Where in CT are you from? I started out cutting wood the winter before I got my stove installed (3years ago). I split my first 5 cord with a maul and sledge/wedge along with a fiskars x27 that I wasted $50 on. The fiskars definitely split wood but it was not some miracle tool I can't live without.
When I decided to switch to burning wood instead of oil it was because I was spending close to $5000 a year in oil. Money was tight, I got by with a hand me down maul and wedges and a 14" 35cc echo chainsaw. I cut some 25" oak and hickory. I was painfully slow to cut, splitting was much more productive. I then picked up a poulan 3400 56cc saw off craigslist for $25 and I was amazed at how much more productive I became. I cut up and brought home 5 more cord and borrowed a H/V splitter which made me even more productive. I cut faster and I split everything the first try not fooling around with a maul and then getting out the wedges to power though the tough pieces.
I watched craigslist for a year before I snagged a splitter, Yard Machine 27 ton with a honda engine in like new condition of $350. I also picked up a trailer cheap off CL. I also picked up a dolmar 7900 off this site for $300.
My advice to you having just gone through it would be to.
1. get your wood cut and split now, if that means a loaner splitter from a friend I would take it.
2. get the trailer
3.get a splitter I like mine only because I got a deal on it. If I was buying new I would look at the Ariens or Husky 22 ton on sale from tractor supply.
4.save money for a newer saw 60cc range stihl 291 391 or a 362 if you have the money(highest resale), huskvarna 460 555 562, or a dolmar/makita 6421 (Cheap)
5. Work on a wood shed. If you can get a few years ahead on wood and and store it under a roof the wood should have less moisture in it.
I am planning and saving for a wood shed / pole barn for next year. The humidity has been so high in CT the past few years that I feel it impedes the drying process of the wood and it is compounded by the rain, we get rain the a humid streak and the more rain. At least witha roof you keep the rain off it and you can still have air flow whereas a tarp restricts air flow.
If you need to buy a new splitting tool I would buy the Stihl maul over the fiskars.
When I decided to switch to burning wood instead of oil it was because I was spending close to $5000 a year in oil. Money was tight, I got by with a hand me down maul and wedges and a 14" 35cc echo chainsaw. I cut some 25" oak and hickory. I was painfully slow to cut, splitting was much more productive. I then picked up a poulan 3400 56cc saw off craigslist for $25 and I was amazed at how much more productive I became. I cut up and brought home 5 more cord and borrowed a H/V splitter which made me even more productive. I cut faster and I split everything the first try not fooling around with a maul and then getting out the wedges to power though the tough pieces.
I watched craigslist for a year before I snagged a splitter, Yard Machine 27 ton with a honda engine in like new condition of $350. I also picked up a trailer cheap off CL. I also picked up a dolmar 7900 off this site for $300.
My advice to you having just gone through it would be to.
1. get your wood cut and split now, if that means a loaner splitter from a friend I would take it.
2. get the trailer
3.get a splitter I like mine only because I got a deal on it. If I was buying new I would look at the Ariens or Husky 22 ton on sale from tractor supply.
4.save money for a newer saw 60cc range stihl 291 391 or a 362 if you have the money(highest resale), huskvarna 460 555 562, or a dolmar/makita 6421 (Cheap)
5. Work on a wood shed. If you can get a few years ahead on wood and and store it under a roof the wood should have less moisture in it.
I am planning and saving for a wood shed / pole barn for next year. The humidity has been so high in CT the past few years that I feel it impedes the drying process of the wood and it is compounded by the rain, we get rain the a humid streak and the more rain. At least witha roof you keep the rain off it and you can still have air flow whereas a tarp restricts air flow.
If you need to buy a new splitting tool I would buy the Stihl maul over the fiskars.