KennyG
Elite Member
The pros and cons of 3 point splitters have been discussed here already, but, having bought one, I thought I'd add a little information. I've got a PowerHorse 13 ton (Northern Tool) on a JD 2320 with Power Beyond and it seems to be a good match.
To get the downsides out of the way, it's not real cheap. By the time you buy it, pay shipping and have hoses made, you will have $750 to $800 invested, only a few hundred less than an equivalent pull behind. 13 tons is not much power, but all you can expect with less than 5 gpm available from a small tractor.
The upside is it works great for me. The speed seems to max out with the tractor running about 2300 rpm. That gives a stroke time of about 10 seconds. Since the wedge is two sided, you can make 4 or 5 splits a minute. The maximum log length is 19 inches, but my stove takes a maximum of 16 inch logs, so that works for me.
The power is significantly less on retraction compared to extending, but you can just make sure to make the first split while extending. I use mostly oak and started with all the old knotty pieces I had not been able to split by hand, and it split them with no problem. It's not going to do huge logs, but I'm not going to split anything I can't lift.
Yes, you're using the tractor instead of a cheap gas engine, but I hate using a splitter with a loud little gas engine. I think the wear on the diesel is negligible when it sits there and runs at a constant speed. I only use the tractor 100 hours a year or so anyway.
This is the first time I've had a splitter with a log table, and I can't imagine not having one now. Here's a couple of pictures and link to a short video. (After I get it scratched up, I think I'll paint it green.)
PowerHorse Splitter Video
To get the downsides out of the way, it's not real cheap. By the time you buy it, pay shipping and have hoses made, you will have $750 to $800 invested, only a few hundred less than an equivalent pull behind. 13 tons is not much power, but all you can expect with less than 5 gpm available from a small tractor.
The upside is it works great for me. The speed seems to max out with the tractor running about 2300 rpm. That gives a stroke time of about 10 seconds. Since the wedge is two sided, you can make 4 or 5 splits a minute. The maximum log length is 19 inches, but my stove takes a maximum of 16 inch logs, so that works for me.
The power is significantly less on retraction compared to extending, but you can just make sure to make the first split while extending. I use mostly oak and started with all the old knotty pieces I had not been able to split by hand, and it split them with no problem. It's not going to do huge logs, but I'm not going to split anything I can't lift.
Yes, you're using the tractor instead of a cheap gas engine, but I hate using a splitter with a loud little gas engine. I think the wear on the diesel is negligible when it sits there and runs at a constant speed. I only use the tractor 100 hours a year or so anyway.
This is the first time I've had a splitter with a log table, and I can't imagine not having one now. Here's a couple of pictures and link to a short video. (After I get it scratched up, I think I'll paint it green.)
PowerHorse Splitter Video
