Log splitter - rental vs purchase

[weatherguy]

$60 is cheap, I cant add anything everyone has already said but if you only have 3-4 cords to split this one time I would do it. If you plan on 4 cords every year then Id look to buy one. I plan on burning til I cant lift a splt and scrounge my wood so Im going to upgrade soon from my little 5 ton to a bigger splitter.

 

[nate379]

The $300 electric splitters work well... might be something to consider? That is what I use for my 3-4 cords a year.

 

[kevin j]

for that price rent it. then make notes and see what you like or don't like. Rent once or twice more, or use the next 6 months until you need it again to find the machine you really want. I own 1/4 share in a $1000 machine, long ago paid for my investment, but I learend a lot using or renting others to see what I liked. And what we ended up buying was not where we started.
Afte that, being able to maintain it and know the reliability makes it worth while for me.

k

 

[greg13]

Call me a lier, but I can tell you we did it. It was a long day of non stop splitting, but preparation is the key. BTW, we are talking FACE cords, not many people talk full cords around here.

That was 20+years ago, could I do it today, No way

 

[Jags]

Even then, 16 cord in one day is humpin' it. I might even go so far as to say too tired to drink a beer at the end of that day....wait...I take that back.

you BETTER take that back. Thems fight'in words.

 

[MasterMech]

Call me a lier, but I can tell you we did it. It was a long day of non stop splitting, but preparation is the key. BTW, we are talking FACE cords, not many people talk full cords around here.

That was 20+years ago, could I do it today, No way

Most folks talk full cords on Hearth.com and those that do not usually use the term "face cord" to avoid confusion. 50 Face Cord is still over 16 full cord and that would be impressive. We have another saying around here: "Pics or it didn't happen!"

 

[LLigetfa]

Most folks talk full cords on Hearth.com...

His "here" must be a different here than our "here".

A cord is a cord, namely 128 cu ft. Anything less is a fraction of a cord. We don't need to clarify by saying "full cord". Ony the face corders need to clarify so as not to be called out as a liar.

16 cord in a day while impressive, is not implausible given a mix of the right size and type of wood, the work area, and a well oiled workforce.

 

[smokinj]

His "here" must be a different here than our "here".

A cord is a cord, namely 128 cu ft. Anything less is a fraction of a cord. We don't need to clarify by saying "full cord". Ony the face corders need to clarify so as not to be called out as a liar.

16 cord in a day while impressive, is not implausible given a mix of the right size and type of wood, the work area, and a well oiled workforce.

Nothing goes perfect and you would need 16 hours of perfection. (3 shifts even to keep everyone fresh)

 

[Dune]

Try to find a rental from a store closed on sunday. Rent it sat and return monday morning. This is a common ploy here, and the stores don't mind.

 

[ScotO]

Brian I bought my splitter on craigslist, it's a Swisher 22 ton vertical/horizontal (I almost ALWAYS use it vertical), it was used only THREE TIMES and put on craigslist! I picked it up for a measly 800 bucks! It still had the tags and owners manual tethered on the engine! So there are deals here locally, watch all the classifieds and have the money ready to go!

 

[NH_Wood]

Only thing I'll add is that if you do rent, try to have as much of the tougher rounds ready to go first, and the easier stuff last. If you run out of time, you're not left trying to split the tougher rounds by hand. Cheers!

 

[TreePointer]

Nothing goes perfect and you would need 16 hours of perfection. (3 shifts even to keep everyone fresh)

Totally agree! Especially since I've never seen a fast cycle or multi-way wedge.rental splitter.

 

[Pallet Pete]

I rent one when I need one but that is not often my little 4 ton does a good job. My problem is I want one to use whenever but I can't find a good compact splitter other than my electric which makes rental convenient. if storage is an issue or your only gonna use it a couple times a year then rent it and save space.

Pete

 

[greg13]

Try to find a rental from a store closed on sunday. Rent it sat and return monday morning. This is a common ploy here, and the stores don't mind.

That's the "Weekend deal" pretty much the standard of the industry. What you want to find is the places like our's that are closed on Saturday too. Many places that are open Saturday may offer Sat. & Sun. for an extra 1/2 day rate.
Even during the 5 months that we are open 1/2 day Saturday, we still make deals from Fri. PM through Monday AM. The machines don't make ANY money sitting in the showroom.

 

[BrianK]

Many places that are open Saturday may offer Sat. & Sun. for an extra 1/2 day rate.

That's what they do here at one rental outfit. The other is open Sundays and offers no type of discount.

 

[LLigetfa]

Always check the fine print on the rental agreement. A one day rental does not always mean upto 24 hours of runtime. Some rental outfits consider 8 hours of runtime to be a one day rental and charge extra if you go over.

 

[greg13]

8 Hr of runtime is the standard, but most places don't run hour meters on small engines.

 

[TreePointer]

FWIW, the two times we rented from Home Depot, we got a SpeeCo 25-ton model with no hour meter. It was simply a 24 hour rental.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Hi folks,
I just found a local equipment rental that has a 20 ton log splitter they rent for $60 per day. That seems a bit steep. I'm just wondering how much wood one could reasonably expect to split during a one day rental. Several cords?

If so, its probably more economical for me to rent for the next year or two than buy.

If not, I'm going to start searching CL and other local listings for a decent used splitter.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Brian

If all you are doing is splitting, and assuming you are of average health and fitness, it is not unreasonable to split a whole year's worth of wood (3-5 cord) in a day.

At $1200 dollars, which is what the Huskee 22 ton splitters are going for at the feed store (and which represent the bottom of the market), it'll take you 20 years to break even over renting, and that is assuming your splitter lasts 20 years and never breaks down.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

1/2 a cord an hour, 1 cord if you are using an impact and have it all lined up.

50 cords i an day would need a very large wood processor and mechanical handling, conveyor belts etc and then maybe.

Bah. . .

I can split a cord per hour (give or take) by hand. With a 2.25lb Fiskars Pro Splitting Axe.

 

[MasterMech]

Totally agree! Especially since I've never seen a fast cycle or multi-way wedge.rental splitter.

My local True-Value was renting a I & O 20-Ton Fast Cycle up until this year. Switched to a 26 Ton unit like mine.

Our local Heavy Equipment dealership/rental rents Timberwolf splitters with hydraulically adjusted 4-ways.

I rent one when I need one but that is not often my little 4 ton does a good job. My problem is I want one to use whenever but I can't find a good compact splitter other than my electric which makes rental convenient. if storage is an issue or your only gonna use it a couple times a year then rent it and save space.

Pete

Pete have you seen this one yet?

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[Bigg_Redd]

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Oh Joy!

Nothing beats working all day bent at the waist!

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Bah. . .

I can split a cord per hour (give or take) by hand. With a 2.25lb Fiskars Pro Splitting Axe.

I could probably accumulate a cord an hour splitting by hand (MM) if

It was all fresh cut ash, red oak and Aspen

I was splitting for my boiler, which means I probably split every fourth chunk

The weather was cool and I had no interuptions

Oh, yeah, I could probably keep up that pace for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

The poster seems to indicate that 4 men with one hydraulic splitter could split 16 cord on one work day. Assuming they are splitting most every chunk - I'm not saying he's a liar - but he's having a little trouble recalling correctly.

Best case scenario - take 36,000 seconds (10 hour day) divided by the cycle time in seconds. Theory this is the maximum # of strokes. Assume each piece is split once to make two pieces, so multiply by two to determine maximum number of pieces.

I'll leave it someone else to figure out how many pieces to a cord.

You'll see there just ain't enough time in the day. Let alone breakdowns, sore backs, snack breaks, refuel breaks, multiple-pass splits, yada,yada,yada.

 

[kettensäge]

I wanted to rent one once. Called the rental place and they were repairing the only one they had to rent, said the previous renter damaged it and they didn't know when it would be ready. Figured I didn't want to take a chance for a variety of reasons and bought my MTD a few days later. That was in '05 IIRC. I like owning my own and there should always be some residual value in a splitter if it is kept in good working order.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I could probably accumulate a cord an hour splitting by hand (MM) if

It was all fresh cut ash, red oak and Aspen

I was splitting for my boiler, which means I probably split every fourth chunk

The weather was cool and I had no interuptions

Oh, yeah, I could probably keep up that pace for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

The poster seems to indicate that 4 men with one hydraulic splitter could split 16 cord on one work day. Assuming they are splitting most every chunk - I'm not saying he's a liar - but he's having a little trouble recalling correctly.

Best case scenario - take 36,000 seconds (10 hour day) divided by the cycle time in seconds. Theory this is the maximum # of strokes. Assume each piece is split once to make two pieces, so multiply by two to determine maximum number of pieces.

I'll leave it someone else to figure out how many pieces to a cord.

You'll see there just ain't enough time in the day. Let alone breakdowns, sore backs, snack breaks, refuel breaks, multiple-pass splits, yada,yada,yada.

I routinely split a cord per hour if it's Doug Fir, bigleaf maple, or red alder. A cord of hemlock will usually add 10-15 minutes. 16'-18' rounds. If you're managing only 1/2 cord per hour with a splitter. . .