mahonda · « **Reply #8 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:44:11 pm »

Well from my experience, I've owned two different firewood processors and cut around two hundred cords a year after full time logging job, you always want to go bigger than you think you'll need! a few faults i see on this machine is you will still work your body hard. My first one was a hakki pilke 1x47 it had a belt identical to this one for the infeed and you were always pushing pulling and bouncing to get the wood through the machine. The chain in my opinion is to small for firewood. I see this doesn't come with a elevator my opinion they are must if you don't want to handle the wood after every log you cut. The one i have now is a block buster 15-20 with add on air compressor and log deck and conveyor built on. it cost less than thirty thousand and thats a lot of money, but my honest opinion i'd rather spend three or four times for a machine that will last three or four times longer and hold its value. good luck

Jeff · « **Reply #9 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:49:29 pm »

I can see the arm and shoulders feeling like they will drop off after about an hour of that, and wearing out completely, eventually.

mahonda · « **Reply #10 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:51:30 pm »

Thats why its the old one

genesis5521 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 22, 2009, 12:03:09 am »

Quote from: mahonda on December 21, 2009, 11:44:11 pm

I see this doesn't come with a elevator my opinion they are must if you don't want to handle the wood after every log you cut.

Hi Mahonda. By elevator I assume you mean a conveyor, and I totally agree. Hud-Son has a conveyor for $2575 which I would get and that would increase my total investment to around 10 grand. Good point.

If my investment in this unit goes much higher, then I'd also consider the Hud-Son Badger for $13000 (plus $2575 for their conveyor). This is more than I paid for my brand new 2001 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. The Badger weighs 2250 pounds compared to this unit which they claim weighs 1200 pounds (without the log lift). That's almost twice the weight, so I'm assuming that the Badger is quite a bit beefier and more robust. Does anyone own or have an opinion on the Hud-Son Badger?

Mahonda, does owning a firewood processor also require owning a welder. In other words, did/do you do a lot of repairs on your processors.

genesis5521 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 22, 2009, 12:10:25 am »

Quote from: Jeff on December 21, 2009, 11:49:29 pm

I can see the arm and shoulders feeling like they will drop off after about an hour of that, and wearing out completely, eventually.

Hi Jeff. I did screw up my shoulder pretty bad this summer from "tossing" 15 cords of wood as I split it. Many pieces were just to heavy and awkward to throw like you'd throw a baseball, so I would toss them with a "stiff arm", like you throw a shot-put. Did this for many years. Never had a problem until now. Must be my age is catching up with me. Us older farts gotta learn when to slow down a bit and learn to work smarter not harder.

Paul_H · « **Reply #13 on:** December 22, 2009, 12:29:20 am »

Happy Birthday!

You were 63 a few minutes ago and now you're 64.Usually new members don't age so quickly.

genesis5521 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 22, 2009, 12:52:56 am »

Quote from: Paul_H on December 22, 2009, 12:29:20 am

Happy Birthday!

You were 63 a few minutes ago and now you're 64.Usually new members don't age so quickly.

Thanks Paul. It's 11:44 PM here so I'm still 63. But I skip birthdays now. I figure for each one I skip, I get one year younger (don't I wish). Getting old ain't so bad. It's when I think I'm as young as I use to be that sometimes gets me in trouble (physically, I don't heal as fast as I use to). I run 5 miles, three times a week in under 75 minutes. And I have a weight machine I also work out on. My goal is to be able to pass the Marine Corps physical reediness test. (I was in the Marines for 8 years). I can do the sit ups and pull ups and step ups and standing jump. But It takes me 45 minutes to run 3 miles, and at my age, I have to do it in 36 minutes to pass the test. It's the stamina (not so much the strength) that deteriorates as we grow older.

genesis5521 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 22, 2009, 01:01:21 am »

NOW it's exactly Midnight, so ~~~~~
Happy birthday day to me, Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday day (awh shut up already !)
Two more years of work, and I can collect full social security (if it's still available).

beenthere · « **Reply #16 on:** December 22, 2009, 01:34:15 am »

Happy Birthday.

45 minutes to go 3 miles ?

Human walking speed is 3 miles an hour. So is this 'test' just a fast walk?

That is beside my point. I like the potential of the processor. But as mentioned, might be an expensive toy, that leaves you doing a lot of work. And I didn't feel easy when the operator had to reach over to operate the saw, and run the conveyor. As Jeff mentioned, real hard on the shoulders. Wondered why the conveyor had to be so high because the drop to the splitting bin didn't need to be so far. One log almost dropped on his toes. And the re-positioning for re-splitting seemed a bit unhandy. Wondered if the chain on the bar continues to run, or if it starts and stops.

I split with a regular splitter, and stack the split wood directly on pallets. About 4-5 hours per cord alone, but then don't have to touch the wood for 2-3 years, before forklifting the pallet into the garage when "the time" comes for the wood to heat the house. No tossing of wood, usually only need to bend to pick up the unsplit block, but lay the split pieces right on the pallet stack. I usually split into flitches, not quarters, as they are flat and easier to stack.

Meadows Miller · « **Reply #17 on:** December 22, 2009, 02:08:49 am »

Gday

And welcome to the forum Gensesis

And Happy Birthday Mate My grandfather follows the same regime as you dose a 5 mi walk 3 times a week and dose situps and chinups every morning

hes the fittest 80yr old i know though

he still drives trucks full time in the city toboot these he tryed retireing but only made it 2 days before he took a job

packing bags at the supermarket untill he found a job driving again about a week later Im quite proud of Pappa if im half as fit as him at his age ill be doing well

as far as the processor goes for the money it would be fine for supplying your own wood for yourself and maby afew others but you wouldnt see me on it for any production work but then again my cousins and i use to bench 30 cords out of 2' to 6' lengths on an old buzz saw on a regular basis and that would be alot easier in comparison

Regards Chris

genesis5521 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 22, 2009, 02:21:29 am »

Quote from: beenthere on December 22, 2009, 01:34:15 am

Happy Birthday.

45 minutes to go 3 miles ?

Human walking speed is 3 miles an hour. So is this 'test' just a fast walk?

That is beside my point. I like the potential of the processor. But as mentioned, might be an expensive toy, that leaves you doing a lot of work. And I didn't feel easy when the operator had to reach over to operate the saw, and run the conveyor. As Jeff mentioned, real hard on the shoulders. Wondered why the conveyor had to be so high because the drop to the splitting bin didn't need to be so far. One log almost dropped on his toes. And the re-positioning for re-splitting seemed a bit unhandy. Wondered if the chain on the bar continues to run, or if it starts and stops.

I split with a regular splitter, and stack the split wood directly on pallets. About 4-5 hours per cord alone, but then don't have to touch the wood for 2-3 years, before forklifting the pallet into the garage when "the time" comes for the wood to heat the house. No tossing of wood, usually only need to bend to pick up the unsplit block, but lay the split pieces right on the pallet stack. I usually split into flitches, not quarters, as they are flat and easier to stack.

Hi Beenthere. Doing 3 miles in 36 minutes is 5 miles per hour. I can run much faster, but I can't keep it up. I can sustain 4 miles per hour for 5 miles. You can walk 4 miles per hour, but it's easier to run at that speed. To make the run a good aerobic workout (at least for me), I run at 5 MPH for 1 minute than walk at 3 MPH for 1 minute. This averages out to 4 MPH. I keep this up for 75 minutes, no breaks.

I sometimes wish I had some support equipment like a tractor with forks to move stuff around, but I don't. I'm thinking of building some 8 X 8 X 8 outdoor sheds (or bins with tops) on skids. I could move them when their empty, but not when they're full. I wouldn't "stack" the firewood. As I'm splitting, I would just let a conveyor dump the split pieces right it in the shed till it's full. This would eliminate one whole handling operation. Sheds would cost about $100 each. Sometimes 2X4's go on sale real cheap here. Each shed holds around 10 face cords of "tossed" wood. Even if I put wheels on them, I don't think I could pull them when they're full. I figure 1 face cord of mixed hardwood weighs between 1000 to 1500 pounds. So a full shed would be somewhere between 10000 to 15000 pounds. Am I close on these weight estimates? That's a bit much for my little Toyota pickup to pull.

Dumb question. (I always tell my learners there is no such thing as a "dumb question", and if there was, that would be the very best question to ask.) What is the significance of the chain bar starting and stopping? I'm thinking of my chain saw. It speeds up when I pull the trigger and slows down when I release. But it's always running. Does the chain saw on some of these processors work differently? If so, how?

Thanks Beenthere <><

genesis5521 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 22, 2009, 02:32:11 am »

Quote from: Meadows Miller on December 22, 2009, 02:08:49 am

Gday

And welcome to the forum Gensesis And Happy Birthday Mate My grandfather follows the same regime as you dose a 5 mi walk 3 times a week and dose situps and chinups every morning hes the fittest 80yr old i know though he still drives trucks full time in the city toboot these he tryed retireing but only made it 2 days before he took a job packing bags at the supermarket untill he found a job driving again about a week later Im quite proud of Pappa if im half as fit as him at his age ill be doing well

as far as the processor goes for the money it would be fine for supplying your own wood for yourself and maby afew others but you wouldnt see me on it for any production work but then again my cousins and i use to bench 30 cords out of 2' to 6' lengths on an old buzz saw on a regular basis and that would be alot easier in comparison

Regards Chris

Hi Chris. Best regards to your dad. Us old farts gotta stick together. I always say either the workouts or making firewood are gonna kill me one day. I just hope and pray that "day" is a long way off. As far as "production work", max would be 20 to 30 cords a year. That shouldn't take to long with this machine (I think). They claim this machine can do 1 cord an hour. Even if I double the time it would only be 40 to 60 hours of work per year on the machine. That doesn't seem like a whole lot of work for a whole year. Or am I missing something?

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Author Topic: $7958 for a firewood processor ! (Read 18450 times)