firewood tractors

[dancan]

Got me 2 weeks ago an oldtimer to repair for upcomming summer for transportation
Its an IH B414 its a rare one in the netherlands need to fix the brakes and the electrical issues...

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A510F met Tapatalk

So ,,, when are you going to put up some pics of the Uni ?
I'd class it as a tractor lol

 

[timbrjackrussel]

Got me 2 weeks ago an oldtimer to repair for upcomming summer for transportation
Its an IH B414 its a rare one in the netherlands need to fix the brakes and the electrical issues...

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A510F met Tapatalk

Here is it's cousin

 

[dancan]

I got a new choker chaser today

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Looks like this thread needs a bump. I did a job for a friend of mine earlier this week. Hauled the tractor up there on Monday and finished up yesterday afternoon. Dropped about 15 trees, all dead from oak wilt. Cleaned up brush, bucked, split, and stacked all the wood. Probably about 10 cords, but I haven't measured yet. Only got a few pictures, but I'll put them up.




(Extra credit if you can ID the AS member in the photo)



And here is a little video of us splitting yesterday. The guy we're splitting for likes REALLY BIG splits, and could not be persuaded otherwise.

 

[foxtrot5]

All you guys with these awesome machines. Makes me jealous, I don't have enough land or wood to justify buying one but darn if it wouldn't be nice to have.

 

[timbrjackrussel]

Looks like this thread needs a bump. I did a job for a friend of mine earlier this week. Hauled the tractor up there on Monday and finished up yesterday afternoon. Dropped about 15 trees, all dead from oak wilt. Cleaned up brush, bucked, split, and stacked all the wood. Probably about 10 cords, but I haven't measured yet. Only got a few pictures, but I'll put them up.

View attachment 625033

View attachment 625034 View attachment 625035
(Extra credit if you can ID the AS member in the photo)

View attachment 625036

And here is a little video of us splitting yesterday. The guy we're splitting for likes REALLY BIG splits, and could not be persuaded otherwise.

Looks great!! A winch , loader tractor with forks, great splitter and willing workers. That's the way to make firewood.

Looks like this thread needs a bump. I did a job for a friend of mine earlier this week. Hauled the tractor up there on Monday and finished up yesterday afternoon. Dropped about 15 trees, all dead from oak wilt. Cleaned up brush, bucked, split, and stacked all the wood. Probably about 10 cords, but I haven't measured yet. Only got a few pictures, but I'll put them up.

View attachment 625033

View attachment 625034 View attachment 625035
(Extra credit if you can ID the AS member in the photo)

View attachment 625036

And here is a little video of us splitting yesterday. The guy we're splitting for likes REALLY BIG splits, and could not be persuaded otherwise.

Looks great!! A winch , loader tractor with forks, great splitter and willing workers. That's the way to make firewood.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Looks great!! A winch , loader tractor with forks, great splitter and willing workers. That's the way to make firewood.

Thanks, it's taken me several years to come this far with my arsenal of firewood equipment. I only got the splitter this spring. Thought about one a couple years ago, but decided to split by hand a little longer to save up for something special instead of a box store model. We had a really nice time this week. Got lucky with the weather, especially on Monday and Tuesday. The temps were around 40 both days, compared to a high of 1F tomorrow. Every thing went seamlessly, and nothing broke (well except the only Husky on site, but what can you expect?) so we got to make hay while the sun was shining, so to speak.

 

[dave_dj1]

While I like your set up, I never understood using a 25K piece of equipment to do the job of a 1K piece of equipment. Not to mention the extra wear and tear on the 25K piece. But to each their own.
You must have an OWB to use those big chunks in.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

While I like your set up, I never understood using a 25K piece of equipment to do the job of a 1K piece of equipment. Not to mention the extra wear and tear on the 25K piece. But to each their own.
You must have an OWB to use those big chunks in.

I totally understand your point. There are absolutely pros and cons to using the tractor to power the splitter. I do want to note though, that I rarely use this tractor which did cost 25k but almost exclusively use a smaller 30hp New Holland that I paid $5500 for. So, that mostly alleviates the concern about putting wear on an expensive machine. I'm only running it on the Kubota in the video so I didn't have to just haul both tractors to the job. For that matter, I could run it on the Ford NAA I just bought for $1200, in which case I'd trade a stationary unit with it's own motor for a splitter that's self propelled. And actually, though I absolutely require tractors for my business (growing vegetables), I don't use them a ton, so putting some hours in them using a splitter isn't an issue. That Kubota is 4 years old and has 370 hours on the clock. I figure it's probably good for them to get run at high idle with a moderate load for a few hours to get everything up to temp and let some water cook out.

For me though, there are a few reasons for the tractor mounted splitter. Price, I saved a lot of money by buying a three point model. It was a stretch for me to buy that model as it was, so adding a couple grand for a motor and axles would have been a deal breaker. Noise, I hate standing next to a screaming air-cooled 4 stroke. Chainsaws don't bother me, but I'd much rather be 10-12' from a diesel than 2' from a lawnmower engineer for hours at a time. The Kubota in the video is a little loud, but that NH just purrs. Lastly, with a big commercial grade splitter like a timber wolf or Wolfe Ridge, it's gotta be hooked up to something to move it around anyway. I don't have a 4x4 truck or a quad, so I'd probably end up with it hitched to a tractor anyway.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're better, or everyone should have one, just that in my case it works.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank @Sawyer Rob for all his great pictures of his splitter in action which really convinced me to go with a three point splitter.

 

[sirbuildalot]

While I like your set up, I never understood using a 25K piece of equipment to do the job of a 1K piece of equipment. Not to mention the extra wear and tear on the 25K piece. But to each their own.
You must have an OWB to use those big chunks in.

For the same reason people buy a $40,000 or even $50,000 car or truck to get from point a to point b when a $1,000 car or truck would also get them there. Newer typically means more safety features, better fuel economy, less breakdowns, more comfort features, improved hydraulics and lift capacity in the case of tractors, easier changeout to other implements, etc. Not to mention after 10 years or even 20 years that tractor will hold its resale way better than any car or truck will. That's why!

 

[sirbuildalot]

And where are you finding diesel 4x4 loaders with the ability to quickly change implements, that reliably start every day, and have huge lift capacity for $1,000??? Let me know so I can buy about a dozen!!! If you think something like an 8n will do everything a new similar sized tractor will do, you're sadly mistaken.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

And where are you finding diesel 4x4 loaders with the ability to quickly change implements, that reliably start every day, and have huge lift capacity for $1,000??? Let me know so I can buy about a dozen!!! If you think something like an 8n will do everything a new similar sized tractor will do, you're sadly mistaken.

No, I'm pretty sure that @dave_dj1 means that a Honda motor on the splitter can run the hydraulic pump for a lot less $$ than a 25k tractor, and he's correct. But, as I mentioned, there's pros and cons to each method. Actually an 8n would be a great power source for something like this if you could lift it. You could probably lift one with a 24" ram, but this one being 36" makes the whole unit really long and heavy.

 

[sirbuildalot]

After re-reading it that does make more sense. My apologies Mr. Dave

 

[agvg]

Put hours on a tractor is what they are made for, a small high RPM engines are very noisy, a 4 cyl diesel on 1000 RPM is much nicer to listen to when splitting wood.

Sent fra min TA-1053 via Tapatalk

 

[rwoods]

... a 4 cyl diesel on 1000 RPM is much nicer to listen to when splitting wood.

Sent fra min TA-1053 via Tapatalk

Until this winter, I used various small engine splitters. The lack of noise with a tractor is really great not counting the height flexibility and mobility.

Ron

 

[rarefish383]

My first splitter was a Bliss PTO splitter. It ran off the PTO on its own pump, not the tractor hydraulics. It was recommended to use a tractor of 40HP and it could snip a 10" Oak log in half sideways like a tooth pick. That's the only style 3 point I'd like to have. I ran across one at a sale a couple years ago, but some one cut the end off and extended it to 4' to cut barrel staves. Looked like real sloppy welding so I passed. If I found one in good shape, I'd jump on it, Joe.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank @Sawyer Rob for all his great pictures of his splitter in action which really convinced me to go with a three point splitter.

Yer welcome, Ryan...

One thing I REALLY like about my 3 point splitter is, my wife LOVES to run it! lol

SR

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Yer welcome, Ryan...

One thing I REALLY like about my 3 point splitter is, my wife LOVES to run it! lol

SR

That's one down side to the auto-cycle valve; I pretty much wouldn't want anyone else to use it. First there's the safety issue, and secondly, I find it requires regular adjustment. It doesn't really slow down the splitting to adjust it, I just need to spin the relief nuts a fraction of a turn with the pliers I set on the valve, but I imagine my wife wouldn't enjoy learning the nuances of how the valve works. Also, a good friend of mine has a splitter with an auto cycle, and just this fall his helper stopped paying attention and lost a finger. The way I use the auto cycle, I don't think it's much of a safety issue, but I don't want anyone to get hurt on my machinery under any circumstances, so unless I meet someone who really gets it, for now it's something only I can use.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Ryan, I was going to put an Auto Cycle Valve (ACV) on my splitter, but I don't do anything without thinking it out, and after weighing all the possibilities, I came to the same conclusion you have about ACV.

I don't loan my splitter out, but I do let different people run it, including my wife. I just can't take the chance that ANYONE might get hurt because of the ACV, as I'm convinced that an ACV raises the danger level a HUGE amount...

I have run my splitter many times, comparing in my mind, whether or not what I'm splitting right then, would make the process go faster with an ACV. The way I split off my wagon, I can't see where an ACV would increase my splitting speed...

My splitter is always right next to my wagon and when I work alone I can pull off a side board and the splits are always right close to where I need them,

IF I work with my wife or a helper, I just pull them off the back and my helper rolls the rounds to where I can reach them.

I never pick anything off the ground to split, so cutting over my wagon and splitting off it, goes pretty fast for me.

SR

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I see what you're saying. I would get super bored holding the lever for those 32" syrup-cooking rounds, so the ACV is welcome in my operation, but I definitely see the drawbacks also.