log splitter

[MThuntr]

Against Randy's podcast advice about splitting wood, there is house that I'm looking to purchase that has a wood fireplace upstairs and a woodstove downstairs. The home has a relatively new radiant water heat system so I don't have cut wood. I like the idea of hand splitting wood by hand but let's be honest that's a lot of work.

What kind of log splitter are you guys running to split wood?

 

[Nameless Range]

I heat my entire house with wood. I have two large woodboxes in the basement next to my stove. I fill both those boxes up every two weeks. To fill those boxes up I chop wood for about a half hour and spend another half-hour packing what I split inside to the boxes. About an hour of work every two weeks. Or, I could just spend a few days chopping, stack the chopped logs, and be done for the year. I've done it both ways.

My recommendation is to not get a wood splitter. Chopping wood is good exercise or stress-relief, a fine excuse to get outside and drink a beer, and can be done in all manner of weather, even by headlamp light. A good maul is less than $50.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

My recommendation is to not get a wood splitter. Chopping wood is good exercise or stress-relief, a fine excuse to get outside and drink a beer, and can be done in all manner of weather, even by headlamp light. A good maul is less than $50.

This

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

It's almost as good as crossfit.....

 

[hank4elk]

Ditto.
I heat with wood,split several days worth in a short time. Pine ,juniper, AZoak now.
I only use a splitting maul when I have to anymore.
Using a splitting axe these days as this wood splits easy really and it is much lighter.
I have worn out wrists from too many years banging nails,post pounders & such.
Been using a Gerber 2 1/2 lb model and just ordered a 3lb from Fiskars, $60 lifetime warranty...I know,I'll see it when I see it.So far this Gerber synthetic handle has handled all my bad misses. I finally sharped it yesterday after a year and it is razor sharp. Good steel.

 

[Straight Arrow]

I have heated with wood for forty years, mostly douglas fir and lodgepole pine. After over two decades splitting by hand with axe and maul, I now use a hydraulic 22T log splitter. My kids think I'm crazy (for a number of reasons) ... but I enjoy cutting firewood with my Stihl chainsaw, then splitting and stacking in an area of a small barn dedicated to dry firewood storage. Usually by the end of August there are five to six cords stacked, which I call heating "money in the bank". I use my '77 Ford 1T 4wd as my wood hauler and really do enjoy the good honest work and feeling satisfied at this form of self-sustenance ... in addition to hunting. The wood stove we heat with employs a highly efficient, relatively clean burning design and is clad with soapstone panels for holding the temperature for long periods.

That's my firewood story and I'm sticking to it as long as my energy allows me to harvest this renewable source of energy.

 

[dcopas78]

I usually end up splitting most of mine with the splitter....old red oak, white oak, elm, hickory, poplar, maple. If it is straight grained, I may use the maul on some, but most of the time it is tougher than nails. I have a Troy Bilt 27 ton with a Honda engine. Choke it and it starts on the first crank.

 

[MThuntr]

It's almost as good as crossfit.....

My log splitting cameo on the Bear Hunt show got cut...I have seen guys hitting giant tires with big hammers. Maybe I should open a gym in the backyard.

 

[RunWilderness]

I've got a wood heat only cabin. It's weekend/vacation use only, but we'll still go through quite a bit of wood over a week long Christmas/New Years stay in single degree temps. I've been more than happy with a Council tool 8 lb maul for splitting and a boy's axe to cut down smaller kindling. American made, but also higher quality than import hardware stuff for not much more. I too find the work satisfying once I got the swing of it.

 

[MThuntr]

I usually end up splitting most of mine with the splitter....old red oak, white oak, elm, hickory, poplar, maple. If it is straight grained, I may use the maul on some, but most of the time it is tougher than nails. I have a Troy Bilt 27 ton with a Honda engine. Choke it and it starts on the first crank.

The wood around here tends to be nearly exclusively lodgepole but a rare Doug Fir load is spotted for sale so, at risk of losing my man card, a 27 tonner may be a bit of overkill.

 

[Big Slick]

6 pound maul. Or this https://youtu.be/KdXzaGFkWfU

 

[Southern Elk]

If you are buying a splitter I would be more concerned about the brand of engine on it than I would be about the brand of splitter itself. The one mentioned above with a Honda engine would be hard to beat.

 

[el unit]

My recommendation is to not get a wood splitter. Chopping wood is good exercise or stress-relief, a fine excuse to get outside and drink a beer, and can be done in all manner of weather, even by headlamp light. A good maul is less than $50.

Exactly! Love it every year! Usually takes place in the Fall after I tag out. This year, I split firewood a bit later than usual.

 

[MThuntr]

6 pound maul. Or this https://youtu.be/KdXzaGFkWfU

That's neat but I think a 6lb maul is more realistic. I have a Stihl 270 with a 20" bar to do the cutting.

 

[dcopas78]

If you are buying a splitter I would be more concerned about the brand of engine on it than I would be about the brand of splitter itself. The one mentioned above with a Honda engine would be hard to beat.

I've had the Honda engines on a ton of different equipment and I have yet to see one fail. I think it is one of the best small engine brands you can get myself.

 

[Sawtooth]

Big Slick, that is a pretty slick attachment. You could get a winters worth of wood cut and split faster than you could stack it.
We burn four to five cords of lodgepole and red fir each winter and all of it is split by hand with a Fiskar Wood Axe. I used to use a six pound maul but have found that this axe with it's tapered head and lighter weight will split most 12" to 14" diameter x 16" long lodgepole with one to two swings and is less tiring to use. Since I usually pick up my wood on the way back from summer scouting trips, I spread out the job of splitting each truck load over the following week or so. It is a great half hour workout and I enjoy seeing the immediate fruits of my labor from each splitting/stacking session.

 

[MJE2083]

My Uncle has a splitter that he built himself. Basically welded a wedge to an I beam with a hydraulic and gas motor. He is a lot more handy than I am. My family gets together once a year(early fall) and has what some have deemed "The Wood Choppers Ball". We usually get 5-8 guys together with a couple of saws and cut/split all day. None of us really burn ALOT of wood but everyone goes home with a truck load and we stack the rest. Those who participate are welcome to come back throughout the winter and take from the stack.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Between our house and my dad's I put up 8-10 cords a year. For the last 10 or 12 years I've used a DR 6 ton electric splitter. If it went down I would buy another.

 

[sbhooper]

I feed a large double-blower furnace that takes lots of wood. I tried doing the maul thing for a year and then after having shoulder surgery my wife insisted on a splitter. I bought a 22 ton Huskee (Speeco) splitter from Tractor Supply, when they were on sale. I have split a tremendous amount of wood with that machine and the only problem was that the control had to be replaced on warranty.

A 22-ton is plenty for what you need, if you decide to buy one. More pounds just means more money and does not really make all that much difference. The maul thing is good exercise and if you just have a small stove, you can probably get by with that-unless you have access to elm!

 

[marksjeep]

I have not used one of these, but it looks interesting and gets solid reviews. It has a solid price tag as well.

https://leverax.com/