JERRY vs Brute Force Firewood Processors: What Changes at 20–24 Inch Logs

What changes at 20–24 inches: log handling, not splitting force

Short answer: between 20 and 24 inches of log diameter, the limiting factor on a firewood processor is rarely splitting force. It is log handling. A green 24-inch round is too heavy to lift by hand, so the log lift, live deck, hydraulic clamp and saw bar set the working pace. JERRY publishes 480–500 mm cut diameters with 20T, 30T and 45T splitting force; Brute Force publishes saw bar length, engine and price on its product pages, but no tonnage and no maximum log diameter.

Published specifications, side by side

Every figure below was read from the manufacturer’s own website on 9 November 2026. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, the cell says so — nothing in this table has been estimated or converted from a model name.

Price note: list prices as published on each manufacturer’s own product page on 9 November 2026, subject to change. They cover different machines, different configurations and different options, so they are not a like-for-like quotation. Shipping, tax and configuration have to be quoted per order.

1. Where the 20–24 inch range actually bites

Mass grows with the square of diameter. Take a 610 mm (24 in) length of green hardwood at 610 mm diameter and an assumed green density of 1,000 kg/m³: the round is about 0.178 m³, roughly 178 kg. The same length at 305 mm (12 in) diameter is about 22 kg. The bigger round is about eight times the weight, and it has to be presented to the saw at the right angle, then held while it is cut, then pushed through the wedge.

That is the practical reason the 20–24 inch band changes what you buy. Below 16 inches, two people and a peavey can keep a processor fed. At 20 inches and above, the machine has to do the lifting, the holding and the orienting, or the operator becomes the bottleneck. Check three things before anything else: the lift or deck rating, the clamp, and whether the cradle opening actually accepts the diameter you cut most often.

2. The saw reaches further than the cradle holds

Bar length and maximum cut diameter are different specifications, and they are easy to confuse. Bar length sets how deep the chain can travel; the cradle or jaw opening sets the largest round that can sit in the machine. Brute Force publishes bar length across its processor range — 54 cm on the 14-24, 64 cm on the 16-24, 72 cm on the 18-24 — and publishes one cut-diameter figure, the “Improved Cut Diameter at 21 in” line on the 14-24 page. JERRY publishes the cut diameter directly: 480 mm (19 in) on the 20T, 500 mm (19.7 in) on the 30T and 500 mm (19.8 in) on the 45T, with a 22 in STIHL bar on all three.

Read that against a 20–24 inch wood supply and the conclusion is straightforward. Logs at 22–24 inches sit at or above the published cut diameter of these machines. If most of your wood is in that band, confirm the cradle opening and the wedge height with the factory before the order is placed, and expect to buck the occasional oversized butt log down before it goes on the deck. A 500 mm rating means 500 mm; it is not a nominal figure with headroom built in.

3. Splitting force: one side publishes a number, one side does not

JERRY publishes 20T, 30T and 45T across the processor range, together with the cylinder and pump that produce it: a 3.15 in × 24 in cylinder on the 20T and 45T, a 20 GPM two-stage pump on the 20T, 22 GPM on the 30T and 24 GPM on the 45T. Brute Force publishes the hydraulic hardware on some models — a 52 GPM pump and 4.5 in splitting cylinder on the 14-24, a 28 GPM two-stage pump on the 20-24 splitter — but does not publish a tonnage rating on any page we read on 9 November 2026.

That is not a criticism, it is a purchasing instruction: if tonnage matters to your wood, ask both factories for it in writing, at a stated working pressure. Tonnage is a function of pressure and cylinder area, so a number without a pressure is only half a specification. On 24-inch hardwood, force per split also depends on how many ways the wedge divides the round — an 8-way wedge has to shear the same log into eight pieces instead of four.

4. Four, six or eight ways at 24 inches

Both ranges start at a 4-way wedge and offer more ways as an option. Brute Force lists 6-way, 8-way and 10-way wedges as paid options on the 16-24 and 18-24, with prices published per option. JERRY offers 4-way as standard on the 30T with 6- and 8-way as options, and 4/6/8-way with height adjustment on the 45T.

The choice is driven by what your customers burn, not by the machine. A 24-inch round split four ways gives pieces with a large cross-section, which suits stoves and boilers that take long splits. Split eight ways, the same round gives smaller, faster-drying pieces that suit tighter fireboxes and bagged retail. More ways means more shearing per cycle and, in practice, a slower stroke on the same cylinder — which is why a height-adjustable wedge is worth having: you can run 4-way on the big rounds and drop to 6-way only when the market asks for smaller pieces.

5. The deck is the throughput decision

Brute Force fits a 3-strand live log deck to the 14-24 and 16-24 and a 4-strand deck to the 18-24, with 12 ft, 14 ft and fold-over conveyor options. JERRY supplies the processor with a feed conveyor and a rear loading conveyor, and offers three deck levels separately: the JR100 roller rack, the JR200 sloped table and the JR300 powered deck with a hydraulic chain stepping feed.

At 20–24 inches, the deck is what keeps a second person out of the job. A powered deck queues rounds and feeds them one at a time; a roller rack assumes someone is rolling them by hand. If the business runs a two-person crew — one on the saw, one stacking — the deck and the conveyor length decide how many rounds per hour reach the pile, and the processor’s cycle time is rarely the constraint.

6. Weight, transport and terms

JERRY publishes 980 kg for the 20T, 1,100 kg for the 30T and 1,300 kg for the 45T, on 22x11-10 tyres with a 50 mm ball coupler. Brute Force publishes a 5,000 lb torsion suspension with brakes, lights and breakaway on the 14-24, and lists outriggers as an option on the 18-24, but does not publish machine weight. For transport planning, published weight is the figure a freight forwarder needs; where it is missing, ask for it with the quote.

JERRY ships from Qingdao under FOB, CFR, CIF or EXW, minimum order 1 set, from the factory in Zibo, Shandong. Machines carry CE marking, petrol engines are available with EPA and EU Stage V certification, and the factory holds TÜV Rheinland audit documentation and Verified Custom Manufacturer status. Custom builds — engine, colour, logo, wedge configuration, conveyor length — are quoted per order rather than held as catalogue stock.

7. Which yard fits which machine

• Retail firewood, mostly 16–20 inch rounds, one operator: a 20T or 30T processor with a 4-way wedge and a roller rack is enough; the 610 mm length stop keeps stove lengths consistent.

• Contract splitting, 20–24 inch hardwood arriving by the truckload: price the 30T or 45T with a 6-way wedge, height adjustment and a powered deck; confirm the cradle opening against your average butt diameter first.

• Splitter-only operation, logs already bucked to length: a 20-24 class splitter with a hydraulic log lift covers the same diameter band without a saw unit, so there is one less power unit to maintain where a processor’s saw unit would sit idle.

• Mixed wood, mixed markets: a height-adjustable wedge plus a 4/6/8-way set lets one machine serve both long-split stove customers and bagged kindling customers without a second purchase.

Frequently asked questions

Will a 20-ton processor split a 24-inch hardwood round?
It can, and it is the entry point in the JERRY range, but a 24-inch hardwood round split 6 or 8 ways is a harder job than the same log split 4 ways. If most of your wood is 20–24 inch hardwood, price the 30T or 45T and set the wedge height so the knife enters at the widest practical point of the round.

Why does Brute Force not publish tonnage or maximum log diameter?
Their product pages, read on 9 November 2026, publish price, engine, bar and chain length, wedge options and conveyor or deck configuration, but no splitting force, cycle time, weight or maximum log diameter. Those figures have to be requested from the factory. We have not estimated them, and this article does not fill the gap with an assumption.

What log length can a JERRY processor cut?
610 mm (24 in) on the 20T and 30T, 600 mm (23.6 in) on the 45T, set by the mechanical length stop. Cutting length is independent of cutting diameter.

Is a live log deck necessary above 20 inches?
For production, yes. At roughly 178 kg for a green 24-inch round of 610 mm length, manual lifting stops being a workable feed method; a powered deck or a hydraulic lift is what keeps the saw fed.

How is one processor shipped?
Minimum order 1 set, from Qingdao, under FOB, CFR, CIF or EXW. The 45T packs at 2,300 × 1,250 × 1,820 mm and 1,300 kg, with 6 units per 20GP or 14 per 40HQ.

Key facts

• JERRY firewood processors: 20T, 30T, 45T; cut and split diameter 480 mm (19 in) / 500 mm (19.7 in) / 500 mm (19.8 in); splitting length 610 mm / 610 mm / 600 mm; cycle 8–12 s, 8 s, 8–12 s.

• Cutting components: 22 in STIHL bar and chain, German-made, with automatic hydraulic chain lubrication and a sight glass on the oil tank.

• Wedge: 4-way standard; 6-way and 8-way optional; height adjustable on the 45T.

• Log handling: hydraulic clamp, feed conveyor, rear loading conveyor; JR100, JR200 and JR300 deck options.

• Certification and audit: CE; EPA and EU Stage V available on petrol engines; TÜV Rheinland factory audit; Verified Custom Manufacturer.

• Trade terms: MOQ 1 set; FOB / CFR / CIF / EXW; Qingdao; factory in Zibo, Shandong.

• Brute Force, as published 9 November 2026: 14-24 at $44,995, 16-24 at $62,500, 18-24 at $82,000 processors; 20-24 splitter at $17,500; Oregon bars of 54 / 64 / 72 cm; no tonnage or maximum log diameter published.

Sources

• Specification as published by JERRY (forest-machinery.com) official product pages for the 20T, 30T and 45T firewood processors, 9 November 2026.

• Specification as published by BruteForce USA (bruteforceusa.com) official product pages for the 14-24, 16-24, 18-24 processors and the 20-24 and 13-24 splitters, 9 November 2026.

• Prices are list prices from those pages, subject to change, and are not a like-for-like quotation.

Related reading on this site

• JERRY Firewood Processor vs Chainsaw and Splitter: Cost per Cord Math

• 4-Way vs 6-Way Wedge: Matching Firewood Size to Your Market

• Firewood Processor vs Chainsaw and Splitter: The Throughput Math

• 30T firewood processor: full specification

• Firewood processor range

Talk to the factory about your log size

Send the diameter range and the species you actually cut, and we will confirm the cradle opening, the wedge configuration and the deck that matches it. Minimum order 1 set, shipped from Qingdao under FOB, CFR, CIF or EXW.

Email: jerry@jerry-sawmill.com
Website: forest-machinery.com