Steve Reisenweaver, operating from the cab of a Caterpillar 420F Backhoe Loader, demonstrates the ability of the Black Splitter S2X 800 to move logs.Photo: Atlantic Excavator Attachments
The U.S. distributor of the Black Splitter S2X 800, a German-made hydraulic wood-splitting attachment, says the tool enables an operator to handle and split large timber with the precision of a surgeon without leaving the cab of a construction machine.
Marlton, New Jersey-based Atlantic Excavator Attachments is the first distributor to introduce the Black Splitter to the North American marketplace. “The Black Splitter hydraulic log and stump splitter models are a game changer,” says Eric Ransome, owner of Atlantic Excavator Attachments. “They allow you to offload a truck and process a log or stump within minutes using small machines, including mini excavators and backhoes.”
ACC Landscape Contractors of Turnersville, New Jersey, which purchased an S2X 800 from Atlantic Excavator Attachments, is a small firm specializing in land clearing, forestry and the distribution of byproducts, including mulch and firewood. ACC owner Steve Reisenweaver estimates the S2X 800 will quadruple the production of the company’s log-splitting operation.
What once required two workers equipped with a chainsaw, a log splitter, and a large steel bar is now accomplished by a single operator with a Black Splitter mounted on a Caterpillar 420F Backhoe Loader, Reisenweaver says.
As with all Black Splitter wood-splitting attachments, a backhoe operator can use the rotating cone to maneuver and position individual logs before and after splitting.
“You can sit in a heated cab with the radio going instead of out there next to a loud machine, freezing and busting your fingers up,” says Reisenweaver. “When the operators are comfortable and your workers are comfortable, you’re going to have lot more production.”
ACC processes a lot of hardwoods including oak and maple, but what impressed Reisenweaver most was how easily the S2X 800 tore through gumwood, which he describes as a “giant knot.” “It will split a gumwood log that’s 30 inches around,” he says. “That’s impressive.”
This is made possible by the 245-millimeter rotating threaded chromium-steel cone with replaceable tip. The cone is available with a double helical thread design, with a thread pitch of 24 millimeters, for rapid wood penetration; or, on the model S2G, a quadruple helical thread design, which has a thread pitch of 45 millimeters, for more powerful penetration into the largest and hardest timber.
For more information, visit www.blacksplitternj.com.
