If you’ve got a mountain of timber to break down, you want to get through it as quickly and easily as possible. The benefit of having a cone splitter mounted on your excavator, telehandler or crane is the ability to split more wood than ever before with speed, precision and ease. Here’s a look at some of what’s out there on the market at the moment.
JAS P WILSON
LASCO CONE SPLITTERS
JAS P Wilson Forest Machines, the sole supplier of Lasco cone splitters covering the UK and Ireland, has several new additions to its popular range of Austrian-manufactured cone splitters.
The popular Roli 10 model, which has been the core model in the range since its release, has recently had a facelift. This iconic splitter now has a yellow and grey body, distinguishing it from the larger multiple-motor models within the Lasco range, which maintain the well-known red Lasco chassis.
The Roli 10 is a popular choice with firewood producers and contractors due to its power, which allows it to easily handle typical workloads, and due to its base machine suitability – working on excavators from 3-tonne +.
The range has also increased due to the addition of the Yard Master XL – a new multi-attachment machine comprising a Lasco cone splitter and Botex rotating timber grab. This XL unit complements the standard Yard Master unit, which has proved popular.
Unlike the standard Yard Master for excavators of 5-tonne +, The bigger XL version is suited to 13–20-tonne excavators and has the powerful 3-motor Lasco M3 splitter and the heavy-duty Botex 0.26 grab with 6-tonne rotator.
The tasks of splitting, stacking, loading, and feeding can all be done with the Yard Master. So, like the name suggests, this truly is the master of any firewood or timber processing set-up.
Buying this combination from Jas P Wilson’s could not be easier. From order, the company will produce a bespoke quick-hitch bracket and hoses to fit your base machine. If required, Jas P Wilson’s team of regional service engineers can come in to fit the machine to make the whole process effortless for the customer. The team also offers an excavator guarding service, which has become popular through its HarvaDig concept of producing a forestry guarded excavator, which is modified to allow it to work a wide range of forestry and firewood attachments and have additional forestry protection.
This excavator-based system for attachments such as log splitters, harvesting heads, tree shears, mulchers, fixed grabs, etc. creates a versatile machine. So versatile in fact, these machines find little reason to be parked up – there is always a job to be done!
For further details, please contact 01556 612233 or visit www.jaspwilson.co.uk.
JB EQUIPMENT
JCS RANGE
JB Equipment is a Hertfordshire-based manufacturer and supplier of hydraulic cone splitters and excavator attachments with regular distribution across the whole of the UK, Ireland and Europe. They have three key cone splitter models covering 1.5 to 20-tonne excavators – the JCS 12, JCS 40 and JCS 80.
The JCS 12 is the entry-level model which offers customers a robust and economical solution for log splitting due to its competitive price point of only £1,195 + VAT. It is a hugely popular model for part-time users, small contractors and private individuals. It operates with an impressive 1,180 Nm torque, which is capable of handling timber roughly 0.6 m in diameter.
The JCS 40 is the bestselling model, engineered for use in commercial applications such as for timber and firewood processing yards. It packs a powerful 3,760 Nm of torque and can split timber up to 1.2 m in diameter. Similar to the other two models, it uses an internal gearbox drive system for converting the given oil flow into rotational power.
For larger excavators within the 8–25-tonne category, the JCS 80 cone splitter is the ideal companion. This heavy-duty unit, weighing in at 285 kg, features a huge 8,240 Nm of torque and is popular for specialist applications or larger commercial customers where efficiency is paramount.
All JCS cone splitters have interchangeable cone tips as standard and do not require any additional drain lines or electrics to operate – they simply connect straight onto any double acting auxiliary supply. High-quality powder-coated paint provides a fresh and professional finish to each attachment, while a singular heavy-duty locking pin connects the shaft of the cone to the drive unit itself.
Stump planer attachments can also be supplied for both the JCS 40 and JCS 80 models, which act as a great additional tool for tree surgery and other similar applications.
Excavator headstocks and pins are included with every model based on the customer’s requirements, but other brackets for telehandlers, skid steers and other machinery can be fabricated and supplied on request.
All models are usually held in stock in the UK for rapid nationwide delivery.
For more information, please contact 01442 910380 or visit www.jbequipment.co.uk.
FUELWOOD
BLACK SPLITTER RANGE
FUELWOOD is a dealer for the Black’s range of cone splitters, but also works with other brands for bespoke customer installations. The Black’s range of German-manufactured splitters boasts a wide range of machines suitable for mounting on 1.5- to 15-tonne carriers.
Triple motors provide enormous torque for splitting through the toughest timber, and the pitch of the thread is far more aggressive than for many other brands, meaning the tip of the cone bites into the wood much quicker. These features mean that the Black’s splitters are very quick, and very accurate, meaning cleaner splits, less time spent on the job and much less waste.
The all-new SB model has just been added to the range of Black’s splitters for excavators in the 8- to 15-tonne range. The torque generated in this splitter, the aggressive thread on the cone, and the Black’s build quality make this a very capable and robust cone splitter.
There are also many attachments available for these splitters, to help improve operations. Grapples incorporated onto the splitting head are a popular option, enabling splitting and handling of timber with one attachment.
Augers, post-hole borers, yard brushes, screening baskets and concrete mixer attachments can all be purchased to run off the same Black’s drive motor, making this item much more than just a cone splitter and ensuring the transport of machinery to site is much easier.
Fuelwood offers a one-stop shop, taking care of the mounting brackets required to install these machines, as well as the hydraulic connection, extra hydraulic services if required and control mountings in the cab, so that your purchase is effortless and simple.
Fuelwood can also offer bespoke mounting solutions enabled by its in-house design and fabrication departments. So, if you want your attachment fitted, this all comes ready as one complete package.
For more information on the solutions to all your forestry
and firewood needs, call Fuelwood on 01926 484673 or visit www.fuelwood.co.uk.
APPROVED HYDRAULICS
AH630CS AND AH800S CONE SPLITTERS
APPROVED Hydraulics’ units are manufactured from one simple laser-cut and in-house-welded housing where the internal components are simply precision fit tolerances and then bolted together. The main body is extremely robust and 90 per cent of the components are shared between the 630 and 800 units.
The 630 and 800 also share the internal motor mounting, intermediate block and main drive shaft, which are manufactured on CNC machines from one single piece of high-grade steel to eradicate any welded weak points.
The main bearing housing assembly is also common to both units and carries 2 x heavy-duty taper roller bearings capable of 19-tonne side load each. The 630 model (rated for 3-tonne to 7-tonne excavators) has a specially designed 200 mm diameter high-grade steel cone that is through hardened to ensure a long life and has a replaceable tip of the same grade.
The more popular 800 model (rated for 8-tonne to 16-tonne excavators) has the same grade cone but has a maximum diameter of 250 mm, and again the replaceable tip is common to both units.
Over the years the units have evolved to be able to fit on not just excavators but also cranes, telehandlers and small utility vehicles.
As an additional extra to the unit, Approved Hydraulics can offer an auger drill and stump planer that can easily be interchanged with the cone.
These units have proved extremely popular over the past few years and have been supplied throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe.
NEW FOR 2021
Coming early in 2021 to the AH cone splitter range will be the new log grab and/or log grab and rotator attachment for manoeuvring full or split logs before, during and after the splitting process.
The first prototypes have already been designed and manufactured ready for trialling before release. The attachment can be retrofitted to any original AH630CS or AH800CS cone splitters customer may have purchased historically.
A range of Intermercato log grabs and Balt rotor rotators will be available to the customer’s choice to suit their specific requirements.
The Approved Hydraulics cone splitters are the first units in the world to utilise a rigid rotator and log grab on a cone splitter attachment, giving the user more functionality and greater usability than the traditional pendant or non-rotation versions currently available. Using two attachments at the same time offers less down time from switching attachments, giving faster productivity.
For more information, contact 0161 480 0869, email sales@approvedhydraulics.co.uk or visit www.approvedhydraulics.co.uk.
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