I’ve been a hand splitter for years. Some shoulder issues cropped up back in the spring, doctor visits, bunch of PT, even some acupuncture, long story short I bought a Supersplitter. Now I’m perfecting my setup. Most of my wood is dead standing, or down trees, some leftover from the timber harvest, mostly softwood, pine, spruce, fir and hemlock. I’m trying to clean up the woods as I go, so some of the wood I take is less than ideal. I save that for the fire pit wood and stack the good stuff for the wood stove. We generally have a fire going in the pit every night, I like a big fire and it burns fast so I go through a lot. Here’s my current setup for getting wood out of the forest. I put the nasty/punky fire pit wood in the pallet crate so I can keep it covered, store it out of the way and bring it to the fire pit in bulk. The good wood gets pushed/thrown into the wagon and hauled to the holzhausen for stacking. My nephew who lives in the UAE and whom I’ve never met is visiting the US for a few weeks this summer. I invited him to spend some time in Maine, did some hiking, kayaking, and touristy stuff I also put him to work showing him how we heat the house, he was very interested in the whole process. For a little perspective, at my sisters home in Abu Dhabi, they keep 80 gallon water tanks in their air conditioned living space to COOL the domestic water coming into the house. After helping me put the splitter together I gave him the honor of the first couple splits. Before this I showed him how to split by hand so he would appreciate the splitter. This is the J model Supersplitter, with tow hitch, extra large work table and the electric power option. My woodsplitting space is about 90 feet from the nearest outlet. My Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV has V2L (vehicle to load) capability, so for now I just bought a short 10 gauge cord and run the splitter off the car. 100 ft 10 gauge cords go for $200
Congrats! That's an awesome splitter. You're going to love it. I've had my J model for over a decade. Paul and Connor are great to work with.
Awesome machine! I saw one used years back and was amazed. Really gotta pay attention. Once i went to hydro i never looked back. Dont mind some hand splitting now and then though. Enjoy it Dave!
That is awesome that you shared the firewood experience with your nephew. He got the hang of the splitter rhythm pretty quick. The super split looks like a great tool.
What a cool experience for your nephew! And awesome splitter! I didn’t realize they had an electric model. Really cool!
I watched your you tube interviews with him. It is easier to stall the motor than I thought it would be…gotta be ready to retract the ram as soon as it starts to stall, then just hit it again, not really a complaint, more just getting used to how the machine works. Your’s gas or electric?
Appreciate the view Dave Mine has a 6hp Subaru Robin. At that time the Honda engine was an up charge. In 2017 Subaru stopped making their small engines, and now SS only offers Honda or electric. What you described also happens with the gas models. As you said you learn to read the wood and know when the piece may stall the flywheels and learn to stop the ram before that happens and hit it again. Some pieces need multiple hits. I bet the big 9 hp with gear reduction on the SE could muscle it’s way through most any round.
Very cool, I like those splitters, never saw an electric one. Running off car, more cool! I sure like quiet.
Awesome setup! My neighbor has one of those. When he splits, all I hear is the occasional crack of a round. Very pleasant. My 28 ton DHT makes sure no one in the neighborhood is sleeping in.
How quiet is the unit vs a gas hydro? What is the power usage. Im REALLY liking yours vs a gas hydro as no fluids to worry about and ongoing maintenance.
Lowes has a southwire 10 gauge cord for under 150, and chinazon has a cheaper one, just linking so you don't go dropping 200 on one. I'm assuming 15 amp plugs and not 20 amp.
I've looked at 'em, but man are they pricey for what they are. Not sure they'd handle the knotty/twisted hardwood we get though. Even a hydraulic has trouble with some of it. If you get a round stuck on there, how do you get it off?
They have faster cycle times than most commercial hydraulics for significantly less money. They do lack other features like log lifts and multiple wedges. Pricey is relative. Box store splitters are overpriced, too (compared to what they cost a few years ago).
They're really not though. If you look at hydraulic splitters in the 3k range I doubt you'll find any that can keep up with a SuperSplitter. You really need to step into the 10k and up class to find hydraulic splitters as productive as a SuperSplitter. Then you're talking over 3 times the price. The copycat kinetic companies are cheaper but they have almost all had issues and were discontinued or recalled. I've read countless stories of people saying they wish they'd just bought a SuperSplitter. You'll be hard pressed to find a story from a SS owner who is not satisfied with their purchase. You also hardly ever see them for sale used. SS has been in business in the US since the 70's. Very few of the parts are from overseas. You;re paying for a quality American made product. As was said, if a round gets stuck, you hit it towards the ram with a sledgehammer. Its a pretty rare occurrence once you get accustomed to how they operate.
What kind of productivity do they have? Even with a fast cycle time, a single wedge is not fast. My electric 4 way will do an easy 4 face cord an hour and I don't have to re-split much of it, which is what you are doing with the super splitter.
