In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Log splitter hydrolic or kinetic

Discussion in 'Chainsaws and Power Equipment' started by tg.weaver, Nov 26, 2017.

  1. tg.weaver

    tg.weaver

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    My current state of splitter

    The muffler was glowing red. Then i bought a new carb (80.00) then it ran for about an hour. Then it wouldnt start. So i brought it inside and turned on the shop heat. Was having a hard time turning over. Once warm it turned over. Then gave up a big cloud of white smoke and would no longer start. It also spit out oil from the air filter area. We tore it down but to be honest i dont really have a clue at this point. [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  2. Fabz

    Fabz Banned

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    I’ve had a SuperSplit for years ... very quick ; very durable , sips gas , and with the Honda motor and 2 men working at a good clip I can split 10+ face per tank
     
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  3. tg.weaver

    tg.weaver

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    Holy cow i get a tank an hour which is about a face cord

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  4. Fabz

    Fabz Banned

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    Thats with the chunk set up in piles ...the machine has a 3sec cycle time so witha perfect set-up you could do 10+ face/hr ... we’ve done 4 loaded p/u in about 1 hr , 6-7 of ash but we were moving !
     
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  5. Birddogtg

    Birddogtg

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    Super split all the way.I have a buddy that has access to a big Timberwolf or my kinetic and he picks the kinetic every time.Get one that is one handed if you want real fast.
     
  6. woody5506

    woody5506

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    In a perfect world I'd just have both. How does the kinetic do on tough wood like elm or sycamore? Stuff with a grain like this...

    thumbnail_20171026_173224.jpg
     
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  7. Fabz

    Fabz Banned

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    Knotty , knarly , stringy wood and kinetic splitters are bitter enemies !
     
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  8. woody5506

    woody5506

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    That's kind of what I figured, and also how I justified going hydraulic. I didn't buy a splitter because I was getting tired of manually splitting the easy stuff, I bought one because the stubborn stuff was piling up a bit too much! Here's the elm I most recently dealt with...

    20171018_181001.jpg 20171118_140806.jpg
     
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  9. MasterMech

    MasterMech The Mechanical Moderator

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    If it's got the little Honda engine (GC160/190) then it's going to be a blow-out. Those 28 ton Speecos had an itty bitty power pack and a big 'ol cylinder.
     
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  10. saewoody

    saewoody

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    I have found that the elm I split splits apart much cleaner with the kinetic than the hydraulic. The hydraulic makes a twisted stringy mess, and you still need to pull it apart. The kinetic splits it nice and clean. The hydraulic practically just mashes the sycamore into a webbed mess, the kinetic slices that nice and clean as well. But I will admit that the kinetic does not like overly large knots. That stuff becomes my fire pit wood.


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  11. Fabz

    Fabz Banned

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    I process firewood so anything that doesn’t split with one hit gets tossed ... not worth trying to hit one block 5 times when you can split 3 or 4 blocks in the same time frame .... just speaking from my experience .... your mileage may vary !
     
  12. saewoody

    saewoody

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    It goes through that stuff usually in one hit, but I just split for myself. I burn 5 cords a year. I’m going with hitting a piece 2 or 3 times if I have to because the reality is that it is still probably faster than waiting for the full cycle of the hydraulic. The reality is I almost never have to hit a piece more than once. But on the rare occasion when a piece gets stuck on the wedge, it is a PITA. I guess it all depends on what and how much you are processing. To me the kinetic has proven to save me lots of time. It’s kind of like a Chevy vs Ford. You’ll never get everyone to agree no matter how well you can argue your position. It has to be a personal decision about what will work best for you.


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  13. Birddogtg

    Birddogtg

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    I have split a bunch of elm including wood like in the photo,the kinetic doesn’t like it but will split it but a hydraulic doesn’t like it either
     
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  14. Birddogtg

    Birddogtg

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    Here’s the deal,if you want to make a decent hourly wage selling firewood you would be smart to have a super split and a 70 cc saw.Forget hydraulics and a farmboss
     
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  15. Fabz

    Fabz Banned

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    10/4 good buddy
     
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  16. tg.weaver

    tg.weaver

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    Im gonna fix mumy hydrolic splitter and i think i might buy a kentic splitter. I burn so much eood its not funny. I would love to sell about 10 cord a year...good christmas money


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  17. 94BULLITT

    94BULLITT

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    It sounds like it may have ran backwards/ dieseled. Did you ever check the cam timing? I wonder if someone had the cam off a tooth?
     
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  18. tg.weaver

    tg.weaver

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    We checked all good

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  19. 94BULLITT

    94BULLITT

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    I had planned on keeping my hydraulic splitter but after running my Kinetic for a few hours I could tell there was no need for it anymore so I sold it.
     
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  20. 94BULLITT

    94BULLITT

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    This was split with a kinetic, see how it sliced right through it.

    [​IMG]

    The worst wood I have split so far with mine is hickory other than some nasty pieces of oak or ash. I know everyone wants to know how well they split elm or gum. Where I live there are not too many elm or gum trees so that is not a concern but I think it would still be faster than a hydraulic.

     
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