Skid vs Mini Skid

[Fivepoints]

Just curious, you guys with atom splitters, how often do you use your splitter vs noodling wood to be able to pick it up. Is it worth switching back and forth from the auger to the grapple on a job?

I'll occasionally get into trees that the trunk has to be cut into firewood rounds then either halved or quartered to pick them up with the mini.

How big are your trees? What mini are you using? We're good for as big a round as will fit in the bmg if they are cut firewood length. Forks really help with big rounds. Noodling makes a big mess but so does using an atom splitter. Sometimes the pieces will spin a bit and dig the ground. Cant use plywood under them because sometime you end up with the splitter into the ground. We mostly use ours at our wood lot but have used it on occasional jobs. They do work well to take that 14" to 16" tree and make it run through a 12" chipper. We mostly do this with junk pine logs that aren't any good to mill. Longer logs aren't nearly as bad about wanting to spin around. I still wouldn't try it on a pristine yard.

 

[flushcut]

What auger are you using? We have one rated for 1800 ft lbs and an atom splitter but tore up the frame on our auger last week. Seems like it needs more torque. Good techniques help but ours still gets stuck regularly. Seems like if it keep driving it would just pop apart.

The drive I have is a low speed high torque 2200ft lbs it might be higher, I really don't remember exact numbers. In really big splits I use a splitting wedge or two and a 10lb sledge. Spin the Atom in until it stops and usually a crack will be present set and beat a wedge, simple.

 

[Jehinten]

How big are your trees? What mini are you using? We're good for as big a round as will fit in the bmg if they are cut firewood length. Forks really help with big rounds. Noodling makes a big mess but so does using an atom splitter. Sometimes the pieces will spin a bit and dig the ground. Cant use plywood under them because sometime you end up with the splitter into the ground. We mostly use ours at our wood lot but have used it on occasional jobs. They do work well to take that 14" to 16" tree and make it run through a 12" chipper. We mostly do this with junk pine logs that aren't any good to mill. Longer logs aren't nearly as bad about wanting to spin around. I still wouldn't try it on a pristine yard.

Typical larger ones here are 36"-42" pin oaks and around 48"- 60" silver maples. The silver maples are usually less than 8' long at that width before splitting into 4-5 trunks near 24" diameter which is much more manageable.

I'm running a Vermeer s600 with BMG. Not the largest machine by far, but I've been able to muscle around some big pieces with a little ingenuity and technique. But gripping the bigger diameters is typically a chore. I've only used forks with my mini on one job (rented for the day) I've not bought any yet.

 

[flushcut]

Just curious, you guys with atom splitters, how often do you use your splitter vs noodling wood to be able to pick it up. Is it worth switching back and forth from the auger to the grapple on a job?

I'll occasionally get into trees that the trunk has to be cut into firewood rounds then either halved or quartered to pick them up with the mini.

For me using the Atom splitter is really job dependent. The one I posted chips were easier to get rid of than wood. But most of the time it's noodles for dinner.

 

[flushcut]

No noodles here just some wedge and a split that was already there. Wood was being picked up by a wood boiler guy.

 

[Fivepoints]

The drive I have is a low speed high torque 2200ft lbs it might be higher, I really don't remember exact numbers. In really big splits I use a splitting wedge or two and a 10lb sledge. Spin the Atom in until it stops and usually a crack will be present set and beat a wedge, simple.

I'm going to have to try that. I usually use a chainsaw to cut it out when I get stuck.

 

[burtonbc1400]

Hey Guys...
Ok the atom splitter is great... noted
But as far as the actual mini skid:
What do you think about the sk750?
Underpowered for tree work?
2013 1050 hrs. 17000 CAD.

 

[Dr.Pants Esq]

I have an SK755 which is similar and I love it.

 

[flushcut]

I can't speak on the underpowered but even the weakest mini is better than no mini.

 

[treegongfu]

As I'm getting by with an sk500 I would think a 750 would be great.

 

[Fivepoints]

Our SK650 will do a lot and that 750 should be able to pickup a bit more. I don't know if it will be underpowered but the lift capacity should be decent.

Sorry. I didn't mean to hijack your post for the atom splitter. There's not much info on them out there and I got excited to be talking to other that have them.

 

[marne]

Hey Guys...
Ok the atom splitter is great... noted
But as far as the actual mini skid:
What do you think about the sk750?
Underpowered for tree work?
2013 1050 hrs. 17000 CAD.

As stated before, it will do material handling and hauling just fine, there will be not much left to be desired. If your using a trencher, a stone burier or other power hungry attachments weekly and all day long, you may see benefits from a 30hp+ machine. As you don't have many other options, I would not hesitate a Minute, that price is a deal unless the machine is really beaten up. Having a non turbo machine has some benefits as well, the engine is more robust, less things to care about.
Look for Roger Waldman on Youtube, he runs or ran an sk752 (if I remember right) for over insane 6000 hours, yes 6k!