Looking for a log splitter

[nyone]

What make is it?

I would be very suprised if there was actualy more than 2 makers of splitters at big box stores. Colors and brands dont count.

 

[Mr. Orange]

I purchased this at my local Wilco Farm store on sale, 3 months ago.
I‘ve had to remove quite a lot of alder, they were getting dangerous, & falling over the fences In storms.
I’ve split 10 cord with it so far, will cut another 6 next spring.
i’ve been very pleased with it so far, & will get most of my $$ back when I sell it next year.
the logs in background are 18”-15”, with some smaller.
I split In horizontal position, vert did not work for me.
I made plywood tables for both sides, makes it much easier, & protects the gas tank from falling pieces.
as always, YMMV, just my opinion.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I got an older Brave 20 ton on Marketplace for $350, engine wouldn't start and I didn't have time to mess with it at the time so I bought a $99 HF Predator to slap on it. (still have the old engine, probably just needing a carb cleaning) I am not seeing them on Marketplace for quite that cheap any more. Luckily there are not too many moving parts on them and anything that can screw up is easy to fix. I imagine this thing will outlast me.

 

[ericm979]

My Oregon has a really dumb and potentially dangerous design flaw that I think other H/V splitters may share.

As the wedge travels back and forth, it will bring some log debris (bark etc) backwards along the beam. That debris then falls off to either side. On one side it lands on the engine, including the muffler. When I started using the splitter I'd sometimes smell wood smoke and found it was from debris sitting on the top of the muffler and smouldering.

I thought this was mostly harmless until I forgot to brush it off when I quit splitting and came back later in the afternoon to find a smouldering fire in the duff on the ground under the splitter. Oops. That could have been bad.

I made a tray that bolts to the top of the muffler through standoffs which will catch the debris and stay cool enough so they don't burn. I bent the tray so the engine vibration makes the debris fall off. It's made from a worn out baking tray but any sheet metal would work.

 

[WranglerX]

I would be very suprised if there was actualy more than 2 makers of splitters at big box stores. Colors and brands dont count.

I tend to agree, when chasing parts it seems most splitter part numbers come back to MDT..... THE funny thing is retail product "X" states part no longer available, but product "Y" with exact same part number and exact same product description say part is available....

On top of that, all the motors and pumps and hoses and rams and control valves are pretty generic across the manufacturing arena...

To wit, there is probably 10 different control valves (identical form factor) on retail market for splitters and they seem to be made by only 2-3 manufacturers....

Also I believe the most significant changes in design seem to be motor and pump in early design were perpendicular to reservoir, now it seem the motor and pump are now parallel to reservoir... Other there is small mechanizm to positively release dentel when ram is on return stroke....

 

[Wakey]

I purchased the Champion 37 ton unit. I should have it Friday. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Bearsixty7]

I purchased the Champion 37 ton unit. I should have it Friday. Thanks for the advice!

Which post mentioned that one? Do you have a link to it?

 

[Torvy]

Just go old school-

 

[CalG]

Just go old school-

View attachment 823434

I recently split up a row 15' long and 2 feet high with a very similar tool.

I was too lazy to get out the Timber Wolf splitter ;-)

 

[Williy]

This is in Watoma Wiscinsin that this ole timer took a
275 gal home heating fuel tank added a chimney and
a door and he burns logs that will fit inside and he only
needs to add more wood in 3 or 4 days and it keeps his
home nice and warm. no need to split any wood with his
set up.

willy

 

[Billy Bee]

This is in Watoma Wiscinsin that this ole timer took a
275 gal home heating fuel tank added a chimney and
a door and he burns logs that will fit inside and he only
needs to add more wood in 3 or 4 days and it keeps his
home nice and warm. no need to split any wood with his
set up.

willy

Curious to know how an ole timer lifts "logs", I'm an ole timer with an outdoor wood burner, and it will fit logs much larger than I can lift. I still have to split wood to a size I can manage.

 

[Wakey]

Which post mentioned that one? Do you have a link to it?

Nobody mentioned this particular unit, I read some reviews and watched some videos on YouTube and selected it on my own. I'll get the machine on Tuesday.
This cajun fella made a modification to lift the logs up. I don't need that now, but my day is coming!

 

[Bearsixty7]

Nobody mentioned this particular unit, I read some reviews and watched some videos on YouTube and selected it on my own. I'll get the machine on Tuesday.
This cajun fella made a modification to lift the logs up. I don't need that now, but my day is coming!

Home Depot has the 24 ton for 1300 and the 37 ton for 1600.

 

[KennyG]

Curious to know how an ole timer lifts "logs", I'm an ole timer with an outdoor wood burner, and it will fit logs much larger than I can lift. I still have to split wood to a size I can manage.

The Longwood wood furnace that accepted 4 foot long logs had a roller at the bottom of the door. You put the end of the log on the roller and pushed it into the stove.

 

[Wakey]

Home Depot has the 24 ton for 1300 and the 37 ton for 1600.

That's what I paid for the 37t from Home Depot. Tractor Supply was higher, and Amazon was out of stock.

 

[EddieWalker]

That lift table is pure GENIOUS!!!! I bolted some 3/4 plywood to mine just to increase my working area, and to be able to keep more material close to the splitter so it's easier and faster to split. Picking up the rounds is where all the work is, and having a way to get them up there would make life so much better!!!!

 

[tjandrews]

My countyline from TSC has been a solid unit and has split cord after cord. It’s easy to start and works well. It works vertically, but I almost never use it this way.

I pull it around my property, but the wheel bearings can’t handle speed and I think it’s rated at like 25mph max so it should be trailered for any distance. I’ve looked at some of the pro ones and while they are amazing, I could literally buy 8 or 9 of what I have and it works well.

We've had one of those for years, except that ours is red. Dunno if that means it's newer or older. It's handled anything we can get to it, including some big, twisted stuff. We have towed it a mile or so, but I would agree that it really isn't designed for towing on the highway any distance. Wouldn't be legal in New York, anyway, as it doesn't have any lights. No place to mount a license plate, either.

 

[blitzen]

here is a short clip of my Slit-Fire log splitter it will split up to 36 inch lengths and I have split 40 inch red oak diameter by 30 inch length. It lifted the block just fine but was very hard to manipulate once on the splitter-Now, when I get logs that size, I just cut them in two for ease of handling.

 

[Jdodson50]

I've had a 27 ton Troy Bilt log splitter that I bought from Lowes for well over a decade now. In my opinion, the most important thing to look for in a log splitter is the engine. Honda makes the very best small engine, and all the other brands try to compare to how close they are to Honda, but none are as good. My log splitter starts every time I need to use it. It runs all day, and it's trouble free. Other brands work well when new, but quickly become difficult to start, or keep running.

27 tons has proven to be enough for anything I put on it. I can split anything I can pick up, but I try to keep my rounds in the 12 to 20 inch range. Some are bigger, but it's getting harder and harder to pick up that much oak as I get older. I only use the tilt function when I get a round that is just too heave to pick up. I hate splitting them that way, it's just a lot more work and effort.

I added plywood tables to either side of my splitter, so nothing falls off of it, and when I split a round in half, I can usually keep that half on the plywood, and work on the other half. The fewer times I have to bend over to pick something up, the better!!!

One tank of gas in the splitter will fill up the bed in my Kawasaki Mule. I like to run the engine until it runs out of gas. I normally only split one load per day. Then I still have plenty of energy to do other things. A full day of splitting and stacking wood will wear me out for the next day.

Lowes doesn't sell Troy Bilt splitters anymore. They have Craftsman, but I wouldn't spend any money on that brand. Used to be good, but now it's really bad. I think Northern Tool has some log splitters with Honda engines. I don't think the hydraulics or the rest of the splitter is that different from one brand to another. The only thing that matters is the Honda engine.

My experience is pretty much right on with eddiewalker. We heat and cook with wood. 4-5 full cords of oak and hickory a year. I go back in the mountains with my k. Mule, my old Stihl, and come out with a load up to the roll bar. Split it and stack it and it’s a days work for a 73 year old man.

I've had a 27 ton Troy Bilt log splitter that I bought from Lowes for well over a decade now. In my opinion, the most important thing to look for in a log splitter is the engine. Honda makes the very best small engine, and all the other brands try to compare to how close they are to Honda, but none are as good. My log splitter starts every time I need to use it. It runs all day, and it's trouble free. Other brands work well when new, but quickly become difficult to start, or keep running.

27 tons has proven to be enough for anything I put on it. I can split anything I can pick up, but I try to keep my rounds in the 12 to 20 inch range. Some are bigger, but it's getting harder and harder to pick up that much oak as I get older. I only use the tilt function when I get a round that is just too heave to pick up. I hate splitting them that way, it's just a lot more work and effort.

I added plywood tables to either side of my splitter, so nothing falls off of it, and when I split a round in half, I can usually keep that half on the plywood, and work on the other half. The fewer times I have to bend over to pick something up, the better!!!

One tank of gas in the splitter will fill up the bed in my Kawasaki Mule. I like to run the engine until it runs out of gas. I normally only split one load per day. Then I still have plenty of energy to do other things. A full day of splitting and stacking wood will wear me out for the next day.

Lowes doesn't sell Troy Bilt splitters anymore. They have Craftsman, but I wouldn't spend any money on that brand. Used to be good, but now it's really bad. I think Northern Tool has some log splitters with Honda engines. I don't think the hydraulics or the rest of the splitter is that different from one brand to another. The only thing that matters is the Honda engine.

I've had a 27 ton Troy Bilt log splitter that I bought from Lowes for well over a decade now. In my opinion, the most important thing to look for in a log splitter is the engine. Honda makes the very best small engine, and all the other brands try to compare to how close they are to Honda, but none are as good. My log splitter starts every time I need to use it. It runs all day, and it's trouble free. Other brands work well when new, but quickly become difficult to start, or keep running.

27 tons has proven to be enough for anything I put on it. I can split anything I can pick up, but I try to keep my rounds in the 12 to 20 inch range. Some are bigger, but it's getting harder and harder to pick up that much oak as I get older. I only use the tilt function when I get a round that is just too heave to pick up. I hate splitting them that way, it's just a lot more work and effort.

I added plywood tables to either side of my splitter, so nothing falls off of it, and when I split a round in half, I can usually keep that half on the plywood, and work on the other half. The fewer times I have to bend over to pick something up, the better!!!

One tank of gas in the splitter will fill up the bed in my Kawasaki Mule. I like to run the engine until it runs out of gas. I normally only split one load per day. Then I still have plenty of energy to do other things. A full day of splitting and stacking wood will wear me out for the next day.

Lowes doesn't sell Troy Bilt splitters anymore. They have Craftsman, but I wouldn't spend any money on that brand. Used to be good, but now it's really bad. I think Northern Tool has some log splitters with Honda engines. I don't think the hydraulics or the rest of the splitter is that different from one brand to another. The only thing that matters is the Honda engine.

My experience is pretty much right on with eddiewalker. We heat and cook with wood. 4-5 full cords of oak and hickory a year. I go back in the mountains with my k. Mule, my old Stihl, hookaroon, and come out with a load up to the roll bar. Split it and stack it and it’s a days work for a 73 year old man.

 

[Flogger]

I went with a 37 ton Northern Tool over 10 years ago. The only issue I have had with it is the cylinder being mounted too close to the beam creating a problem with getting plugged up with chips. Rated at 37 tons it has no problem bending things as it continues to pack chips under the nose of the cylinder. In the end it powers through the 48" pecan stumps fairly easily and has worked well.