26T Iron and Oak or 37T Northstar Splitter?

[Hansenj11]

I have a northern tool splitter. The only problem i have ever had was the control valve in it not working. It was Prince fault for building a ####ty control valve. Northern's customer service is some of the best i have seen around. When you need a new part they send it to you within 3 days free shipping and is covered by warranty. It they wanted the part back they would also pay for the return shipping. In my opinion i would go NT. The splitter has split everything i have thrown at it with no complains. It built well and has lasted me 5 years with no problems beside the control valve.

 

[PA Plumber]

IMHO forget the Iron & Oak. Built like a tank but doesn't last. Bolts shear off, trouble with stand, engine trouble after 2 years. I should have bought the Northern.

What model/engine?

I only have about 12 cord through mine, but know of others, on the site, that have many times that amount.

 

[cmsmoke]

I own a Northern 37 Ton splitter and I just measred the cylinder with an OD tape. 5.51" is what I came up with. That is a close enough to 1/4" wall thickness, with a 5" bore, which is the norm for a 3500 psi cylinder. Northern rates this splitter at 34 tons continuous force. Provided the pump puts out 3500 psi...it is perfectly capable of reaching the 34Tons advertised + change.

 

[lon]

edrrt, any word from Iron and Oak on your splitter? Sorry you had a problem. Lon

 

[edrrt]

Well yes. They gave me the option of fixing it myself and only covering the cost of new hydraulic fluid or taking it to a service center. I called the service center they reccomended and confirmed with I&O that they would contact them to arrange it. It's a ways away and transport is not covered. If transport was taken care of I wouldn't care about the defect one bit. It took me a few days to get a contractor to lift it into my pickup and a few hours to get it there. On arrival I&O had not contacted them and the service manager proceeded to have a melt down about how I&O would only cover x amount if labor and he wasn't going to take the loss on servicing it just because he's a dealer... I&O could not be reached. I left it but he refused to draw up a service tag until someone from I&O talks to him. Its a huge Deere service center and I was surprised they guy reacted the way he did. It was so unprofessional and gave me a bad feeling about where this is going. The whole thing has been pretty distasteful. I wish they had contacted them like they said they would.

I asked the service center if I could pay them to return it to me. They said it was $95 an hour for delivery but then refused when they fount out where I live.

I have no idea how it's going to play out. Best case it costs me 2 days of my time and about $400. I&O said they could give me some accessories for my trouble which is nice but does not offset things very much.

Mid fiasco at the dealer someone suggested disputing the charge and telling the company where to repo their defective item as a possible solution. That also sounds like a headache.

At this point I just hope I&O comes through with the dealer. I took a bunch of pictures of the holes in the welding and some with the hydraulic fluid spraying out but haven't decided how I feel about posting them yet.

 

[mikenc]

I have a 37 ton NT splitter also. Have had same problems seems as others. Replaced control valve twice, they sent new one both times no charge and paid return shipping no charge. Did replace hindge for raising to vertical the orignal one was not made heavy enough. Had to remove filter , kept blowing hoses and blowing guts out of filter housing. Only have screen now. Seen pictures in earlier post may try to install filter like that on mine.Like the idea of having filter in line. Other than problems mentioned above spliter has worked great. Have probably split 35 -40 cords with no other problems.

edrrt, hope you get problems worked out with yours.

 

[lon]

edrrt, thanks for the update. Your reply is different then I what I had expected from Iron and Oak. My guess was they would do a pickup call on your unit and send you a replacement. At this point I am disappointed in how Iron and Oak has treated you. Disappointed in recommending their splitter to you. I do not think you should be having to spend all the time and money to correct their defective machine. Maybe you should try another call to Iron and Oak to update them on what you are going through to correct their mistake. Please keep us updated. Lon

 

[PA Plumber]

Man, that stinks.

I agree on giving I/O another call, tomorrow.

 

[Iron man]

I would give them a few options none of which would involve me spending any money.Having the service center service it would be fine as long as its picked up and delivered back to me and properly repaired with no delivery charges.If they were to send a whole new tank and again pay for all the freight charges that would be fine but I would want to be compensated for the time it takes installing the new tank and any fluid needed.Returning the whole unit for a new one would be another option I would give them with them paying the freight charges.You could start a bashing campaign on YouTube just to stick it to them.

 

[woodman44]

edrrt,

Man Iron and Oak really gave you some bad treatment. I hope you can get it worked out. We deal in splitters but not Iron and Oak and given the way they have treated you I am glad we do not deal with them. We looked at selling them at one point but bottom line is they are way overpriced ffor the product they offer. If you are looking for a splitter that is made in american and has very similar features look into Ram splitters. These units can be has for 200-400 less than the Iron and Oak.

 

[cmsmoke]

That really sucks. You should not have to pay for oil or anything else. This is a brand new machine. You did too much allready. Contact them anyway you can and get complete satisfaction. They should drop you off a new one and pick up the old and give you oil...free of charge. This won't even cover the time, effort and fuel you invested to this point. This is their problem, not yours.
You did research and bought your splitter accordingly, thinking you made the best decision you could. I don't care what brand it is. Customer service at that level is not acceptable.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[lon]

edrrt, so how did you come out with your splitter?

 

[edrrt]

Well I have the splitter back. Every time I checked with the service center I&O had not contacted them and they were getting agitated. After calling back and insisting they contact them before the end of that day they did. They said they were waiting for the parts to ship before contacting them but I could tell the service center thought I was making things up when they went getting called. I&O paid for the service center to repair it and I am very thankful for that. However they would not cover transportation, delivery or any other cost associated with getting it there or back. So if you live far from a service center and don't own a forklift or trailer then I recommend you look the unit over very well before putting fluids in it. The hole in the weld is easily visible with the naked eye. If you go over it and find a defect before you put flammable liquids in then maybe you could ship it back to them instead of having to deal with it yourself.

The customer service was good in that they got the unit repaired and said they will send me some accessories for the unit for my trouble. I think most companies would do the same, if they offer a warranty they would have to. I was hoping for great customer service, which would have been picking it up and returning it to me fixed or replaced so I didn't have to deal with the time or expense. However companies probably couldn't stay in business working that way.





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[cmsmoke]

The attachments won't work. It is good they repaired it. Let us know what they give you for your troubles.

 

[lon]

edrrt, thanks for the update. Sorry you had to go through all the problems. I had your exact splitter and had a problem with the delete valve when I purchased it. I&O contacted my dealer and they replaced the valve. I had to arrange transportation but that was not a problem. My dealer was only ten miles away. Did not have any further issues with the splitter. Traded it in on another splitter with a lift. Hope your splitter issues are behind you and you can go out and split some wood!

 

[edrrt]

Hmm. I attached images of the defect and can see them on my computer but not others. Wonder why?