Logit

Hi Horatio, I have just found some of the key specs for the 7 ton vertical Handy Pro from the user manual which might be useful for comparisons

Hydraulic pressure: 22 Mpa

Forward speed 3.9cm/sec

Retract speed: 14.5cm/sec

Log capacity diameter 12-32cm (it will do bigger....)

Length: 104/78/52cm (3 position table)

RAM travel: 480mm

Weight: 115kg

My view is that this machine is ideal for lower volume production but if someone wanted to use a log splitter for hours every day, then it would probably be best to buy a more expensive machine which is likely to be faster and last longer.

I bought the 7 ton vertical Handy Pro from Riko a few weeks ago and it has been great. I have put approx 10 cube through it so far and it has split everything without a fuss. The 4 way splitter (optional extra) works well on the smaller stuff. The return stroke is quick and it has an adjustable stop. I had a Metabo 5 ton horizontal splitter before this one and I find the vertical quite a lot easier to use and the extra 2 tons force makes quite a difference. I have heard that these have been going for a few years now and the general feedback seems to be pretty +ve. I have run it for several hours non stop and it doesn't get hot and bothered so a thumbs up from me. I decided to pay a bit extra by buying from Riko since I wanted to have a reasonably local service centre just in case. I also managed to get it to run off a 3kw Honda powered Pramac generator so that gives me the option of using it in a woodland as well.

Donation sent, keep em coming folks

Clear view Vision 500 (8kw), pricy but very good. This stove has heated the whole house for 13 years and hence has paid for itself several times over. The key things that I would look for in a stove are:

1) Fire bricks: these ensure a higher internal temperature which means cleaner burning and these get eaten away instead of the sides of your stove ! Important if you want to keep the stove a long time. I change the fire bricks every 2-3 years

2) Double glazed again helps keep the temperature up and helps keep the glass clean

3) Nearly airtight seals with good air control, this will allow you to turn it right down so will keep going for a long time. I once went away on a Friday night put a thumping great chunk of oak in and when I came back on Sunday afternoon there were enough glowing embers to light the next load of wood, overnight is easy peasy

4) Spares availability e.g fire bricks, baffle plates etc, over time these will need replacing but they help protect the main shell of the stove

5) Steer clear of back boilers unless you really need one, I spoke to the Clearview designer and he said that, the boilers reduce the internal temperature and hence make the stove less efficient, smokey and smoked up glass ( and you could end up producing a lot of steam since you can't easily control the % split between heat to room and heat to hot water)

A friend brought a cheap leaky stove and he can't even keep it going overnight or throttle it back enough on milder evenings so he is now planning to buy a better one. so I think you are right to consider the better quality stoves

Lucky lad I have a fiskars X27 which I like a lot and it was recommended by quite a few folk on here.

oops I mean gensetsteve

Good point genetsteve, smaller teeth = lower vibe and it is a semi chisel as well

I use a Stihl 220 for use in a garage, it is noisy but quieter (for the neighbours) than a petrol one outside. I put a narrower chain on it. I tried smaller/cheaper electric chainsaws but they just overheated and cut out. I don't find the vibes a problem since the vibes are chain vibes rather than engine vibes.

Homemade one for barrow bags (works well) will be making a bigger one for the bigger vented bags

Stone Age -> Bronze Age -> Petrol Age -> Aspen Age

Fantastic, many thanks bikewoo, I really like the fast return stroke + the fact that you can adjust the ram stop, that all adds up to increased productivity. This machine is now top of my list. I don't do firewood commercially and hence I think that this machine should last long enough for me and for sure it will be fast enough. I will also plan to go down the 4 way splitter route since 7 tons should be enough for that on smaller rings at least. Thanks again for taking the effort to post the video and for your previous post, much appreciated. I will be very interested to hear how you get on with the 4 way splitter.

Hi bikewoo, my 5 ton horizontal splitter has just died and is beyond repair and this time I am after a vertical splitter. I am thinking of getting the same one as yours.. I will probably by from Riko since they are not too far away and have generally good feedback. Having used yours, would you recommend it ? Can you adjust the ram so that it retracts to a lower height to speed things up ? I have tried to find a video of this log splitter working but haven't found one yet.

Many thanks

As doobin said, I should have said the odd/even number thing is on the first 2 main non zero digits so 230 and 231 domestic whereas 260 and 261 are pro. My 250 has one of those "easy" chain tensioners a thing that you turn by hand on the side and it isn't as good as the old style screwdriver type tensioner. It doesn't feel very robust and I think that it is harder to tension the chain with one of those.

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I have a Stihl 026 and I recently picked up an ms250 from a friend. My understanding is that Stihl use even numbers are for pro saws and odd numbers for domestic. The relatively new ms 250 was quite a lot slower at cutting than my > 10 year old 026. I would in general pay the bit extra for a pro saw if your budget can stretch since it will be quicker cutting, better power to weight ratio and longer lasting. If you are only going to use the saw for a few hours per month and you are not in a hurry, then the cheaper saws would be ok. When I log up a trailer load of wood, approx 4 cubic metres, my weapon of choice is my trusty Stihl 046 with an 18 inch bar and that zooms through the logs, it all depends how fast/big you want/need to cut and how far the budget will stretch. I have only ever used Stihl saws.

I have a 5 ton log splitter and it will split most reasonably straight grain logs with no probs. One day I had a load of London plane and I tried half a dozen straight grain logs, none split and the splitter hardly left a mark on the logs, I have never seen anything like it. I did a quick search on google and there is a post from someone who said it was tough going with his 35 ton splitter ! I would be interested to hear from others how they have found this wood. I thought my log splitter was playing up but switched back to other woods and no problems, a strange wood indeed.

Thanks TCD, I will get hold of some of the Echo oil and use that to start with.

Thanks Eddie, I have been following the Aspen threads with interest and will be giving that some more thought.

Thanks very much folks for your help with this, I will be picking the Echo up next week. I now need to figure what to put in it. I am using Stihl HP Super (the green semi-synthetic 50:1) for my Stihl chainsaws, would the Echo be ok on that or should I use something else ? I have seen the various posts on Aspen and I might give that a go at a later date. It would be handy to be able to use one 2 stroke mix for my Stihl chainsaws and now this Echo hedge trimmer. I used to use the Stihl red 2 stroke oil but my 026 cooked after using it for several hours in very hot weather on some big lumps of wood (I then bought a bigger saw for the bigger jobs and switched to HP super). I haven't had any problems since switching to this semi-synthetic 2 stroke and I was told that it gives a higher level of protection compared to the Stihl red 2 stroke especially when the saws are working harder.

Heard of one old lady that used to float her logs in her pond for s few weeks as they burnt to quick otherwise, then she complained that her new stove was not producing much heat !!.

 

Been a dry summer by and large, even cord that I had arrive in May would I suspect be ready to go at a push by February, My two summer old Ash and Sycamore cord, processed in March is currently going out at 7% - 11%.

 

Stove manufacturers recommend a MC of 14% - 16%, dryer logs does ideally want mixing with some at say 25% to balance things up a bit.

 

A

I find the 14% - 16% interesting, I would gave thought that a top quality stove would be almost air tight and hence the burn rate could be fully controlled by the airflow control and in that case, wouldn't 0% moisture content be the best to maximise the heat output (i.e. produce all heat and no steam) ? If the stove is a bit leaky and hence the airflow cannot be throttled back to a trickle, then fair enough. Perhaps I am missing something here. Maybe the stove manufacturers are trying to limit the maximum temperature but I guess most stoves would get red hot at full airflow with 14% MC wood.

Great thank Spud, I will let him know that I will have it before he changes his mind !

Hi folks, I would appreciate your advice. I could do with a long reach hedge cutter and a friend is moving house and has an Echo HCA-265ES in good working order up for grabs. It is a few years old and has only been used to cut his own hedges so there should be plenty of life left in it. I have never used an Echo before but looking over previous posts, Echo seems to be a very well respected brand. Is the HCA-265ES a good bit of kit ?

Thanks

They could just hose them down...

I have done quite a few with just a saw but always an ms200 12"... The trick is to bring the sides in tight with hedge cutters first so you can keep a tight level and cut off the sticking up bits ...I don't know about 36" bars though.i would love to see picks of the results. I would imagine they would pinch and it would be difficult to hold at a level.

This is a chainsaw cut hedge using trimmers to keep the sides tight.. Took about just under an hour to do this run with just a saw for the top.. It was going to be tamed with a flail so finish was not as important as the usual more prestigious hedge as of course Steve and sky hucks is the preferred method!

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Hi MattyF, yes it was not that easy and I have only ever done it once with a big bar. It was quite hard holding the saw + big bar but the end result was ok (no pics sorry). Any overgrown Leylandi with a chunk taken off the top looks pretty rough to start with, but does recover over time. A friend of mine had a hedge reduced and a pair of chaps came along with a big bar with a person at each end (not sure if they used 2 power heads or just a handle at one end) and they just walked along and the cutting was done in a few mins. For sure, having a person at each end to carry the weight and stabilise the bar would make a big difference, hedge chainsaw milling

Nice job there in your photos.

Only ok if they are chainsaw socks

A friend needed a couple of feet taken off his leylandi hedge, 046 with a 36 inch bar did the trick.

I have been using a 5 ton elector/hydraulic horizontal log splitter from Metabo. I have split I guess around 100 cubic metres over the years with it and it has worked well. I had an oil seal go, but that was due to the bolts freeing up over time. This has been used to split mainly arb waste + thinings and I have split rings up to approx 18 inches with it. It won't split really knotty wood, but you a get a feel for what this size of machine can/can't do. If it doesn't split after 2 goes ,then the log goes on the pile to be chainsawed (normally just a few). The only species that I have had real problems splitting is London Plane for some reason. The log splitter will run all day long without getting hot. I use just wood to heat my house and over 10 years and counting without a gas heating bill