3pt or Stand Alone Splitter

[jeff9366]

My need for splitting is small 1-2 cords a year for the firepit and homestead cleanup (2 1/2 acres).

Consider a 110 volt or 220 volt electric/hydraulic log splitter if you decide on a stand alone.

LINK: electric log splitter for sale

 

[oosik]

I had a 25 ton Didier stand alone. There were still those nasty knots & forks that were a real ***** to split. At the time I don't think I could have done much better with a 3-point splitter. All my firewood came from pine on my property here.

If I had to do it all over again - I'd still go with a stand alone splitter. Perhaps a Timber Wolf this time. A hydraulic lift would have been nice for our gigantic pine. We would leave the splitter out where the fallen trees were. Along with the chainsaws, gloves, fuel, axes, etc, etc. Just mosey out there and SADDLE UP.

 

[BrokenTrack]

You want to go with a stand alone splitter. Why put all those hours on a tractor engine that costs 6000 to replace when a stand alone engines replacement only costs $100?

 

[shooterdon]

One other consideration. Know your wood. If most of what you split is easy to split, buying a lot of tonnage is not smart. Speed is more important than the ability to split logs full of knots and crap. In nine years of heating with wood in Northern Mi there are only two rounds I did not split with my 16T splitter. I put them on my 100 yard range as target back stops.

The really tough stuff can be put in the woods to rot if you do not have a lot of it.

My buddy uses a small 5-7 T unit to split his wood and he burns 6 cords a year. He may need to "noddle" a few of the bigger rounds but he gets it done.

I see folk buy stuff so they can address 100% of what comes along when they are better off buying what works for 98-99% of their needs.

 

[WranglerX]

...............

The only two items I have stand alone currently are a gas powered splitter and a generator. And, as I mentioned, it's because I want the tractor free to help move the logs and rounds. Our power outages are usually due to storms. That means there might be storm damage. So I want the tractor free to do storm/snow cleanup while the generator is running.

As for ethanol/non-ethanol in gas splitters, it's not an issue if you follow your splitter's manufacturer's recommendations. We've had a gas splitter since the early 80s and it's never seen anything but 87 octane e10 fuel. Never a fuel issue. The original Briggs engine wore out after 30 years, but the fuel system was fine. I re-powered it with a Harbor Freight Predator engine. Direct bolt-on replacement, about 5-6 years ago. It also has no ethanol issues.

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Have to completely agree with this statement....

 

[spruce Deere]

I use a stand alone splitter. I process around 5 to 8 cord a year to burn between the shop and house.

The logs I get sometimes need a tractor to move. I like having the splitter independent, I can tow it with the buggy, pick-up or even the tractor. I can leave it by a pile of logs for a few days and not tie up the tractor.

 

[grsthegreat]

A couple of thing here concerning the above posts. If you cut and split a crap load of wood a year, get a wood processor. If you cut and split 4-5 cord a year get whatever makes you happy. I have, in the past, rented a stand alone and saw how it worked. Then I made my own 3 point unit. I have had that running on my tractors for 12 years. Its not the fastest unit out there, but 2 point need to be mentioned.
1. You don’t need to cycle it fully between logs. I can move thru a lot of wood pretty dang fast (im in the less than 5 cord category).
2. I have all my fingers still


as for tractor engine wearing out. Give me a break. If your worried that running a splitter for a few hours a year will wear out your tractor, get a different tractor.

personally, I hate maintaining engines. I do it as a living now maintaining generator units. Any engine I can dump is a plus in my book. My tractor runs my splitter at about 1200 rpm. But I vary it thru the day. I also don’t have knurled oak or other hard woods. So a lot depends on the type of wood your splitting.
i also don’t haul my splitter into woods. I haul my chipper into woods. I cut trunks into 6 foot lengths, chip the branches inplace, and haul trunks out to my splitting pile by house using the fork attachment. Then I cut And split the rounds there and don’t have to haul split pieces too far to stack to age.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

We absolutely love out 3 point splitter!

SR

 

[TerryR]

I like my 3-point splitter a lot too:

It's easy to take were I want to use it, requires no lifting to hook up to the tractor, and lets me put my FEL bucket next to it to toss in the split wood to carry it to be put away.

 

[crazyal]

I have a cheap Troy Built (MTD) with a lower quality Honda engine. I've had it close to 20 years now and other than change the oil I've had no problems with the engine. When I'm done using it and it'll sit for more than a week I just shut the fuel off and let it run till it stalls. The only other issue is the Loyjoy joint had the plastic spider wear out. While it's less than $10 at Tractor Supply I decided to push it and ruined the steel part of the joints. All in all it cost less than $30 to fix and now I replace the spider when it starts to sound like it's rattling more than normal. 3 bolts and the engine comes off to replace it. I also can stand it up so for big stuff I don't have to get it onto the splitter.

For me a 3pt splitter would have to be something that can be mounted on the loader so I could just split rounds on the ground. That would make splitting fun. Being able to flip it over to finish splitting the pieces to size would be needed as well.