Thread: PowerHorse Dual Split 20 ton

I have split better then two cords now with my new PowerHorse and thought I would do a short write up on it. My old splitter was about 29 years old 5 inch 36 inch stroke cylinder, had a 8HP Ntech Briggs that I put on it (2nd engine ). When replacing my old splitter I wanted something faster reasonably priced, and durable.

Putting the unit together was very straight forward and relatively easy. I used Dextron III as I use it during really cold and hot weather. The fit and finish is better then I expected for this price splitter. I have included a pic of some welds.

First gripe was how short the end plates are and only two places to catch and hold the wood ( see pic ). It really needs one more at the top of the stop which would make this part better. Wood not cut straight wants to slide up over the stop. After some use and the paint came off it worked so much better.

The tables are surprisingly strong versus how they look ( see pic ). Wood up to about 18 inches fit nicely when wood approached over 20 they are a little small. I did split some pieces that were pushing 30 inches, it walked right thru them. But as expected with the narrow wedge cracked them totally thru but not to the point they fell apart.

I ran some Bur Oak crotches to give it the OH OH test. I was surprised it kicked into low and split them, what it didn`t split it sheared em apart.

The PowerHorse engine starts way better then the Ntech Briggs. At idle it is a little rougher but much quieter then the Briggs Was. The most noise of this splitter comes from the control valve, when in neutral, once the valve is opened to the cylinder it is quiet.

One person alone cannot utilize how fast this splitter is. I usually only run at half throttle. In comparison I have a spreader that holds about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cords. My old splitter it was 4 1/2 to 5 hours to fill, the PowerHorse less then 3 hours working alone.

For the money if your not constantly splitting very large pieces, this splitter will do more then expected and faster. I will have to wait a year or two for the final verdict on longevity.

Once the warranty is up I will be making some mods to the machine to make it just a little better.

MY TWO CENTS

If you're still around Bricks, how about an update on this splitter. The price seems right at $949 from Northern Tool. But how about its longevity and overall performance?

Don <><

Originally Posted by genesis5521

If you're still around Bricks, how about an update on this splitter. The price seems right at $949 from Northern Tool. But how about its longevity and overall performance?

Don <><

Have no complaints about this splitter. I have split roughly 15 chords of mixed Bur oak, Piss Elm, Soft Maple, Red Oak just keeps on ticking. As I stated in my first wright up if your one that splits a LOT of 24 inch + it will do it but the piece has to be flipped or rolled to hit it from the opposite side the first split was made. because of the narrow splitting wedge. I have split up to 34 inch and better then half of them I had to flip end for end or roll them to split from the other side. Once split in half it`s rock on as usual.

Once out of warranty I may add some pieces to the wedge to widen it. I have added on to the log table on the off side, for bigger splits they wanted to roll off, and not leave enough room to lay there while splitting the other half. Only real complaint is the choke lever is plastic and a chunk of wood hit it and broke it off, not a big deal as I can just grab whats left and close or open the choke. I have not had any issues with the plastic fittings on the hydraulic system. I read in the reviews some people were having issues and changed to metal, not a big deal but thought I would see how well the plastic worked out for my self, zero issues for me.


edited to add Would I buy another one in a heartbeat for the money it a very good and fast splitter.

I have one of these also. Had it for a little over a year now and have only stopped it once. Have split alot of different woods,elm,oaks,popal,birch,box elder,pine,basswood,ect... Only thing I don't like is the throttle is just a little troublesome to push towards higher rpm's. Wish the valve had an auto back one way also. other than that it's been really good. I split most of my wood at 20-24" lengths.