I caved and bought a splitter

Congrats. A splitter is a game changer. One word of advice, be careful splitting stringy wood the log “strippers”(pieces of stamped metal that pull the round off the wedge if it doesn’t split all the way) are a pretty poor design, damaging the hydraulics is common if your not paying attention.

 

The "stripper" on this particular model is fairly stout. The bad design on this is the deck for horizontal splitting. I'm gonna have to fab up a bigger one to prevent damage to hydralics

 

Wait, what?!? I feel like this deserves its own thread. Is this a real thing? Do others do this?

 

What a game changer, not only for the business but at home to.
Got this done before breakfast I never would've been motivated enough to hand split this much before breakfast on a saturday

 

You split wood before breakfast?

Nice work...even on an empty stomach!

 

As you can see my driveway log pile has gotten out of hand. And my shop is still full of wood that needs resplit. My goal is to get all this cleaned up before mowing starts. Probably not gonna happen

 

No kidding…. I’m still in my pajamas and drinking coffee. I need to get moving though….

 

Youre a lot more ambitious than I. Keep nibbling away and itll get done.

 

Way to go! Be careful, splitters are a rabbit hole. You think it's fast for a while, but then the modding begins. A large table is my #1 mod. A good 4 way is #2. Electric motor is #3.

A properly designed 4 way doesn't take any more effort than a single wedge. I made my own 4 way (for my homemade splitter) and it rocks. I leave it on for pretty much everything. It speeds things up by 3-4x. If I have a supply of rounds, I can split an absolute heaping pile in an hour. My splitter is about 20 ton and it splits everything. I used a 3hp electric motor and it saves $$$ on gas.

Looks like you have a pretty good start on your pile!

 

Splitter = more production per hour.

I don't even consider splitting with a sledge and a wedge anymore. The splitter is WAY faster. I can split 5-10 times more wood in an afternoon than I ever could by hand. This allows me to do other things. I still get plenty of physical labor.

Split 3 trunk butts in 2 hours this afternoon. The ole HF splitter never misses a beat.







There is no way I could split this much wood by hand in 2 hours

 

The very next thing I'd do is change the engine oil. it will last much longer if you do.

 

Tell me about it!

 

Gonna break it in on whatever junk oil factory fill is. Then switch to full synth 20w50 that I put in all my mowers/Harleys anything aircooled

 

I didnt change the oil on mine often enough and killed the motor after 2.5 years. Generic 27 ton Home Depot special splitter. Of course i split a lot more wood than an average burner.

 

I always change the oil in a small engine after an hour or less of runtime on a new engine and then again at about 8 hours. You won’t believe how much metal comes out in that first oil change. After the first two, I try to go at 50 hour intervals, give or take 20 hours either way. Every one of my small engines stay at the full line on the dipstick all of the time, even the two with over 1000 hours on them. Just what I have found that works me.

 

Id reccomend Amsoil small engine 10w30 it has the best additive package with lots of zinc.

 

You have plenty of time on it already for the first oil change...and that thing won't start very well in the winter with 20w50 in it...at 10* I could barely get my Champion (starts like Honda) started with 10w40 in it! The drag of the thick engine oil, combined with the thick hydraulic oil means you can't pull hard enough to get it to pop...electric start would be good here! Ultra cold weather starts would be easier with 10w30 (5w30 would be better, but not generally recommended in small engines) and ATF for hydraulic oil...

 

Ive found on cold days if you pull it slowly a few times before giving it a good yank it really helps. I've even had it fire up while slow pulling it a few times. No this isnt an innuendo

 

I added a QT of ATF to my splitters hydraulic fluid. Was told it can’t hurt and helps when your splitting when it’s cold out.

 

Congrats on the new splitter! Sounds like it’s already working well for you