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Oak wood is one of the most versatile and common types of wood in the USA, so it makes sense that it is becoming one of the most common woods to split. But if you plan to split this type of wood, you’re going to need the best log splitter for oak.
But how do you know which wood splitter is best suited for oak logs?. There are a few things that you will need to consider when it comes to what type of log splitter you will need. The most important question you will need to answer is what type of oak will you be splitting. Yes, there are more than one type of oak tree.
What Type Of Oak Wood Do You Need To Split?
The 4 most common types of oak are red, black, bur, and white oak. As a general rule red and black oak is a lot easier to split then the other two, which means you won’t need as high of a ton rated log splitter. Something smaller would be sufficient. Tho one thing to remember is that even on the occasion this type of oak can give a log splitter some issues, since the grain and how knotty the log is will be more of an important factor.
Bur and white oak are a lot more difficult to split and require a lot more force, especially if you’re planning on splitting some seriously large logs.
Size Of Oak Matters
Once you know what kind of oak you will be splitting, then it will be the size of the log that will be your next concern. If you’re only splitting small 10 inch wide red or white oak, you won’t be requiring a 25 ton log splitter. Something as small as a five ton ram force splitter will do the trick.
But once you start getting to 15 inches and above, especially with white or bur, you will start to need a stronger log splitter. A 22 ton log splitter would be ideal.
But once you get to over 20 inches and start getting closer to 25 and 30 inches, you’re going to need some serious splitting power. This is where a powerful 30 or 35 ton unit comes in, but also where the price goes up. With that in mind below you will find my recommendations on the best log splitters for oak logs that are currently on the market.
My Recommended Log Splitter For Smaller Oak Logs
Champion 7 Ton Gas Log Splitter
Don’t let the small size of this wood splitter fool you, it has plenty of power and is in my opinion the best 7 ton log splitter going around. Champion have knocked it out of the park with this powerful machine that has plenty of splitting power.
It has a 80cc Champion OHV engine which is a decent engine that gives this unit a cycle time of roughly 20 seconds. While this isn’t the quickest log splitter I found this to be a good time, it doesn’t go to fast or to slow for me. It allowed plenty of time to be careful while splitting, and not be slow that it annoyed me.
The splitting power of this log splitter is very impressive and will get through almost all red and black oak can throw at it. With this splitter you can split red oak logs that were 18 inches in diameter, as long as you cured them properly. This really lets you know just how easy it is to split red oaks. But when it came to white and bur logs is where this log splitter started to have some issues. It could easily split logs that were 12 inches in diameter and a few above, but it did start to struggle on some larger logs. But overall this is very impressive for a 7 ton unit, and is definitely one of the strongest 7 ton units in my opinion.
This is a pretty portable log splitter but it does lack one ability to make it really stand out here. While it’s steel handle and has 10 inch never flat tires make it excellent for moving around your yard, and weighing 143 pounds means it is possible to lift into your car to transport it. But the Champion log splitter can’t be towed by a car or mower, so if you want a unit that you can move around like this you will have to go with something larger. While I personally don’t mind this, I know some people do and thought I should mention it in case. But in no way does this make it a deal breaker, it is still a great log splitter.
The Best 25 Ton Wood Splitter For Oak Logs
Yardmax 25 Ton Gas Log Splitter
The Yardmax 25 ton log splitter is a great all round log splitter, and one of the better 25 ton units out there, which is pretty impressive when you think about how many 25 ton units there are out there. The first thing to note about this particular unit is its 6.5hp 208cc Briggs & Stratton engine, which is a decent engine.
I have to note that I did have some issues with this engine but thanks to Yardmax, they fixed the engine that I originally had issues with. But since then this engine has been great and started on the first or second pull every time. This engine provides a lot of power and is very quick, with a cycle time as low as 9.7 seconds.
This is a powerful log splitter that has the potential to split some of the largest logs on the market, and it especially likes red and black oak logs. It could easily split some red oak that were 24 inches in diameter, without ever skipping a beat.
I know this splitter could split some larger logs then this in terms of red oak, but this is where it felt the most comfortable for this machine. Splitting white oak is where I was the most curious about this log splitter and really wanted to test this unit out. With a white oak log that had a diameter of 18 inches this unit did split it, but it did get a little slow down when the log was knotty. But it still had enough power to get through most of the other white oak logs that were about the same size.
Thankfully since it is a 25 ton unit you can tow this log splitter with your pick up, since they put a 2 inch ball coupler on it. This and the fact it has two DOT approved tires, means you can tow this on the road legally up to 45mph. But I wouldn’t recommend going over 40mph on the road, and if you plan on going over uneven ground then I highly recommend going slower. But this does make this unit very useful for if you have acreage, or you plan to help family and friends split some logs.
The Best Rated 37 Ton Log Splitter For Oak Logs
NorthStar 37 Ton Gas Log Splitter
I’m going to be upfront about the NorthStar 37 ton unit and that is, it is my personal favorite log splitter and what I consider to be one of the best log splitters on the market. A big part of this is that NorthStar made the right choice by giving this log splitter the incredible Honda GX270 engine on it. Which is a great engine and one of the best engines when it is on a log splitter. It is such a reliable engine that is surprisingly quiet for what it manages to power.
While this unit is a bit slower then the Yardmax above, this unit still has an impressive 14 second cycle time. Which for such a large unit is quite incredible achievement when you consider what you will be splitting with this unit.
If you’re like me and like having more power then what is required for whatever task that you have in front of you, then this is the unit for you. Normally this is where I would tell you what size red and black oak this unit could split, but at this size those kinds of logs are easily split at 35 inches and larger with this much force. Even white oak is really no match for this unit, especially when you take the fact it has a vertical position as well.
Splitting In Horizontal Position
In its horizontal position it split white oak at 24 inches in diameter which didn’t cause this impressive unit to slow down at all. When I put it into its vertical mode it got through some bur oak logs that were 30 inches in diameter. There really isn’t many logs that could stop this thing, and if there is I haven’t found it.
Like the Yardmax this NorthStar can be towed as well which is very useful for such a large unit, especially how this splitter can split such large logs. So it is easier to move the splitter to the log then it is to bring the log to the splitter at times. This splitter has the usual DOT approved tires, but it also comes with an adjustable wheel on the tongue which is very useful. This makes it a lot easier to actually attach it to your pick up, or what ever you have to tow this unit. I found it very helpful for when I needed to position this unit into a better position to split logs. Overall not the biggest feature, but a very useful one for me.
My Final Thoughts On These Splitters
Personally I really like all three splitters and they both excel at what they do, but it comes down to what you actually require. I find it very hard to pass up the Champion you get so much power from such a small machine that is really quite impressive.
The Yardmax is a solid unit that is about what the average user really needs for a log splitters, not a lot of people need larger. Tho if I have to pick a favorite it is the NorthStar, this unit just has so much power and can make short work of any size log. Which is something that I just can’t pass up, I like not having to worry about if my machine can split a log and this doesn’t happen with the 37 ton unit.
