harbor freight log splitter

[zogger]

Tecumseh made a lot of good snowblower engines, used on Toros and a bunch of other models. Mine always started on the 1st or 2nd pull, even after 8 months of storage.
(No, we don't use snowblowers year round in Minnesota!).

Philbert

Too bad they aren't convertible to another yard tool some how, front mount mower maybe? Big round hauler outer?

 

[Jim Timber]

Too bad they aren't convertible to another yard tool some how, front mount mower maybe? Big round hauler outer?

I've seen them used for power wheel barrows. Putting a set of wheels on a dump bed might not be that bad an idea.

 

[Pruning@trunk]

So can the 20% discount code be used on this splitter still or not anymore? Splitter is selling for $699 before code.

 

[tla100]

I've seen them used for power wheel barrows. Putting a set of wheels on a dump bed might not be that bad an idea.

I use mine year round, I call it a skid loader

 

[chuckwood]

So can the 20% discount code be used on this splitter still or not anymore? Splitter is selling for $699 before code.

No discount code for the splitter. I tried and they told me no discounts on stuff powered by predator engines. Still, I think $699 is a good price on a splitter. Another farm supply chain store is selling this very same splitter, just with a different paint job and brand label. Their price is at least $300 more, as I recall.

 

[Montana Squatch]

As I recall, the 2 year extended warranty was 129 dollars. That's about 10% of the regular non sale price of this splitter. It was worth it for me because I plan on using this machine pretty hard, I'm clearing woods right now and firewood is a useful byproduct. I heat with wood and so do some friends and relatives. I'm gonna be the wood Santa for a while. I've heard that HF is pretty good about honoring extended warranties, so if I break it, they'll buy me another one. We'll see what happens.

One last quick question. Could you please measure how tall it is? I'm wondering if I could get it inside by truck bed with a topper on. I know it will be tight and kinda a pain but don't have anywhere to put splitter or my topper if I had to take it off. Thanks for the info

 

[chuckwood]

One last quick question. Could you please measure how tall it is? I'm wondering if I could get it inside by truck bed with a topper on. I know it will be tight and kinda a pain but don't have anywhere to put splitter or my topper if I had to take it off. Thanks for the info

Will do. I haul mine in a landscapers type trailer that has a long ramp at the back of it. Even then, I have a *lot* of difficulty in pushing/pulling this 450 lb machine up the ramp by myself. With a pickup truck you'll need a long ramp and a helper to get this thing in the truck bed. The manual states that it is not certified for highway towing. But the wheel bearings and tires are fairly heavy duty, so you might be able to get away with doing that up to 45 mph or so.

 

[Montana Squatch]

Will do. I haul mine in a landscapers type trailer that has a long ramp at the back of it. Even then, I have a *lot* of difficulty in pushing/pulling this 450 lb machine up the ramp by myself. With a pickup truck you'll need a long ramp and a helper to get this thing in the truck bed. The manual states that it is not certified for highway towing. But the wheel bearings and tires are fairly heavy duty, so you might be able to get away with doing that up to 45 mph or so.

That would be great thanks. Unfortunately I tow a trailer for the wood, my Tacoma can't handle a full cord. Is the splitter really 450lb? The specs say 360. I can get my 320lb dirt bike up on my truck no problem, I just get a running start. I guess I'll just have to keep my topper off the next couple of months and leave the splitter in the bed

 

[chuckwood]

That would be great thanks. Unfortunately I tow a trailer for the wood, my Tacoma can't handle a full cord. Is the splitter really 450lb? The specs say 360. I can get my 320lb dirt bike up on my truck no problem, I just get a running start. I guess I'll just have to keep my topper off the next couple of months and leave the splitter in the bed

I just measured and you'll need around three feet of clearance. That's not precise because it's sitting in a field right now in heavy grass, when I get it back on pavement I can make a more precise measurement. I have a camper top on my F250 and it looks like the splitter would just make it in there. You could lower it an inch or two by removing the valve handle which is the highest point on the splitter - you would just pull a pin out to do that. Not sure about the 450 lb figure, I remember reading it somewhere, but it sure feels like it. With a dirt bike you can get some momentum helping you up the ramp. Not so with this thing, pulling it around holding the trailer tongue is awkward, there's a lot of weight there because of how it's balanced. The only way to get it into the back of a pickup truck with a camper top would be to push it in backwards so you could lift the trailer tongue up in the air to level the thing as it goes in. I don't see any way to do that by yourself unless you're built like a pro wrestler. The weight of the steel frame and cylinder is mostly forward of the wheels. That 360 lb figure is also probably minus hydraulic fluid and gas.

 

[Philbert]

Winch.

Philbert

 

[Jim Timber]

Winch.

Philbert

Block and tackle + rope = <$50

I loaded my DHT 27T onto a trailer via ramps with a 700# rated ratchet strap myself. Getting it off took another person, but if I had better rigging I could've done it alone.

 

[chuckwood]

One last quick question. Could you please measure how tall it is? I'm wondering if I could get it inside by truck bed with a topper on.

I just measured the height of the splitter on pavement, and it is exactly 35 1/2 inches tall. So 36" of clearance is probably the minimum you could work with.

 

[Philbert]

Block and tackle + rope . . . .

(But then you have to make all the 'whirring' noises by yourself . . . )

Philbert

 

[litefoot]

Chuckwood,
Thank you for the great follow-up report on your splitter! This has been a fun thread to read as it drifted from the two-way HF splitter to the relative virtues of Honda small engines (as compared to B&S) and then to the overall customer experiences at NT and HF. And finally we end by discussing ways to load s splitter into the pickup. Ya gotta love it!

I just wanted to say that I usually split dry lodge pole pine and I rarely, if ever, need to drive the wedge clear through the wood. It would be wasted effort. Most of the time, I "bump" the round and it splits and I back out the 2-3" of travel and I'm ready to split again. So the two-way wouldn't be an advantage to me. Others splitting wetter more stringy wood might see more benefit. At least that's the way I see it. Tell me if I'm wrong.

 

[MarylandGuy]

Too bad they aren't convertible to another yard tool some how, front mount mower maybe? Big round hauler outer?

You could always mount a circular bug zapper in the chute and run it in a MN summer. I hear those guys have either have a driving snow in the winter, or a driving mosquito population in the summer.

 

[chuckwood]

Chuckwood,

I just wanted to say that I usually split dry lodge pole pine and I rarely, if ever, need to drive the wedge clear through the wood. It would be wasted effort. Most of the time, I "bump" the round and it splits and I back out the 2-3" of travel and I'm ready to split again. So the two-way wouldn't be an advantage to me. Others splitting wetter more stringy wood might see more benefit. At least that's the way I see it. Tell me if I'm wrong.

The two way saves time if you are splitting longer rounds up to 24". With the long round, no need to wait for the wedge to retract, it's already in position. With short pieces you don't save as much time. Around here, the only lodge pole pine I see is the framing lumber scraps I split with a hatchet, and it splits with no effort at all. My guess is that a lodge pole round with no knots could be split a lot faster with an axe or maul than with a hydraulic splitter. And yes, a lot of my wood is stuff like elm or hackberry, or even some knotty yellow pine. Need a splitter for that.

 

[Mike-M]

Any updates (problems) with it yet?

 

[chuckwood]

Any updates (problems) with it yet?

I worked mine pretty hard during the winter, no problems yet. After I get all my veggie gardening work mostly done, I'll be running it more, assuming I can take the heat. I like processing firewood in the winter. Summer is a different issue when I have a choice between working outside or hanging around indoors, turning on the ac, and wasting time online instead.....

 

[Mike-M]

Im a winter guy too.

 

[row.man]

I just bought one of these splitters and fired it up friday evening. so far I've split over 2.5 cords of wood with it, I have to say it has beaten every expectation I had for it.
Right now if you get the flyer in the mail, there is a coupon to get the splitter for $650, call ahead though, the sales guys told me the splitters are flying out the door, they had one in stock when I got there. Of course I bought the two year warranty for it, another $179, this is Harbor freight after all, and I also had to buy 3 gallons of hydraulic fluid, and a quart of oil, almost another $50. So I really spent $877.89 total.
Assembly was straight forward, though I would warn anybody buying one to have a strong helper to get the ram assembly onto the trailer section, I did it myself, and it took three tries.
The predator engine is fairly quiet, my neighbor came out and sat on his patio to watch me run the new splitter, he was about 20 feet away, and said it is nice and quiet.
My son decided he wanted to help split wood, I got my 3 ton electric homelite splitter out and powered it with my Subaru/Robin Homelite generator. The generator needed to be run, and my gas is free anyway. Comparing the Predator engine to the S/R for noise, the S/R is just a hair quieter, but neither is really that loud. My B&S lawnmowers are louder.
I could actually run the predator engine on the lowest setting and still split any wood I have. I have lots of maple from a big old tree that fell in a thunderstorm, way bigger than the "16 size limit in the paperwork, nothing has stopped the splitter yet. I prefer to run the engine at the middle of the throttle setting.
I still have a few more cords cut and waiting to be split, this baby is going to get a real workout!