7 Best Thumbwheels.
Eh, do the shoulder! Sure, waving a cornflower in the fresh air is good for your health, but it gets tiresome over time. Fortunately, man wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t suspect that this is where they make their labors easier – hence the varied designs on the first craft and then factory workers, which are no longer much of a surprise anymore. If the simplest shifters can replace the blows of the corn flower with the safety and convenience that the field brings with it, then just the swings of the sledgehammer : “You push the button, you get the result.”
Are you still waving your hands from the craft? No, we won’t go to you, but we won’t give up on performing in our regular role either – let’s look at what stores offer us to make it easier to turn harvested wood into ready fuel for your stove or fireplace, and pick out the best shifters.
Ranking the best shifters
| category | location | family name | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best hydraulic pushers | 1 | Champion LSH5001 | 9.6 / 10 |
| 2 | Patriot CE5215 | 9.5/10 | |
| 3 | Champion LSV 6000 | 9.4 / 10 | |
| 4 | Al-Ko KHS 5204 | 9.3 / 10 | |
| 5 | Redverg RD-LS 25-37E | 9.1 / 10 | |
| Best handheld shirts | 1 | Kolundrov x4 | 9.4 / 10 |
| 2 | Greenween GW-DR1-T | 9.1 / 10 |
Best hydraulic pushers
Champion LSH5001.
The Champion LSH5001 opens our review of the best hydraulic pushers. The 2,2-kilowatt Champion, subject to a good and stable power supply (and not breathing on an “Khrushchev times” substation), can handle logs up to 25 cm in diameter with one half chopping quickly with a small one. The hydraulics develops force up to 5 tons, so the wedge easily does its job.
The frame is competently made – strong (not without reason the whole movement weighs almost 50 kg), but low enough not to be tired when loading logs on it. To move along the track “Yard-Shed” it has wheels, and the handle for transportation in the “fighting” position serves as a stop. True, it simultaneously stains the floor, so you should take it with gloves: for the mop it must be lifted, otherwise your hands will not reach.
Control is not entirely convenient when you need to support the log with your hand: the thing is that you have to simultaneously press the power button to turn on the electric motor and press the hydraulic lever. On the other hand, it increases safety: you won’t get your hand mixed up, both of them will be busy. The swarming machine splits the log into two parts by default. There is also a transverse jet for Kolka to quarter.
The hydraulics are decent, the fluid is liquid when working long hours – no. The main thing is not to forget to pour more liquid oil into the circuit when working in the cold. It requires 3.6 liters. But it is difficult to change the oil alone (which is supposed to do every 150 hours): when changing the oil you have to hold it almost vertically, because the oil is drained from the side of the hydraulic cylinder.
- Great effort Stakes
- performance
- reliability
- Difficulty in changing oil
- Power Requirements
- Champion LSH5001H
To say that work is made easier is to say nothing. If you need firewood exactly for the hearth, not for the mood, the chimney is recessed, then this change will help unequivocally.
Patriot CE5215
The 1.5-kilowatt Patriot is more tolerant of the state of the power grid, but has to pay for this with less hydraulic effort: 4 tons versus the Champion’s five. The log splitters are relatively heavy and easy to transport, although the Patriot’s handle is made separate from the support and doesn’t stick to the ground.
Less hydraulic power means less pressure: while Champion’s is up to 190 atmospheres, Patriot’s is only up to 160. Overall, this allows you to count on potentially more “mileage” before an oil leak, although in practice there is a big difference.
When it comes to operation, the Patriot takes even more care of the user: the hydraulic lever features a trigger safety so you can’t accidentally push it. Again, both hands must be involved, and a helper is also needed to change the oil. Overall, both the Champion and Patriot are comparable in many ways, starting with the price, but due to the higher output and the presence of a normal splitting attachment, the Champion log splitter is even more interesting.
- Easy transportation
- Good performance
- Log splitting in dense or wet wood is a bit difficult, not enough hydraulics
CHAMPION LSV 6000
The vertical log splitter impresses both by its weight (97 kg!) and the pressure it develops: up to 6 tons. Chopping firewood is not a problem, of course, but splitting a log is quite specific – it takes a lot of space and can hardly be used as a portable log splitter. Sure, it has wheels, but pulling it is still fun. Then again, the 2.7 kilowatt asynchronous motor puts a decent load on the power grid.
But to find a magazine for it that it can’t handle, you have to make an effort: The maximum diameter is up to 30 cm, the height is up to 56 cm, even when setting the minimum height of the table. And the table can be set in three positions – and then the splitter can handle a maximum of one meter logs.
But what makes this log splitter unique, like all “upright” log splitters, is the ease of operation: you turn the plug on the bottom of the oil tank, and you don’t have to tilt or turn anything.
- “Solid Pressure.”
- High pressure
- Easy maintenance
- Heavy weight
- High power consumption
AL-KO KHS 5204
This compact log splitter is certainly a bit pricey, considering that it is a direct competitor to the Champion LSH5001 with its five tons of power and 2.2 kW. By the way, the maximum log dimensions are also similar to this Champion model.
At the same time, however, it doesn’t have a “quarter” nozzle in the kit, so the advantages include only height adjustment – extension spacers are included. This means that you can choose to work at height as well as stacking logs on a low bed – other manufacturers’ “high” and “low” log splitting machines are usually presented as different models. Is it worth overpaying because you have to buy the wedge for the quarters separately? Not really.
- performance
- High adjustability
- Overall build quality
- Relatively high price
RedVerg RD-LS 25-37E
We decided to include the RedVerg RD-LS 25-37E model in our rating of the best hydraulic log splitters. RedVerg log splitter is structurally similar to the Patriot in many ways, but it is smaller: the maximum log length is 37 cm, not 52. This should be taken into account when choosing.
The hydraulics and its drives are similar to the Patriot’s – a 1.5 kW motor allows the pump to share pressure up to 16 MPa, and the force on the wedge reaches 4 tons. This means that both productivity and sensitivity to wood density of the two workers are the same – and, since the Patriot for almost the same money allows you to chop longer and longer protocols, the reverse inevitably gets into the rating below.
- Compact size
- Good handling quality
- Easy transportation
- Short stick.
The wood chopping machine used to mean considerable time in the yard for me. Now it’s not work, it’s fun, you know the column folds up.
Best handheld shirts
Kolundrov X4.
The best hand shift in our ranking is the Kolundrov X4. Just like the name says, this shifter clearly separates protocols into quarters. Things are a bit optimistic with the “protocols” – the maximum diameter, which is determined by the size of the wedge and rings, is 18 centimeters. Yes, what becomes a problem for a hydraulic dumpling, for a button, which does not fit here, and you have to wave a clothespin from the heart. However, it is at least more comfortable and faster than waving for the sticks that are on the chorban.
The enthusiasm is pretty good quality, but the color will certainly suffer over time – and since the enthusiasm machine itself is made of ordinary carbon steel, this will quickly lead to rust when you leave it outside. It’s best to take it off after work, at least under a shelter.
- Dividing the light into 4 parts at the same time
- Pretty sturdy construction
- Limited diameter protocol
Greenween GW-DR1-T
Tail drivers of this design are sold under different brands at plus or minus the same price. It is made, understandably, at the same time in half – the maximum diameter of the tree trunk is 20 cm. The length is up to 45 cm. So that the tree trunk doesn’t bounce off of the Chaplin’s bum. Hmmm. Does it make sense and isn’t it worth taking a good old capon? That’s your choice.
What is perhaps the advantage of the “half” Llorogol over the “quarter” is the ease of machining and the sharpness of the blade, which has a simple curved shape. There will be more cross-edged fragments – but the impact will also be half and half.
- All in all it really is wood very
- The advantage over the Kalun is only in greater safety (although that’s with the shin from the scales of this sledgehammer…)
What’s the best rave machine to choose?
We’ll talk specifically about hydraulic models: “Manual” shirts tend to be so primitive that the very appropriateness of using them, when there’s something to discuss, is rather moot. When choosing a toher, it is worth paying attention to the force with which it was developed: it happens that one discovers how easily it pokes through the wood. If we are talking about compact, well-branched protocols, then a four-tone with a “half” and “quarter” is enough. But dense, knotted, damp wood will already cause obvious difficulties for such a lamb – five tons is no longer a problem for it.
Every power tool has something like a constant turn-on factor. This is the amount of time that the tool should actually work, of the total time. For example, a 40% factor can be defined as follows: In 10 minutes we chop 4 wood, 6 we rest. In reality, of course, everything does not look so terrible – there is plenty of time to set the tree trunk and to rearrange the wedges. But in any case, the following applies: the higher the PV factor, the more attractive the wood splitter is: after all, hardly anyone will buy such a tool for splitting these or those wooden logs, they are taken on the basis of a decent “front” of work”.
In order to create the necessary hydraulic tractor, you need and appropriate engine power (and do not forget that the power consumption will be many times higher than the nominal value at the time of start). Therefore, if the network in the village or in the cottage is quite weak, you should not use a woodchopper with a capacity of two kilowatts: Of course, chopping firewood will be easier… But network failures can succumb so that in practice it may be weaker than one and a half kilowatts. For the same reason, we did not include in the list powerful models of woodchopper with a three-phase motor: not everywhere they can be easily connected.
Total – 11, rating – 5
* We pay your attention, that reliability of information and results of ratings have the subjective character and do not represent an advertisement
Woodchopper. Properties, types and choices. Woodchopper Rating
A woodchopper greatly speeds up and simplifies the process of making firewood.
To correctly choose the right model, familiarize yourself with the varieties of this useful tool, its properties and functions.
The purpose of this device is hidden in the name, it allows you to prepare a large amount of stove material in a very short time.
In addition, it is much more convenient, easier and safer to work with this device, regardless of the version, than with the same woodchopper.
All firewood cutters have a very similar functional principle and work according to the following scheme:
- The wood species is placed in the feeding shaft, on which there is a knife, and on the other side there is a movable piston.
- The piston presses the bar against the knife.
- The knife splits the tree trunk into several pieces (depending on the number of knives and their geometric location to each other).
main features
The woodchopper is a machine for chopping wood trunks suitable for laying in the stove.
Regardless of the design, each woodchopper has a number of common characteristics, based on which you can choose a device to perform certain tasks:
- Dimensions. Industrial machines have large dimensions, while household appliances are relatively compact. Dimensions affect the weight of the woodchopper.
- Engine power (for mechanical versions) – affects the performance of the woodchopper and fuel consumption.
- Production of the columns. The parameter determines the maximum force that can be used to split trunks.
- Working length and diameter. These parameters determine the maximum length and maximum diameter of the log to be split.
- Piston stroke and speed.
The first parameter is the path the piston takes.
There are variants of wood splitter with adjustable piston stroke.
This feature is useful when splitting small logs because the shorter stroke saves fuel and time.
The speed determines how long it takes to split the log.
In order for the machine to withstand serious loads, high-quality metal is used for its body and all working elements.
The material directly affects the service life of the machine and its reliability.
Main types of log splitters
Depending on the presence or absence of a drive, log splitters can be mechanical or manual.
Your device is fundamentally different from each other.
Also, these machines differ in the way they move:
- Stationary. Often these are industrial machines, which have a large mass and dimensions. The use of such log splitters in domestic conditions is impractical.
- Mobile – devices equipped with wheels for transportation or with a small weight, which allows them to move. Depending on the method of stacking logs, log splitters are divided into horizontal and vertical.
Manual
The operating principle of manual log splitter is based on the simplest physical laws, without the use of additional special devices.
The power source is the man himself.
Manual log splitters are preferred in the home, as they are not suitable for logging really large volumes of firewood.
They, in turn, can be divided into several types:
Stand – the base on which the blades are fixed in the upward direction.
The billet is placed on the blades and beaten from above with a sledgehammer.
This is a tube with a cleaver on the end, in which a heavy rod (crowbar) moves freely.
The cleaver is placed on the workpiece, after which the rod falls off sharply (and strikes the cleaver into the tube).
Represents a lever, on one side of which is a blade, and the opposite side is movably attached to the frame.
At the same time, the place of connection is spring-loaded.
The principle of action is the lever effect of great force.
The mechanism for feeding the logs to the blades consists of a rail with slots.
Mechanically
There are many more types of mechanical log splitters than there are manual log splitters, because different types of motors can be used to feed the blanks to the blades, as well as the feeding method itself.
Also, it’s not just the blades that can split the wood well.
- Mechanical log splitters are a frame with a motor that has a tapered screw on the shaft.
The principle of operation is that this screw is screwed into the wood, slightly loosening the material fibers.
The wedge is mounted on the cone by means of a hand-operated stop.
- Cone log splitter – structurally similar to the usual mechanical versions, however, the logs are set on the cones manually.
Another name for these devices is screw log splitters. The cone itself is attached directly to the axis of the electric motor.
- Geared log splitters – their design uses a reduction gear to reduce the speed of the cone.
Allows the use of a high-speed motor.
Geared log splitters are often called machines, which are a frame with knives attached to one side.
At the rear is a motor with a special gearbox that converts the rotational motion of the shaft into the reciprocating motion of a piston that feeds the pieces to the knives.
Depending on the type of motor used, log splitters are divided into:
- Electric – the most common option.
The electric motor, working from the household network, is unpretentious in operation and maintenance, and has enough power for home use.
In addition, electric shock absorbers are also environmentally friendly devices.
Of the disadvantages we can note only the low mobility of such machines.
- Gasoline variants with a gasoline engine.
They are much more powerful than electric ones and are not tied to the power source (fuel).
They are suitable for work in the home and for cutting firewood on an industrial scale.
- In the case of tractor traction – as the source of power is the hydraulic system of the tractor or its power selection shaft.
Another variety are hydraulic shift levers.
Thanks to their strength, any type of wood, both dry and wet, can be split.
These production systems are often used for logging applications because of their performance.
The simplest hydraulic version is the base on which on one side are the knives (they can be at different angles to each other, so that in one pass the whole block bar is completely processed), and on the other side is a pendulum piston.
This piston can be connected to the tractor’s hydraulic system or to the hydraulic engine’s own system.
Such devices are capable of exerting pressure on the shimmer up to 12 tons.
How to sharpen a shimmer for real
Most shimmers that vault wood by means of knives do not even require additional sharpness over time, as it simply lacks it initially.
The fact is that the wood breaks down not by cutting through the structure of the material, but by layering.
If the design involves the use of sharpened cutters, then the processing is carried out on an ordinary awl.
A bolt cutter is also suitable for this purpose.
But what really needs to be sharpened is the cone-impact auger, because its task is to drill the fibers with the simultaneous expansion of the resulting hole, which leads to the distribution of the workpiece.
It’s not even about sharpening, but about actually tapping the thread, if the decision is made to go over with your own hands.
It is carried out on a lathe.
How to choose a planer
The lathe should always be chosen with certain operating conditions in mind.
Important indicators such as the power used on the wood chisel, the size of the laid place for the workpiece and the performance of the device.
For domestic use, boat chocks with a force of 3 to 5 tons are suitable.
They are small in size, and their cost is relatively low.
Productive models with a force of up to 7T are suitable for various boiler and service programs.
Complete machines of larger sizes with up to 25 tons of force are suitable for industrial use.
They often have many additional features, such as an automatically ending billet, self-contained power supply.
When selecting a blacktuner for home use, you should pay attention to the following nuances, which can make the work easier:
- Availability of nozzles with a different number of blades (cutters). This makes it possible to direct the gap to several parts in one pass.
- The possibility of adjusting the height of the machine.
- Availability of a safety system.
For example, black glass starts working if two levers are pressed simultaneously.
Both hands will be involved, which eliminates one of the limbs in the danger zone.
The risk of injury is undoubtedly reduced, but there are inconveniences in the work.
Clay evaluation
- The Scheppach HL 650 is an electro-hydraulic horizontal log splitter with a record force of 6.5 tons. It is equipped with a 2150 watt motor that can withstand continuous operation and mains overload. Built-in overheat shut-off, 2-position height adjustment, removable limiter for short logs. Suitable for splitting logs up to 25 cm in diameter and up to 52 cm in length.
- Iron Angel ELS 2200 – Dutch electro-hydraulic horizontal machine with stroke limiter. Can process hardwoods up to 320 mm in diameter. Produces a force of 6 tons, which is not enough to work with oak logs. Has a built-in safety system. With excellent build quality has an affordable price.
- Al-KO KHS 5204 – German electro-hydraulic horizontal log splitter with an automatic stop system in case of overheating and excessive loads, modern design and the ability to adjust the height of installation. It is used for medium hard wood up to 53 cm in length and 25 cm in diameter. The wedge is made of hardened steel, so it does not need frequent sharpening. Of the disadvantages, it is worth noting the unreasonably high cost.
- Scheppach HS 500H is an electric machine with horizontal hydraulic feed. Power – 5 tons, robust construction, high performance, stroke limitation, suitable for medium-hard wood with a diameter up to 25 cm and a length of 53 cm.
- Vari 5 Ton Super Force – Czech electric machine with hydraulic workpiece feed. Pressure – 5 tons with only 1.5 kW motor power. An excellent budget option for country houses. Among the high-quality log splitters with an electric motor has the lowest cost. Suitable for processing soft and medium wood.
- Scheppach HL 1010 is a professional vertical log splitter with a three-phase motor, which power reaches an impressive 3.3 kW. Suitable for logs up to 128 cm in length and up to 70 cm in diameter. With an impact force of 10 tons, this model can easily handle even the hardest types of wood, including knotty oak. A cross knife is available, but must be purchased separately.
- The Scheppach (Woodstar) HL 1200 is an excellent option for larger companies as it has a 12 ton impact force and can handle workpieces up to 88 cm in diameter.
This impressive performance is due to the use of a 4.1 kW electric motor and modern hydraulics.
Suitable for the hardest types of wood, but too bulky. Even with transport wheels, it is not a mobile option.
Where to buy a good log splitter?
You can read a detailed description of the different models of log splitters and buy the most suitable option by clicking on the link: go to the online store
