If you have ever worked to prepare your own firewood and kindling before, you are likely familiar with the backbreaking work it takes to split firewood from logs. Smaller pieces are easily handled with a nice heavy ax, and splitting just enough for the fireplace to burn for a day or two of can be good exercise.
With larger logs, you might move on to a wedge and hammer, which can take its toll on your back. If you find yourself next to the chopping block facing a huge pile of logs, perhaps it’s time to consider investing in a better tool for the job.
What the Log Splitter Can Do For You
Enter the log splitter. Whether you choose to get the gas powered or the electric type, these machines can do one thing for you – split logs. Few power tools are as specialized as the log splitter, but despite being able to do just one job, there’s really no other tool that can help you split logs as effectively.
Sometimes, tough logs from walnut, cherry or oak can make manual log splitting with ax and hammer an impossible task for all but the burliest of woodsmen.
Log splitters are also often called wood splitters, and they generally come in one form factor – the log bed with stop, made for two-hand operation. Most models come with wheels for easy transport, and almost all log splitters on the market today come with beds that can be tilted upright.
Which Type of Log Splitter Should I Pick?
Buying a log splitter makes sense if you intend to use it on a fairly regular basis. Picking the right type of log splitter, though, depends on the size and type of wood that you will be splitting. In most cases, you will be considering the power needed for the log splitting task you might be faced with.
Electric and Hydraulic (manual) Splitters: For smaller pieces of softer wood that’s been well seasoned and reasonably free of knots and kinks, an entry-level electric log splitter, or even a manually operated hydraulic log splitter, will serve you well.
Gas Powered Splitters: For more demanding jobs that deal with tougher, bigger hardwood logs or wood that is not fully cured, the power of gas-powered hydraulic log splitters may be needed.
Terminology Alert: Just How Much Is a Cord of Firewood?
If you’re shopping around for a log splitter on the internet, you will often encounter the term ‘cord’ being bandied about in user reviews.
People will often refer to a set amount of firewood in terms of cords and assume that most people know what they mean, and for good reason – it’s a term that’s been around since the "olden days" when firewood was bought in bundles as a household necessity.
A cord of firewood, as it has been standardized up to this day, refers to a stack of firewood that can fit in a box 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long. With this dimension, don’t assume that you will be feeding the fireplace with pieces of wood four feet long – the average length of firewood in a cord is generally considered to be 16 inches.
16 inches make up one-third of the length of the volume of a firewood cord. This 16-inch de-facto standard plays a role in the design of log splitters as we know them today.
Manually Powered (Hydraulic) Log Splitters
If you are familiar with the manual hydraulic car jack, then you already have a good idea of how a manually powered hydraulic log splitter works. Just like a car jack, it translates the larger movements of a lever (or levers, in the case of some models) into small, incremental and more powerful pushes of the hydraulic piston ram.
Features to Look for In Manually Powered Hydraulic Log Splitters
- Wheels on the log splitter let you roll it out to where the logs are stacked up, making them more versatile.
- Durable steel construction lets you apply the full force to a log without shifting the wedge or the hydraulic ram out of alignment.
- Log cradles keep the log from rolling out of the bed before the wedge and ram can pin it in place.
- Look for manually powered log splitters that can take logs longer than the 16-inch standard firewood length, if you need that.
- Multi-speed pumps let you charge the hydraulic ram quickly with fewer and harder swing of the lever, or more slowly but steadily with more frequent (easier) swings of the lever.
A usual arrangement for a manually powered hydraulic log splitter is a flat piston ram that pushes the log against a stationary wedge.
Without the need of a motor to power this tool, manually operated log splitters are practically maintenance-free – all they need is the occasional cleaning and lubrication as needed. They are more compact and easier to put away than other types, as well.
Electric Log Splitters
Electric log splitters can use household current, making them reliable outside the house for log-splitting jobs as long as they are within range of an outlet (as specified from the manufacturer).
They can also run indefinitely as long as they are plugged in, plus they do not need much in the way of maintenance. They are also much quieter than most of the gas-powered versions, making it a better choice if you live in a more populated area.
Features to Look for in Electric Log Splitters:
- Copper-wound motors will hold up to years of use and are easy to start with the flip of a switch.
- Portable models that come with wheels and handles are easier to cart around to the place where the logs are.
- Log bed cradles guide the wood properly to the splitting wedge.
- Two-hand operation modes ensure that the user will not get caught in the ram.
Most entry-level log splitters are available as electric-powered models, due to the lack of fumes and noise. They are generally quieter, do not require much in the way of maintenance compared to gas-powered models, and are more affordable to run.
That said, electric models are typically capable of five tons of power (common range), or around 10 tons at the higher end of the spectrum. Logs that are more difficult to split, including hardwood with lots of branching grain, knots, or junctions will give the typical electric log splitter quite the workout.
Gas Powered Log Splitters
For splitting logs that have larger diameters, sometimes the best tool for the job is a gas powered electric log splitter. Like with most powered tools, for the more heavy-duty tasks, a gas engine is simply hard to beat when it comes to supplying power on demand.
For splitting harder wood like oak, elm and cherry, especially in the form of logs that may be a bit green, a gas powered log splitter will provide the tonnage required for the job.
Features to look for in a Gas Powered Log Splitter:
- 4-way blades make the most out of the power of the gas powered log splitter by splitting the log into four pieces with one push.
- Catcher trays on the side collect the firewood pieces as they fall off the log splitter bed.
- Welded cylinder rods with long strokes can split a wider range of log lengths.
- Electric start engine makes engine starts easier, with less risk of cold start failures.
- 2-stage hydraulic pumps ensure plenty of power and fast cycle times so you can process your firewood batch much faster.
That said, a gas powered splitter comes with many of the drawbacks of machines that are run by small gas engines. First, they require gas to run, plus regular oil changes. Second, starting a gas powered gas splitter can be a job in itself – filling up the tank, yanking the cord, and dealing with cold starts.
Then there are the fumes and the noise that a gas powered log splitter can put out. Gas powered log splitters tend to be the most expensive of log splitters to own, hence the market for the most powerful models are often limited to timber professionals and homeowners who process tons of wood.
On the plus side, there’s no cord that will get in your way, and you can use the machine even if there are no power outlets nearby
Comparing Log Splitters
Comparing log splitters is a fairly straightforward job. The log splitter is a simple machine - power and durability are the primary considerations here, and most manufacturers do not try to put any superfluous features in the log splitters that they make.
Power
Log splitters are machines that can do their job if there’s enough power to do it. The wedges do not even need to be that sharp to split a log – with log splitters, a machine with plenty of driving force is often considered to be the be-all and end-all when it comes to picking the right one for you.
Driving force, or tonnage, is often specified in terms of tons, regardless of log splitter type. Manually powered hydraulic log splitters, while slower than others, can put out 10 tons of driving force. Most models of electric log splitters are usually designed to put out 6-10 tons of force, enough to split logs 10 inches in diameter.
Gas-powered log splitters, meanwhile, are capable of well over 20 tons of driving force (technically known as the hydraulic cylinder tonnage). 25 tons is considered average, with some models capable of 25 tons or more.
Some manufacturers also specify the driving forms in terms of pounds per square inch, or PSI. To get the hydraulic tonnage, divide the PSI figure by 2,000.
Both electric and gas powered log splitters can also have horsepower figures for their motors. 2 HP - 5HP is typical for a consumer-level electric log splitter, while gas powered log splitters can have 12 HP or more.
For gas powered models, the engine displacement (cc) is often specified as well. The higher the cc, the more powerful the engine is.
Size
Some log splitters can only do the standard 16-inch stove or firewood length, and not much beyond that. 18-inch is the common limit for these smaller log splitter models.
Larger, heavy-duty log splitters, on the other hand, have plenty of stroke length and power to deal with logs up to 30 inches in diameter, or even more. The more powerful the machine, the larger logs it can handle. The more powerful gas powered log splitters can take on logs around two feet in diameter.
Log Splitter Usage and Safety
Make sure to operate the log splitter on stable, flat ground only. Lock the wheels if they can be locked, or block them in place before turning the machine on. Never operate the log splitter on wet, muddy, icy or slippery surfaces. Do not operate the machine on a slope, where there is the risk of the splitter falling over or of the log rolling off the splitter bed.
Make sure that the log splitter bed only has the log between the shoe and the wedge – check for tools that may have been left in on the machine before turning the hydraulic action on.
Always supervise the tool as it splits the wood. Make sure to use the log splitter in an area with plenty of light, and always wear ear protection and gloves while working. Watch out for splinters that may be released when splitting – wearing safety glasses is always a good idea.
Logs, especially larger ones, can be very heavy. Exercise proper lifting form when carrying one over to the log splitter, and wear shoes with toe protection whenever possible.
