Log splitters...

[gpjoe]

...I kinda need one, but not really.

I've got a wood stove, which we use as a supplement to our hot-water baseboard system, with a tankless gas water heater...so maybe three fires per week from the afternoon to late evening in the winter - a couple of face cords per season.

I don't harvest my own wood, though there are some downed trees on my lot which I could cut up, and the neighbors occasionally drop a tree. Not a supply I can really rely on, so I also purchase wood. The best local supplier has a 3-cord minimum for delivery.

Anyway, the delivered wood is split, but some pieces are too large for our fire box, and need to be split again. Not a lot, maybe 15-20%, and I've been using a light axe and/or a wedge and heavy hammer (light sledge).

I don't want to spend 2 grand on a 25 ton gas splitter, since I won't use it much, and don't have the room to store one. Which leaves a 5-6 ton electric.

Protable, easy to set up, easy to use, easy to store, but...

...do they split well, and are they reliable/durable? I've watched a lot of youtoob vids and seen some pretty massive logs split with an electric splitter, but I'm skeptical.

Any real-world users out there that can share their experience?

Edit:

Just to be clear, the splitter will be used occasionally to reduce wood that is already split in addition to splitting smaller logs, 6-10 inch diameter, into firewood.

 

[DesertIguana]

When I heated my house with wood stove only we burned LodgePole Pine. Only had to remove ash middle, and end of winter that was 4 - 5 months.

Did 6 Cords a year, guy who I got wood from, would give you lengths, and diameter you wanted.

Only splitting I did was fire starting kinking. Ax worked.

 

[gpjoe]

I use a "Kindling Kracker" to make kindling. I can make a mountain of kindling very quickly, but there again, large logs won't fit.

 

[StillShaving]

I know nothing about the electric splitters, but I imagine one would work well on most wood species, especially if the wood was relatively dry.

For your purposes of buying split wood, I might think you could get by utilizing a "maul" to resplit the larger pieces. As a teenager I split many logs using one. We did get a gasoline splitter at some point which really helped when splitting really large logs, especially if the tree was alive when felled or it is something stringy like Sweetgum. But a maul will make short work on most smaller pieces, faster than waiting for the hydraulic piston to retract to accept the next log. And is a one person operation.

 

[Jbird45]

My uncle splits all his wood with an electric splitter though it is primarily birch, poplar, and pine, so soft woods. It works well from when I helped him.

If you only have a few pieces here and there to split though, I highly recommend a splitting maul. My maul works better than an axe for splitting and if you only have a few pieces it may be faster than lugging out a splitter and an extension cord

 

[Jay21]

See if the local hardware store will rent you a splitter by the day. Easier and less stressful on you over the long run and you don’t have to worry about maintenance and storage. My dad rented a splitter every year for a day or two and it was a stress-free deal.

 

[Old Hippie]

I have a 16-ton hydraulic gas powered splitter. It was homebuilt by a local guy, and I picked it up a few years ago. For breaking down tree rounds up to three feet across it's good, but mostly it just sits out there. I've used electrics and I remember they were really, really slow but for small/medium wood they work.

Frankly, when I'm breaking up wood these days I pull out the 8-lb maul, the 8-lb sledge and the bucket of wedges. Most of the wood we're burning at present is alder offcuts from the local veneer mill. I can get a trailer load of that for $80 and just toss it into the wood bin. This year will only need one load, but I've had years that needed as high as three loads in my tandem-axle dump trailer. I split some of it up into smaller sticks with a hatchet for the cookstove, or we just toss in the board ends if we're using the woodstove.

The old-timers around here call alder "biscuit wood" because a firebox full of alder will burn hot enough and long enough to make a batch of biscuits in the oven. We don't have much alder here; I think most of what we get is trucked up from Washington.

O.H.

 

[gpjoe]

See if the local hardware store will rent you a splitter by the day. Easier and less stressful on you over the long run and you don’t have to worry about maintenance and storage. My dad rented a splitter every year for a day or two and it was a stress-free deal.

I might do this. I can try it out (electric) before I commit.

 

[gpjoe]

I know nothing about the electric splitters, but I imagine one would work well on most wood species, especially if the wood was relatively dry.

For your purposes of buying split wood, I might think you could get by utilizing a "maul" to resplit the larger pieces. As a teenager I split many logs using one. We did get a gasoline splitter at some point which really helped when splitting really large logs, especially if the tree was alive when felled or it is something stringy like Sweetgum. But a maul will make short work on most smaller pieces, faster than waiting for the hydraulic piston to retract to accept the next log. And is a one person operation.

My uncle splits all his wood with an electric splitter though it is primarily birch, poplar, and pine, so soft woods. It works well from when I helped him.

If you only have a few pieces here and there to split though, I highly recommend a splitting maul. My maul works better than an axe for splitting and if you only have a few pieces it may be faster than lugging out a splitter and an extension cord

I have a maul (somewhere), the problem is my aim. I usually miss center at least 2 of 3 swings, though I've never used one much. Maybe it comes with time, like anything else, so I may just work on my "technique".

 

[Whisky]

I would second a maul and wedge. I split a lot of hard wood this way for use in a smoker where I don’t want big logs that take forever to burn. I’m pretty sure Home Depot rents gas powered splitters. It might make sense to keep the stuff you want to split separate when stacking the wood and then renting a splitter for 1-2 days.

 

[Jbird45]

I have a maul (somewhere), the problem is my aim. I usually miss center at least 2 of 3 swings, though I've never used one much. Maybe it comes with time, like anything else, so I may just work on my "technique".

I have many a summers practice splitting wood for my grandpa, so maybe I take it for granted.

It sounds like you are doing something similar with a wedge and hammer, but if I have a particularly stubborn log I will pound on the back of the maul with a mini sledge to give it some "persuasion"

My maul basically has a sledge hammer opposite the edge though to pound on. I would not recommend doing this to an axe

 

[gpjoe]

I would second a maul and wedge. I split a lot of hard wood this way for use in a smoker where I don’t want big logs that take forever to burn. I’m pretty sure Home Depot rents gas powered splitters. It might make sense to keep the stuff you want to split separate when stacking the wood and then renting a splitter for 1-2 days.

I need to work on my maul skills for sure, that would certainly be the easiest answer to the relative small number of pieces that need splitting.

And, yes, when I'm stacking wood into my racks I segregate the pieces deemed too large, to be dealt with at once - later.

My neighbor has a gas splitter and I'm sure he'd let me use it for a day, I just don't like to borrow stuff...and I like toys.

 

[FarmerTan]

I need to work on my maul skills for sure, that would certainly be the easiest answer to the relative small number of pieces that need splitting.

And, yes, when I'm stacking wood into my racks I segregate the pieces deemed too large, to be dealt with at once - later.

My neighbor has a gas splitter and I'm sure he'd let me use it for a day, I just don't like to borrow stuff...and I like toys.

Borrow the neighbors, lol.

I have heated with wood for 95+ percent of my heat for close to 50 years. I should write a book.

The old "Monster Maul" is near unobtainable now, but it is hard to beat if you are healthy. And your aim gets really good with practice; it's a whole lot like riding a bike.

But I have a crappy cardio respiratory system now and will NEVER be without a gas log splitter.

The folks that make and sell the "D.R. Mower" used to sell (and maybe still do?) an electric splitter that you could run off the tailgate of yer truck that I would not hesitate to buy. ALSO: if you don't mind buying Chinese stuff and have a "Harbor Freight" store nearby they used to sell electric splitters.... Their stuff either dies right away or runs forever in my experience.

But honestly, ignore all of the above and borrow your neighbors. Lol, he's a guy, he'll probably do the werk for you because it's fun and you can drink iced tea and watch him!

 

[luvmysuper]

The old "Monster Maul" is near unobtainable now, but it is hard to beat if you are healthy. And your aim gets really good with practice; it's a whole lot like riding a bike.

Manually splitting wood is easy. It's like riding a bike.

 

[gpjoe]

Borrow the neighbors, lol.

I have heated with wood for 95+ percent of my heat for close to 50 years. I should write a book.

The old "Monster Maul" is near unobtainable now, but it is hard to beat if you are healthy. And your aim gets really good with practice; it's a whole lot like riding a bike.

But I have a crappy cardio respiratory system now and will NEVER be without a gas log splitter.

The folks that make and sell the "D.R. Mower" used to sell (and maybe still do?) an electric splitter that you could run off the tailgate of yer truck that I would not hesitate to buy. ALSO: if you don't mind buying Chinese stuff and have a "Harbor Freight" store nearby they used to sell electric splitters.... Their stuff either dies right away or runs forever in my experience.

But honestly, ignore all of the above and borrow your neighbors. Lol, he's a guy, he'll probably do the werk for you because it's fun and you can drink iced tea and watch him!

Yeah, I'm 66 and not sure how long I'd last swinging a maul, though I'm still gonna try just to see how it goes. It's an inexpensive experiment, and all of my cardio system is in good working order. My doctor won't be mad, probably impressed.

 

[Jay21]

Yeah, I'm 66 and not sure how long I'd last swinging a maul, though I'm still gonna try just to see how it goes. It's an inexpensive experiment, and all of my cardio system is in good working order. My doctor won't be mad, probably impressed.

Just don’t attempt a straight shave right after splitting logs with a maul for a few hours, LOL.

 

[gpjoe]

Just don’t attempt a straight shave right after splitting logs with a maul for a few hours, LOL.

The SR shave is an entirely different problem I'm fighting right now.

 

[ColtRevolver]

Another option is a manual wood splitter. They work the same way as a gas or electric, except you do the hydraulic pumping instead of a motor.

 

[FarmerTan]

Another option is a manual wood splitter. They work the same way as a gas or electric, except you do the hydraulic pumping instead of a motor.

The ones I've seen on the interwebs are impressive. Kinda reminds me of a Nordic Track! A free workout.

 

[Old Hippie]

You want to see some wild ideas about wood splitters, check out Farm Show magazine.

I've seen everything in there from various manual devices, hydraulic powered super ram "firewood processors" than can split a monster log into kindling in one go, and even the most dangerous thing I think I've ever seen: the "momentum" splitters that have a heavy steel flywheel with a blade welded on the rim. It just goes around about once a second (big wheel; lots of rotational speed) and the guy just puts the wood under it BAM and around it goes again.

Oddly, most of the guys I see using those seem to still have all their fingers.

O.H.