This can't be right, can it?

I was just running some numbers after splitting tonight and was shocked by the results. I was dealing with rounds that were roughly 12" in diameter, and the splitter was machine-gunning them with the 4 way.

If I can split a round every 8 seconds, and there are about 75 12" rounds in a cord, that means I can potentially split a cord in only 10 minutes???

8 seconds x 75 pieces = 600 seconds
600 seconds = 10 minutes

If I round it up to 15 minutes, that's still 4 cord an hour with 12" rounds.
It would take about 20 minutes per cord or 3 cord per hour with 8" rounds.

Anything bigger than 12" or less than 8" would take longer because of the number of rounds or the number of passes in the splitter. If I made a 6 way wedge, rounds larger than 12" would not slow me down, unless they were just plain huge, but then I wouldn't be able to lift them, lol.

I am including a poll because I am curious how long it takes everyone to split a full cord. Just splitting, not stacking. If you stayed at the splitter until the cull cord was done, how long would it take?

 

There's gotta be a glitch in the math there somewheres...even the best commercial splitters don't make 4 cords/hr...you might pull it off with a full blown processor and an experienced crew to run it...maybe, with "goldilocks" logs...

 

There IS that pesky load time (rounds on, rounds off, reaching, squatting, twisting), plus your time to toss the splits out of the way far enough to where the growing pile doesn't avalanche into your work area...

 

We usually split right off the truck or trailer, and the splitter pushes the splits off the end like a processor so the pile gets pushed until it gets too big, then the splitter moves back. That usually happens around the cord mark

 

I can split 1 cord of Lodgepole Pine off my truck in 1 hour. Splitting 1 cord of elm, might take 2.5 hours. I think the wood itself is a major factor in how it splits and how large the pieces are that you are making splits of.

 

Never really timed it but I think about a cord an hour sounds right.

 

Stepson and I did about 2/3 cord (guessing) of cotton wood rounds in maybe right at an hour. The rounds had been bucked and stacked for maybe two years and were pretty dry and split well. If I’d known there was gonna be a quiz I would have measured and timed it

 

I'm not really sure. I guessed an hour. Generally, I split until the pile is done whether it is a cord or two or three. Music or audio book going in my ear muffs and time just flys. Now stacking makes time slow down to a crawl. I hate stacking.

 

Well lately I’ve been using a calendar, not a stop watch

 

As Backwoods Savage stated, many variables. Never split right off the truck. We have split with a lot of rounds piled at the splitter, but they were bigger rounds.
If we have ~12" rounds, I have stacked all that would fit on log lift~12-15 and 1 pass split with 4-way in 5 minutes or less with Wolfe Ridge 28HO...

 

I never go down these rabbit holes.

 

Ive never really timed it and after losing a fingertip while splitting i try to take my time running the hydro. As stated too many variables involved.

In a perfect world my rounds/chunks would go straight onto the hydro from my PU and then splits into a whellbarrow then stacked. Rare i can place the hydro next to the stack.

 

If i timed it that would make it seem more like a job. I just get in a comfortable position, go at my own pace and when it gets done it gets done. I used to set a goal for the day and then make it happen no matter what. Now i just do my thing and look back and admire the progress at the end of the day.

No offense and kinda rhetorical, why's everyone in such a hurry for everything? I think we all know what's in store for us at the end of this life and there ain't much changing that.

 

I don't try to go fast ,I want the fun and fingers to last.

 

I keep records from my wood splitter hour meter from when I start splitting to when I am done. My splitter is right next to my to-be-split pile. These numbers include idle time at startup and at shutdown. I only split for ~10 minutes at a time before my trailer is full, then I shut it off to stack. Then I start it back up....rinse and repeat. I split large and I cut to 21" long, so that works to my favor. So a cord for me is a stack 14' long, 5.2' tall of larger 21" long splits. If one is splitting wood 16" long and splitting them into toothpicks, good luck doing a cord an hour.

My current 9.5sec 40 ton CountyLine:


My previous 12sec Speeco:

 

I say a 1.5hrs but that's probably a friendly estimate, I haven't timed myself splitting.

 

I don’t split and throw in a pile typically. Splits get thrown in my 4x8 till full, then taken to the stack and ranked. Last big push, dad and I split a little over 5 cords in 2 days. Even throwing, 1 per hour seems awful fast. I could see that with multiple guys on a SuperSplit.

 

Now i see why you're in such a hurry. That's a few cord to get thru by yourself.