FARMALLS AND LOG SPLITTERS

Hello,
Been thinking of buying a log splitter since we got our outdoor stove and a truck load of logs.
Currently i dont own a tractor with 3pt hitch as most splitters are. We may be purchasing a IH 454
i think it would work. would my 200 or even the cub work a splitter. Most ive seen need 11 to 16 gpm pumps will these old tractors do the job?
And has anyone put a splitter on a 2 pt hitch ?
Or should i look into a pull type splitter ?
thanks
Harry

I just use a pull behind for a couple reasons. First is a tractor engine uses a lot more fuel per hour than a briggs, second I can run the splitter if the tractor is being used elsewhere such as to move logs.

I use a pull-behind for the same reasons Bob points out.

However I have successfully powered a pull-behind from larger Farmall (SH and SM) hydraulics. The Supers work the splitter fine but are kinda wasteful on fuel.

Your 200 will probably work. However with its smaller pump you may find it strokes the ram too slow for your liking.

I doubt however the Cub is up to it. It's modest hydraulics are intended only to lift mower decks and such.

Harry: My brother has a splitter he runs with Farmall 230 and PTO mounted pump. Splitter is a trailer that used to have it's own engine. He had to change pumps to get a pump with enough gpm at the slower PTO speed. I understand he can split wood at roughly half throttle, and the 230 has enough power to cut cross grain on an 8" maple. His old pump was volume for crankshaft speed of the old engine. I expect close to 2,000 rpm.

I don't think your 200 or even a 454 will have enough gpm to give good splitter speed. Talk with a hydraulic shop about gpm you should have. I've seen an 1840 Deere that had to be full throttle, not for splitter power but for speed. That burns a lot of fuel.

We built a splitter and ran a hydraulic pump off the PTO but we didn't have a PTO pump so we rigged up a chain drive to increase the pump speed (smaller sprocket than PTO) while adapting the pump shaft to the PTO. Everything worked really well, and we could run the tractor a little above idle.

Prince pumps have been mentioned in this thread and in another one down the page. Nobody seems to mention that there are two different sizes. The big one has twice the displacement by virtue of its wider gears. It is considerably more expensive too.

I run a 4" x 24" splitter mounted on my fast hitch equipped 650D. I use the big Prince pump. At an engine speed of 900 rpm, it will stroke in about 3 to 4 seconds.

If you are handy, you don't need a Prince pump. You can use a second hand large capacity hydraulic pump or motor as shown below on a fast hitch equipped SMTA.

<a href="http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r16/Wardner/?action=view&current=MTAFasthitch009-1.jpg" target="_blank"> </a>

Advantage of a pull gas powered splitter is most have a two stage pump... fast stroke to log and step down flow for more pressure to split, high flow to reverse the cylinder. Speeds up the cycle with less HP and less fuel.

I have a 3PH unit with a PTO pump.

I find cycle times to be entirely adequate, but not what you could call fast.

I REALLY like being able to adjust the working height via the 3PH. A little higher when my back is b*tching at me, or right down on the ground when I have a really big chunk to roll onto it.

Fuel consumption isn't a huge issue with my 750 John Deere compact diesel, even running it at full throttle. I've always understood that diesels were designed to be run at rated RPM anyway and that loading them up at an idle was a bad practice.

Of course, all bets are off with a gas engine.

Harry: To sum it up you should consult a hydraulic specialist, tell him how fast you want splitter stroke, pressure and gpm of your tractor system, PTO speed. Wood splitters don't have high horsepower requirements. I've seen my brothers 230 keeping 3 guys hopping just running about 1/2 throttle. Two guys handling wood and third guy not have time to take his hand off the hydraulic control.

That yarn about a diesel having to run full throttle is a bunch of bunk. In fact I think the diesel will stand up better at 950 rpm than the gasser will. I agree the diesel should operate over 800 rpm. Big thing with diesel or gas for that matter is keep them at operating temperature, and thermostat is designed to do that. There are thousands of 40 hp diesels, all makes on the east coast operating blow bush blueberry harvesters and they run thousands of hours at 950 rpm. I know of several IH 484 that have 30 plus years in operating 600 hours per year at 950 rpm. Bear in mind that is not 600 hours on the clock but it is 18,000 hours of fast idle, and none of them have ever been rebuild or had pump and injectors changed.

We split wood for years using a 3pt splitter and the hydraulics on the 856. It was adequate for our needs. When we got the 5220 Maxxum we started using that because the little 4-cylinder Cummins used less fuel and the hydraulics were rated at a higher GPM and PSI. It is faster, but still nowhere near as fast as a tow-behind with a two-stage pump.

No way I'd use the onboard hydraulics on a Cub or 200, or any of the letter series tractors unless I really liked to split wood and had nothing better to do. Even a Super H or M with a live pump only gives you 1200PSI at 12GPM. Right up through the 350/450, these tractors have tiny reservoirs and the oil will get hot real quick.

With the "littler" tractors, do what everyone else is saying and get a pump driven off the PTO. You'll also need a reservoir that holds several gallons of hydraulic fluid.

A self-contained tow-behind splitter may be the more economical alternative. Most of them tip to vertical for the really heavy logs, and sit up at a nice working height horizontally for splitting the small stuff.

Harry: I used to cut 100 cords of hardwood every year. I cut it to 8' lengths and sold it, then burnt oil. There is one hell of a lot of labor between 8' lengths and the stove. Here are some of my experiences. Bear inmind I usually trucked it to the customer.

One day two guys called, insisted on a price to load and truck their own. I wont go into details but these guys gad more trouble than Carter has liver pills. In the end I loaded it for them. When they came back for second load, one of them said to me, "You don't even burn wood, WHY." I replied, "Can't afford to, can't afford the labor between this pile of 8' and the stove."

Another day I was delivering a 7 cord load to a banker. I said to him, "Where are the economics for you in burning this wood?" He came back, "In my job, I need exercise, and I'll be damned if I'm going to make a fool of myself jogging through the sub-division." We agreed economics depended on the individuals goals and what he wanted to achive. I then told him about a husband and wife teacher team, bought a big old house across from my mother in law. They growled about the cost of heat. Then one day a 12 cord trailer load of 8' wood appeared on the scene, he unloaded it and it sat there for months. Finally they hired two guys with chain saws to buck it up. It laid there another two months. Bear in mind the husband was an avid jogger. On my way to village one night, I met him jogging, as I turned in my mother in law's driveway, I could see in my rear view mirror, someone splitting wood with a splitting axe. I got out of the car and who should it be splitting wood but the teacher wife. Now, I said to my banker friend, "it's now one year later and she has left him and filed for divorce." Banker responded, "There you go, one has to know his goals and objectives."

Then there is a full page description circulated around our neighborhood about a guys experiences buying a chain saw, splitter and other equipment, going to the bush to cut it and trucking it home on his 4x4 pickup. His list of expences included gas, oil, blown tires, 3 back windows for pickup. transmission, beer to pay his buddies for help, etc. I doubt if I covered a quarter of the problems and costs he encountered. It ends with divorce, and he sums it up, fire wood cost him $42,000. per cord.

I've seen some of this first hand. Met two guys one day with a one ton flat bed dually, about 2 cords of split hardwood. Truck was from Ryder. They had two blown tires on same dual. Jack that came with truck wouldn't lift it. I took them to a nearby tire store. Heard after that they bought 5 tires before they made town, then when they took truck back to Ryder, they got billed for broken springs.

ThanksGuys
I appreciate your opinions .
I was out on a sales run yesterday afternoon and
one of my customers had i home made splitter he had recieved as payment ????
Anyway he said it was rough looking but worked good, looked at it and it was built originally as a pull behind he said he had used a 3pt type but liked the seperate splitter. as you said better on fuel and didnt need a large tractor to operate it and he has ( i was looking around a 560 706 806 h m allis . So he was going to keep a look out for a cheep used splitter for me. I have cheap labor to help and already have every thing but a splitter andIm not going to split it all by hand like last winter. So thanks again for your help it has made up my mind . Also i have foot problems and back too so a vert / horiz type will work good.
thanks
Harry

When we got the 3 pt splitter, it was used on the 786 for a while, but one day my uncle had the 300 out and pulled it up to his woodshed, and that's the only thing that ran it from then on. We usually set it down by the shed and just backed up and set the quick hitch drawbar down on the toplink mount to hold it down.