MDL Powerup 37T Splitter & Kinetic Splitter Firewood Making

[@BigelowWoodcraft]

I'm glad they sorted out the wedge but when that thing went flying my jaw hit the floor. I know what you mean about the messy splits. I like the edit with the picture in picture. Nice modification on the splitter. Great video

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hey Jerry buddy, yes the customer service on that was exceptional for sure, for them to reach out to me and not the other way round is great. That wedge going flying up in the air was very unexpected and when it come down it gave me a little heart flutter 😂 Yes the hydraulic splitters seem to always leave a messy split compared to the kinetic splitters. Thank you for the feedback with the picture in picture, i know sometimes if i put all the footage on one timeline it would end up at like 1 hour long sometimes. No one wants to watch it for that long 😆 Thank you as always buddy 👍

[@livingoffgridinscotland]

Nick I think you probably need to get a firewood processor that goes on a tractor, you can get them that cut the logs, split them and the conveyor loads straight into the dumpy bag or cage, I’ve used one with a self loading log table and the biggest problem was you needed a man full time on a forklift moving dumpy bags, we were filling a dumpy bag in around 6 minutes…

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hey Rich, hows things going up there ? On my future videos i have a log processor and its great when i have the correct sized wood for the machine. I split enough for 32 cages i about 5 days on my own mainly. Its certainly a great machine to make the process simple and efficient. If i have enough logs on the tractor forks then i can do a cage in about 25minutes or there abouts. Thank you for commenting buddy, hope work is keeping you busy and your buildings are going well.

[@stefanfalkenstein2083]

Dear Nick, i watch your Videos since years and even i dont comment anything, its always refreshing seeing your verry intelligent and reflected way of thinking! Keep on buddy, greetings from germany! Stefan

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hi Stefan and thank you for reaching out in comment and thank you for watching me for so many years now. Im just myself and sometimes i feel i just waffle on but that is me and how i am 😆 Thank you again for your support 👍

[@michaelshortsc]

Hi nick im actually the same as you I’ve got power up as you without the lift and table I’ve hardly used mine exactly the same issues as you the logs are a mess when split it rips them apart more than splitting them And mine sprays oil out as soon as it gets hot The one handle issue weld a bit of box across the handles

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hey buddy and thanks for commenting. hope you are well too. yes i too find that very same issue, i dont know if its because the wedge isnt sharp enough or the wedge is too thick but the splits are not clean splits but more of a tear/rip. I also have the same issue with the hydraulic oil coming out of the filler port, its like it must be too hot or under pressure and cant vent to atmosphere enough. I was just watching a video earlier of a hydraulic splitter where the ram forward and backward was about 5 seconds, really fast for hydraulic, i wonder why these arent like that with the pump on it. Maybe a bigger pump is required. Thank you for giving me your review though buddy, what other splitter do you use again ? was it the kinetic ?

[@michaelshortsc]

@@everydaywithmenick Yes kenetic I built it out of the lister d engine The Ther thing I don’t like is how load it is

[@evanjohnson3578]

Hey Nick, good video. That splitter did seem very awkward to run with one person. I know I never used anything but a single wedge and for me that was very quick to handle the wood. But everyone has got their own way of doing things. Take care buddy

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hey Evan and thank you as always for commenting. Hope you are doing well buddy. Yes it would be nicer to have another person loading the table up so i can split off that too but we will have to make it work. I have a lot of oversized firewood to go through and that will all go through the MDL powerup splitter. Thank you buddy as always 👍

[@evanjohnson3578]

Great plan , take care

[@andrewadam9544]

your lift was also dropping during the operations with any weight on it !

[@everydaywithmenick]

ive noticed that also, i wonder if the hydraulics are passing on the valve ??? its all brand new so im not sure what is happening. The hydraulics seem a little slow too. Maybe the relief valve is underpressure a little bit. Thank you for commenting.

[@TreeChangeFarmer]

WOW that was scary! Are there supposed to be pins in the top to stop that sort of thing happening? The ram seems very slow to retract. Cheers Dave.

[@andrewadam9544]

cant be if your running big rounds through it that are higher than the wedge or they will catch and destroy them

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hey Dave, video of ours is coming out soon, ill let you know once its done. Yes i could put pins in but it actually needs to float up and down to allow the splits to go through properly. Yes i too thought the ram is a little slow to retract, i need to drill 2 more holes to make the ram stop closer to the size i normally split. Thank you buddy and ill let you know once the video is done.

[@TimStandish]

Hi Nick! Question for you. I would really appreciate a response. Typed in to KZbin the Powerup log splitter and found your videos on the product. It appeals due to the 4 way splitting knife and 6 way knife. (I’m currently using and hiring that blue oxdale 2 way splitter) though the machine is quick to operate the knife up and down on the oxdale it is a pain using a two way knife to cut so much wood. One advantage currently is clients are loving smaller hand cut wood on a two way machine. I’m wondering if the MDL powerup machine is worth buying.. does it make good small firewood on both a 4/6 way knife? I’m thinking of buying this machine with the log lift and a log conveyer to expand my firewood business and make things easier using both the MDL splitter and conveyer together. Do you use a log conveyer, if not why not? I notice some people use them and some don’t bother. A conveyer I thought would be useful for loading up ton bag after ton bag of wood by hand currently. I’ve come in to an opportunity to get a load of wood consistently that could feed my firewood business from thinning out a big woodland area. Wondering if the jump from a two way splitter up to a 4/6 way machine with the log lift and conveyer could really bump up my numbers and save a lot of muscle ache. Scared of the idea of buying one of these machines and it taking ages to pay itself off. Did you purchase outright out finance? If you did finance have you been stung hard on lending costs? Best wishes Tim (tree surgeon and firewood producer)

[@everydaywithmenick]

Hi Tim and thank you for the comment you have left me, ill get to work responding to this comment. So i think the splitter you are using now is the vertical 10t splitter if im not mistaken, ive seen a lot of videos on here of people loving the vertical splitters, especially the EastonMade splitters, they have the speed and power for sure. I understand what your saying about the 2 way wedge and would think the 4 way and 6 way wedge would benefit you in the productivity sense. That is why i went with this splitter too for that very same reason with the 6 way wedge. Ill be honest though, the 6 way and 4 way wedge are not designed for us in the UK and im thinking about cutting the wings off (the bits that split the wood) and welding them back into a better place for us in the UK. The 4 way wedge fins are also set way too high and always leave a huge split at the bottom and i find myself having to resplit them. If you are handy then you could do the same too or get them to make a more suitable wedge but in all honesty it would cost you a fortune over the standard 6 way wedge available. This is my first ever hydraulic machine and ill be honest i still cant get over the pace of these machines, i need faster hydraulics to keep up with me and the way i work. Dont get me wrong, its fairly quick but i would like more speed, also the return detent holes need re drilling to cater for the UK market of 200 - 250mm length wood, i will be doing a video on this in the near future. I purchased my machine out right and did not take finance on the machine, finance is a great thing for businesses who want to get machinery but keep outgoings at a reasonable amount, i cannot give any advice on this matter buddy. Where are you based ? you could always come and try mine or even visit their place in Carlisle and check the products out. Regarding a conveyor, YES YES YES get a conveyor. it will make your process so much better, i am going to get one for mine eventually but im spending all my money on more logs and upgrades for the wood yard. I hope this has helped you out a little, again if your close by or not to far away then by all means come visit me and ill pull the splitter out for you to demo. Thank you for watching, i do have other videos of the machine also.

[@TimStandish]

@@everydaywithmenick hello Nick! I’ve seen this video and another when it had just arrived walking around the machine. I’m sure like other people I was super happy to see a good minded person make a good video review of one of these. You may have found the same, but I’m curious as to why I haven’t seen many people use or hire any out machines that have 4 and 6 way knives. In my head I figured this must same a whole bunch of time. I think for the reason you have stated maybe the 4 and 6 way knives are splitting too large if they all come over from America. I noticed in your other video you pointed out these machines do come from the US and are further developed then sold on here by MDL. I’m considering getting a better log splitter than a two way, and a log conveyer too so I can speed up my splitting and moving process much like you it sounds like. Your info is really helpful as my fear was how small would the 4 and 6 way knives cut the wood (customers I’m sure yours too seem to love that small width and length wood here in the uk) Have you looked at the PALAX 750c machine? This looks to be an amazing smaller size processor perfect for taking long lengths of wood on the smaller diameter end. Then it can be processed easily with the machine doing the sawing of logs and the processors seem to have a good 4/6 even up to 8 way knife. The palax machine seems to be available second hand at the 15K mark. Theres a guy with the channel ‘oak farm firewood’ who has a great video on this machine. I thought with the palax it’s a lot to spend but if it will roll in logs, hold them, saw them, drop down in to a 6/8 way or so knife then on to a conveyer id be laughing. Only trouble I see with that is only the smaller diameter size wood is going to be best/possible to use on it up to a certain size. Then again larger wood would be still best on a 2 way oxdale or your MDL splitter. But you can order smaller size log lengths so if you order the right logs it won’t be a problem. This processor looks small enough a strong guy could hand load long, thinner logs on to the log table or machine directly. Trying to think of the best machine that will best suit me. And for the longer term too so I can use it each year for firewood production. I like the look of the palax smaller size processor if you have any opinion on that just seems expensive. I have a large woodland I can cut which will feed me some wood for some time, a younger woodland that would suit the palax processor sort of size wood. Maybe I should look to get one of them seems to have a conveyor on it too. I’m based over in the Sussex area south east of England! Thanks so much for the offer to try out the machine, I’m currently looking at options and got no idea what the best machine for me might be. I’ve got lots of tall, skinny woodland trees I can remove and use firewood from. Wondering if I should look to get a splitter and a conveyor or just opt straight for a small log processor I can use many years and pay off though it will cost a lot more to buy. The MDL splitter with log lift and conveyor I’m guessing is somewhere around £6K or so both together. I’ve found a demo PALAX750c machine with not much use online for around the 10-15k mark 👍

[@TimStandish]

Hi Nick, log splitters and conveyors seems like the perfect thing for me giving it some thought. I might try and get myself a decent used splitter on the two way end that’s powerful and can split any size wood down with that to the perfect size whether it’s big or small wood. It means a lot of time chainsawing logs in to rings to then split which I’ve been doing for some time but I see buying a massive log factory costing too much money and with all the wood it makes so quick, I’ll be out delivering as a solo operation more than I’m using that huge machine that can pump out wood. Seems more ideal for a bigger set up with more staff and more clients to deliver logs to. Your video has been incredibly helpful, as I am worries the 4 and 6 way will split logs too big and I’m not handy like you in cutting off fins and changing the angle etc! I may be best off for some time on a two way splitter with a log conveyor to help store logs and then load them up for delivery. Thanks so much for your comment. A big log processor will need a huge amount of wood fed in to it constantly I don’t think I could keep up with making and delivering that much wood from a huge log factory so a splitter and conveyor seems the best way for me to go too.

[@everydaywithmenick]

I have too been looking at the pallax machines, they look good and im keen on updating my processor to the circular saw blade style over the chainsaw but then again there is nothing wrong with the chainsaw style of cutting wood, the chains are easily replaebale and cheaper than the circular saw blades. I dont know how fast the current one you are using is but ill do a real time video soon of the MDL splitter with its operating times and see what you make of it yourself, ill put some wood on the splitter that youll be using if you can provide a range of sizes you will be splitting. Deffo getting a conveyor for any spliter and processor is a must and it greatly increases the need of rehandling the wood, ask me how i know. The conveyor allows the user to fill up bags or cages without having to waste any more time handling and taking the operator away from splitting. Unfortunately the cost of processors are always expensive but if you are buying one, go with one that will suit 70% of your needs becasue i am finding that most of the wood i have delivered are sometimes over size and i cant run through the processor. The size i am limited to is 400mm max really. The manual splitter is able to split any size you can physically get on the splitter. When the 2 way wedge is used to split the larger round into more capable sizes then you can switch over to the 4 or 6 way wedge. So to summarize which machine to buy, do what ive done. Have a processor and a good capable manual splitter so that when you have the oversize wood you can handle them and get them slit down then have the processor to process the correct size of wood and get it through the machine much quicker and efficient. Yes you will have to spend some time sawing the logs to size for the manual splitter but they are a lot less money than a processor.

[@TimStandish]

@@everydaywithmenick Hi Nick, agree with everything you’ve said! One issue I have is I don’t have a kiln, so it’s suddenly dawned on me if I did get a palax and spend a bomb on it as upfront costs I’d then be maybe buying one in the summer to start processing to season a load of stuff. Then wait forever, for it to season before being able to sell any. I have a truck to deliver wood but that’s it I do all wood handling by hand lifting long thin logs on to whatever I can to get it out the woods. I’d need more machinary to feed the palax the amount of wood they can run through I’d imagine. The palax for me may make more wood than I can feed it and handle then there’s slowly building up clients you can sell more and more wood to, and not be stuck with huge piles of wood and not enough clients. I like the complexity of the different levels of firewood business and it really makes you think what is best. I’m seasoning wood before selling, so without a kiln the palax will take me ages to start making money with the huge upfront cost to sell next years firewood. Because of all that noted above, I think a splitter, a conveyor and cutting logs with a chain saw I can manage and move by hand is probably my best bet for some time to come. We don’t have the best access here where my yard is, low trees only cut high enough for cars and vans to get in. So I’m having to use some woodland we have here which is very dense to thin it out for my own wood then I’m planning on replanting and replacing any thinned out trees. Replanting with something like an ash tree will mean in 10/20 years there’s a full blown tree there it’s place and I can thin out the woods and replant to keep wood costs down!

[@andrewadam9544]

seems like the cutting edge hasnt been hardened ?

[@everydaywithmenick]

i think it was from the 6 way wedge being wrong why it burred the blade edge over. ive sharpened it back up now so its not doing bad now.