Firewood processor recommendations

[Tom Callas]

Hi there,

 

I hope I have put this in the right area. If not maybe an admin can move it for me?

 

I am after recommendations for a firewood processor. We have taken delivery back in August of 2 artic Lorrie’s of 8foot ash wood cords. By hand, my father (67) and I have cut up and split 5/6ths of the timber and filled our 60cubic meter shed. It took around 3-4 weeks and almost killed both of us. I expect to need to do this operation every 2-3 years. That isn’t really feasible to do by hand that often so we are looking into a processor. 
 

compared to a commercial operation we don’t get through that many logs, but we need a machine to make the processing quicker and more efficient. 
 

I am happy to spend up to £15,000, but preferably less, on a decent processor to get the job done. Our cords come in sizes ranging from 200mm up to 4-500mm wide. So it would need to be able to handle up to 450mm preferably and we can do the odd one that is larger by hand. 
 

they aren’t always perfectly straight and some are quite knotty. 
 

I need it to be able to split hardwood timber up to 35cm in length. 
 

I would also like hydraulic indeed and possibly even a log table(hydraulic if possible) to help with the loading. 
 

if anyone knows of a decent machine either new or second hand that would be up to the task I’d love to hear about it! There are plenty of cheap Chinese ones about on eBay and such that claim 50ton splitting force and up to 500mm wide logs. Not sure I trust them. Especially as most seem to be under £10,000. Unless of course someone has some experience with these cheaper machines and can vouch for their effectiveness. 
 

Edit: we have a kubota 105hp tractor if PTO is required and we have 3 phase that I can run if needed. 
 

any help would be much appreciated! Thank you,

 

tom

Edited Wednesday at 18:19 by Tom Callas

[Whoppa Choppa]

Farmi WP36 or stretch to £20k and get a Dalen. The End.

[Conor Wright]

To process over 450mm you'll need a big machine. Most of the entry level commercial machines are about 350 to 400mm and the timber must be arrow straight to utilise the full throat width of any processor. The recognised brands hold their value well so you'll still have most of your investment back a decade later if you decide to sell. This is not the case with the cheapo models. They're a hard sell out of warranty.

I've been reasonably happy with my palax machine, however there are other/ better brands out there.

Duun, tajfun, hakki pilke, farmi and posch are the first to come to mind. Posch are the best of the lot but it's reflected in the price and is probably overkill for the odd load of wood!

Some form of log deck or log lifter is a must to make any processor viable.

Anyone I've spoken to that has a farmi is very happy with it. Having had a farmi chipper I can confirm build quality is good.

Most of the above machines will cut and split from 20cm to 50cm long or more so 35cm shouldn't be an issue with any of them.

See who's near you that sells any of the above brands and go see one in the flesh, look out for forest/woodland/agri shows in the summer, there's often demos of processing equipment.

Be careful of high usage secondhand processors. If they go out of sync they can be tricky to fix as adding one new part into a system of worn parts doesn't always help. 

It would be nice if you let us know what you do chose to get, a lot of folk seem to just disappear after asking a question these days, either way, happy splitting!

[dan blocker]

I would try and get smaller diameter wood to start with? Generally only large outfits can handle 450/ 500 mm diameter wood - unless you’re getting it cheap of course! Pay a bit extra to get the wood you want, it’ll be quicker, easier to handle, easier on the processor and the body. To handle bigger stuff you’ll require a loader or crane with grab, cone splitter on a digger( knife splitters to handle that size are big money?) you’ll require a processor to handle the max diameter of the wood your buying in unless your prepared to ring up with a chainsaw and put through a splitter. Avoid Chinese stuff, it won’t last. The makes Conor listed will suffice. Be very careful buying 2nd hand unless theres known history or there’s a warranty, It could be worn out and unreliable. Fuelwood have PTO processors that might come in your budget and they do have open days. JAS Wilson are also a good company to deal with. There are others but I have dealt with the ones mentioned.

Edited Thursday at 20:28 by dan blocker
Added

[gdh]

You've got a decent budget so I would say Tajfun 400 or if you need the size 480. You'll get a decent one second hand and they're really good machines. Kilworth are the best place to look for new and used.

[Tom Callas]

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. I have looked online and saw lumag selling one capable of doing up to 500mm for about £12k. Is this one to steer clear of? The have a few different models and they are all made in Germany (known for decent engineering). I’d be interested to know peoples thoughts…

[Tom Callas]

3 hours ago, dan blocker said:

I would try and get smaller diameter wood to start with? Generally only large outfits can handle 450/ 500 mm diameter wood - unless you’re getting it cheap of course! Pay a bit extra to get the wood you want, it’ll be quicker, easier to handle, easier on the processor and the body. To handle bigger stuff you’ll require a loader or crane with grab, cone splitter on a digger( knife splitters to handle that size are big money?) you’ll require a processor to handle the max diameter of the wood your buying in unless your prepared to ring up with a chainsaw and put through a splitter. Avoid Chinese stuff, it won’t last. The makes Conor listed will suffice. Be very careful buying 2nd hand unless theres known history or there’s a warranty, It could be worn out and unreliable. Fuelwood have PTO processors that might come in your budget and they do have open days. JAS Wilson are also a good company to deal with. There are others but I have dealt with the ones mentioned.

Our wood did come very cheap in fairness. £4k for 2 artic loads we have a telehandler that I plan on getting a log grab for as the forks are a bit dodgy for moving large quantities of timber about! 

[Tom Callas]

4 hours ago, Conor Wright said:

To process over 450mm you'll need a big machine. Most of the entry level commercial machines are about 350 to 400mm and the timber must be arrow straight to utilise the full throat width of any processor. The recognised brands hold their value well so you'll still have most of your investment back a decade later if you decide to sell. This is not the case with the cheapo models. They're a hard sell out of warranty.

I've been reasonably happy with my palax machine, however there are other/ better brands out there.

Duun, tajfun, hakki pilke, farmi and posch are the first to come to mind. Posch are the best of the lot but it's reflected in the price and is probably overkill for the odd load of wood!

Some form of log deck or log lifter is a must to make any processor viable.

Anyone I've spoken to that has a farmi is very happy with it. Having had a farmi chipper I can confirm build quality is good.

Most of the above machines will cut and split from 20cm to 50cm long or more so 35cm shouldn't be an issue with any of them.

See who's near you that sells any of the above brands and go see one in the flesh, look out for forest/woodland/agri shows in the summer, there's often demos of processing equipment.

Be careful of high usage secondhand processors. If they go out of sync they can be tricky to fix as adding one new part into a system of worn parts doesn't always help. 

It would be nice if you let us know what you do chose to get, a lot of folk seem to just disappear after asking a question these days, either way, happy splitting!

Great information thanks you. I do plan to go and see whatever I end up choosing in person and have a play. But I will have a look at those brands thank you! 

[scbk]

12 minutes ago, Tom Callas said:

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. I have looked online and saw lumag selling one capable of doing up to 500mm for about £12k. Is this one to steer clear of? The have a few different models and they are all made in Germany (known for decent engineering). I’d be interested to know peoples thoughts…

Lumag is like a few other brands, made in China but with a German name

[Tom Callas]

11 hours ago, scbk said:

Lumag is like a few other brands, made in China but with a German name

Oh right ok… I was told by the chap on the phone they were actually manufactured in Germany… but worrying if they are in fact “made in china”!