PNW guys - need your advice on splitter tonnage (dht)

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

WhiteMike

ArboristSite Member
AS Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2016
Messages
81
Reaction score
55
Location
Idaho panhandle
I'm gonna be buying a splitter hopefully this week and it's gonna be a DHT 22,27, or 28. Very impressed with the 28 ton after watching videos and doing some reading but it's a little out of my price range. The hardest wood that I'll be splitting is tamarack (western larch) and other than that it'll be red fir or occasionally pine. I plan on doing at least 10 cords/season just for myself and family but I'm gonna try my hand at selling so maybe doing 30+ cords if I can get a supplier to come through

I think the biggest rounds I'll ever see will be 24 inch but that would be rare, mostly 20 inch and smaller. What do you guys use and would you reccomed? Will the 22 ton work? Any difference in reliability and repair/maintenance between the 2 engines (22/27 vs 28)
 
Thanks turnkey - I always thought the latch was harder than fir, then again I don't know much. The 22 ton has a 2 stage pump also correct? Have you ever had anything you couldn't split with the 27? How do you feel about the cycle time with the 27?

Hedgehog I'm assuming I would need to buy fittings as well? There's a CAT shop near me that I bet I could get the hose and fittings from.
If I were to go with the 27 could I use the same remedy to speed up cycle time ?
 
The 22 and 27 use same pump
27 is 4.5". 22 Is 4"
They use a calculator for all of there times
The steel line is less than 3/8 diameter that's why they don't get the times they advertise
All lines need to be 1/2"



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've been using a 22 ton in NE Washington for a few years now. Tamarack & red fir mostly, either one is easy with splitter. Lodgepole goes real easy also. Only thing that makes it work hard is ponderosa, don't normally bother with it but got some free rounds dropped off last year. Don't have any oak up here to try. I would say a 22 is plenty for local wood.
 
Thanks turnkey - I always thought the latch was harder than fir, then again I don't know much. The 22 ton has a 2 stage pump also correct? Have you ever had anything you couldn't split with the 27? How do you feel about the cycle time with the 27?

Hedgehog I'm assuming I would need to buy fittings as well? There's a CAT shop near me that I bet I could get the hose and fittings from.
If I were to go with the 27 could I use the same remedy to speed up cycle time ?

You will need a 90 degree fitting under the spool and make it long enough you can bend it to thread into the end of cylinder
Get the cycle time before and after
I didn't do that on the last 2 I did
Mine and my neighbors


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks turnkey - I always thought the latch was harder than fir, then again I don't know much. The 22 ton has a 2 stage pump also correct? Have you ever had anything you couldn't split with the 27? How do you feel about the cycle time with the 27?

Hedgehog I'm assuming I would need to buy fittings as well? There's a CAT shop near me that I bet I could get the hose and fittings from.
If I were to go with the 27 could I use the same remedy to speed up cycle time ?

On the "hardness scale" Larch would be a bit higher but it is very easy splitting. I started heating with it in 1976 and split all by ax and maul, no problems. Red Fir is a different proposition. Just did several big ones last summer. It made the splitter grunt a couple times...it also messed up my saws, Fiskar's and splitter wedge with pitch :)
 
I'm gonna be buying a splitter hopefully this week and it's gonna be a DHT 22,27, or 28. Very impressed with the 28 ton after watching videos and doing some reading but it's a little out of my price range. The hardest wood that I'll be splitting is tamarack (western larch) and other than that it'll be red fir or occasionally pine. I plan on doing at least 10 cords/season just for myself and family but I'm gonna try my hand at selling so maybe doing 30+ cords if I can get a supplier to come through

I think the biggest rounds I'll ever see will be 24 inch but that would be rare, mostly 20 inch and smaller. What do you guys use and would you reccomed? Will the 22 ton work? Any difference in reliability and repair/maintenance between the 2 engines (22/27 vs 28)
been using the DHT 22 T for about 2 years on oak,hickory and locust and it works great. a few big crotchity pieces of oak worked it but still busted them up.
 
22 is more than enough. If the 27 has the same pump then you know it will be slower since it has to move more oil per inch of wedge movement. I use the husky/speeco which seems to be a DHT and the speed is not a problem. If you're in a hurry you can short stroke it, meaning not let the ram retract fully with each split.
 
Where in the Panhandle?

P-pine is going to be the hardest to split, but it isn't bad.

I've a got one hydro that makes 14 tons and has a 4-way wedge that retracts. It never struggles with any of the woods you're likely to split and runs most rounds through the 4-way easily.

Only way to get faster would be a Super Split, but they cost more money up front.
 
22 is more than enough. If the 27 has the same pump then you know it will be slower since it has to move more oil per inch of wedge movement. I use the husky/speeco which seems to be a DHT and the speed is not a problem. If you're in a hurry you can short stroke it, meaning not let the ram retract fully with each split.

That's what I do and it keeps me very busy keeping up with the machine. Even the 'slow' motion going through a knot is just time enought to relax a bit and get in a few extra breaths.
 
I don't have a DHT brand but my 30 ton Forest King makes easy work of any wood put to it.
I may not be as concerned with cycle times as some because I just split for my own firewood and only burn about 2-4 cords a year during shoulder seasons.
Most conifers split real easy compared to hard hardwoods.
 
It's hard comparing different woods splitting, like hardwood versus soft. Most of what I split is straight grained Oak. The ram seldom pushes the blade more than an inch or so into the block and it pops right in half. So, the cycle time seems really fast, not making a full stroke. Hickory takes a full stroke with a 2X6 on the foot to pinch/clip the stringy stuff off. So it seems longer taking the full stroke. Big Oak knots will definitely slow it down. I've split very little pine, and it takes longer than Oak, again because it takes a full stroke. But, no matter what I put on my TSC 22 ton, the splitter always wins. My neighbor brought his nephews 38 ton TSC over and I actually like the smaller machine better, glad I didn't get the bigger one, Joe.
 
I am no expert but a 4" cylinder powered by 5hp briggs engine splits everything thrown at it including 22" solid and partly rotted Sycamore. maybe not as fast as a 5" cylinder with a 13hp engine. In PNW you have much bigger wood I guess.
Lady across from me has a three point splitter with 3.5" cylinder and it went right through 25-30" maple
 
You will be making a very bad decision if you look at the so called ratings of what ever splitter you think is best. You stated that your goal was to attain 30 cords to start with. Sounds very reasonable and then onto selling a few cords. Welcome to the wood world. It is hard work and will be rewarding. The common sizes of splitting power comes from the ram and nothing else. Some body that recently bought a brand new shiny splitter told me that it was able to deliver 67 tons of splitting force with only a 10 HP motor. Of course it was fiction. Most common splitters have 4", 4 1/2'', 5'', or 6'' rams. The pressure or force comes from the area of the the ram radius squared X pi X hydro pressure ( 3,000 lbs psi ). Any thing with a 4'' or larger ram will do just fine. Many AS members have recommended a unit that fits your parameters. Very good advice. A few years ago I was buying a bunch of truck loads of hardwood from this guy who was demoing some properties. The rounds averaged 30'' with some in the 70'' range and some were filled with knots. They were tough to handle even with my bobcat. Some had to be broken down a bit with wedges and a sledge hammer to get them on the cradle. As it turns out there are many tricks to get difficult rounds broken down with what ever unit is available. BTW from my experience Northern Washington, Idaho for most part is brimming with trees that are almost available from your back yard. It sound like you are going to be in wood heaven. Thanks
 
Back
Top