Help me pick a new splitter

[RyeThomas]

ok so I burn 8-10 chords a year (my home is not efficient). I have burned wood as a primary source of heat for many years. I enjoy felling trees, using my truck and trailer, but I hate splitting firewood.

I have an old 26/28ton (I can't remember exactly) MTD/Yard Machines splitter. It's cycle time has gotten bad, second stage kicks in when it wants, is way too low to the ground, and has no side catchers or table.
I will admit it's been a good machine for the most part but at 40 I'm a fan of working smarter not harder and it's killing my back.

I have 3 small children that are always cold but they are too small to help. I have little to no time to split firewood so speed is important.

I'm a Professional Firefighter so I don't have a ton of cash but I do believe you get what you pay for and if you buy it right the first time you don't have to do it twice.

I'm in Virginia, most wood I cut is around 16-18" diameter oak, can get a few larger. I also cut most of it at 24" lengths.

1-For these reasons I am leaning towards a Kinetic, mainly a SuperSplit.
Expensive but I'm sure it will cut my time down on splitting.

2- I looked at the dual action or dual split
Seem to be quicker than a standard, limited to 20 ton and not sure what it would do on knotty oak. Not sure how much time you can actually save?

3- Fast cycle units
Again limited to 20 ton it seems, not sure how fast they are when the second stage kicks in. Fast is all relative to how fast it goes thru real wood not poplar.

Let me hear your thoughts, positive, negative, whatever ya got. I can only do this one time or the wife will kill me.
Budget, well again less is better but I believe sometimes you have to pay for a good product. That said $3500 absolute max.

Thanks all, Rye.

 

[MountainHigh]

I've got the Wallenstein 540L and it's a very sturdy well designed piece of kit running a fuel sipping Honda GX engine. All the rental shops around here only use CDN made Wallensteins. Never can find one second hand as they last and last.

If I was buying again, I would get this latest gen one:
http://www.wallensteinequipment.com/ca/en/model/firebolt-wxr720-log-splitter

SWEET deals galore for purchasers in the US buying anything out of Canada with current low Cdn dollar
--> 1 US dollar = approx 1.33 Cdn dollar

 

[RyeThomas]

Wow those are nice with some really cool features, but they are going to be out of my price range. Thanks though.

I am staying put till the kids are out of school and I retire so this machine will be a 15 year investment. The wife and I have decided not to rehab the house and save that money for our retirement home (at the beach) so for the next 15 years I will need a decent amount of firewood.

Economical units

Dirty hand tools 28 ton, 17.5 gpm pump, 10-11 second cycle time, with all options (delivery,cover, table/engine guard, 4 way wedge) for $1938. Pretty good reviews but it also scares me as it's a bit of a box store unit.

The Iron and Oak fast cycles are 22 ton and $3628.


The two ways are a bit interesting.
The Iron and Oak is nice but the first log in the video it seems to struggle, the price is high $2765.
The Brave unit is much less but has a much smaller hydro tank and is for homeowner use only and I wonder about long term durability. Price is nice at $1504.

Lastly and the odd ball since I have never run one , Kinetic

SuperSplit- I have a quote for a HD model, Honda engine, tow hitch, table, custom height since I'm 6'-4" in me boots. Under my max budget but barely.

 

[NSMaple1]

^ I second the Wallenstein talk.

Mine is a Surge Master, made by Wallenstein. And it's one of their lower end models with a GC engine. I find that it is totally laid out & designed just right for comfortable easy use. Can stand either side & work the control equally well. Engine is up front out of the way. Beam is on the higher side so no bending. I got it used & pretty sure it split a LOT of wood before I got it, but it works like a top. I just got back from a quick run to the woods to split & bring a trailer load out before dark - filled the trailer in no time (was in vertical mode with larger stuff this time) & back with daylight left.

But my main point - you seem to putting all the emphasis on splitter speed. But also say (I think) you will be working it alone. In which case I would say, splitter speed becomes not as important - or else you might run yourself ragged trying to keep it going, which is when mistakes & leaking blood start happening.

I think my particular model retails for $1800 +/- around here - I have no need or desire for anything more expensive. Suits me to a T.

 

[farmer steve]

Hi Rye. welcome to AS. your going to get more info than you can imagine. a lot of members here have bought the 22 ton dirty hand tools splitter and i don't recall anyone not liking it. a few members had some issues but they were resolved really quick with good customer service by DHT. my wood partner bought one and i have used it quite a bit. do a search here on AS for dht splitter and you will find a few threads about them. good luck with you new splitter.

 

[NSMaple1]

Adding one more.

After looking around the Wallenstein site, mine is the WX530L. Except with a green paint job & Surge Master graphics. Highly highly recommended, even with the GC engine.

 

[MountainHigh]

Wow those are nice with some really cool features, but they are going to be out of my price range. Thanks though.

FYI - I paid $2300 CDN or appx 1,725 USD for this high end Wallenstein unit withthe GX honda engine:
http://www.wallensteinequipment.com/ca/en/model/wx540l-log-splitter
and even at only 20 tons I have yet to run into any wood that I can't split.

Not trying to beat a tired horse here, but my point is Canadian dollar is in the toilet and deals for those with US dollars seem a no brainer to me.

Good luck with whatever you buy.

 

[RyeThomas]

I agree I am putting a lot on speed. I'm a Former United States Marine so I still move at one speed 100 mph, well I'm getting older so I'm down to about 90. I'm also a bit of a fitness nut so sometimes I get caught up in everything is about how fast you can complete it, lol. I have issues.

I appreciate all the good advice and I will keep learning, keep it coming.

DHT seems like a lot for a fair price
Others seem like a lot for a lot

I wish I could demo them all.

 

[MountainHigh]

word of advise for whatever you choose ... buy a splitter that has the engine far enough back away from your splitting zone - dropping logs can happen and you don't want to land on the engine.

 

[RyeThomas]

Ok just checked the Wallenstien wx540 is $2750 shipped. I could save a few bucks by going with a horizontal only unit as I never split vertical.

Add Another one to the research list.

 

[MountainHigh]

Ok just checked the Wallenstien wx540 is $2750 shipped. I could save a few bucks by going with a horizontal only unit as I never split vertical.

Add Another one to the research list.

is that $2700 USD ? If so, someone is hosing you. Middleman? Wally? Eyes wide open. The unit retails for $2500 CDN out west here in BC right now (and it's made back east a few thousand miles away) and I got it for $2300 CDN taxes in a few years back.

(gone fishing for next few hours)

 

[NGaMountains]

[QUOTE="RyeThomas

DHT seems like a lot for a fair price
Others seem like a lot for a lot

I wish I could demo them all.[/QUOTE]

I'll admit I'm just a newbie at this, but recently got done splitting about three cords with a rented Countyline 22 ton. After reading all the positive reviews on here about the DHT models and not having encountered anything that the Countyline 22 ton would not split, I just bought the DHT 22 ton. It may not be the greatest machine in the world, but I think it will do everything I need it to do and I got it at Lowes for $810. Seems pretty hard to beat. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[stevetheboatguy]

I have a dht 27t and am very happy with it. I did swap the cylinder out to a 4" and that helped the cycle time.
They now have a unit with a larger engine and pump. I would definitely look into it.
For right now what I am going to do. Is swap the 6.5 kohler out for a 13hp honda I have and run a larger pump. That will give me the what I need for now.

Steven

 

[stevetheboatguy]

One thing I should mention. Keep an eye on your hydraulic fluid temperature. Most of the smaller box store units dht included. Have a lower than ideal fluid capacity.


Steven

 

[cantoo]

I have a Speeco splitter that I modified abit. Lets think about just the splitting here. Some fellas say they can split a cord of wood in one hour using this type of machine. You burn 10 cords per year so that's 10 hours of just splitting time using a Speeco (DHT) type machine. Price of these machines is 1200 to 1500 (approx.) So these other machines are at least double the money but I bet they are not double the output. In other words can your body do 2 cords per hour? And if and that's a big if they are twice as fast that's means you will split your years worth of wood in 5 hours. Is it worth double the money to save 5 hours of splitting time per year? Can your body handle 10 cords in 5 hours? I know mine sure as hell can't. I built a 36" splitter with adjustable 4 way wedge. I split 2 pieces of 16" rounds at the same time and into 4 pieces. It's fast but only as fast as my old body can get the wood onto the beam. Splitter cost me $3000 and a pile of weekends of work. It saves me about 10 hours of splitting a year, that is mighty expensive time savings. I like splitting wood and get kind of disappointed when the rounds pile starts to disappear. This pics are 200 logs 12' long cut to 16", all told it took me about 3 easy days to split it all.
Buy the DHT and enjoy your time splitting the wood.

 

[Zale]

For the size of wood you're splitting and the amount, I would recommend DHT 22ton. I've had mine for two years and love it. Goes through nasty pieces with no problem and their customer service is top notch.

 

[sundance]

Why not re-work the machine you've got? Should be a usable basis for a machine built the way you want it.

 

[thor97]

Ryethomas, I am an old guy(62), I bought a ss last year, just the standard model, and I proceeded, (all by myself) to split 150 face cords of wood last year. The machine is absolutely incredible. I am still dumbfounded when I use it. Its simplicity, strength, superb design, and old fashioned yet wonderfly designed components are a joy to behold. It split everything I had, and with a cycle time of 2 seconds out and 1/2 back, it just is amazing. I still have my hydraulic but rarely use it. I just use it to crack the really big stuff vertically. I ordered the honda gx professional engine, the table (must have) the hitch, and shipping was about $400 to wisconsin for a total of about $3300 bucks. This thing is a piece of heirloom quality that you will pass down to one of your children.(and they will love it!) It could keep 4 men busy. I run it at about 1/3 to 1/2 throttle and can"t come close to keeping up with it. I work at my own speed (which is pretty fast) and just remember to activate it always using the same hand ( then you always know where your hands are) and it is very safe. I haven't had any close calls. It will always amaze you, and you will have NO regrets! Good luck and Semper Fi, I am an old marine.

 

[thor97]

I forgot to add that it's about 6x faster than a hydro and there are NO hydraulic tanks, hoses, fluid, or pumps to worry about. It also does about 6x as many splits on a tank of gas also. Just a solid, solid machine.

 

[RyeThomas]

Again thanks for all the help everyone.

I put in a quote request for the new Wallenstien Firebolt WXR720 with the large fold down table through Messicks.

I am going to go look at a DHT unit in person next week (I think I can find one) just to check them out and I will continue to do research on them.

I also have my SS quote that I'm seriously considering. I just wish I could run one or see it.

I think the 2 ways are out, I think.

I would consider spending money on my current machine if it were a commercial quality unit worth putting money into. I'm not seeing it to be honest.

I will keep everyone posted. My wife is sick of me watching the interweb and reading reviews.

Be safe and have a good weekend everyone.