Considering getting one of these:

Just wondering if an electic one would be better?

Spec says it has a 10 tonne hydraulic ram, most of the other electic ones only seem to be 4tonnes which i dont reall get.

Edit: SORRY WRONG FORUM, I HIT POST AND MEANT TO HIT PREVIEW, WILL REPOST IN CHAT.

How many logs are you splitting and how often.

The electric one will be easier but probably more expensive and more likely to break.

i chop ours with an axe or splitting grenade for the herts shore fire

I reposted in chat but nevermind:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/log-splitters-manualhydraulic-vs-electric

Ive got at least 3 tonnes of unseasoned stuff I need to split this summer, and there are loads more trees getting taken down in the hospital grounds behind us. I am going to have a word with the estates guy and see if I can take them as all they do is chip them into a big pile.

Got a log grenade but its knackering my elbow, and the loud pinging isnt doing my tinitus any good at all!!

A good splitting/maul axe with a couple splitting wedges will be a far better investment, than any mickey mouse wood splitter sold for home owners.

yeah our wood pile at herts is 10ft high 🙂

If it’s free-splitting wood, like ash, a 4 tonne electric one will be OK. If it’s knotty then it’ll struggle. Check the shape of the splitting wedge as well. As a general rule high power machines with a wide wedge are best as smaller tend to use use a thin wedge which have a nasty habit of getting the log stuck on (same logic as a spitting maul vs a felling axe). If you have a chainsaw to deal with the knotty bits then a smallish electric one will deal with most of your splitting.

Electric ones tend to have a twin-button start to stop accidental operation. If you are doing lots, this can be back breaking as you’re forever bending over loading/unloading the logs and starting/holding the buttons. Vertical spitters are much better in this respect but are major money….. Best solution I’ve found is a hydraulic tractor mounted splitter, 4ft lengths at a time and all the power you need 😉

Edit – I drifted slightly – in conclusion a maul will be quicker….

And if you’re getting a sore elbow, stop forcing the axe into the wood!

At the point the axe is about to hit the wood, it should be pretty much in freefall, with you only having a light grip to keep it on target and not flying off into the distance. If the impact is travelling up through your arms, then you’re going to get sore very quickly.

sore elbow is from the log grenade and sledge hammer, but perhaps I need a bigger sledge hammer, or perhaps my wood isnt ready to be split yet (it was only cut last summer).

hire one about £35per day and 10 ton force and fast as can be not bad if your wood is free and much better than those above
You can oftenneed two people to do them with a machine.Axe ,maul, grenade etc are fine till it i s knotted and ok for the first few hours but not to spend a weekend doing it

sore elbow is from the log grenade and sledge hammer, but perhaps I need a bigger sledge hammer, or perhaps my wood isnt ready to be split yet (it was only cut last summer).

Get a 7lb head with a fibreglass handle.

Some types of wood are just horrible to split. Things like knotted elm are near impossible to split, and should just be sawn.
I spent several years splitting logs, using various methods. In terms of speed, axe was quickest on straight grained wood, tractor mounted splitter made light work of most knotted stuff, and the saw bench was for the tough stuff that even 14tonne of pressure on a knife edge couldn’t handle.