Why is a horizontal faster than a vertical??
Well, I know I’ve posted most of this before… but I’ll do it again…
Making firewood (and I only make it for myself) is all about time for me… the faster I can get more done, the more time I have for other things. I never “load” anything until it’s ready for the stacks (or the firebox)… I do all the splitting at the cutting site, thereby leaving all the mess there also. Admittedly I have the advantage of making all my firewood in my own woodlot, which borders my yard on three sides.
My horizontal-only splitter weighs less than 200 lbs (I can load it in a pickup box by myself) and stores in less space than a lawn tractor uses. The beam (which doubles as the reservoir and about knee high) is positioned to one side of the axle, the engine on the other side. Because the engine and 90% of the cylinder is behind the axle they act as a counterweight, which allows me to easily lift the beam end with one hand (heck, I can lift it with one finger) and roll it around… even in soft earth. It has a 25-inch stroke with 10-second cycle time… and the “return” stroke is adjustable via a thumb screw to any desired length (which shortens the cycle time more). It is 100% hands-free auto-cycle (and auto-throttle)… just throw the lever forward and let go, the engine speeds up, the ram cycles (to the preset return stop), and the engine idles down. The valve does not have a pressure relief, and the small diameter cylinder operates at 8000 PSI… a true 18-ton of splitting force throughout the full stroke. With a low beam it is quite easy to sort’a “hook” a large round on the edge and lift/roll it onto the beam without much effort. For really large rounds the beam and cylinder tilt to the side (by loosening a single wing nut).
I almost never waste time and energy “moving” rounds; when I cut it just lays where it falls (sometimes I need to push some to the side a little, usually with my foot, so I can keep cutting). After it’s all bucked I bring in the splitter; I never “move” rounds to the splitter, I move the splitter to the rounds. Because the splitter is 100% hands-free auto-cycle I have both hands free to grab the splits as they come off the end of the beam and toss them directly in the trailer. I’ve never noticed the “low” beam as being a back-breaker… probably because the hands-free operation allows me to always be doing something else (and besides, I have to bend over to get the rounds… but I only need to lift them a few inches). Larger rounds are a piece-of-cake… I get the large round on the beam and throw the lever, after that I have both hands free to control the “off-side” half so it doesn’t fall, the “near-side” half slides off the end of the beam (away from my feet) and drops right next to me. Once I get it halved or quartered (depending) I start splitting off “firebox-size” pieces… using one hand to keep the larger part from falling, using the other hand to grab the smaller piece before it falls and toss it in the trailer. When the trailer is full I pull it directly up to the stacks.
I can easily (including beer breaks) take standing wood and convert it into a cord of stacked splits in half a day, two cord in a full day (more if I wanted to work harder/faster). Ya’ just ain’t gonna’ get all that done (felling, bucking, splitting, hauling, stacking) sitting on a stump next to an overweight, oversize, convertible splitter… especially getting up to move rounds to it. And it’s even more efficient when the wife helps; she controls/grabs/tosses all the wood coming off the beam, I put the rounds on the splitter, slap the lever and turn to grab another round… by that time the ram has returned and I place it on the beam, slap the lever and turn to grab… With her help splitting and stacking (after the saw work) we’ve converted standing wood into well over 3 cord of stacked splits before supper (including a lunch break) more than once (for some reason we just ain’t got to the full 4-cord mark yet… but we ain’t really tried either).
Heck, it's faster than splitting with maul or axe... 'cause you ain't "moving" rounds or "picking-up/loading" splits afterwards. I just move the splitter (with one hand) as I work, and nearly all the splits get tossed in the trailer without ever hitting the ground.