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PowerSplitter thread

Roscoe294
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Roscoe294

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Rancher 2 I agree.......Thank you T Mainus
You answered a lot of questions. Im waiting to hear back from PS. I hope there is a unit in Michigan I can check out but I doubt it. If not maybe I'll make a road trip?
 
Joesell
Joesell

Joesell

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T. Mainus said:
We have the double splitter with the 25' conveyor and one log lift. Ours is older, it says Timber Devil on it. We actually bought ours from Multi-Tek up in Prentice WI. Big firewood guy from Minnesota traded it in on a Multi-Tek Processor. Our main business is storage sheds, we do that April through January, then we split firewood from Jan to April. I have 2 employees that we try to keep busy through the winter so instead of laying them off thats why we do firewood. So for me the Powersplit makes perfect sense seeing that I have 2 guys to operate it. I think the testimonials on Utube is just Powersplits way of marketing their product. I'm sure they just asked their owners to do a little video about the machine, did they pay them for it, who knows? We started with an Iron and Oak splitter, moved to a Timberwolf TW-5 with a conveyor, sold all that and bought the power split when it came available. There is no comparison between the the TW-5 and the power split. The ergonomics of the power split will make you wonder how you ever split wood before. Its hard to explain but as soon as you try one the light bulb goes on in your head and your like wow, this is so much easier. By splitting the wood with it standing on end, you don't have to wrestle it. It just stands there while you split it. You grip the piece from the outside and hold it together while you dice it up with the wedge. then the whole thing goes in the conveyor all spilt up. If your splitting stringy stuff you have to pull it apart some times but not to often.

We buy all of our wood from the loggers up north so we usually get pretty decent stuff. We get some crotches and knots but you just have to read the wood like any other splitter to see the best way to slice it up. The machine can split most of it but we do get some gnarly stuff that it just won't split. You have to remember were selling our wood, customers don't like gnarly looking stuff anyways, so if it takes to much time to split it we just throw it on the side. My neighbor has a big outdoor burner and I just drop off the gnarly stuff for him to burn. I don't like stressing the splitter anyways with the nasty stuff. You also have to watch when your splitting the nasty stuff sometimes the piece will kick out sideways and throw it at the guy working next to you. We do most of our splitting in the winter so it is usually covered in ice and snow, that makes it slip on the table as well. I've considered trying to put some kind of divider in to protect the other guy from that happening. Your knees and thighs will take a beating from wood hitting them if your not careful. You also have to try to cut all your pieces pretty square. If you have a bunch a crooked cuts, along with snow and ice, it can be pretty miserable trying to keep the pieces under the wedge.

All in all its a pretty good machine. We do get wood caught in the conveyor a couple times a day. Sometimes at the top and sometimes at the bottom. With it being all hydraulic drive though its not a big deal. Its not like your going to bust a chain like an old grain elevator. Louis at Powersplit is really nice to deal with. We have ordered parts from him that are specific to the machine no problem. If its a universal type part, he will tell you what they use so you can try to source it stateside instead of shipping it from Canada. He will also give you the names of any owners near you to go look at there machines as well.

The offer still stands if anyone wants to come look at it just let me know. Roscoe 294 not sure where in Michigan you are but Sandhill Crane wants to come look at it as well. I am south of Milwaukee. The ferry across the pond should be starting soon as well if you don't want to drive through Chicago.
Click to expand...

Are you guys splitting Monday? Maybe I'll swing by after I get the kids on the bus.
 
Roscoe294
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Roscoe294

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So I've found that Timber Devil and Powersplit are the same company. TD is the Canadian division and PS is the U.S. division. I find it strange that the U.S. division is still based out of Quebec. PS pricing is USD and there is no exchange rate given. So for example if your paying $27,000 USD for a unit at todays exchange rate, they are essentially saying their unit is worth $36,000 CAD. Hmmmmm..........
 
Roscoe294
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Roscoe294

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T. Mainus

I'm still on the fence about one of these splitters with conveyor $$$$$$$$$$$.........I found one in Michigan I plan on checking out soon but I have a few questions. How often have you had to repair your unit? What are the high wear parts? Type of repairs? I ask because it sounds like your a guy that takes care of his stuff.
Thanks
 
T. Mainus
T. Mainus

T. Mainus

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Roscoe294 said:
T. Mainus

I'm still on the fence about one of these splitters with conveyor $$$$$$$$$$$.........I found one in Michigan I plan on checking out soon but I have a few questions. How often have you had to repair your unit? What are the high wear parts? Type of repairs? I ask because it sounds like your a guy that takes care of his stuff.
Thanks
Click to expand...
My machine came from a high output firewood producer in Minnesota. Not sure how many cords he put through it but it was a lot. That being said the machine was in pretty good shape. We put a new Honda gx630 on it right away. The one cylinder had little to no compression so instead of chancing it we just swapped it out right away. You have to remember for the most part I only split wood for 3 months a year. Any breakdowns really screw me up so I can't afford any down time. This year the control valve for the conveyor started leaking a little bit. Called Powersplit and he gave me the model number of the valve so I could source it state side. That was $175.00. We broke one of the foot pedals this year that you step on to activate the wedge. That was just a fatigue issue, had my fab guy make up 2 so we had a spare. $40.00. At the top of the elevator there is a chain sprocket that has a bearing in it for the conveyor chain. Mine had the bearing gone when we got it, they adjusted the tensioner out all the way so the sprocket rides on the bolt. It works just fine that way, just squeaks a little. We ordered a new one from Powersplit, $150.00 for the whole assembly, but I haven't even put it on yet. We have never had a chain break on the conveyor but next year I am probably going to order some spare parts from power split just to have them on hand in case it ever does happen. The conveyor is hydraulic drive from the bottom of the conveyor. I might get a spare drive motor as well because that runs non stop all day, that is probably the one area that is the "high wear" part of the whole machine. The shaft for that has a pillow block bearing with a grease zerk on it. We keep that greased pretty religiously. For the most part its a pretty bullet proof machine. There is nothing really complicated on it as far as repairs go to worry about. We did notice this year that the right splitter does not have as much power as the left one does. I am assuming that the cylinder might be leaking internally a little bit thus the loss of power. Plan on having that one cylinder rebuilt this off season as well. If you were buying a new machine and depending on how much you use it, I would think you could go for a awhile before it needing any major repairs.
 
Roscoe294
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Roscoe294

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Sep 20, 2009
Messages
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Location
Michigan
T. Mainus said:
My machine came from a high output firewood producer in Minnesota. Not sure how many cords he put through it but it was a lot. That being said the machine was in pretty good shape. We put a new Honda gx630 on it right away. The one cylinder had little to no compression so instead of chancing it we just swapped it out right away. You have to remember for the most part I only split wood for 3 months a year. Any breakdowns really screw me up so I can't afford any down time. This year the control valve for the conveyor started leaking a little bit. Called Powersplit and he gave me the model number of the valve so I could source it state side. That was $175.00. We broke one of the foot pedals this year that you step on to activate the wedge. That was just a fatigue issue, had my fab guy make up 2 so we had a spare. $40.00. At the top of the elevator there is a chain sprocket that has a bearing in it for the conveyor chain. Mine had the bearing gone when we got it, they adjusted the tensioner out all the way so the sprocket rides on the bolt. It works just fine that way, just squeaks a little. We ordered a new one from Powersplit, $150.00 for the whole assembly, but I haven't even put it on yet. We have never had a chain break on the conveyor but next year I am probably going to order some spare parts from power split just to have them on hand in case it ever does happen. The conveyor is hydraulic drive from the bottom of the conveyor. I might get a spare drive motor as well because that runs non stop all day, that is probably the one area that is the "high wear" part of the whole machine. The shaft for that has a pillow block bearing with a grease zerk on it. We keep that greased pretty religiously. For the most part its a pretty bullet proof machine. There is nothing really complicated on it as far as repairs go to worry about. We did notice this year that the right splitter does not have as much power as the left one does. I am assuming that the cylinder might be leaking internally a little bit thus the loss of power. Plan on having that one cylinder rebuilt this off season as well. If you were buying a new machine and depending on how much you use it, I would think you could go for a awhile before it needing any major repairs.
Click to expand...
Thanks T.Mainus that's exactly what I needed to know...............for now
 
locochainsaw
locochainsaw

locochainsaw

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Dec 25, 2012
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illinois
The conveyor is def the only thing I ever have a problem with on mine. I’ve often thought about getting a unit without a conveyor and buying a hyd belt conveyor. The splitter is amazing
 
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