# Can you split stumps with 28ton hydraulic log splitter?



## avninja (Feb 24, 2014)

Hi folks.  My landscaper has some stumps to get rid of and he mentioned that he has used a typical towable hydraulic splitter before and split stumps in the veritcal position to smaller more quickly burnable pieces.  Otherwise the stumps burn forever or don't burn good enough.

What do you think about this?  I know log splitters are supposed to split with the grain, putting less stress on the splitter.  But can this be done?  Does he risk premature wear on the cylinder, pump, engine etc?

Thanks!


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## GENECOP (Feb 24, 2014)

I will differ to the experts, but as a novice in the Hydraulic Splitting world I think this sounds crazy...


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## avninja (Feb 24, 2014)

While we are thinking about this, would the size of the splitter make a difference, say a huge skid steer mounted one?


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## BrotherBart (Feb 24, 2014)

I don't know about stumps, but 1988 20 ton....


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## gzecc (Feb 24, 2014)

Its all relative to the size of the stump and splitter. In general its not going to work.


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## Applesister (Feb 24, 2014)

Your landscaper is BSing you. 
For so many reasons I dont want to bother typing, dont do it.
They wont burn.


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## Applesister (Feb 24, 2014)

The landfill is probably charging him to dump.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 24, 2014)

Usual is to cut them off even with the ground and then grind down things with a stump grinder.


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## CenterTree (Feb 24, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Usual is to cut them off even with the ground and then grind down things with a stump grinder.


Correct.  Which always leaves the homeowner with a "temporary" fix.  In a few years there will be an annoying  "sinkhole" forming in the lawn.

As the stump (under the soil) and the roots start to rot, the ground sinks.

Good ole backhoe is always best IMHO. Get that stump OUT completely.


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 24, 2014)

avninja said:


> Hi folks.  My landscaper has some stumps to get rid of and he mentioned that he has used a typical towable hydraulic splitter before and split stumps in the veritcal position to smaller more quickly burnable pieces.  Otherwise the stumps burn forever or don't burn good enough.
> 
> What do you think about this?  I know log splitters are supposed to split with the grain, putting less stress on the splitter.  But can this be done?  Does he risk premature wear on the cylinder, pump, engine etc?
> 
> Thanks!



Welcome to the forum avninja.

No good reason to not split them!  We have the same splitter as BrotherBart and it is over 20 years old and only a 20 ton. It does very well. But if the stumps have the roots, those roots might get in the way. If so, just cut them off and have at it. 

As for splitting vertically, that is the way to go with all splitting.


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## bigbarf48 (Feb 24, 2014)

Im not sure I even understand what he says he does. Splits the stump while its in the ground?


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## GENECOP (Feb 24, 2014)

An Artist at a winery on the east end of Long island rips out Stumps, washes off the root system, flips them upside down, and plants them Root side up in the air....Looks Amazing.....


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Feb 24, 2014)

When I think of stumps, I also think of DYNOMITE......


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## Paulywalnut (Feb 24, 2014)

GENECOP said:


> An Artist at a winery on the east end of Long island rips out Stumps, washes off the root system, flips them upside down, and plants them Root side up in the air....Looks Amazing.....


How does it reroot?


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## Paulywalnut (Feb 24, 2014)

Can you imagine how long a huge stump with roots would take to season?


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## DougA (Feb 24, 2014)

Post the video after it's done.  

Been a long winter, could use a laugh.


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## Ashful (Feb 24, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> I don't know about stumps, but 1988 20 ton....


And it's younger cousin routinely splits 24" diameter hardwoods.  I've done stuff as big as 40" diameter on this little splitter, before I decided it was easier to just noodle the big'uns where the lay.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 24, 2014)

Paulywalnut said:


> Can you imagine how long a huge stump with roots would take to season?



Try never. This big red oak had been blown over for years. When I cut into it the water poured out of it for three days. Just two roots in the root ball still connected in the ground. The pic doesn't do it justice. The water was dripping out of it onto the ground the whole time. When the pic was taken it was pouring out.


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## xman23 (Feb 24, 2014)

if you spend enough time gnawing away at it, it can be broken up in to smaller pieces. It can't be good for the splitter stalling it in wood like that. I wouldn't do a lot of it with my splitter.


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## razerface (Feb 25, 2014)

i use a 28 ton splitter. I cut stumps off as close to the ground as poss,,,and have no problem splitting the wood.

My neighbor has a splitter on a skid steer that is upside down,,,the ram and wedge on the bottom of the I beam. He drives up to the round,, no matter how big it is, and lowers the splitter on it,, and crunch! He never gets out of the seat. No lifting anything until it is split.

I'll ask if he ever did a stump sideways without cutting it off. It has the power! The other end would be ugly with the roots attached. The more I think about it,, i want to see it done!


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## razerface (Feb 25, 2014)

xman23 said:


> It can't be good for the splitter stalling it in wood like that. I wouldn't do a lot of it with my splitter.


 it should not hurt it. That is what relief valves are for. Gets to the preset pressure,,,valve opens,,,fluid bypasses back to the tank.  In fact, these valves are the cause of weak splitters sometimes,,opening at too low of a pressure.


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## avninja (Feb 25, 2014)

Thanks for the replies.  He has the gnarly rooted portions of the stump that he ripped out with a skid steer.  I have some acreage so I let him store some stuff as long as he promises to get rid of it.  I did a burn of some of my brush in the fall and pushed the stumps into the fire.  Of course, by the time the fire was out I was left with charred stumps practically the same size as when I started.  He assures me that after this wisconsin snow melts, he will come over with a splitter and split those stumps and burn them with some extra brush he and I have.  So basically he and I are just happy to get rid of the stumps by burning them with the brush.  We are not trying to turn them into firewood.  I am hoping this works as I don't want the stumps to become "my problem".  But I benefit from the arrangement because he burns any excess brush I have and I get firewood from his jobs at no cost..


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## razerface (Feb 25, 2014)

I burn stumps also in my brush piles. Have patience, they will burn! I wait until I have a good size pile to light it. Once you get a big hot fire going,,,everything and anything will burn.  Get as much dirt off as you can first. The roots encased in dirt will burn, but it takes a couple days. Dirt pack is like an epa stove,,,smolder a loooong time.

I have thrown branches on the ash pile of a big burn 6-7 days later,,and they flame up,, so be careful!

When we cleared for my new house we did not have time to save anything for later,,so we would get a hot fire going and push trees into the fire that had been uprooted only minutes before with the "big digger".

Put your stumps on the bottom of the pile. Then all the coals from the branches will bury the stump in coals,,,,it'll burn.


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## gzecc (Feb 25, 2014)

avninja said:


> Thanks for the replies.  He has the gnarly rooted portions of the stump that he ripped out with a skid steer.  I have some acreage so I let him store some stuff as long as he promises to get rid of it.  I did a burn of some of my brush in the fall and pushed the stumps into the fire.  Of course, by the time the fire was out I was left with charred stumps practically the same size as when I started.  He assures me that after this wisconsin snow melts, he will come over with a splitter and split those stumps and burn them with some extra brush he and I have.  So basically he and I are just happy to get rid of the stumps by burning them with the brush.  We are not trying to turn them into firewood.  I am hoping this works as I don't want the stumps to become "my problem".  But I benefit from the arrangement because he burns any excess brush I have and I get firewood from his jobs at no cost..


 
I'm sure there are some stumps he can split. Its all about the size and shape.


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## Ashful (Feb 25, 2014)

razerface said:


> it should not hurt it. That is what relief valves are for. Gets to the preset pressure,,,valve opens,,,fluid bypasses back to the tank.  In fact, these valves are the cause of weak splitters sometimes,,opening at too low of a pressure.


True... assuming everything is properly engineered.  Unfortunately, most of these splitters are designed by garage-shop mechanics, without real mechanical engineering degrees, or any education in finite element analysis.  I've seen a few broken and twisted wedges, and other splitter components broken during use, which are evidence of improper design analysis.


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 25, 2014)

Joful said:


> And it's younger cousin routinely splits 24" diameter hardwoods.  I've done stuff as big as 40" diameter on this little splitter, before I decided it was easier to just noodle the big'uns where the lay.
> 
> 
> View attachment 128412
> ...



Joful, I am curious why you split the way you are rather than standing the log upright? I have done a couple that way but they seemed to split really hard that way.


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## Ashful (Feb 25, 2014)

Hi backwoods.  I was just giving that a try with a few rounds in the 22" - 24" range, based on what I'd seen someone else here do.  Anything bigger has to go vertical (my splitter has a 24" max length), and anything much smaller definitely splits easier vertical, as well.  However, rounds right in this 22" - 24" range don't split so well vertically, unless they're perfectly straight grained, so you're left trying to rotate the round to split the rest of the way thru, when you go vertically.

The same things happens splitting horizontally, except you can split all the way thru one end, and then use a hatchet or one of those little 2 lb. one-handed splitting mauls for finishing off the job with one or two whacks.  It seems to work well, for rounds that are too big or twisted to get full separating in one split, working vertically.

Also, while that's not a huge round, it still weighed over 300 lb.  Rolling it up onto the foot of the splitter is definitely easier than tipping it on its side, rolling, and then tipping it back upright while trying to get fully onto the foot of the splitter.  That's my story, anyway...


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## paul bunion (Feb 25, 2014)

Joful said:


> Also, while that's not a huge round, it still weighed over 300 lb.  Rolling it up onto the foot of the splitter is definitely easier than tipping it on its side, rolling, and then tipping it back upright while trying to get fully onto the foot of the splitter.  That's my story, anyway...



One thing I was taught along the way is to put a piece of pipe on the ground in front of the splitter.  You will quickly get good at plopping a round over and having it slide right in up tight against the beam of the splitter.  If the ground is at all soft you need to put some scrap pieces of wood down for the pipe to roll on.   A pickaroon or pulp hooks help to move the round or halves once it is down on the splitter.   A 5' iron pry bar can usually finish off a stubborn split easier than repositioning for a second run with the splitter.


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## Kevin Dolan (Feb 25, 2014)

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:


> When I think of stumps, I also think of DYNOMITE......


I loved when we could still do that, they sure do jump out of the ground with a nice whump


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Feb 26, 2014)

Kevin Dolan said:


> I loved when we could still do that, they sure do jump out of the ground with a nice whump


Yeah, I've been watching alot of hillbilly shows lately, they make it look fun and easy......
Drill hole, insert, lite it up and run.......


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## razerface (Feb 26, 2014)

we never lit fuses. We always ran wire back to the tractor,,touched the wires to the battery and "boom"


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## Applesister (Feb 26, 2014)

Im sorry I jumped in with my admonitions. I thought the OP was trying to split root balls for firewood.
I spoke too soon.
I couldnt see the practicality in that.


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 26, 2014)

Joful said:


> Hi backwoods.  I was just giving that a try with a few rounds in the 22" - 24" range, based on what I'd seen someone else here do.  Anything bigger has to go vertical (my splitter has a 24" max length), and anything much smaller definitely splits easier vertical, as well.  However, rounds right in this 22" - 24" range don't split so well vertically, unless they're perfectly straight grained, so you're left trying to rotate the round to split the rest of the way thru, when you go vertically.
> 
> The same things happens splitting horizontally, except you can split all the way thru one end, and then use a hatchet or one of those little 2 lb. one-handed splitting mauls for finishing off the job with one or two whacks.  It seems to work well, for rounds that are too big or twisted to get full separating in one split, working vertically.
> 
> Also, while that's not a huge round, it still weighed over 300 lb.  Rolling it up onto the foot of the splitter is definitely easier than tipping it on its side, rolling, and then tipping it back upright while trying to get fully onto the foot of the splitter.  That's my story, anyway...



Joyful, whenever you are wrestling a 300 pound log, it is  a huge one!


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## Missouri Frontier (Feb 27, 2014)

I burn Hedge stumps on brush piles all the time. Get that brush roaring and that stump will burn.(for days!) Best to use a little accelerant if you dont want to babysit it all night!


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## Ashful (Feb 27, 2014)

I forgot to mention, backwoods... when you split sideways like that, the splitter is always going all the way thru the log, cross grain-wise.  So, it's easier to grab one half and just pull, to get them fully separated.  I'm never able to do the same when I'm splitting with the round set vertically/normally, and it fails to split thru on the first pass.


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## ironspider (Feb 27, 2014)

Joful said:


> And it's younger cousin routinely splits 24" diameter hardwoods.  I've done stuff as big as 40" diameter on this little splitter, before I decided it was easier to just noodle the big'uns where the lay.
> 
> 
> View attachment 128412
> ...



you can split rounds like that?  I've never tried but it looks like it would help, just level the edge of the splitter and roll the log on.


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## Ashful (Feb 27, 2014)

ironspider said:


> you can split rounds like that?  I've never tried but it looks like it would help, just level the edge of the splitter and roll the log on.


I've put rounds as large as 44" diameter ash on that splitter, and gotten thru 'em.  However, it is infinitely easier to just slab the rounds with a big saw, and then move the slabs to the splitter for final sizing.  I put the round on its side and go at it with the Stihl 064 AV.  Noodle into 4" - 6" thick slabs, which can still weigh over 200 lb. each, but are much easier to move.

Just for some mental scaling, ash runs about 50 lb./cu.ft., and oak 62 lb./cu.ft., both green.  I buck to 20" lengths, so the weight of a round is as follows:





The 50" oak rounds I brought home last summer were simply immovable, even with my front-end loader.  That's when I was forced to start slabbing, and stop trying to move these monsters onto the splitter.  I used to hate the idea of stopping my flow to pick up a saw, but it really is much faster and easier.


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## ironspider (Feb 27, 2014)

I have to learn to noodle properly, I tried on a big gnarly trunk, got halfway through and that's was it. I don't know if it was me or the saw.


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## jillybeansisme (Feb 28, 2014)

Holy Guacamole! Joyful, those numbers make me gulp!  I guess maybe it's a good thing I'm going to let a pro fell my trees and another pro c/s/s them.  (First guy is the arborist I have to employ to get the permit to cut down the trees on my property because the 2nd guy is my Nephew from out-of-state and I'm out-of-state too!).  Besides making firewood out of all those oak and other trees, if the one really huge one has to be felled, then I want a 1"2" thick round from it to make a table top for the patio (yes, I know it has to age) and then maybe some smaller ones for stools.  Just for fun (do I pre-qualify for a 12-step program yet?  ). The trees will be felled in the next 6 weeks and then c/s/s in mid-April . . . just in time for burning season 2017!


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## billb3 (Mar 1, 2014)

For those of us who have tried ( both successfully and not so successfully ) to split some rather gnarly hardwood crotches there comes a point where the splitter wedge is doing more cutting than splitting. 

Having split a stump into smaller pieces with just wedges and an axe once, I can assure you a stump is one giant grnarly knot from hell to split and chop.


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## Kevin Dolan (Mar 1, 2014)

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:


> When I think of stumps, I also think of DYNOMITE......


I had the same thought but in Canada we use dynamite. Big Bang and the stump pops out, pretty messy we haul them to he gravel pit and burn them up with all the scrap. Never thought of cutting them up for stove burning.


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## Kevin Dolan (Mar 1, 2014)

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:


> Yeah, I've been watching alot of hillbilly shows lately, they make it look fun and easy......
> Drill hole, insert, lite it up and run.......


Hillbillies, this is canada we don't have any but a few rednecks eh


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## Pennsyltucky Chris (Mar 1, 2014)

He should invest in a stump grinder.


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## infinitymike (Mar 2, 2014)

Joful said:


> I've put rounds as large as 44" diameter ash on that splitter, and gotten thru 'em.  However, it is infinitely easier to just slab the rounds with a big saw, and then move the slabs to the splitter for final sizing.  I put the round on its side and go at it with the Stihl 064 AV.  Noodle into 4" - 6" thick slabs, which can still weigh over 200 lb. each, but are much easier to move.
> 
> Just for some mental scaling, ash runs about 50 lb./cu.ft., and oak 62 lb./cu.ft., both green.  I buck to 20" lengths, so the weight of a round is as follows:
> 
> ...




Ahhh, Thats why my back hurts so much!


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## infinitymike (Mar 2, 2014)

It seems that all I get is rounds that are 20"- 24" or bigger

Thats why I love the Timber wolf Horizontal splitter with log lifter.
And even more than that is the outfeed table I made.


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## Ashful (Mar 2, 2014)

What's the weight limit on these lifters? Can't imagine doing 1400 lb rounds on one.


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## infinitymike (Mar 2, 2014)

Joful said:


> What's the weight limit on these lifters? Can't imagine doing 1400 lb rounds on one.



I'm not sure of the capacity of this lifter. I bought it used but I heard or read somewhere it has a 1000 lb cap. 

But that's just an insane piece of wood and can't imagine even rolling that thing over let alone being in the way of a 500 lb split coming off the wedge.


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## Ashful (Mar 2, 2014)

infinitymike said:


> But that's just an insane piece of wood and can't imagine even rolling that thing over let alone being in the way of a 500 lb split coming off the wedge.


We lost some big stuff at my church in storm Sandy last year.  I never went back to measure the diameter at the stump, where I made the final cut, but it was easily well over 60" diameter.  The rounds I brought home were more than 15 feet up the trunk, and they were 49" diameter = 1355 lb. each.  Everything below that was hollowed out by rot and carpenter ants, but this was one huge oak.  I'll have to remember to take a tape measure with me one Sunday, when the weather is a little better / the ground dry.


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