To Rent or To Buy a Splitter

[s37d]

I split a few cords a year by hand because a) im new to this and haven't seen the need for a power splitter and b) I'm in a suburban neighborhood so I try to keep things quiet. I usually chip away at it throughout the year, but after splitting twisted cherry and sugar maple and other very hard to split by hand woods, I think I'd rather just buck all the logs into length, pile them up, and then split them all at once with a power splitter. My question is, is it better for a guy in my situation to rent one or buy one? I don't know anything about splitters, how much they cost, which one to get, etc. Thanks

 

[Axe Man]

I recently rented a splitter for about 3 cords of apple which is a PITA to split by hand. I rented a split fire which splits in both directions so it was faster than your typical one way hydrolic splitter.
One day rental was $70 and the cost of a Huskee 22 ton is $1100. So you can rent a splitter for 16 years for the cost of an entry level splitter. No maintainance, no warranty worries.
The split fire I rented is about $3500 if you were to purchase it, so you can average that out over many more years.
That being said, I'm heading to Tractor Supply on Saturday to look at a SpeedPro.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Renting is a low cost option that will in essence allow you to test various designs and models. I have been cutting wood for over 35 years and still use a Monster Maul. If I was doing more than 6-8 cords a year a splitter may make sense, but I suspect my method is faster (and more invigorating) than a splitter.

If you are flush with cash and looking for a toy, buying might be an option. For limited use, renting is the way to go and eliminates the up front costs as well as maintenance.

 

[Hedgerow]

If you have the money to buy one, just get one... They last forever, and, if maintained correctly, hold their value quite well. If you plan on burning wood for years to come, it'll be the best investment you ever made... It also opens up the possibility of splitting ANY species of wood you chose. No longer would you have to pass on an available Elm tree because the stuff is a bear to split. Plus there's something to be said for not having to deal with the turds at the rental store...:msp_thumbdn:

 

[Encore]

Renting is probably your best bet. I used to rent and we burn 4-6 cords a year.

The place we got it from, if you picked it up after 3pm on Friday, you paid a one day rental for the entire weekend. We just got to a point though where I got tired of going split crazy for 3 days trying to split everything.

 

[beerman6]

1st 2 years I split by hand. :msp_thumbdn:

3rd year we piled it all,rented a splitter and did it all in one weekend :msp_thumbdn: :msp_thumbdn:

It's nice to have your own splitter,you can pull it out and split when you have time and dont have to bust your butt.

 

[Carl Anderson]

I burn about 3 cords a year and since I'm always too busy working and renovating my fixer-upper of a house I usually buy 2 cords and scrounge up the rest but I'm sick of that expense. I have about a cord and a half I cut 18 months ago ready to be split and figured I'd rent a splitter once a year and stash wood so I could do it all in a one weekend rental. I think that is a good strategy. I got lucky and found a 4 year old 25 ton splitter for $400 on craigslist so I snapped it up. If you can find a deal like that jump on it but in the meantime I would rent. I hate renting equipment but sometimes it makes sense.

I also do well buying old stuff, I got a 1958 Massey Ferguson loader/backhoe last year for $3,000 so now I am digging my drainage ditch without having to worry about the whole rental deal and can work when I feel like it and when the weather is ok, not in a downpour. When I am done I can sell the tractor and I won't loose a penny since I got it so cheap. I also bought an old Horse tiller and Gravley brush mower and have found enough side jobs that they have paid for themselves already. If you have a truck and some time, maybe you could sell a few cords of wood over the next couple years which would offset the expense of a splitter. Gas log splitters last for a long time and hold their value pretty well so if you get a decent used one you can always unload it later and probably not loose any money, just don't break it, .

Another option is an electric splitter. If you don't have really big logs and you have time to be patient with it, that might work out for you. They are relatively cheap, very quiet and can be used indoors (no fumes). Don't know if they save on fuel since electricity isn't cheap either. I've never used one but I see surprisingly good reviews on them. Here is a link to one at Tractor Supply that seems to be getting good reviews, just a thought.

Good luck!

SpeeCo Electric Log Splitter, 5 Ton - 2152594 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[fordss]

buy or rent

I used to split by hand for my house and help my uncle when he rented a splitter for his house. I decided I wanted a splitter because my pile of uglies was getting big so I started watching craigslist and local auctions after going to a couple auctions and seeing used splitter in th 20-25 ton range sell for $800 that were over ten years old I did some looking and found for my needs that the tsc huske was a good buy I got it at zero % for a year and a $100 gift card. plus %5 off for asking. I have ended up with alot more options now got 2 cord of this year from a guy for splitting 2 cord for him he had it cut and stacked I pulled the splitter beside the pile and kept every other split and he helped me so if you have the money and the place to keep it I think it is well worth it. I burn wood to heat my house and not use oil and I find if I make things easier for myself they get done faster. When i get wood now I split it as I unload it so It is one less time I have to handle it.

 

[Carl Anderson]

I started watching craigslist and local auctions after going to a couple auctions and seeing used splitter in th 20-25 ton range sell for $800 that were over ten years old I did some looking and found for my needs that the tsc huske was a good buy I got it at zero % for a year and a $100 gift card. plus %5 off for asking.

fordss, sounds like you got a good deal so that was a good buy for you. I agree, don't pay $800 for a used one when a new one is around $1,200. I was lucky to get mine for $400. It smokes a little but runs great. So I will watch the oil level closely and even if the engine dies, it's still well worth $400. I can repower it myself for under $200. I like to buy old equipment but I have some mechanical ability and I like tinkering so I'm not afraid to risk buying old stuff as long as it's not total junk.

I do agree it's better to have your own equipment, renting is a PITA but if all you are doing is splitting 2-3 cords a year for personal use, it's hard to justify the expense of spending $1,200 or more when you can rent one for a day at $50 or so and easily split 2-3 cords. That said, there is a lot to be said for being able to pick away at a wood pile when you have a spare hour here or there instead of taking away from family time or other projects by devoting a Saturday to splitting when renting and being forced to do it anyway whether you feel like it or not, rain or shine. So I guess you have to do what works best for you.

 

[kodiak]

...It's nice to have your own splitter,you can pull it out and split when you have time and dont have to bust your butt.

^^This.

We are currently in the rent-for-a-weekend-split-from-dawn-to-dusk mode. I'd much prefer to have one available to use on an as-needed basis.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Splitters are like pickups

Once you own one, you'll never be without, but on the other hand once you have one it's amazing how many "friends" will come out of the woodwork looking for you to help them out.

Whether the convenience of owning a splitter is worth the investment and maintenance is up to you. One other consideration, unless you have a big garage or barn storing a splitter when not in use can be a problem. Seems like they always need to be moved to get at something else.

As previously suggested, if you continue to rent see it different outlets rent different brands and styles of machines. If you do buy, you'll have a good understanding of what works for you and what doesn't.

Take Care

 

[J1m]

I was faced with this same dilemma about 2 months ago. I got 16 cord of log length delivered to the house at the beginning of August and it took two of us almost a month to buck it up and split it all.

We decided to buy instead of rent - and we're glad we did. Buying afforded us the convenience of just "chipping away" at the stack at our leisure. Sure, we could have done it quicker - but we also had the luxury of skipping days that were too rainy, too hot, guests at the house - you name it. At $50 a day where I am, we would have been OVER the price of buying it if we kept it for the whole month. So, to me - it's already paid for!

 

[Nosmo]

It Just Depends On You

What it really boils down to -- its up to you. Do you want to outlay the cash investment in more wood handling and cutting tools ?

Some folks are still raising the families , paying car payments and home mortages and just can't come up with the extras they'd like to have.

In short - if you can afford a splitter and are not really worried about what the neighbors are gonna say if you make a lot of engine noise -- go ahead and get you one.

I've only had mine 2-years - wish I had gotten it a long time before that - I am not sorry at all that I decided to buy one.

Nosmo

 

[s37d]

Thanks for all your replies.

Another option is an electric splitter. If you don't have really big logs and you have time to be patient with it, that might work out for you. They are relatively cheap, very quiet and can be used indoors (no fumes). Don't know if they save on fuel since electricity isn't cheap either. I've never used one but I see surprisingly good reviews on them. Here is a link to one at Tractor Supply that seems to be getting good reviews, just a thought.

I did just that today, had a $100 gift certificate to Home Depot so went out and bought an electric Homelite. I know some of you pros probably frown upon anything electric, but for my situation where neighbors are very close in a quiet suburban neighborhood, I think it is the best option. I had never seen a wood splitter in real life before so I was pretty excited to use it. I had about 20 huge logs of sycamore and twisted cherry that had like 20 axe marks in each one from my Fiskars splitting attempts. I loaded the first one up and hit the button, and sure enough *crack* the log split right apart. I was able to split every log I had no problem, it was just what I was looking for. It really is a violent sound when the splitter splits some of these tough gnarly logs, like the wood is dying lol. I have a big heated garage(carriage house), so I'll roll the splitter right back into the garage when I'm done with it. It was just what I was looking for and the reviews say it lasts years. I think the routine now will be - since I do enjoy hand splitting - split the ones I know I can split easily with Fiskars to increase production speed, and anything that won't split after a couple whacks throw aside for power splitting later on.

Those 20 or so un-hand-splittable logs that the power splitter made easy work of were sitting around my backyard for 3 months since I couldn't bust them open with the Fiskars or an 8 lb splitting maul. I would have had to chainsaw them in half then hand split them if I wanted them processed, so the splitter already saved me an hour+ of work.

 

[McCullochProMac]

Buy or rent

In my situation buying used was the way to go. I bought my log splitter for 300 bucks. It is a homemade splitter, but was built right. It helps to be mechanical when buying something like this but so far all I've had to do is change the oil. I was going to build one myself but for 300 bucks I couldn't pass it up. If buying used or building one wasn't an option I would have purchased a new one. Renting anything is a pain in the butt!

 

[flotek]

buy a 299$ electric splitter ,its cheap to own requires no gas or oil stores in a small space and will do 95% of what you want and youll have it forever instead of throwing money away in renting a well -used gas one,after using mine for a couple years and seeing the results of what these little guys can do instead of listening to the naysayers , it would very be hard for me to justify paying over a grand for a new gas model only to have 3 seconds faster cycle time

 

[woodman44]

If you do decide to buy one and want a quite one because of the neighborhood you need to know there is very powerful electric models on the market today. You can get a 16ton for around 1200 and a 20ton for around 1600.

I split a few cords a year by hand because a) im new to this and haven't seen the need for a power splitter and b) I'm in a suburban neighborhood so I try to keep things quiet. I usually chip away at it throughout the year, but after splitting twisted cherry and sugar maple and other very hard to split by hand woods, I think I'd rather just buck all the logs into length, pile them up, and then split them all at once with a power splitter. My question is, is it better for a guy in my situation to rent one or buy one? I don't know anything about splitters, how much they cost, which one to get, etc. Thanks

 

[D&B Mack]

I was going to say rent at first, but after reading some opinions, I would agree with the electric splitters. It is low cost but can do pretty good production for what it is worth. I have the Speeco from TSC, we use ours to resplit pieces that were a bit too large and we keep it in the garage. However, I have "tested" it out on some larger stuff and it is quite impressive for its size. At only a few cords a year, something to look at. If some rounds are too large, just noodle them down or hand split to a size the little electric can handle.

 

[gwiley]

It is hard to beat having a splitter handy when you find yourself with an hour or two to spare. I recommend looking hard for a used one AFTER this burning season. If you have to buy new, the Husky 22 ton works great but has its limits (I know, I own one). Not a problem if you don't mind pulling out the wedges and sledge hammer from time to time.

My vote is that you rent one for now and wait for the deals to show up in the spring/summer on used ones.

 

[Carl Anderson]

I did just that today, had a $100 gift certificate to Home Depot so went out and bought an electric Homelite.

I think you made a wise decision. This fits your budget, especially with the gift card you already had, it won't irriatate the neighbors and it's easy to move around, store, etc.

I am seriously thinking about getting one for my dad for Christmas. He has always wanted a splitter but his wood burning days may be coming to an end in the next couple of years so a big investment into a gas one doesn't make sense for him and he only uses a cord or two a year. I could really see him using something like this at his place in NH where he has a barrel stove in the basement and a bunch of big pine logs left from some trees he had taken down (and more still need to come down). We could roll the logs down into the basement and he could split them at his leisure in a warm dry place and stack it right there. Sure, pine burns quick but it still produces heat and he needs to get rid of the wood anyway.