Log splitter hydrolic or kinetic

So what do you guys think kinetic splitter over hydraulic or hydraulic over kinetic what are the pros and cons you had and see

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Kinetic is too fast unless you have a crew working with you. Also more expensive.
Can't use it in the vertical position either.

 

I love my kinetic. Started a thread on on another site that covered all sorts of pros and cons. I don’t subscribe to the theory that it is too fast unless you have a crew. Faster is faster whether you are by yourself or not. I burn five cords a year and scrounge and process all my wood almost completely by myself. If I can split wood faster and have more time to do other things or spend with my family, I see that as a plus. I also prefer to work horizontally with the splitter. I find working vertically is cumbersome and uncomfortable. Anything I can’t lift onto the splitter I can always bust up a bit with a maul. It is more expensive, but it comes down to how much is your time worth to you, and how many years will you be operating the splitter.


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Kinetic, a Hydraulic that would keep up with a kinetic would be 3 times as much. You can get a log lifter for some kinetics. Kinetics sip gas, I use less than a gallon in 4.5-5 hours and I do around a cord an hour. A fast hydraulic splitter would probably use over a gallon an hour.

 

The average hydraulic has a cycle time that allows you to grab another round while the ram returns.
My predator splitter splits in both directions, meaning that it is waiting while I grab another round, even if they are stacked behind me.
It takes one other person to keep the operator fed and the splits pile from taking over the splitting area.
If I'm by myself I shut off the engine and stack for a while.
Back in college I paid off part of my tuition splitting firewood.
We has a supersplit and it took three to four guys to keep the operator going nonstop.
One humping rounds, and two stacking, otherwise the split pile took over the area fast.
(The extra work table is almost a requirement)
You can work one solo, but you will be wasting the speed potential that you paid extra money for

 

I prefer to split horizontally. The very low Didier hydraulic splitter we have had proud and cons of being low. The pro it's for the big rounds. You simply roll them up on to it. The drawback is that it's low for every non mega round. I'm tall, so it's no bueno on my back.

As slow as the Didier is, you need 2 people to outwork it.

Now, as far as the fuel economy, that's largely up to the engine that's being used. The old Briggs 5hp that was on it used a ton more fuel than the 6.5 hp predator that's on it now. The chonda sips gas, I wouldn't doubt that it will run 5-6 hrs on 1 gallon of gas.

 

I cant speak much to hydraulic splitters...but I've got a kinetic and love it. Its wicked fast and as mentioned above SIPS fuel. I've got about 9 cord split this season on just 2 tanks...and they're small tanks!

No issues with mine, usually do about 9 cord/year and this is my 4th season with it...so about 36 cord total so far.

I've got a DR Rapidfire and one thing I will say I think DR has done better than the competition (Supersplit and Split Second) is that to engage the rack you PUSH the handle forward horizontally, versus lifting the handle straight up on the other two mentioned brands. I have a good friend who runs a Supersplit and has agreed with that, saying that he does prefer the DR engagement handle over his Supersplit.

That said, I prefer where the engine is mounted on the Supersplit, above and behind the flywheels versus DR mounting below and to the side. I've had a couple gnarly pieces kick off to the side towards the engine and did have one hit it before, actually dented the cover of the engine slightly. Not bad, but if a piece his it hard enough I could see how it might damage something. I'm planning to build a small guard to cover the front/top of the engine in the near future to prevent that.



You can see the engagement handle in this photo. That handle pushes forward a few inches to engage the rack. The splitter comes with a separate little lever that needs to be lifted before you can push the engagement handle...a safety intended to force you to have both hands off the wood before you can engage the rack. That "safety" was very promptly removed. Its way more effective to be able to hold a log lightly in position until the ram comes in contact with it. Not being able to keep your hands on the log was the biggest PITA. Luckily the safety lever comes off super easily.

 

I've used a bunch of hydraulic splitters. Done 25-35 cord of wood with them over the years. Never bought one. I bought a kinetic and am totally happy with it for the money I paid.
I wired the safety lever over out of the way. Mine the activation lever gets pulled to the rear of the machine to split. It works fine.
I have a Timber Champ.
I don't really care if the machine is running while I'm moving wood. When I put a round on the cradle, bangitssplit . pretty much that fast. As mine is electric , its very quiet. I think I'll put a radio in the wood shed so I can listen while I split and stack wood.

 

Nice looking machine ! Really nice looking woodshed !!!!

 

They all have a place and your situation will be the determining factor on which is best for you. when I built mine I put in features that after years of working different styles of splitters, I decided would work best for me. I wanted one that i COULD work large rounds by myself and not strain doing it. It will split faster(more splits per hour) with 2 people bit I CAN do it by myself which is what I was after. I used ground levels but the lean over is worse than the lifting as it is a constant thing. I split where the tree falls so I back down the trunk, pick them up with the winch if they are too heavy to lift and swing 180 degrees to the splitter. With the swing away tables, nothing goes to the ground till it is to size. when done, I back down the same path and load the truck from both sides. We do all the splitting and cutting on wetter days and haul when frozen or dry. We have the luxury of working our own land when we want to. Another factor you have to consider as some have to work and haul all they do as it may come up missing if they don't.

Guys who stage or buy loads wouldn't like it as well as they would want to load at the same time. All variables you have to address when making the decision on what is "best". I made mine higher than most as I'm 6' 5" and working at a height that is comfortable makes a HUGE difference at the end of a day.

I've always said that if I did production I'd probably have both. Hydraulic to bust up the big ones to chunks and finish off with a kinetic. Putting a 4ft diameter round on a kinetic would be interesting.

 

Leadfarmer has a kinetic.

It's fast!!!

Don't be caught off guard!!!

 

Im 6'4". I get what ur saying would love to see your set up.


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I have managed to get 36” diameter pieces up there. I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not really worth the effort or the chance of getting hurt. I rolled them up a loading ramp from the trailer onto the splitter. It was white oak, and was a bear. After 2 or 3 I realized it made a lot more sense to bust them up with the X27 into manageable sized pieces. I seem to learn at least one good lesson every year!


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Click on the splitter build to see what all the features are I put on it.

 

Thats an amazing splitter. Well done. I wish i had those kinda skills.

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That splitter is awesome, I wouldn't park it under that rickity looking tree though. Could cause some damage.

 

That wood all came from that tree + a lot more. it was a 4 1/2 ft diameter ash. Lightning actually killed it as it was struck 3 times in lifetime. we have a picture of the farm from 1910 and it was good size even then!

 

I was back and forth on this topic a lot earlier this spring when I bought my splitter. Ended up with a 27 ton hydraulic Ariens with the Subaru engine which also sips gas. I've done a lot of easy wood with it and a lot of stringy terrible stuff like Sycamore and most recently Siberian Elm. I can't imagine that stuff going well on a kinetic splitter but maybe I'm wrong. When wood doesn't split but rather just cut and mash up into a stringy mess, I don't see how a kinetic would outshine hydraulics. If you're working alone, I don't see how you'd keep up with the fast cycle time of kinetics for very long, taking normal fatigue into consideration. With the automatic return on the Ariens you basically grab your next round as the ram is returning, set it up, and it's ready to go by that point. A full cycle is barely ever required unless you're splitting the stubborn stuff.

 

I'm trying to find a vertical horizontal to run my split second against. I know people will say it is unfair but I think most people probably have a vertical horizontal and upgrade to a kinetic. So it would give them an idea of how much faster splitting would be.

I do have this video of my old splitter VS the split second.



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I have a 28 ton Huskee splitter that I can try against my Split Second. It just came in today needing carb work.