Splitter review - Oregon 28 ton

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Well, bottom line is I wouldn't want have a splitter that the wedge moves.

As others have said, the wedge has to move on the machines that go vertical.

If I had one, then I'd do something to avoid the problem of wiping out the controls with a returning block of stuck wood.  ;)

Yah, we're working on that design improvement. Unfortunately, it happened before I was aware of the severity of the problem.  ;)

So, I dropped the valve off to my nephew and the bent hard line this morning. He'll try to get the bent nipple out of the valve (I had it in a vice, with a 3' length of square tubing over the wrench reefing on it and all I was able to do was to pull my bench away from the wall). He'll also make up a new line. We'll see how it goes from there. I have a couple of ideas on how to protect the valve or relocate it....we'll see.

[beenthere]

Bottom line is how does a person get a piece of wood up onto a splitter that is 3 feet across? ...........

For the blocks that are too large to handle before and after splitting, I just run another chainsaw cut or two that will break them down into halves or quarters. Takes but little extra time with the saw compared to wrestling with the large pieces.

For height, I just use car ramps to wheel the splitter wheels up onto for comfortable working height. Put a longer pipe on the front wheel under the tongue to raise that end.

[thecfarm]

 Probably works good when you only have 2-3 pieces.  ;) 

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Met my nephew for coffee this morning. His mec hanic got the nipple out; it was definately split. I'll reassemble it tonight and give it a try. Big test will be Sunday when I get back to the wood pile. The log catcher shelf came in as well. I installed that last night. At first glance I was disapointed...kind of flimsy looking. It seems more rugged now that it's mounted. Again; we'll see....

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Sorry for the long spell between updates; a lot has happened. First of all on the good side; I left off my last post by saying the log shelf looked flimsy; it still looks flimsy but works remarkably well; no issues!
Now for the bad stuff: I noticed a puddle of hydraulic fluid under the machine last spring. It took a long time to figure out where the leak was but eventually we determined that it was coming from the tank itself where the axle stubs are welded to it. Went around with Oregon a bit before given the OK to bring it to a local authorized repair shop. There it sat most of the summer waiting for a new tank. The dealer was also an authorized Honda repair shop so they tinkered with the motor and got that running a lot better. Tank was repaired and my nephew took it home late summer and used it through the fall/early winter. I took the splitter back late winter and used it for splitting about 6 more cord.

My brother had some trees dropped in his yard so my nephew and I went over there to cut and split them up. They were some huge oaks; a good 30" at the butt. We split up a bunch before tackling some of the big rounds. My nephew and I had to wrestle them onto the foot of the splitter (vertical postion) and had to kind of hold it in place while my brother ran the valve. Well, it happened again; the wood got stuck; jumped over the strippers and broke the valve; not just the nipple this time. :(

So, we got a new valve and put it on. My nephew manages a shop that sells and services lift booms for trucks (Altec). He asked Oregon what the relief on the valve should be set at and they told him that it should be set to max. Seemed weird to him, but OK. Once repaired, he went back to my brother's house by himself (I had other commitments so I couldn't go) He called me about 10:00, said he was splitting a knarly piece and the cylinder folded in half.

So...... we've hit the valve twice; once with not too much of a repair, but the second time broke it. $175 for the new valve. Hydraulic tank sprung a leak; fixed under warranty but had to go without it for most of the summer. Now we just bent a cylinder. $380 to replace it. Overall, I am not really too happy with the splitter. My plan is to build my own. Horizontal style with a log lift.

[Tam-i-am]

DeerMeadowFarm

we would love for you to check out our splitter.  One of our friends lives on Coy Hill Rd in your town and borrows our processor and/or splitter.
In a few weekends he is able to do his wood for the year.  If you are interested in seeing the Firewoodinator let me know and I can get you his number so the two of you can make plans.

Tam I am

[Al_Smith]

From my own observation on splitters and other mass produced pieces of equipment often times it appears to me the welding while looking good is substandard .

For example most are done with automatic wire welders and they often leave craters at the ends of the welds which might not seem to be much for the inexperianced .They will however crack starting from that crater .Often times the welds are undercut which also is a cause for failure .

It's my belief that often times it seems in the basic design they strived to make the piece of equipment appealing to the eye but failed to make it structually as sound as they should have .

[thecfarm]

Sorry to hear of your trouble with your splitter. Mine,so far,got my fingers crossed now,has not break or leaked. Mine is just about like yours. I have really worked mine too.

[Al_Smith]

Well now think about this .I'm not casting espersions but you have to give it some thought on a stuck piece .Don't just flip it on detent return and walk away from it .

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Hi Al, no we didn't just set the valve at detent and walk away. The problem is, when its stuck and riding back with the wedge, as careful as you are trying to be, you have just a fraction of a second to react once it gets to the strippers. You are hoping the strippers dislodge the wood, which they do most of the time. The trouble is when it jumps the strippers, then, you are in trouble, often so fast that you break something. I delivered the new cylinder to my nephews house yesterday. He has an idea to mount the valve differently. In addition, I told him we are going to increase the height of the strippers which, unfortunately, will make the 4-way unusable.

[Al_Smith]

I had to take a peek at that model on the net .I see part of the problem and that is the valve setting off center of the cylinder .

What would happen say if you reversed the valve to the rear of the cylinder and replumbed it ?

[DeerMeadowFarm]

We were thinking that Al, but it just puts you so far away from the work, y'know...?

[Oliver1655]

Earlier your mentioned "Beating stuck pieces off of fixed wedges".  Rather than that method, you might try:
     - Leave the push sled next to the round.
     - Wrap a length of chain around the wood & the push sled making sure it is NOT around the wedge.  (I have a 10' length of 1/4" chain I keep handy for this use.)
     - Retract the cylinder & it will easily pull the wood block free.   8)

You should also be able to use this idea with splitters where the wedge is on the cylinder.  This should eliminate the risk of the wood block damaging the splitter as the wood block will stay away from the engine/valve/hydraulics.

John

[Al_Smith]

I can't figure out why the "wings" didn't catch the piece .Evidently they aren't large enough or something .

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I can't figure out why the "wings" didn't catch the piece .Evidently they aren't large enough or something .

That's it in a nutshell Al. So this is how it misses, or as I say, "jumps" the wings. Picture the splitter in the vertical position. Remember, you are using it vertically because the piece is too heavy to lift. Let's say it's 3' in diameter which is about what we had, maybe less, but 3' is a nice round number. So the wedge is about 6" or 1/2' tall, so with the log as tight to the beam as you can get it, the wedge is only going through 1/6 of the diameter (36"/6") so it has the ablility to go through the piece, but because it's only hitting 1/6 of the diameter, it doesn't split and now it's stuck to the wedge. So, you start to back it up and hope the wings strip it because beating a 2' long, 3' diameter log off the wedge is no joke, and many times it does. But picture the log riding up with the wedge. It's only being held by 1/6th it's diameter so gravity kicks in and it starts to tip and that tip is away from the wedge, the beam and of course the wings so it pops over the wings and now you have a short window of time to stop it before it starts to self destruct. After I did it the first time, I had never done it again and since I explained it to my nephew, neither did he. But because the wood was so big and the two of us were trying to do the positioning, my brother was running the lever and he wasn't aware of the problem and he didn't react quick enough. Does that make sense?

[beenthere]

Makes sense.
Now, instead of trying to split those big 'uns, hit 'em with one more chainsaw cut to at least cut them in half across the middle diameter.
If still too big to handle, one or two more saw cuts will do the trick.

And, IMO, no one that doesn't have his/her hands on the log being split, operates the control lever.
They get a bug up their nose, or something else distracts them, and they don't pay attention to what they are doing as after awhile it becomes so automatic to push and pull, push and pull the lever.

[Al_Smith]

If the "strippers " are the problem ,revamp them so they work .Fact that is one of the items I need to address on my home built among others .BTW hindsight is always 20/20 when you build something . :D

[thecfarm]

Maybe the poor guy has a pile like this to split.



 

There is a yard stick and hat for size. Would be a lot of "hitting" going on with this pile. :(

[John Mc]

Is there a way to add a little "spike" to the stripper wings that would grab the log and prevent it from riding over them when the cylinder retracts?  You'd have to think about the geometry of the spike a bit - what angle to aim it for the best grab, and what shape to make it so the spike didn't get stuck in the log (though I guess the wedge could push it back off again?)

[DeerMeadowFarm]

And, IMO, no one that doesn't have his/her hands on the log being split, operates the control lever.

Yup, this is my general rule as well, but my brother thought he was helping and my nephew and I were wrestling with the logs.....not a good excuse I know, but it's the only one I have.... :(

If the "strippers " are the problem ,revamp them so they work .

Yes, we are looking to modify them. The problem is we give up our 4-way wedge capability, which is fine by me.

Maybe the poor guy has a pile like this to split.

There is a yard stick and hat for size. Would be a lot of "hitting" going on with this pile. :(

That's the size we were lifting onto the splitter; the ones we went verticle with were a lot bigger!

Is there a way to add a little "spike" to the stripper wings that would grab the log and prevent it from riding over them when the cylinder retracts?  You'd have to think about the geometry of the spike a bit - what angle to aim it for the best grab, and what shape to make it so the spike didn't get stuck in the log (though I guess the wedge could push it back off again?)

I like this train of thought....definately something we weren't thinking of and may work!

[John Mc]

Is there a way to add a little "spike" to the stripper wings that would grab the log and prevent it from riding over them when the cylinder retracts?  You'd have to think about the geometry of the spike a bit - what angle to aim it for the best grab, and what shape to make it so the spike didn't get stuck in the log (though I guess the wedge could push it back off again?)

I like this train of thought....definitely something we weren't thinking of and may work!

I wonder if one or two spikes something like what is on the end of a Logrite Cant Hook or Peavey might do it?  They grab well, but aren't tough to get the log back off of.  The downside of this is now you've got something to impale yourself on while you are splitting.  Maybe since they're back on the strippers, they wouldn't be in your way and grabbing you?

[DeerMeadowFarm]

John - Yah...not impaling myself is pretty high on my list of things make sure I do! I'll have to look at the strippers closer and re-think what can be done. Good news is my nephew and I split a truckload yesterday and didn't break the splitter (other than bending the log tray/cradle).

[Logging logginglogging]

Beenthere,next time you go where they sell these homeowners splitters take your tape measure and measure the distance from the stripper to the handle. Lets say the wedge gets gets stuck into the log at 18 inches. When it comes back and hits the stripper the stripper is only 8 inches long and the handle is about 4 inches behind that. That is only 12 inches and still need 6 more to go. That's why it hits the handle. If I did not take mine off, I would take a picture. took it right off as soon as I bent by handle. I naively thought it was a good idea.  : Supposedly the wood should open up but it just stayed together and the stripper just guided it right towards the handle.

No we don't have a 4 way wedge... but on my fathers troy built, we have never ad a problem with the stripper plates not taking the wood off. However its rare for the wood to get stuck as well. Maybe the wedge need sharpening if its sticking.

[Logging logginglogging]

Maybe the poor guy has a pile like this to split.



 

There is a yard stick and hat for size. Would be a lot of "hitting" going on with this pile. :(

Actually nearly all the stuff I have this year is that darn big and some bigger.....

when I am dealing with this ... I always say ...I am young now, but I do say ill haft get smaller stuff when I am older

[Oliver1655]

Another option I thought of is to wrap a chain around the log & the beam towards the end furthest from the wedge so when you are trying to strip it off the wedge it can not tip the log up.

John