The Ultimate Log Splitter Comparison – Which one is Right for You?

Hey it's Brock here from Rock Hill Farms I'm back out here with my friend Adam From Hometown acres and today we're Going to do a comparison of different Ways to split wood personally aside from Having a splitting mole that I use a few Times a year I've got a homeowner grade Log splitter and I've got a skid steer Mount log splitter Adam has two Different types of wood splitters that I've never used and we're going to run Those today and then we're going to kind Of give our thoughts about a situation Where this might be the right tool for You if you want to step up from your Home owner grade splitter or why maybe It not might not be and maybe one of the Other options is better yeah so you want To tell them real quick what the two Machines you have are yeah so this first One here right behind us is an Easton Made axis it is a commercial grade log Splitter It's not your traditional push type log Splitter that you push it through a Wedge the wedge is actually on the Hydraulic cylinder itself and you work On this work table which is nice and Waist height this is not a high Production machine this is more for Splitting perfect pretty firewood that You would bundle and sell to people who Uh you know go use for for going camping And stuff like I got an example right

Here This would be you know you've got very Good Precision control to split perfect Firewood uh so it's a little bit slower But you have much more control over Where the knife is going to be on the Log so that's the first machine we'll Take a look at the second one is more of A production machine it is a firewood Processor it takes whole logs uh Cuts Them splits them and runs them up into a Conveyor and puts them into whatever Package IBC totes dump trailer or Whatever that you're using to store your Firewood in so what we're going to do Today is we're going to run them both And then we'll sit down and give you my Review as someone who's used them once And Adam's review as someone who has a Lot more experience on it so let's do it Should be a lot of fun Oh Number one thing I'm automatically a big Fan of is the log lift my biggest Nuisance with firewood is everything That gets big and I don't like picking It up [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] Foreign [Music]

[Music] [Music] Doggy I want to test the theory out I Don't know if this is real or not but Hey Doug That's like magic you're not tolerant For me where did you come from I usually Hide in the bushes if you guys watch Hometown Acres you know neighbor Doug Shows up anytime you need him Hold up Foreign this is three-point Mount PTO Driven you're supposed to be able to Pick it up and carry it with your Tractor but this unit is actually too Heavy for the tractor he's got it's It's a 35 horsepower tractor and it's Supposed to pick up about 1600 to 1700 Pounds on the three point But this is Designed for a larger tractor than what I have the PTO power requirement is only I think 25 horsepower at the PTO which My tractor has that I just don't have The lifting capacity to move it around And luckily you don't have to carry it To run it so yeah Three That'd be a much better one it's not a Little bit of twist to it but it should Still be all right so Adam This right here Is a long deck that is an accessory to The processor is that correct yeah and

If you look it's got hydraulic hoses That run from the log deck to the Machine and what that runs is this Infeed forward so that will work them With the mg belt and they'll spin at the Same speed So you've got a contact Point here and a Contact Point here To feed that log So there's a hydraulic motor on the main Unit that runs this so this is a Completely manual model uh there's no Hydraulic levers down here there's lunch Can hear that controls basically just Have this arm here that controls the end Speed and the saw and the splitter so Again see if you push it forward [Music] Stop pushing it forward and pull the Control arm down when you break the saw Down and I'll show you that real quick We're gonna advance [Music] [Music] All right [Music] Okay [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] Tell you what I was really impressed With both of those machines and I I've Seen them both in multiple videos and I

Didn't really get it until I was the one Doing it Hey so besides the those two machines That we just looked at down here that Belong to Adam I have the inverted skid Steer log splitter and it fits a very Unique purpose and what I'm realizing is That both of your machines are also for A specific purpose So yeah I don't I don't think that there Is a perfect log splitter for everybody Or that's perfect for every situation There's different products out there for Different people and and different Operations and I think there's a number Of operations that it makes sense to Have two different things because you Can do multiple different businesses Like we were talking about the estimated Access is good if you're selling bundled Firewood or Camp firewood Um whereas the other one is great for Churning out wood that you can sell for People to heat with homes uh so it's It's good to have more than one machine And a little bit of diversity and I'd Say if you ask the question like what is The perfect firewood splitting tool There's a percentage of people that the Perfect tool is the splitting mole They enjoy doing it it's good exercise It Heats you twice and you only you uh Recover your your sunk cost in the first Chord or the first Rick yeah and then

Maybe you only do just a little bit yeah And that's fine and then up from that You go to a homeowner splitter which the First time you get a homeowner hydraulic Log splitter like wow this is so much Better but That is up to a certain amount of Firewood in a certain situation where That works great and if you're only Splitting for yourself and you split a Little throughout the year you can it'll Do the job just fine for one family but If you're wanting to do more or you need To do more then You start running into a lot of Different options and I think that's Where it gets a little bit confusing Now I'll talk first about the one I have At home the other option Because there seems like everyone Misunderstands the usage of that Attachment and it's for a very small Niche of people first you already own a Skid loader second you handle really Large rounds And in my operation it would never be The only way you split firewood if You're in a firewood business or any Situation because you have to drive over To each piece And Orient yourself to it and it's Cumbersome and it's it's kind of slow But I I don't know if there's anything Better for if you have a gigantic rounds

36 40 inches You can sit in the comfort of a heated Cab and split that Up I mean and you never pick anything up Even with the estimate access with the Log lift a 30 or 40 inch round you're Still going to be struggling to Manhandle it underneath the splitting Wedge trying to slide it on the table And all that and then once you get it Busted in half now you've got to move One half out of the way to split the Other one yeah I could definitely see a Skid steer mounted splitter to be Helpful there and if you think about an Operation kind of like what you have but Let's say you went just a little bit Further and you're doing full time and Maybe even you haven't one employee and You're processing a lot of wood you say Your understanding is everything that's Too big to mess with gets pushed over There and one day we come through and we Split that all from inside the log Splitter and the same thing is true About the the ones that go on them end Of a mini excavator and those are more Convenient but everyone's like well That's not as good as the one on a mini Excavator yeah but I don't have a mini Excavator so those are great for sitting In your comfort and dealing with the big Rounds but that you can't do everything With that so that's an accompaniment to

Another way to split wood and for me it Replaces the splitting mold for things That are big So then you mentioned With the Easton made the axis that's an Awesome tool I was so impressed with That that I can split that one round in About 30 seconds or less into like 15 pieces Grab them all under one arm and I've got They're all perfect uniform size you're Able to set it directly underneath that Knife and it just gives you such Precision control and allows you to do That you can't do that with any other Type of splitter the the vertical I'm Not going to say the estimate axis is The only one but those vertical style Splitters with the table are the only Ones you can really kind of do that Checkered pattern flip it and and make Little two by two inch sticks and I Don't sell bundle firewood I don't make Bundle firewood really and I I was like Well what's how practical is that for me But man the biggest inconvenience I have Splitting firewood is everything I have Is big and even a 20 inch piece you Split it and now you're like each of These needs to be split three more times And where do I put them and all that's Gone and you kind of mentioned it as It's not the fastest way to process bulk Firewood in larger pieces

Uh it's dramatically faster than a Homeowner's splitter to buff one Roundup Into any size pieces it is absolutely Faster than a standard Home Depot log Splitter Um the other thing with that Precision That you have that's really nice on it Is if you have like you said big rounds That are 30 40 inches whatever Inevitably you're going to find some That have knots in them and so you can Take that and work around that knot and So it just gives you a little bit more Flexibility you can take some ugly wood And get the 90 of of that round that's Nice and pretty and uh process it into Into good firewood and then that one That has the big knot in it just take That throw it to the side or whatever Yep and then I the one that I don't have Experience with talking about Five different splitting options I've Never used A commercial grade horizontal log Splitter with like a six-way wedge that Moves up and down have you ever got to Use something like that I have so before We had the axis we had an Easton made 1222 and they are they are your Production machine they're gonna make You a lot of firewood very quickly uh But you're gonna have to be pulling a Lot of material back so if you send a Big round through you're gonna have to

Pull all that stuff back and run it Through again and it also creates a lot More Waste and kindling and mulch type pieces Uh just because you're running it Through a six-way knife and it's just Shredding the wood as it's pushing it Through so you'll get nice firewood out Of it and it'll make it quickly but There's a lot more waste that comes off As well one interesting note on those Products is we're looking at these other Options as being this is good for this And this is good for that if you could Only have one thing does it seem like That might be the way to go I think so I Think I would sacrifice the little bit Of uh production for the Precision at Least in what I do that that would be The one if I had to pick one machine That'd be what I'd go it would be the The horizontal commercial splitter like The other axis you the East and made you Had no the accident I'd go with the axis I think over the 1222 so I've ran Several things I've never ran one of Those types like I was talking about but I I think that axis seems like it's hard To be yeah out of all the Splitters that I've run that's probably been my Favorite okay so if it's so great why do You have a firewood processor Speed production Um I can make I mean you saw we split

Two or three logs in what like five Minutes and we had almost a full IBC Tote which is a third of a cord in five Minutes yeah and I asked that question Hoping for an answer that's basically What you gave in that that is it's a Jet engine it splits and I mean you can Produce a lot of firewood it's a perfect It would be the perfect tool except that It requires you to have the exact right Size of logs it has a limit on the size And you also have to have You know that room to set up that table And then you've got to load the back of It and so you have to have the equipment To handle that yeah you've got to have The material handling equipment and You've got to have the log supply of Nice straight skinny firewood poles Because the max log diameter you can run Through that is 14 inches uh so you Really can't go much over that so really It comes down to what are you selling Are you selling campfire wood wood for Heat uh what kind of business are you Running but also what matters is what Does your supply look like are you Getting Tree Service wood are you Cutting your own wood from back in in on Your own property uh are you having log Trucks deliver you firewood that's a big Influence over what equipment will be Best for you that's absolutely what I Was thinking about because if if you

Brought that to me tomorrow I wouldn't Be able to use it I don't have anything I don't have any logs on my property They're the right size and But I can see I have a source I know how I can get some and you could start Sourcing logs the way you do Um because you buy truckloads of logs Correct yeah and uh the one thing back To kind of how we were talking about Having multiple different pieces of Equipment kind of how I use those Together is if I get a 13 or 14 inch log That's at the max diameter of what will Run through the processor when I run Those logs through the six-way wedge It'll give me pieces that are larger Than what I'm looking for that ideal Size and so then I'll use the estimate Axis as a re-splitter I'll take those Bigger splits off the processor and go And split them in half one more time With the axis to give me you know the Good campfire size wood pieces so I Guess if we want to be Covering all the bases in this have you Ever ran one of those excavator Splitters I have not it seems like that Would be a handy option but it's still It's not replacing either of your two Machines out there that's more for Dealing with those big ones I think yeah And I can still do them with the axis It's just not as comfortable you know

Trying to manhandle a two or three Hundred pound round than it is sitting In an air-conditioned or heated cab on a Day like today and then the uh then the Other option is the like tractor Mount Three point Splitters and most of those I don't like the idea of having a Splitter on the back of my tractor Because I carry Logs with the tractor And those are almost more replacement For your homeowner splitter right But hey I think I love the setup you've Got I think if you You do a lot of firewood already but if You wanted to go in full time you've got A nice equipment set up for it the Excavator is perfect yeah so I Appreciate you giving me the opportunity To try some of this out I always love Having people over to take a look at the Equipment and they'll and then obviously The last thing is cost that's a pretty Dramatic price increase to go up to the East and made and then the processor is Going to be even more than that so you Always have to factor that in yeah um I Mean we could put a link down in the Description to current pricing uh but I Think right now probably the estimate Axis is around somewhere between 11 and 13 000 and the yappa firewood processor Is Somewhere 20-ish thousand dollars so It's definitely an investment it's it's

Not something for the homeowner uh it's Somebody that wants to Probably burn wood for themselves but Also you know you're definitely thinking About selling wood it's not a question Of if but how much and I can tell you if You're making decisions about is do you Want to be in the firewood business the Best resource I can recommend to you is Watch this guy's videos Hometown acres Is the YouTube channel he makes a lot of Videos about splitting firewood but he Also talks a lot about the economics of How much did he spend on chains and Fuel And keep on creation the machines Depreciation he goes very detailed on The math and can help you make some of Those decisions the the biggest problem I see with a lot of people who do Firewood is they they don't charge Enough for the product that they're Selling they don't understand their Costs and they don't understand that They're charging less than what it costs Them to make it and so we try to help People understand that and charge more For the product that they're selling yep So make sure you check out Adam's Channel I appreciate you watching this Video I'll put links on the screen to More of our videos and we'll see you Next time