AngusMF250

I was looking for a snow plough for my tractor recently, on ebay, and this guy's prices looked fine, it seemed to be painted in the same paint as your splitter, and was also 'shop soiled' and rusted in places.

Andrew, I was reading up about the Wallensteins, they look like a good buy, its worth pointing out that the flow requirement for the 300 series is 49 litres per minute (correct me if I m wrong). Most tractors will be able for that, I have an MF250 which gives out 53 l/m., but my MF135 only gives 18 l/m., I have seen a few grey fergie and 35 owners etc., selling log splitters on ebay, as they havent looked into flow requirements prior to purchase. Tractor data.com is usually a good source to find out the flow rates for most tractors.

The Wallensteins looked to be the best value for money. I bought the AMR because I m friendly with the dealer.

Gibbons, what I found when I was looking for a splitter is that 20 tonne, or 30 etc., isnt necessarily the best for the job, but I m talking about a tractor hydraulic splitter. I bought an AMR 12 tonne splitter, made in Alsace, France, they are sold in the UK under the Ryetec label. Its a great machine and handles the toughest of the Elm (Wytch Elm). What I had to look at was how much oil flow the splitter needs to drive it and how much my tractor pump can put out. The AMR needs 35 litres per minute and the tractor can put out 53 l/m. The MF250 and the 12 tonne AMR work very well together. I think a common mistake is that the higher the tonnage the splitter can force the better, but to drive a 20 or 30 tonner, you d need a tractor like Chris's county. I see your looking at petrol or electric, so the above info isnt so much use for you, but what ever you decide to get, a 10 -14 tonne machine will probably be okay. One other thing to look at is where the machines are built, and generally European and North American machines will be the best, I would look for a bigger manufacturer, because generally you will get spares no problem. The bigger names are AMR (Ryetec), Thor, Balfour, Wallenstein.

I ve heard that in England (English Elm) grows with a twist and is notoriously hard to split, whereas the Elm you mention Scots (or Wytch Elm?) is usually easier, and only a few rounds will give you problems, which can always be chainsawed rather than split. Beech is usually okay to split, but I m not sure about that if it is aged? Looking at splitters is a minefield and does your head in. Interesting what Chris says above, he stalled a 1164 county with a 20 tonne Thor splitter, on a small bit of Elm, thats 2 machines that should be able to handle anything! Generally you ll get what you pay for. I ve no idea if petrol or electric is best, I ve only being looking at tractor powered, and notice that most manufacturers cant even tell you what hydraulic flow rate you need to operate their products.

I ve spent a lot of time looking over the log splitters recently. After looking at flow rates, build quality, ram speed, and value for money, I narrowed it down to the following; Wallentsein Thor Ryetec Balfor I went for the Ryetec, but only because I m friendly with the dealer, if I hadnt been, it would definately have been the Wallenstein, as it looks to be the best value for money. Make sure you check the Hydraulic flow rates for your tractor (if tractor powered) before you buy. There arent many makes on Ebay that give you a figure, but all the above mentioned manufactures do.

Phatty, I ve been looking at log splitters recently and the things you have to ask (depending whats important to you!!) is; Ram speed (cm/sec) Flow rate required (is your tractor able?) Does the ram automatically retract? I havent enquired about the Mulltecs, but they look strong and seem to be a good enough price. Think the Wallensteins are also worth a look. I ve ended up going for a Ryetec, tho more expensive than I had planned, it is quick, the flow rate required is fine and the ram auto retracts and also I m friendly with the dealer.

Stick shed, for wood for our own use

60cm (2ft), there are a lot of stoves that take 50-55cm logs, you may get a request for that?!?

Hi Roni, do you have a link for this?

Typical American Health and Safety

Its a minefield out there, cant decide whats suitable. So far, looking at the price and the build, the Wallenstein 350 looks to be the most suitable for me.

Hello Stephen, yes, I may be interested, I was at the forestry demo and said to the dealer that I would buy one from them, they are pretty reliable and if you ve a problem they would sort it out. However, they dont sell what I m really looking for, so I m weighing up the options. I ll have a look on the trading post.

Hi Chris, thank you for the information. I ll have a look at Balfour splitters. I have seen on here that Riko seem to be quite well thought of, do you know anything about them?

Hi Chris, thanks for your reply, I cant remember the model the Ryetec is, I saw it at a demo at Angus Chainsaws, its got a 12 tonne ram, I took a couple of bits that wouldnt split and it split them no bother. I cut logs to approx 30 cm and 55 cm (for a Jotul f118 stove that we have). The rounds vary from about 80 cm to 20 cm.

Hycrack, is that no a spirral splitter? I m a bit worried about the safety on them, plus I m cutting some 60cm logs

I m looking at 2 makes, Wallenstein and a Ryetec. Hydraulic powered from the tractor. Has anyone got any experiance with these makes? Or would you reccommend something else? Wallenstein costs a lot less, but a friend is selling the Ryetec.

I m looking at buying a Wallenstein splitter for my tractor. Does anyone have one?

Elm, and a small quantity of Ash and Beech.

I wouldnt say I know any more than you do! It would be interesting to know if firewood is being imported?

Dont know about fish, except trucks take the vast majority of it from northern Scotland to Spain, Portugal and France where its sold and it doesnt come back this way. There are also numerous fish proccessors in Aberdeen and surrounding fishing towns, aswell as Cornwall, chances are thats where you ll get your fish from? Whats the comparrison to firewood?

Kind of says it all. If timber is imported it wouldnt take work away from people, it still needs to be cut, split and delivered. Better than nothing at all.

Weird humour!

Nobody is saying wood needs to be imported and demand has outstripped supply. JayVee came on here to probe the market, and got all the nonsense about homegrown wood and supporting Brit jobs etc. Looks like some forum members have already been intouch with him! Also, someone said they wouldnt buy birch, I wanted to point out that Finnish Birch is good quality and the primary firewood in Sweden and Finland. I dont know about unmanaged woods, generally I havent seen that in Scotland, which in the past was deforested and not replanted, but in recent years forestation has risen from 4% to 17% of the land and the target is 25%Most of this is commercial, to be sold as timber products, not firewood. Now compare that to England which has a greater demand on land use, then I would doubt if supply is not a problem in some areas, but you know yourself if you can get firewood easily enough or not? If I couldnt get wood, I d look at alternatives.

Often simplicity is best. We heat our home using 2 woodburning stoves, and have kerosene boiler as a back up. The house is old, built 1900 and sits in a very exposed area, has 2 levels and 5 bedrooms, but has double glazing and loft insulation. The 2 stoves supply all our heat and only on the very coldest of winter days we need the kerosene on. We heat our water via electricity and power showers etc. If I was building a new house, I would place a decent wood burner in the centre and let it do all the heating, leaving water to be heated by alternate means. Just my idea on it.