Mighty Ox splitters

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Jsheds

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I've been reading this forum for a long time and appreciate all the help available here. I've read a lot of threads on wood splitters and have decided it's time to really upgrade. I'm looking for a high production splitter with log lift, adjustable 4 or 6 way wedge and quality build. The Timberwolf TW5 or 6 looks like a decent unit, but looks like it sits very low to the ground. I haven't seen one in person. I've also been looking at the Mighty OX LS-30. Very expensive, but it looks like it's built like a tank. Does anyone have one of these? There are only a few videos on line and not much discussion that I can find about this unit. I've seen one of the L30 models in person and the build quality is excellent. The cycle times are a bit slow compared to some others, but it's standard with a 30" cylinder rather than 24", so the ram speed is similar to other machines. Thanks for any help you can give.
Jim
 
The company I work for just bought one yesterday to replace the dozens of splitters we've broken over the years. Time will tell if this one will last. Looks like it can split some of our big logs but I haven't seen it in action yet.
 
Take a look at American Wood Splitters. Made in upstate NY. Their bigger splitters are available with log lift and a 6 way wedge although I believe it's a slip on, not hydraulically adjustable. I've run an 8 hp one for years, splitting stuff I wouldn't sell tree length because it was to big or ugly. No failures yet. While not quite a TW 6 it's a lot less money.
 
I run a TW-6 with a 4-way.
I have never used or seen a Mighty Ox LS-30 splitter. Having watch the Mighty Ox LS-30 video on their website, my observations are this. The layout of the splitters features are somewhat different than we are used to seeing. First off it is a horizontal splitter with six-way wedge and log lift for handling the big stuff. What is different is the dual, side by side hydraulic pumps, the convertible push plate cover that slips off revealing a huge single wedge, the position of the hydraulic tank and axle under the six-way wedge, and the addition of a high sided table grate to channel splits from the tall multi winged wedge.
So what are the pluses and minuses: Not always so one sided and simple to determine as everyone works different. First it is a big machine with a 30" stroke. The axle/table great at one end the tongue at the other, which works well whether your discharging splits in piles or a conveyor. The axle and large wheels are out of the way, unless you are pulling split pieces forward to re-split, in which case the tall sided table grate, wheels and hydraulic tank could also become a hinderance. The convertible push plate/single wedge seems nice... if... the removable cover retains its shape over time and abuse, and still slides on/off easily. The dual pumps idea is great. I have often wondered why the TW-6 has a twenty horse engine to spin a 22 gpm two stage pump when a thirteen horse engine does it on a TW-5 with the same pump. There must be something there I do not understand about hydraulics. I have seen stacked pumps, but never a side by side pump setup like the Might Ox LS-30. Then a perhaps minor thing, is the rather small engine mounted gas tank for a splitter of this size.
In my case I do not think this splitter would work well because of the 30" stroke, and it does not seem to accommodate re-splitting. If you have access to big wood and are feeding an outdoor boiler it might be a good fit, and desirable with the 30" capability. The price on the website was $12,490.delivered.
 
We got the L-30, not the bigger LS-30 model. It has a 13hp engine but just the one pump. All our wood is big because we chip anything under about 14". The biggest stuff we are going to have to rent a tub grinder for. No way to split 40" cottonwood stumps and crane logs.
 
Outfeed grill needs to be longer or at least a grill with tray on the other end of the conveyor because the sprung sides of the splitter outfeed area are not letting enough trash fall down and through the too-short outfeed grill.

Good to see American made. Would have been good to read more info on their chippers on their site.
 
Pics of the chairs ?
Here's mine right after I finished it. I tried out the splitter today. Had no problem splitting a green 24" siberian elm round but there is one problem. When using the regular wedge (without the 4-way slipped over it) there is a 2-3" gap between the end of wedge's stroke and the plate. With the stringy elm sometimes it did not separate the pieces.
12783739_10153405213242304_2091354539865662849_o.jpg

photo.php
 
Love the chairs.

I didn't get any replies about the Mighty Ox last fall when I first posted this, so figured no one was interested, but I did end up with the LS-30. I couldn't find anybody that had one, so I went to the factory about an hour from me. They gave me a demo and I was impressed with the quality. I like things that are built to last and this looks like it. It weighs a little over 2,000 pounds, has a lot of steel in it. It is much heaver, with thicker steel than any of the Timberwolf splitters I saw and has a better working height for me. It has twin hydraulic pumps off one Honda engine, and pre-plumbed to add a hydraulic elevator that hitches on the back at the out feed table. I agree that the grate is too small, you can push a lot of wood through this, and without the elevator, cleaning the split wood out of the way is what slows me down now.

Some of the first wood I split with it was 36" knot filled oak and it was a challenge. The lift will pick it up and put it into place, but even with the wedge down and only splitting 4 ways, it wouldn't push it right through, but get stuck on the wedge, which is a real problem. Sometimes you can knock it off the wedges by raising and lowering the wedge to pry i toff, others you just have to keep working at it until you get it through. But, you can also remove the push plate and expose a single wedge mounted right on the ram and that will go through about anything. The only problem is, then you have two huge chunks you have to wrestle out of the the way to keep going. Also, some of the big stuff will split the lower half of the round and then you have to fight to get the top half off the out feed and back to the splitting end. All of that is a pain, but WAY better than the old single wedge splitter I had been using.

If you have a rounds that are 24" diameter or less, this thing is a beast and can process firewood faster than you can feed or clean up after it. Overall I'm very happy with it. The only thing I'd really like to have is a suspension for towing. It has highway tires, but the axles are mounted directly to the frame and towing it not fun at all. Even towing with an F-350, it tends to bounce and push the truck around. It is very expensive for a log splitter, especially for non-commercial use, but probably the last one I'll ever need to buy.
Jim
 
Same issue with the TW-6 and suspension. I have made half a dozen one hundred mile trips with no suspension. Good road no problem. Rough road it is push/pull. I hate it. Note: Be sure to shut the gas off and run the carb dry before towing, or gas may get in the crank case.

The last five mile trip... I hate to even think about it. I pulled into my buddies gravel drive way and he starts waving his arms to stop. I had drug the end of log lift cylinder about twenty feet down his driveway. The cylinder pins have the hair pin style keepers vs cotter pins. The beam pin remained on the log lift but the foot pin dropped out, and now the end of the cylinder connector is no longer red. We found the pin fifty feet up the drive. I had put a ratchet strap from the log cradle to the tip of the log lift to reduce bounce of the lift when towing. Had I not done that the entire lift would have been dragging.
 
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/splitting-elm-made-easy.247338/
Check out this thread @crotchclimber showing how I deal with stringy elm. My speeco is a lot smaller than yours and it only has a single wedge for splitting. Works great.
Yeah I figured it needed a spacer made. I much prefer the design where the wedge is fixed and the ram pushes a plate that way you can just put another piece to finish splitting the first. Sounds like the LS-30 has the option for a wedge on both sides? That could be nice.
 
Love the chairs.

I didn't get any replies about the Mighty Ox last fall when I first posted this, so figured no one was interested, but I did end up with the LS-30. I couldn't find anybody that had one, so I went to the factory about an hour from me. They gave me a demo and I was impressed with the quality. I like things that are built to last and this looks like it. It weighs a little over 2,000 pounds, has a lot of steel in it. It is much heaver, with thicker steel than any of the Timberwolf splitters I saw and has a better working height for me. It has twin hydraulic pumps off one Honda engine, and pre-plumbed to add a hydraulic elevator that hitches on the back at the out feed table. I agree that the grate is too small, you can push a lot of wood through this, and without the elevator, cleaning the split wood out of the way is what slows me down now.

Some of the first wood I split with it was 36" knot filled oak and it was a challenge. The lift will pick it up and put it into place, but even with the wedge down and only splitting 4 ways, it wouldn't push it right through, but get stuck on the wedge, which is a real problem. Sometimes you can knock it off the wedges by raising and lowering the wedge to pry i toff, others you just have to keep working at it until you get it through. But, you can also remove the push plate and expose a single wedge mounted right on the ram and that will go through about anything. The only problem is, then you have two huge chunks you have to wrestle out of the the way to keep going. Also, some of the big stuff will split the lower half of the round and then you have to fight to get the top half off the out feed and back to the splitting end. All of that is a pain, but WAY better than the old single wedge splitter I had been using.

If you have a rounds that are 24" diameter or less, this thing is a beast and can process firewood faster than you can feed or clean up after it. Overall I'm very happy with it. The only thing I'd really like to have is a suspension for towing. It has highway tires, but the axles are mounted directly to the frame and towing it not fun at all. Even towing with an F-350, it tends to bounce and push the truck around. It is very expensive for a log splitter, especially for non-commercial use, but probably the last one I'll ever need to buy.
Jim

Hello Jim, I live in Denmark, for daily I set up fence for a security company. In my spare time I work with wood on several fronts, I buy wood on the root of a nearby manor house, it's normal thinning of deciduous trees, as well as selective thinning of larger trees. I have taken some courses at the Danish Forest School, within tree climbing and pruning, lowering of branches and heavier log parts. which subsequently resulted in, on a smaller scale, that I also help a local arborist, primarily for the most part as a ground man, but expects to climb over time.
I have worked with tree felling and reprocessing and sale of firewood for many years. My first log splitter was a MTD model 522. The one I have now are a Troybilt LS-275 with Honda engine.
Excellent wood splitters for the small money, but have their limitations on splitting speed, but the strength lies in the flexibility.
Here in the spring of 2017, I worked up hardwood enough to fill a timber truck with trailer, 18.5 cords, I also replaced my 2 older Echo chainsaws, with a Stihl MS 261 C-M and a Stihl MS 661 C-M-W, so it was a powerful update on the cutting site, I have harvested the logs in 9.85' lengths, it is standard in Denmark, but I sell firewood, where the pieces are 0.82' long, so each log is divided into 12 pieces, after which I split the pieces on my Troy-Bilt LS-275. I can split 1 cords at 3.62 hours, so it's a very slow process, and ruin the profil, If we talk about hourly wages?
Since I only work with firewood in my spare time, I did not think I would invest in a cut / split machine what you in the USA name firewood processor. Here in Europe, most of the firewood processor's which could be economic realistic for me, are intended for work with diameters of about 1 - 1.5 ', they are expensive, the prices are exclusive feeding table, and many of the models need to be driven with a tractor's pto outlet. in order to work optimally, should also have a loader, in order to feed the feeding table.
In order to reduce the splitting time, I have searched the internet, to find alternatives, to the expensive firewood processors. I just fell over the machine that you apparently also found interesting
But I found it a bit expensive, but quality costs and if it's a robust machine, it can hopefully last for many years in addition.
What I notice is that it can be pulled after a passenger car, but there aren't so many details on the conveyor, which is a purchase opportunity, could be nice to know if the conveyor belt could be transported after a car on the public road?
It's hard to evaluate this log splitter from a video, what I noticed, is that the 6-way splitter seems a bit inadequate, or said otherwise, seems to split the wood rather roughly, I like that firewood pieces which I sell, are split quite small, so it dries faster and gives less smoke, better and cleaner combustion.
That's why it would be great if there had been a larger selection of split irons available, but it should be possible to have a Smith to create a splitting wedge head, with more then 6 part iron?. The question is just about the hydraulic cylinder have the power to push the log through to example a 12 part iron, maybe more?

Can you contribute with a little experience so far?
How many cords can you split in one hour average, we talk about average logs with variable diameters and alternating tree species?
What are your previous experience with the machine, are you overall satisfied with the purchase?
Have you had any repairs?
Is there a starter on the engine?
Have you purchased a conveyor for the machine, does it work optimally? able to be towed after a car?

Thanks in advance!
Sincerely Mr. Bendt Kristensen
 

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