could use good advice

Most every year I notice (paying attention) the post of Adirondack Case Guy and his set up for loading his wagon with wood. I have been using our Bobcat for that purpose,but however we get a lot of dirt in the bucket when I scoop up the split wood.

What he is using would greatly simplify loading our truck without gathering all the dirt. What I was wondering was the length of the chute. We're keeping our eye peeled for one,but what we've seen so far is 40 ft long. What we intend to do (if possible) is to split one in various lengths to obtain a suitable length / height and power it with a 5 hp horizontal gas engine using pulley and belt. I was wondering how difficult this undertaking would be? Any good advice would be greatly appreciated.

Son has most of our wood up plus doing our daughter 13 cord ,which is already cut,split, and hauled up to her place. We're down to approximately 4 cord one of which is poplar, for early burning. The other reason is the strength in my legs to use the pedals on our Bobcat is fast becoming weak. Now you can see why that elevator seems to be the answer. I sure would appreciate knowing the length of Adirondack Case Guys elevator. Again thanks in advance.
Regards,
Lou & Victor

I bought an aluminum feed elevator that is appox 18 foot long. It is about 8 iches wide in the flat amd has about 8 to 10 inch vee sides with a single chain with rubber paddles running up the center. I run this one with a hyd motor but see no reason that it could not be run with gas It came with an adjustable under charae that sits on 2 12 inch wheels an has a hitch on the front. I bought it at a sale for 100.00. I think it is made by Cardnal

Lou like Ivan state look for feed/silage conveyors. Your in WI, there should be used ones around from the feed setups from upright silos that are no longer used. As for length you would need like a 20 foot elevator to keep the angle flat enough for the wood to not roll back down the elevator. Here is a picture of a 20 foot Cardinal. Your can easily convert it to be driven with a gas motor. I have delivered feed to Amish that use these with gas motors

I bought one like this at a farm auction for $5 & towed it home. Not as nice looking as this & no motor.

i found the post that loren put on when he was building the elevator.
http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=toolt&th=389100
i have seen it and it is a masterful job. i was guessing it was 10-12' long, so i wasn't that far off.
i think a silage conveyor could work, too. most are longer, but some makes are built in sections that maybe could be shortened by taking out a section or 2.
i would hold out for a conveyor that drives from the top and pulls the chain. bottom drives push the chain, and if it gets a bit loose, the chain will wad up as it comes around the drive shaft and cause all kinds of havoc when it catches on the elevator floor. (bad memories from the past)

You have to hand load the chute, why not just hand load the bobcat bucket?

Lou, I read you posts with great interest about building your wood splitters also.
I built my elevator from steel Kubota shipping crates, which are readily accesable to me. The elevator chain bed is 11'8" long, plus the length of the chutes on the bottom and top.
I power it with the splitter hydraulics. I just Tee'd into the splitting cylinder hoses with quick couplers and added hoses feeding a hyd. motor off an old electric feed cart that I had salvaged. There is a oneway check valve in the splitting stroke circuit of the splitter cylinder so oil can't flow to the hyd motor on the elevator and run it backwards when splitting blocks. I just hold the the lever on the splitter to return and when the cylinder retracts comepletely the elevator runs. Just run blocks up elevator far enough for next peices. The elevator doesn't run continiously. The transport frame is also fabed from the shipping crates. The wheels are off an old garden tractor, and the lifting winch is a peice of pipe with a steering wheel off a garden tractor welded to it, with a lock paw to hold it at what ever heidth I want. The galvinized sheet steel is NOS covers for feed conveyors that were stashed away years back when we sold Jamesway barn equipment.
If I was to build another one, Here is what I would do different. #1 wider bottom to acomidate 4-6" rubber paddles. #2 make the bed 2' longer. Only because the trailer sides are now 12" higher to hold more wood.
I really don't have any issues that irritate me. As you know my splitter is 3pt mounted and easily manuverable in the woods. I operate it raised up on the tractor so there is NO bending over to operate it. Just have to bend down to pick up the blocks that I can lift. The gin pole and 12V winch lifts the heavy blocks onto the splitting bed. I mounted a hitch under the splitting bed to hook the elevator to when heading to the woods, so the whole rig goes as a single unit.
I am also building another acessory for the system. I skid whole trees out to landings in the woods. Just cut the ends of limbs off at about 1.5" diamiter back in the woods. Once I start blocking, I cut the limbs off tops flush to the log. The limbs are a real pain to cut to length!!! Got to try to put my foot on them to hold them and then chase them around with the saw when they kick out. SOO I am building a chopsaw table that I can slide limbs onto and cut to length and they will fall into the elevator also. The table will easily attach to the splitter for transport, and then be rolled adjacent to the elevator and splitter for operation. Stay tuned for future pics. Here is a sneek preview. I built this table back in 1989 to work with my home built bandsaw mill. I'm adapting it to my current needs.
Geese;; Just looked out window and a snow squall is going through.
Loren

We used a elevator for wood when we lived at Baraboo.
I took two sections out of the middle of a old 40'
Sam Mulkey and it worked real well to put wood in corn cribs
for storage. I would set the splitter by the elevator
and it did save allot of time. Ours worked with a 3/4 hp elec.
motor to run the elevator slow. Good luck with your plan
as it isn't a bit hard to shorten old elevators as long
as the two end sections are sound.
Larry

When I'm set up, I don't touch the wood after I set a block on the splitter. Split wood falls off end of splitter into the elevator and then drops into the trailer off the end of the elevator.Notice that the splitter is at waist heidth also
Loren

Loren,
Thank you for the reply and all your helpful information. We're on the lookout for a grain/silage feed conveyor/elevator. So far nothing on C.L. close by, but there is one setting a little ways away from us that we will go talk to the guy about. I hope he doesn't want an arm & leg.lol. It's been setting for years,and never moved. I don't know the length or even if it's workable,but it's worth the time to look. I do appreciate you taking the time to write all you did about your wood elevator, it is appreciated. Using the Bobcat for me is almost a thing of the past with the lack of legs power I got left. Plus the fact of setting in it all day then trying to get out is one big PIA. To easy for me to break a leg or something else,it just isn't worth the risk.

Today daughter and son brought all the wood up to the top today, so all thats left is splitting and stacking. My job is next, running the log splitter that we posted about and you read about. We could borrow your system if you were closer by.lol. Thanks again Loren, I truly appreciate it.
Regards,
LOU

Thanks to all who took the time to answer us. I am keeping a printout of all the suggestions and helpful information.
Warmest regards,
LOU

When I was going to build a firewood loader I saved my old corn head gathering chains & sprockets to have a chain that would not break. Never did build it. Now we load 20 ft. lengths on Heavy flat wagon & cut & split wood at furnace door. Pile with tractor loader.