Whatdya think about this Warner ...go with the larger splits, but then get a little electric splitter to keep near the stove to make smaller splits as needed when loading the stove...I have a little 5 ton that I bought off CL for $60...it works great for this purpose! Larger splits mean less "handling" per cord too...
Warner I just had to come back and revisit. FHC is better than the daily job anyway! Along the same lines with what brenndatomu and amateur cutter have said, a lot of staging can save you machine hours. When we have rented (3 times as of me writing this) we have been charged based on the hour meter of the machine. So, 8 hr day, 16 hr weekend, etc. If you are not as concerned about clearing hang ups then the 6 way would give you smaller splits. But, if you are not opposed to doing some "toss back" you could rerun some larger splits back through the splitter before it goes up the conveyor. If you had a helper standing opposite the operator, they can do that for you. The outfeed of the splitter is on a "table" before the splits are eventually pushed to the conveyor. With that smaller wood that you're working, I would set the 4-way wedge low enough to make at least 2 splits that are the size you want. Then you could toss multiple of the larger splits back through the 4-way. It really depends on if you are trying to get small "stove wood" or if you are trying to split a bunch of volume. Either way the machine is a huge labor saver. Here is a cut & paste of my reply to a similar inquiry I had given to Rope when he was looking a couple of years ago. ************ I agree with your thinking of charging different depending on loading / labor. Here is what we found. FWIW, two men (one feeding the deck, one operating) is the bare minimum for the larger machines, but even that won't get you close to their capacity. Three men is getting closer to efficient. This gives you a man opposite of the operator station to help with holding the log from falling in the splitter trough on the last cut for the clamp to grab. It is sometimes hard for the operator to reach over the guard to push it back up if it is a 20" log... That man can also keep an eye on the bar oil, assist with any jambs on the conveyor, and ready for cant hook assist (if needed) for the walking deck transfer if there is a "not so straight" log, etc. Four men is really the sweet spot. We were able to get close to this a few times with one of the boys filling that 4th slot (13 and 14 year olds are almost there) This gives you a guy to jockey trucks, use a second tractor, or any chain / tong / skidding helper work that may be needed. Two guys can do it if there has been enough staging done ahead of time. But, once you fill a truck or run into some issue then everything has to pause. It really all comes down to how much pre-work has been done and how well thought out staging has been for logistics. Think shorter runs on the tractor, less vehicle movement, etc. If you have enough help to keep the guy in the seat of the tractor or skid steer (feeding the walking deck) and keep the processor operator at his station, then you can probably do better than 2 cords an hour. If those two guys (operator and tractor guys) have to stop what they are doing to grab cant hooks, chains, move trucks, etc... then it adds up. We Had 3 guys pretty busy for most of that time and two of us really hopping during the entire operation. It was fun, productive, and thankfully safe. I think our most efficient stretch (we had 3 men and 2 young teens) was a 2 cord load in 42 minutes.
Stlshrk how much is involved in moving the machine once it’s set up and running? I really don’t need to truck the wood away. Is it feasible to run till the conveyor tops out them move the machine and restart? Making a row.
Warner I think that you could do that. When we move the machine to my house to work up logs that I've gathered, I make piles and don't truck them anywhere that day. I think with the height of the Dyna 15 or 16 that either of them gave me about a 4 cord pile to work from. We've ended up with a different model every year. So, if you wanted to make a long row (it could also be pretty tall and wide) I think you could do it. If you started out with the conveyor fairly horizontal, you could walk it up (electric winch operated) as your pile grows. Then, to move the entire unit, you'd have to collapse the walking deck and the conveyor, and hook up a truck or tractor to the opposite end to tow it forward. Say 20-ish feet, and set back up. You wouldn't have to completely break down everything and remove the splitting wedges, cover the engine, as long as there is adequate ground clearance. It isn't like you would be rigging it to get on the highway. I would say that the first time may be a little slow, but I think my FIL and I could probably do the walk forward operation that you are talking about and set back up in sub 30 mins. The conveyors on the ones we have gotten have been pretty large.
Thanks again, I called the rental place the machine is out for a couple weeks to be repaired. I’ll see where I’m at then.
One of the things that I like most about a hydraulic splitter is that I can control the size and shape of my splits. I like nice sized square splits, and with oak, I will take my time and pop off all the sapwood, so all that gets fed to my stove is heartwood and no punk 3-4 years later. I suppose if trying to conserve time, which I too have very precious free weekend time, I would consider the processer in your position too. I'm probably going to need to burn a few vacation days to get my splitting taken care of now that the side gig is ramping up again.
In regards to the size of splits and time being valuable...wouldn't the processor save a lot of time getting the logs down to those sized splits, even if you had to split them again by whatever means (hand / hydro - without the processor)? I understand the "wanting to maximize the $ you're spending" by renting the machine, but it does seem like it adds lots of value even if the splits are bigger than you'd like and have to be split further.
Well, uh, no! All kidding aside id be glad to give you a good day processing whether it be cutting or splitting!
I can't imagine anyone would be stupid enough to rent something like that to the public. I would imagine a fairly steep learning curve for efficient operation but doable to a mechanically savvy firewood hack, but to the regular public? Put it this way, would you loan out your best chainsaw to someone who has never run one?
Around here at least the general public usually doesn't rent a machine that size. Those things are pretty hard to break for the most part. Saw chains get mucked up from people feeding them dirty wood, but otherwise they're pretty bullet proof. Around here they usually "encourage" or require insurance as well. Running them out of bar oil results in the customer buying a new bar.
There is 5 with in 30 mins of me for rent, one place has 3 of them, then there is 2 different people that rent Or with any of them you can have them bring them out and do it.
Of course you would not loan or rent your personal equipment. There are many nation wide companies that rent much more expensive equipment out. I’ll be willing to bet they make a pretty good profit doing it.
