Firewood Processor Pro Tips -E173

[@GrampiesWorkshop]

How's she goin'? Some good tips here Jason. Like you say, as we work with our gear we get to know what it's capable of and we learn the 'safe' shortcuts!! Take care!!

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks for checking out the video! I see you are having quite a session with the boat house… the work never stops!

[@rexhavoc2982]

Pull the stuck chunk of wood off the wedge using a chain and 2 hooks using the retract stroke of the cylinder I have a hook welded to the push plate and a grab hook on a 5/16 x 36 inch long chain.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I have seen this done before and it works good. My pusher retracts fully inside the machine as it waits for the next piece. Not sure there is any place to mount one…

[@rexhavoc2982]

Some one could cut a key hole in the push plate to grab a chain. Swinging a sledge hammer is not good. Do you have any goons to help you run the splitter or move wood around? @@OakMountainAcotts

[@chrisbubar6604]

Great video, you are a trooper making a video in that rain. I find a piece like that beech sometimes splits with the single knife. As the log father would say "those pieces can be time bandits"

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Absolutely! I learned the hard way on those so I just send them to Dad's now. He appreciates the firewood and his Spitfire with the Honda engine fixes them right up in jig time.... I've given up complaining about the rain, no end to it! Just trying to make the best of it now :)

[@LostCaper]

Man I thought the processor would have at least a 20 ton splitting force.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

It definitely could be better! They size them up more appropriately in the next models up… $$$$

[@grahamditchfield4318]

Small end first and orient the wedge to take a straight grain split. There are few nasty pieces that my pro 138 can handle. I love it. Now I also cut them up into blocks and hand feed them in when they are really unruly.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

They work pretty well once you learn the limitations….

[@joeahopelto8032]

Finland isn't a Scandinavian country. I was born i in Finland where your processor was made. Finns are Nordics who first came from central Siberia.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Apologies! I’d better do better research! Thanks for setting me straight!

[@yvesjolicoeur747]

great job, great tips

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Yves! Working on the spur road again this weekend… filling in more black mud holes!

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

Great video Jason. Nice tips. Although I don’t have a processor, you still have to do some things to move things along nicely. A little bit wet there, we got a bunch of rain here Saturday. Strange that the splitter in your processor is 5 ton. My electric splitter is 5 ton. White birch is great for processing no matter what why you do it. But, I don’t like the mess of the bark. And it rots quick. Those 3 to 4” pieces you don’t split, do they dry enough to sell along with the split wood, at the same time. And, I got my moisture tester. Thanks for the information on that. Just a gadget for me to have some fun and just be interesting to know moisture content. I don’t sell firewood. Still have to learn a bit about the tester. 4 different settings with lots of wood names on it I’ve never heard of. Have a great day.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi Noel, the more expensive models will have more powerful splitters on them but they also increase the wood diameter feed limits. I spoke with another woodsman running a 38 Pro and I think it has an 8 ton splitter on it but the feed size increases to 14 or 16".... his feedback was the same. A bit undersized especially if you move up to a 6 way wedge. The smaller unsplit birch will likely get down below 15% as well. As you say, birch dries fast but it will hold moisture if the bark is on the whole way around. No complaints yet! I blend in 10% to a cord of firewood right now just to keep some moving to the customers. The little testers are great, I would just find the one that is recommended for firewood and leave it there. They should be quick to use and I find they are quite reliable. Take care!

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

@@OakMountainAcotts thanks Jason. I watch another channel that has a Japa 365 wood splitter. Looks very similar to yours. Are they the same splitters or different company’s.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I believe they are sisters under the same corporation.

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

@@OakMountainAcotts I see. Thanks Jason. Yours seemed to work much better than the Japa one I saw.

[@sebastienweisser4839]

Thanks a lot for this very good video and demo of this processor. I have been looking and comparing various brands and models for what i could use and a must for me is that it has to be coming with its own power unit and i would run it off grid. Most brand don't offer that, or with PTO run but i usually need my tractor too and can t just use it for the processor. The other major issue for us here up the Yukon, is the access to a dealer and therefore the cost of shipping. All in, I would probably look at an extra 10 to 15k CA to get a unit up here. regardless of the brand.....Explain it why i still process by hand my 60 cords/year.....for now.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Wow, 60 cords per year is a lot! My bottleneck here is getting the trees down and out to the processor. Especially with only weekends to work on the Woodlot. We have quite a few videos on the processor on our channel to help you make the brand decision. The reliability has been very good so far. I have changed the coil on the gas engine, the chain sprocket and a small pin that connects linkage from the handle that operates the saw to the actual hydraulic controller. It was a $0.30 piece but took an hour or so for me to figure out how to replace it! If I had to guess, I have probably processed between 120 and 140 cords with it so far. I need to get it under cover as the sun is hard on the rubber belts, etc. Hope this helps, Jason.

[@sebastienweisser4839]

I will definitely watch the other videos (if i haven't already. I have various questions and would love to discuss few things as it seems we have some similar equipment and woodlots challenges. Would you have a email where you can be contacted...if you want to of course. Cheers and keep up the good work!@@OakMountainAcotts

[@OakMountainAcotts]

@sebastienweisser4839 you can find our e-mail address on our channel! Thanks, Jason

[@thelogfather5002]

All great points Jason! Experience is the best teacher- you’re second best. :) Jeff

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Jeff. Did you notice that I didn’t even complain about the rain! I have finally accepted it!!!

[@bwillan]

If you really want to make your firewood processor operation efficient, take a few minutes with the chainsaw and clean up any obvious problem spots back in the woods (like that beech log with the 90 degree bend). Joe at Ohio Wood Burner (youtube) has made marks on a tape measure that account for the chainsaw kerf of the processor bar when he measures out his logs for loading on the feed table. This makes for minimal off cuts.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Makes sense! Thanks for watching!

[@brianwestveer9532]

Good video, would you buy a different processor if you were to buy again

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I couldn’t really afford this one at the time! We bought the Raven, feed table, Kranman log trailer and the dump trailer over the course of two weeks! I have thought about upgrading to a 38 pro but we would need to be processing 100 cords per year or more for me to justify it. The Raven works great and is really reliable!

[@challe_challe3622]

it's really interesting that it differs so much. Here in Sweden, it is almost a must that the wood is sawn and split with a wood processor, otherwise it is not profitable. The same thing with the handling of the wood, here the wood goes directly after the wood processor in a large sack of 1.5 cubic meters and not hand stacked at all. The birch is the white gold here in sweden. Really good video!!👍

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I love white birch for firewood and we have a fair amount on our Woodlot. I think more will be used in NB in the next 10 years. We are looking into the sacs as well… stacking is very time consuming!

[@challe_challe3622]

If you going to get sacks, I would recommend going for the quality ones and not for the cheap ones, saves money in the long run

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Yes, they are expected so they need to last at least 3 seasons!

[@johanneslaxell6641]

I have a sneaky suspicion that we have different proportions when it comes to building price depending on country. We (Finland and Sweden) have high labourcosts, I have no clue on Canada. Then we don't have to season our wood for so long as we don't burn real hardwood since it is not available at least here. We burn mostly white birch, pine and spruce. Cut in winter/spring, dry over summer and burn in winter. KZbin is interesting when anyone can can look at videos and relate different depending on background. There is big difficulties to make money the American way by bucking woth chainsaw, splitting with a "Eastonmade/Wolfridge", stacking and drying. With good wood and making one meter long wood selling as is maybe possible, but not easy. Best way making money is that no one touches the wood before the customer. Trees taken down with processor/harvester, taken out from the woods with forwarder/tractor "straight" to the logtable from where it is processed straight into bags/totes, stacked to dry and then loaded onto a trailer. Thank you and greetings from southern Finland 👍🏼💪🏼😁!

[@challe_challe3622]

@@johanneslaxell6641 I totally agree with you, I do not understand that (I think both) USA and Canda are using feller, skidder and a delimber machine when logging and not harvester and a forwarder