I want to add a little more about the Asheville area when it comes to firewood. Lots of folks in that area are buying OWB. Most OWB's will take longer firewood lengths than wood stoves and fireplaces. Most of the homeowner models, TSC, Home Depot, Lowes, Huskey splitters, ect, only have a 24in stroke. OWB owners want longer wood, but often have to settle for 24in or shorter splits. Personally, I dont think I would like trying to throw a long heavy split into a stove, but long wood burns longer than short wood. I know there are businesses that want 4ft splits, Grove Park Inn is one such place and they pay a premium for their wood. The person I mentioned out at Enka had a splitter special built just to handle 4ft wood. Options are wide open in Asheville if you want to do business in that area. I dont recommend you go out and buy a 48in stroke splitter, (unless you can secure a binding contract with buyers of that size wood), but suggest you dont limit yourself to a 24 in stroke either. The 30in stroke Northern splitter gives you more options on lenghts than most of the others that have been mentioned. It does have its drawbacks, such as the 16gmp pump. Add a log lift and its out of your proposed budget. With your budget, about anything you purchase is going to be a compromise between what you can afford and what you need. I would venture to guess just about every brand already mentioned will do very well for a homeowner and even a small firewood business. Sales of firewood in your area are not going to be a problem, production will be your limiting factor. If you plan to grow your business, plan for the future now with your first purchase. If you just want side money, about any home owner model will do.
Speed of production is how you make money. A splitter with fast cycle times is all well and good, but fast cycles doesnt neccesary translate into fast production. A 4 way wedge will double production with the same cycle speed. Muiltiple split wedges can produce more wood with slower cycle times than single split wedges. Multiple splits require more power. More power cost more money, but you can recoupe the money faster thru increased production. And multiple split wedges have another down side, you endup with more spinters and chips, but bag those small pieces and they can be sold as fire starter material, or given to customers with each load of firewood to use as a fire starter. Or You can burn them to stay warm when your splitting your wood in the winter time.
