Log splitter for MF35

Connemara Farmer

Hi folks,

Thinking of buying an artic of logs at some stage. If I do I'll obviously need to cut and split them, got a chainsaw already.

I don't know much about log splitters, had a look at the screw type but I think maybe they're an accident waiting to happen.

The type in the video below seem much safer and plenty fast enough for me anyway. The ould fella has a 35, which does nothing most of the year, reckon I'd be doing him a favour giving her a bit of work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzRcLvyHt4c

I haven't a lot of money to spend really, so all advice appreciated.

Thanks.

blue5000

Can you weld yourself? Not a big job to make one from about 8-10ft of H iron. Might be expensive to do valves on the 35 hydraulics though, ram needs to go both ways.

Connemara Farmer

Nope, will have to buy something.

TomOnBoard

What diameter log are you getting in?

What is the size of cut/split log that you intend to put into the firebox?

Is it safe to assume you will be getting recently- felled Spruce? If you're likely to need to split some other species in the future, you need to think about that now.

How's your back? Are you OK to spend hours at a time standing/bending over and putting log lengths onto a vertical splitter, at

a) Ground level
b) Waist level

or will you need to use a horizontal one?

Will you need to be sitting down all/most of the time?

Lots of questions need to be considered, to ensure you only buy once.

HTH

Reindeer

If you have a tractor, you may want to go get a log splitter that runs of your PTO/hydraulics.

Pinkfoot1

I bought a horizontal electric logs splitter from Hartnett's in Cork. It cost approx €280 and it is without doubt the best labour saving device i have ever bought.

TomOnBoard

Pinkfoot1 wrote: »

I bought a horizontal electric logs splitter from Hartnett's in Cork. It cost approx €280 and it is without doubt the best labour saving device i have ever bought.

I have one of those that I bought in Aldi years ago- A might little piece of kit that has paid for itself many times.

However, I wouldn't like to be facing into the splitting of an artic load of logs with it. Such a jobs needs something with a good bit more beef in it, such as the horizontally mounted splitter that the OP asked about.

Connemara Farmer

TomOnBoard wrote: »

What diameter log are you getting in?

What is the size of cut/split log that you intend to put into the firebox?

Is it safe to assume you will be getting recently- felled Spruce? If you're likely to need to split some other species in the future, you need to think about that now.

How's your back? Are you OK to spend hours at a time standing/bending over and putting log lengths onto a vertical splitter, at

a) Ground level
b) Waist level

or will you need to use a horizontal one?

Will you need to be sitting down all/most of the time?

Lots of questions need to be considered, to ensure you only buy once.

HTH

Hi Tom,

Diameter, I don't know, I haven't rang Coilte yet. Truck loads are hard got I think.

We haven't got our stove yet, landlord is arranging it, so will know size then, will cut some for parents stove too.

I imagine it'll be softwood to start alright, though hardwood is better for burning, how available that will be in this area I'm not sure.

Most of the splitters I've seen seem to be able to mount to the three point link, I presume that gives them some amount of height adjustment.

TomOnBoard

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Hi Tom,

Diameter, I don't know......

We haven't got our stove yet, landlord is arranging it, so will know size then, will cut some for parents stove too.

I imagine it'll be softwood to start alright, though hardwood is better for burning, how available that will be in this area I'm not sure.

Most of the splitters I've seen seem to be able to mount to the three point link, I presume that gives them some amount of height adjustment.

I believe you need to know the approx lengths, diameters and species to be dealt with in order to ensure that you get the correct tool for the job. You definitely need to know the length of log you'll be splitting and that is a function of the length that your stove will need.

Knotty softwood can be a curse to split, whereas hardwoods like Ash are usually a doddle. If you're splitting knotty softwood, you'll definitely need a hydraulic ram with a good diameter to maximise the splitting power, and you are likely to split your material in halves on each stroke. If your timber is easily split, and you have good hydraulic power available, then you could be able to split in quarters on each stroke, thereby halving the amount of time you spend splitting.

If your log length is small (say 12 inches max) then a splitter with a short stroke will be OK. One of my stoves takes a log length of 600mm, so the stroke of the splitter I bought is 700mm, adjustable downwards to 150mm. When I'm splitting for the sitting room's open fire, I split at the shortest length (i.e. 150mm).

If you are considering splits in quarters or sixths (using an appropriate splitting head), then you will need to push your logs onto the splitting head, with the hydraulic ram having a strong flat plat to push the log. If you only intend to split in halves, then the ram can push either the splitting head or a pushing plate.

You would also need to have some idea of the hydraulic pressure and flow that your tractor can handle. If either is low, you will have slow operation. Some people use the tractor's PTO to drive a separate hydraulic pump with its own independent oil tank. This seperates the splitter oil from the tractor oil, which can have advantages.

Having the splitter on the 3 point linkage allows for some height adjustment all right. What you need to consider is the working height of the splitting table. What may be a grand height when splitting may be a curse if you are having to lift up heavy rounds. Personally, I went for a splitter that could split big stuff on the ground, and I use a chair when actually splitting to save the back.

So, this is what I bought, after a lot of research:

http://www.woodline-srl.eu/en/spaccalegna_hobby.html#wl10multipla

It allows for vertical, horizontal or sloped splitting. I have it mounted on the back of an old Iseki tractor that is only used for pulling and dragging, but I use an independent hydraulic power pack as the oil source. Therefore once I have the splitter in the required position (including in the workshop when its peeing down outside) I have the powerpack running 5 metres away, and the tractor is switched off. I could use the tractor's hydraulic power, but that would mean having the tractor running quite hard while splitting in order to produce sufficient flow. The powerpack has a power on demand feature so that when it needs to work hard, it ups its revs automatically. I can split for an hour or so on around a pint of petrol.

My splitter also has a 2-stage setup, so that when I'm splitting easy stuff, the ram just flies through the material. When more power is needed, for more difficult stuff, the ram can move more slowly, thereby creating much more force.

That's as much relevant info as I can think of. Food for thought?

HTH

Connemara Farmer

A lot of info there Tom, thanks very much. I just had a quick read over lunch, got to head out again.

Oldtree

I have an older one of these (no wheels or lever) and with a raised table: flexible hose to the pto. makes short work of anything.



http://mlarge.com/shop/thor-13-ton-farmer-tractor-hydraulic-log-splitter.html

Reggie.

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Hi folks,

Thinking of buying an artic of logs at some stage. If I do I'll obviously need to cut and split them, got a chainsaw already.

I don't know much about log splitters, had a look at the screw type but I think maybe they're an accident waiting to happen.

The type in the video below seem much safer and plenty fast enough for me anyway. The ould fella has a 35, which does nothing most of the year, reckon I'd be doing him a favour giving her a bit of work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzRcLvyHt4c

I haven't a lot of money to spend really, so all advice appreciated.

Thanks.

If ya want to take a spin down to westmeath you can borrow mine.