Stay away from spee co!!!!!!! Im sure its way more then you want to spend shipping it, but if you really want a spee co pm me I will sell you mine. Mine was purchased brand new on 4-28-08. So far, they have replaced the tank, hydraulic cylinder, and monday it goes in to get a new splitting rail. They also replaced the coil on the engine. Each time it has gone in, it has taken a few weeks to a month to get worked on. Mine where the splitter connects to the tank(where it pivots from horizontal to vertical), if you look 2 little spot welds is all that holds the rail onto the tank. When the welds broke, they replaced the tank as that whole thing is one unit. The new tank is designed the same way, has 2 tack welds holding the whole thing together. Who knows how long that will last. The new tank, the atf fluid comes out around the threads(where the dipstick is/oil fill is). The splitter is not overfull on oil and the vent isnt plugged. I was told just to put teflon tape on the oil dipstick cap, it still leaks. The ram was replaced about a month after I got it. It was leaking fluid around the seal. The foot plate on the rail is bent outward, and they are putting a new rail on it monday. The briggs motor uses a lot of fuel for the size (compared to honda) and starts very hard in winter. Except for the pump and engine, they have replaced everything else within a year. I have the 25 ton model. In the vertical position, the foot plate isnt big enough for very large pieces of wood. So much of the wood sits on the ground, it wants to pick the splitter up vs splitting the wood. The tonge is just upside down u shaped steel. Not very heavy. Not boxed in. Mine is bent slightly just from the weight of the splitter and beam. I dont road my machine much at all but imagine if I did, it would be much worse. There is a reason why these machines are 1500ish dollars(for the 25 ton) and the real professional heavy duty models are 5,000ish+ for the timberwolf. For the volume you are doing, I would either invest in a real splitter or build one. Oh and as for the cycle time. it is purly because of the pump size. 18 seconds is pretty optomistic. I wouldnt go any smaller then 25 ton. ON some red elm, twisted boxelder and oak, I have stalled my 25 ton model and had to rip the blocks.
