Firewood Elevator

Firewood Elevator WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous “It’s a real labor saver that didn’t cost much to build ” says Tilman Jones Stanley N Dak who converted a small square hay bale elevator into a 16-ft long firewood conveyor     He uses a 5 1/2 hp gas engine to power the conveyor and converted an old pull-type mower into a transport trailer     “The engine mounts on a 2-wheeled base which makes it easy to move the elevator to my wood pile ” says Jones     He removed three 8-ft sections from the middle of the elevator keeping the two end sections that contain the drive and idler sprockets to operate the elevator’s chain He bolted the two sections together and shortened the chain to fit The chain came with pairs of 3-in high steel “fingers” on it spaced 15 in apart He rebuilt the chain so the pairs of fingers are now spaced 18 in apart Then he reinstalled the chain on the sprockets     “The two fingers are 1 1/2 in apart from each other which is just enough to catch the split wood and push it upward ” says Jones     He used lengths of rubber belting to make a V-shaped funnel that runs the length of the elevator To install the belting he drilled matching holes in the belting and conveyor and then wired it on “The funnel always keeps the wood in contact with the chain ” says Jones     A home-built mast equipped with a boat winch is used to raise and lower the elevator The mast is built out of 2-in tubing and sets on a 24-in dia disk blade An adjustable arm built out of 1 1/2-in sq tubing is welded to the top part of the winch and sets on a 16-in dia disk blade Cable from the winch runs over a small pulley on top of the mast and down to the arm     The engine came mounted on a pair of rubber wheels making it easy to move around Jones mounted a 2-in pulley on the engine’s output shaft allowing the engine to belt-drive a large 14-in dia pulley already on the elevator A rubber tarp strap keeps tension on the belt     He converted an old International pull-type mower into a 2-wheel trailer for the elevator stripping away everything except for the wheels axle and frame He also welded a pipe onto the tongue to extend it about 4 ft          “It isn’t a fancy setup but it’s very cost effective ” says Jones “I cut trees to firewood length at a friend’s place and load them into my pickup Then I drive home and split the firewood ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tilman Jones P O Box 591 Stanley N Dak 58784 ph 701 453-3112