Domestic log splitter.

[peatff]

My 4 ton splitter has given up on me and I need something stronger but preferably electric and not too costly. Do the 7 ton horizontal machines that look like mine have much more poke for some Beech my old one wouldn't even look at? 

[Brian S]

I have one of these   http://www.forest-master.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=32&virtuemart_category_id=2&Itemid=125

 

Does a good job, more than happy with it

[Billhook]

This is a handy one for the house.  5 ton Quick and quiet.  Around £450

 

I see there is now a 7 tons version here at £499

http://www.briantsltd.co.uk/product/portek-quiksplit-7-7t-log-splitter

 

 

 

[Stihl123]

i have a 7 ton Portek one, they are very good on straight stuff but on anything nasty then it won't touch it

if you have one person loading and the other doing the levers, you can shift alot of wood seriously quickly 

[peatff]

1 hour ago, Stihl123 said:

i have a 7 ton Portek one, they are very good on straight stuff but on anything nasty then it won't touch it

if you have one person loading and the other doing the levers, you can shift alot of wood seriously quickly 

That's what I am finding. We are getting arb "arisings" and a lot of it is knotty gnarly stuff I end up cutting down the grain with the saw. I'd like to take a piece of wood to split as a demonstration before buying my next splitter, all the videos show old soft looking stuff being split. Thanks for the pointers I'm dithering now as the Portek looks like a better option than the whining from the hydraulic splitter plus how slow it moves.

[david wood]

I would take a nice old lump of elm or oak to test - gets through those and its nice. 

[Stihl123]

mine doesn't like elm!! but it'll do oak fine

[Steve Bullman]

Elm would be a big ask for any domestic splitter I reckon.

[woody paul]

Best test for any splitter is a knotty piece of field maple.

[Billhook]

I think that you have to be reasonable here with the Portek.  It is a very quick and easy and quiet way of splitting sensible logs in a domestic situation.  I found it to be as good as the hydraulic splitter on my Palax Combi and it split some stuff that I was not expecting it to.

You need to be firm with the handle otherwise it will sometimes kick back and if you are not holding it firmly it can hurt.

It is obviously not an industrial machine for a firewood business, but it has a place in my domestic woodshed.