Splitting firewood with an electric log splitter

In a previous post I described a few methods that I’ve been using to split the giant pile of logs left by the previous owner. I was able to split the smaller pieces with the Kindling Cracker, an upright wedge that forces the wood apart as it is hit with a sledgehammer. Then for the larger pieces I tried a manual hydraulic splitter, with mixed success.

Recently I took the next step up and started using an electric log splitter that my dad passed on to me. I found this to be the easiest and fastest way to do this work (with a few exceptions).

The splitter is this Earthquake 5-ton model (but the price in the link is significantly higher than what my dad paid in 2010, so I don’t necessarily endorse this model at the current price). The concept is pretty simple. The machine has a wedge at one end and a square pusher on a track at the other end. One end of the log is placed against the wedge. When the machine is engaged by simultaneously pulling a lever and pushing a button, the plunger starts moving in the direction of the wedge, forcing the log against it and splitting it (usually).

Though the splitter is easy to use, I had to think ahead about setup. It is heavy — the listed weight is 105 pounds — so it requires one person on each end to lift it. However, it does have small wheels so a single person can roll it as long as it doesn’t have to go over any large bumps.

The splitter works best on a hard, level surface; I used the back patio. I learned after the first splitting session to put a tarp under the splitter, because the process tends to produce a lot of small wood and bark pieces, which are easier to shake out of a tarp than to sweep up. Ideally, the splitter would be close enough to an outlet to use without an extension cord. Also, make sure that the outlet has sufficient amperage.

When splitting the logs, they usually fell off to the sides. Sometimes, if a log was tough, it would fail to crack and fly off the splitter. So I learned to keep all people and valuables away from the sides of the machine. Of course, safety glasses are important for the operator, and gloves are a good idea, too.

For ordinary firewood logs, about six to eight inches in diameter, electric splitting was by far the fastest and easiest method of taking them down to size. If you are making firewood on a regular basis, the electric splitter is well worth the cost and you can skip my other blog post about manual methods (unless you enjoy the full-body workout — which is fine!).

I do have some larger, gnarlier logs, and they were a challenge for this splitter (the manufacturer’s recommended maximum diameter is ten inches). I tried several tricks for splitting these hard cases. I periodically wiped the wedge with a lubricating oil in the hopes that the logs would slide through a bit more easily. Also, rather than trying to split a large log down the middle, I positioned it off-center and had the splitter peel away pieces from the edge. Sometimes I could pare the log down in this way after several runs.

Another method that sometimes worked was to place the log on its end and push it sideways against the wedge. The log is less stable in this orientation so it’s especially important to be careful and keep innocent bystanders from getting too close.

Even with all these techniques, the splitter would sometimes fail. The motor would keep going but the pusher stopped moving forward so I had to quit. If the log is going to split, it will do so immediately so there’s no reason to keep the motor going if the log is stopped. I kept a mallet nearby to (carefully!) knock the log off the wedge if it got stuck halfway.

Overall, I’ve been happy with the Earthquake, to the extent that I sold the hand-pump pneumatic splitter that I had bought a few years ago. Meanwhile, I will hopefully write another blog post when I figure out how to break apart those last, most difficult logs in my woodpile.