Firewood for the entire winter

As the saying goes, wood warms you three times over. First when felling the tree, second when splitting the wood, and finally, when you light it up. With Tajfun’s firewood processors, the laborious tasks of splitting and cutting firewood can be significantly eased.

This is summed up by Viktoria and Michael Hutter, members of the test team for the Austrian magazine Top agrar, who last year (2023) spent a month splitting firewood with Tajfun’s latest and most technologically advanced firewood processor, the RCA PRO 500, at a farm in Waldviertel and then shared their experiences with us.

Figure 1: Viktoria and Michael Hutter spent a month splitting firewood with the RCA PRO 500 firewood processor at a farm in Waldviertel.

THE SETUP OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS SIMPLE AND QUICK

Setting up the machine and its accompanying accessories in the working position is relatively quick (about 30 minutes) and simple. Upon re-setup, you already know precisely how to approach it, how to optimally place the live deck by the machine, and where to stack the logs for simple manipulation and efficient work. The hydraulic crane for loading logs onto the live deck is very welcome. Tajfun’s range of accessories for firewood processors also includes a log loader, which makes it easy to lift and add logs to the in-feed conveyor belt of the firewood processor.

For the entire and optimally positioned system and log storage, sufficient space is required. All the above measures approximately 15 meters in length. Adequate space must also be considered in width, as the machine’s conveyor alone measures 5 m (depending on the setting), to which you must add space for collecting split firewood (say, a trailer with a tractor). The sawdust separator, installed at the end of the conveyor, which separatessawdust from the logs, is extremely practical.

Figure 2: An example of the entire system setup by Tajfun operators at a farm in Planina pri Sevnici.

SETTINGS MUST BE PRECISELY FOLLOWED

It is important to strictly follow the settings and operating instructions of the machine, as improper and unsuitable use will not result in smooth and efficient work. Either the logs will not fall correctly into the splitting chute, they will get stuck in the machine, or the sawdust will not be sufficiently expelled and will travel forward with the logs. Thanks to the hydraulic winch, positioning the conveyor is extremely simple. The conveyor is movable left and right, thus ensuring perfect and even loading of split firewood into the storag area.

Figure 3: Complete view of the RCA PRO 500 firewood processor from the in-feed to the conveyor.

Figure 4: The work area under the conveyor must be regularly cleaned and cleared of wood chips and bark, otherwise, the conveyor belt can easily get stuck.

Figure 5: When cutting the last piece of the log, the function of the pressing handles, which fix the log, is particularly important and prevents the sawbar from getting stuck. The image shows the last piece of log in the splitting chute..

“With such a machine, the production of firewood is simple and comfortable.”

SAWDUST IN LARGE BAGS

The RCA PRO 500 firewood processor comes standard with an integrated sawdust extractor fan. For more practical and simpler work, the included sawdust extractor fan hose can be connected to a BIG BAG, as its filling capacity is significantly larger than that of the intended bags or cyclonic separators. Tips from trained experts and service technicians in Tajfun’s dealer network are very welcome and genuinely helpful. One such tip is certainly that the work area under the conveyor should be regularly cleaned and cleared of wood chips and bark, otherwise, the conveyor belt can easily get stuck. It is also important that, in the case of cracked logs, they are added to the firewood processor with the cracked side forward. Otherwise, the log holder at the end cannot retain individual pieces. Care should be taken with the last piece to ensure it is not too short for the holder to grasp.

SIMPLE OPERATION

Overall, operating the firewood processor is extremely easy and logically designed. The RCA PRO 500 is operated with a joystick and a few buttons. Setting the desired length limiter for logs is also simple. Logs are first placed on the loading ramp with the hydraulic crane (max. log length 6 m). From there, the cross conveyor moves the logs towards the machine’s in-feed conveyor.

The RCA PRO 500 is designed and also performs much better with larger dimension logs. Smaller diameter logs on this wider in-feed conveyor may not be perfectly centered and can sometimes get stuck at the edge of the in-feed conveyor at the entrance to the machine. The machine allows for cutting logs with diameters from 5 to 50 cm. The limiter can also set the length of the logs.

Two pressing handles fix the log while the chain saw cuts it to lengths of 25 to 50 cm. The cam flaps open, and the cut piece falls down into the splitting chute, where it is split into smaller pieces. As the splitting cylinder pushes the log towards the splitting wedge to split the wood, cutting of the next piece can begin.

There are nine different splitting wedges available, and the choice largely depends on the log’s diameter and the desired size of firewood. Here too, the machine stands out for its easy replacement of splitting wedges. With the conveyor belt, cut and split logs move along the conveyor to the top, where they travel over the separator to once again remove the sawdust and fall into the forestry trailer. Generally, and ultimately, we can conclude that Tajfun’s RCA PRO 500 firewood processor is a top-notch device that significantly simplifies the splitting and cutting of logs and is also exceptionally comfortable to use.

Source:

  • Top agrar Österreich 12/2023