What is the smallest diameter cord wood for cone splitter?

[cessna]

I am wondering if any one uses a cone splitter to split cordwood as small as 6" diameter,if you do, which make model do you use and on what size of digger. At the other end of the scale what is the largest diameter the same machine will split.

Edited May 17, 2016 by cessna
bad wording

[AardvarkTreeServices]

6"is about the largest log I'd use so cord at that size just goes through the circular saw but a cone splitter will take it down to kindling size if you want, but probably a bit tricky if you using a digger mounted one

 

Largest dia I've had on a Hycrack 2 is 3 1/2 foot ring but its not just the diameter that matters as I've had gnarly 18" rings stall an old DB880. If you've got the power in the diggers hydraulics not to stall the cone then you'd get through some pretty sizeable trunks/chunks. Have look on youtube as theres plenty of clips there.

[richy_B]

I've only got limited experience of cone splitters but at smaller sizes it is down to the skill of the operator. Trying to split 6" stuff will not be very productive though. The larger the diameter stuff seems more dependent on the length than anything else. You could split 60cm rings if they were already cut to firewood length without too much drama. A 60cm diameter log that is 3 metres long is a very different deal.

[cessna]

I should of said that I am asking about the cone splitters driven by hydraulic motor/s,and attached to mini,midi or Heavy Duty 360 digger e.g "Lasco" type.

[Melodeon]

I have a Black Splitter S2 630 (as supplied by the good people at Exac-1) on my Yanmar ViO-50, and it has handled everything I've thrown at it to date.

This includes ugly gnarly Leylandii trunks a meter across at the thick end, and chunks of big old veteran Ash, Beech and Chestnut, in lengths of 1 to 4 meters.

It IS possible to stall it in particularly large/knotty stuff, but it's really only a matter of addressing the victim from the right direction and working with the grain of the timber, exactly as you would do when splitting ugly stuff with an axe.

I haven't tried it on stuff down around 6", but I have no doubt it'd be perfectly capable of doing a nice neat job.

 

Here it is after reducing a bunch of Leylandii to manageable sizes (the log against the blade is for bracing the work piece):

[cessna]

I have a Black Splitter S2 630 (as supplied by the good people at Exac-1) on my Yanmar ViO-50, and it has handled everything I've thrown at it to date.

This includes ugly gnarly Leylandii trunks a meter across at the thick end, and chunks of big old veteran Ash, Beech and Chestnut, in lengths of 1 to 4 meters.

It IS possible to stall it in particularly large/knotty stuff, but it's really only a matter of addressing the victim from the right direction and working with the grain of the timber, exactly as you would do when splitting ugly stuff with an axe.

I haven't tried it on stuff down around 6", but I have no doubt it'd be perfectly capable of doing a nice neat job.

 

Here it is after reducing a bunch of Leylandii to manageable sizes (the log against the blade is for bracing the work piece):

 

 

That looks to be an ideal unit to cope with a wide range of diameters etc.

I have hired a 13ton 360 with Lasco M3 attached,for a week awesome piece of kit for breaking down 4ft+ diameter butts but over kill for small stuff.