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firewood production after the harvest

Started by OneWithWood, September 02, 2002, 07:06:41 PM

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OneWithWood

The timber sales are coming up in less than two weeks.  After the logging is complete I will have tops from 300+ trees laying around waiting to be converted to firewood.  Today while I was cutting and splitting some windfalls it occurred to me that my tried and tue method of splitting with a maul was going to have to give way to a log splitter.  In the past I discounted buying a splitter because with the rough terrain around here (Southern Indiana) I always thought it easier to split the rounds where they fell and lug the pieces to the truck rather than wrestle the rounds up to a splitter.  That was before I had a crawler with a timber winch.  Now I feel I should be able to winch the tops up to relatively level ground, buck them and then use a splitter
So the question of the day is what type of splitter should I be looking for that will be able to handle the volume?  Portability is a big plus.  I could load the rounds into my 4x4 using my small utility tractor (JD670 with loader) or the crawler loader (John Deere 450C) and deliver the rounds to the stacking site but that would mean ferrying two vehicles to each site.  The harvest consists of about 10  1 acre clear cuts scattered throughout 100 acres so the tops will be somewhat centralized.  I am hopeful that I will be able to drive the 4x4 ('86 Ford 250) over most if not all the skidder trails.  The waterbars may make this less feasible on some of the trails.
Thanks in advance for any advice :)  
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Frank_Pender

Robert, I would cut a many of the smaller pieces that will not need splitting and put them in you bucket loader of the JD.  along behind the tractor I would place a gravity dump type trailer and put all of the larger rounds in it and proced to a central location to dump the non spliting material in one pile and the, to be split blocks in another.   I did this on a 60 acre site of clear cutting of Oregon Oak for about 10 years.  I produced 100 cords a year and tought full time.  So, all of the summer months I hauled rounds to a central area with rock and cover for the splitter (me).   then in the Fall I proceded to split that which had been cut from Spring through Summer.  Anyone who wished pure rounds always paid 30% more per cord.  Twenty years ago I was getting $135.00 a cord delivered and dumped in their driveway.
Frank Pender

Saki

Howdy. Couple of things that you may want to think about when purchasing a splitter.

There were a lot of homemade splitters ( and maybe some factory ones ) that were designed to run off the PTO of a tractor. They will have some advantages like less costly purchase price than one with a small gas motor. They also will go anywhere the tractor will, etc. A major drawback is the additional wear you put on your tractor engine in trading off for the cheaper initial purchase. Think abaout which is cheaper to overhaul - 4 cylinder tractor or a one cylinder briggs?

Most of the new splitters have this feature, but with the splitter my dad and I use, it was made to pull a pin and tilt the ram/rail system to where it is oriented up and down. This is a real backsaver as any heavy rounds can be rolled over to the splitter and simply stood up. Many of the early splitters were made in such a manner that the round had to picked up and laid horizontally onto the rail, held in place, and split in that manner. Requires a lot more work, and that is what you are trying to save. Best of luck in whatever you do. Saki

OneWithWood

Frank,
Good advice.  Thanks for the reply.  It makes a lot of sense to leave the splitting operation until later.  I will be able to clear the areas of tops much quicker using your method.

Saki,
You are right on the money to consider the wear on the tractor.  I bought a chipper/shredder a few years back that runs on the PTO.  The wear on the tractor has been substantial.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Frank_Pender

Rpbert, you might take a look at page three of this site and view the splitter I built.  One unit runs vertical and the other horizontal.   Just a thought.  the axel is a 3/4 ton Ford and the splitter is powere with a 20 horse Winconsin (might have quessed, right Jeff) that runs on propane.  Out of a 7 gallon fuel tank I can get about 5 cords split.
Frank Pender

ElectricAl

Here is a shot of our customers Log Spliter. It's mounted on his skid loader. The wedge is on the bottom. Fast cycle times and you don't have to bend over to pick anything up.
He splits a bunch, then puts the bucket on and loads his 1 ton.

Very slick machine.  





ElectricAl
Linda and I custom saw NHLA Grade Lumber, do retail sales, and provide Kiln Services full time.

Corley5

In my experience running a splitter from a tractor would be the way to go.  A tractor isn't going to work hard at all running a hydraulic pump on a splitter.  I've seen some that plugged into the remotes on the back of tractor and used the tractors own hydraulics.  Besides you bought a tractor to use right?  Why have one more engine to maintain when you've already got ready source of power?
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Bro. Noble

I'm with Corley.  I guess that our rocks and hills are hard on tractors.  We use tractors as stationary powerunits on our edger and scragg mill as well as for irrigating out of the rivers.  We can find a tractor cheap that is worn out and beat up that still has a good engine.  If a guy keeps the oil and filters changed and doesn't let them overheat,  the engine lasts a long time.

Noble
milking and logging and sawing and milking

dewwood

One thing to consider besides the wear and tear on your tractor when using it to run a hydraulic splitter, does it have sufficient hydraulic flow and pressure to operate the splitter effectively?  I made a three point splitter several years ago and plugged it into the remote outlets of a tractor and it did not have the splitting force that my little 8 HP purchased unit has.  Most of the regular splitters have two stage pumps which increase power when under load.  Just something else to consider.
Selling hardwood lumber, doing some sawing and drying, growing the next generation of trees and enjoying the kids and grandkids.

RobK

One reason to have the splitter powered independently of your tractor is, if your tractor isn't running for some reason, you can still split wood. Also, the small engines that run these don't take that much maintenance.

My dad has a hydraulic splitter that I like quite a bit. It has the tilt so you can run it vertically or horizontally and it runs off it's own engine. It also happens to be available for sale...

-Rob

OneWithWood

My tractor is the smallest of the John Deere utility tractors and I only have 18hp at the PTO.  I bought it because of its small size and four wheel drive.  With the winch on the front I can go anywhere on the property - I just can't do much when I get there! :D
The other problem I see with a tractor mounted unit is that I would not be able to use the tractor with its loader to move rounds as easily with the splitter hanging off the back.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Bibbyman

Most farm tractors don't have a very high GMP pump and may not be as fast or as powerful as a splitter with a 5hp motor.  The neighbors had a homemade splitter on a big old 100hp IH farm tractor.  They said it takes 5 gallons of diesel to split a ton truckload (about a cord).  All the extra horsepower is useless and expensive.  Last time I was over there, they had bought a used commercial splitter with it's own small gas engine.  

Now, an alternative would be to get a small firewood processor and power it from a pump attached to the PTO.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

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