Wood-splitting attachment catching on in U.S., distributor says

Maryland Landscape Supply owner Ethan Langrill uses the Black Splitter S2X 800 to split a log at the firm’s Ellicott City location.Maryland Landscape Supply owner Ethan Langrill uses the Black Splitter S2X 800 to split a log at the firm’s Ellicott City location.

The U.S. distributor of a German-made hydraulic wood-splitting attachment says the tool is catching on among landscaping companies that sell firewood as one of their off-season sources of revenue. Called the Black Splitter S2X 800, the attachment can be used with relatively small machines, including mini excavators and backhoes.

Maryland Landscape Supply of Ellicott City significantly improved the cost and efficiency of its firewood processing operation with the S2X 800, according to the distributor, Atlantic Excavator Attachments. Machine operators can handle and split large timber with precision from the cab of a construction machine, the company says.

At Maryland Landscape Supply, the S2X 800 has transformed what was once a two-person operation to a single operator in a Kubota U35-4 mini excavator, said the company’s owner, Ethan Langrill, who often mans the controls himself. The attachment has replaced a full-time worker and a four-way log splitter, Langrill says.

The S2X 800 works on the front end to quarter logs before feeding them into a Bell’s 4000 Firewood Processor. The result, according to Atlantic Excavator Attachments, is a log that is cleaner and easier to split.

The rotating threaded chromium cone of the Black Splitter attachment enables the machine operator to maneuver and position logs from the cab, and the manufacturer says the S2X 800’s ability to rotate logs provides a distinct advantage over traditional grapple and loader buckets.

Langrill said the attachment’s ability to quarter logs on the front end allowed Maryland Landscape Supply to purchase a smaller and less expensive wood processor. The landscape contractor deals primarily with oak and other hardwoods. “It’s important to our operation,” Langrill says of the S2X 800.

For more information about the wood-splitting attachment, visit the distributor’s website here.

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