SPLITTERS>what name brand is BEST??

[046]

nope... most of the problems posted about splitters are usually mass produced ones.

sure all splitters by default will need maintenance. IE, feedback posted about hydraulic cylinders leaking right off the bat. of course I'm referring to HB splitters. HB would ship out a new cylinder to replace leaking one.

I've seen other forums where folks rave about their HB splitters. so go figure...

MTD seems to get the short end of the stick. not really many specific issues posted. mainly if it's guilt by association. other MTD products are junk, so all MTD products are junk.

not fair, but that's what happens when you let customer service down.

still it's pretty fair to say... if you go with splitter brands that have zero negative feedback on a site wood intensive like AS. it's a pretty safe choice!

most of the posts about splitter problems are with home made ones.

after a few years of use, any splitter can develop problems...i don't care what or whose name is on it.

 

[Blowncrewcab]

I Don't own one (MTD) and never have, But You can't knock a Splitter MFG'r for a leaking valve or cyl made by someone else, I don't think mtd makes their own Cyl or valve or motor. If the motor sucked and it was a B&S mounted on a MTD Frame does MTD still suck? if an asco valve sucked and it was on a MTD does MTD still suck? Look at the part that faileds maker not the assembler. I mean If a frame or gusset snapped then thats probably MTD's fault, but Sub'd parts shouldn't be. ( I know I'm new and will probably be shot, but I thought I'd bring up that point and get my kevlar vest..No head shots :greenchainsaw:

 

[eric_271]

Can Anyone Please Help Me With What Name In Log Splitters Is Best, So Many To Choose From,,,Need To Pull The Trigger On One Fast,,,season Is Late For Splitting,,swicher,,troy Built,cub Cadet,which Is Really Mtd,YARD MACHINE,,or Please Tell Me The Ones To Stay Clear Of,,,,Honda,,,or B&s? I Split About 10 Cord A Year. OH YEA, HOW MUCH HORSE POWER SHOULD I GO WITH???

Check out splitez.com if money is not a problem.

 

[johnnylabguy]

My 2 cents

I just bought a 22 ton huskee(speeco) at Tractor Supply thanks to the wisdom obtained from this site. I think it will serve my homeowner splitting needs with no problem. It has already gone through 30 inch oak rounds with no problems, is a nice heigth so you don't have to hunch over while splitting, and the beam/cradle design is nice too(These are all complaints I've had with other splitters I've used). The thing I like best is that the 22 ton is small enough that you can move it around by yourself without a tow vehicle.

However, just a word of advice about picking one out at the TSC store(or anywhere) from my experience... Have them start 'er up and run it BEFORE you take it home. I asked the saleperson at my TSC and he gladly got some gas and fired her up. (He said the Fire Marshall wouldn't let them keep gas in any of their equipment to try it out after they assemble it anymore.) Well the first one he started leaked hydraulic fluid out of a hose connection like a mall fountain! He tried to tighten it with a wrench and it was plenty tight that it shouldn't leak. Needless to say, I had him put gas in another one and it ran great. He hooked it up to the truck while I happily paid the $999 to save a sore back for many years! Good Luck with your choosing!

 

[mga]

I Don't own one (MTD) and never have, But You can't knock a Splitter MFG'r for a leaking valve or cyl made by someone else, I don't think mtd makes their own Cyl or valve or motor. If the motor sucked and it was a B&S mounted on a MTD Frame does MTD still suck? if an asco valve sucked and it was on a MTD does MTD still suck? Look at the part that faileds maker not the assembler. I mean If a frame or gusset snapped then thats probably MTD's fault, but Sub'd parts shouldn't be. ( I know I'm new and will probably be shot, but I thought I'd bring up that point and get my kevlar vest..No head shots :greenchainsaw:

good point(s) and many are guilty of.

but many people are into "brand names" so.

a couple years ago i bought a Poulan tractor, 26hp. my neighbor bought a JD, 18hp, and the other one bought a Cub Cadet, 18 hp. they all cut the same, but both of those have been back for service several times, where as i haven't had a problem...plus i paid much less.

 

[aandabooks]

I've got a Yard Machines 22 ton on kind of permanent loan from the FIL. My 3rd year with it and the splitters 8th overall. Briggs 5 horse starts on the second pull everytime if the weather is above 20F and once warm it starts on the first pull. Hasn't failed to split a round yet. Stands to vertical and the horizontal is at a good height. My MIL worked at wal-mart at the time and they used their Christmas 10+10 discount to buy it for about $750. I couldn't see anything wrong with buying another one. Or a Huskee from TSC. Or whatever Menards is selling. All about the same price range for full retail.

 

[avalancher]

I Don't own one (MTD) and never have, But You can't knock a Splitter MFG'r for a leaking valve or cyl made by someone else, I don't think mtd makes their own Cyl or valve or motor. If the motor sucked and it was a B&S mounted on a MTD Frame does MTD still suck? if an asco valve sucked and it was on a MTD does MTD still suck? Look at the part that faileds maker not the assembler. I mean If a frame or gusset snapped then thats probably MTD's fault, but Sub'd parts shouldn't be. ( I know I'm new and will probably be shot, but I thought I'd bring up that point and get my kevlar vest..No head shots :greenchainsaw:

Couldnt have said it any better myself!
All in all, if someone asked me what I thought of MTD, I would have to say save your money until you can get a better one. Meaning MOST of their stuff. Neighbor had a Troy Built/MTD pressure washer, the pump split right down the middle twice and cost a whopping 175 bucks to replace. I had put the new pump on for him, and after it split the second time I called customer service and talked to them about the matter. They said that the pump was manufactured by someone else, so they were not responsible for the matter, although the tech admitted they had been selling boat loads of new pumps because of the defect in casting. I asked them why in the world do they keep using these pumps then, to which he replied "Cost factor really, a better pump would cost a bit more, and that would price them right out of their market niche"
That in my opinion is so like MTD now, keep it cheap so that they can sell you a new one in two years. I convinced my neighbor to not buy another 175 dollar pump, but spend 300 with Northern tools and buy a good pressure washer, he has been happy ever since.
The Troy splitter seems to be of a different species though, at least mine. I compared motor size and manufacturer, pump size and manufacturer, and overal sturdiness of the design. I like mine, and feel confident that it will be working for me for years to come. The years may prove me otherwise, but I think that it is at least as good as anything else on the market.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I looked around before I bought a splitter and shopped all brands. I first looked at the MTD units (YardMan,Troy Built,Cub Cadet) which are all very similar but have upgrades in engines, fenders and hoses. I didn't like them as the wheel and fender where in the way of my right leg when using the splitter horizontally - I had to kind of walk around the wheel/fender when carrying a log up to the splitter. The larger horsepower Cub Cadet unit has the I-beam extending underneath the hydraulic cylinder the same way most conventional splitter do and it appears the axle and fenders are not in the way - but no dealers had this unit in stock and I wanted to see one before I committed $2,000 to a splitter I planned on keeping for many years. I just knew that having that fender in the way on the smaller units was going to bother me.

I looked at the Huskee units at my Tractor Supply company and they were rusty and the engine blocks were corroded from sitting outside for months. I also tried to find Swisher - but the local dealers did not have any in stock and when I did a search on the internet for local Swisher dealers most of them were out of business and the two that I contacted by telephone never returned my call with a price. (It was odd that we went by a Tractor Supply Company in West Virginia that had Swisher splitters in stock - but the ones in Kentucky do not).

Before I bought my splitter I tried one with the wedge on the end of the beam and everytime you split a round it would fall off the end of the splitter onto the ground. When you split alone it is very time consuming to retrieve the pieces if you need to split the pieces again and you have to bend over everytime to retrieve them (I guess a table solves this problem - but you still have to drag the pieces back to the area between the cylinder and wedge. I really like having the wedge on the cylinder as the round is not pushed off the beam when it is split and it remains right in front of you. I realize the large professional model splitters have the wedge on the beam and use 4 or 6 way wedges for mass production and the pieces fall off into large piles - but that system would not work well for me and I only need to split the rounds into pieces that I can lift and stack easily as my OWB has a 24" square door and a 44" long firebox.

My final selection got narrowed down to Iron & Oak and Brave. I ended up getting an Iron & Oak 26 Ton Splitter from a Mail Order company that sells to the Construction Industry (Construction Complete) - they were $ 400 less than buying it directly from Iron & Oak and they had free shipping to any business address. It will split both horizontally and vertically and I did get the log cradle and dislodger attachments. For my method of splitting having the wedge on the cylinder works best as I have the splitter parked at the entrance to my woodshed. When I load my trailer I put all the large rounds on the bottom and as I unload the trailer I first stack all the smaller pieces that don't need splitting, then as I get to the big pieces I start the splitter up and I pick up a round from the trailer and carry it to the splitter which is at the door to the woodshed. I split the round and cycle the cylinder back and pick up the split pieces and carry them inside the wood shed and stack them - I only have to bend over if I drop something. The log cradle makes it very nice and catches the split rounds and keeps them up where you can easily pick them up - and it is really nice not having the fender in my way. The log dislodger is also nice in case you get something stuck - which isn't very often with a 26 ton or bigger splitter. I use the vertical position when I get to the rounds that can not be lifted easily, and this doesn't occur very often for me as the trees I get are seldom over 18".

If you don't split huge amounts of wood and the fenders don't bother you the MTD brands are probably fine and the prices are attractive, the Huskee Brand seems to have lots of praise from owners and maybe you can find one that is not weathered like the ones I saw. I am very happy with the Iron & Oak that I purchased - but it was twice the cost of the MTD units!

 

[Zodiac45]

I've got a Yard Machines 22 ton on kind of permanent loan from the FIL. My 3rd year with it and the splitters 8th overall. Briggs 5 horse starts on the second pull everytime if the weather is above 20F and once warm it starts on the first pull. Hasn't failed to split a round yet. Stands to vertical and the horizontal is at a good height. My MIL worked at wal-mart at the time and they used their Christmas 10+10 discount to buy it for about $750. I couldn't see anything wrong with buying another one. Or a Huskee from TSC. Or whatever Menards is selling. All about the same price range for full retail.

+1 Bingo! Hard too beat that!

 

[FlynnFlamForest]

man, can't seem to find duerr any more

Can Anyone Please Help Me With What Name In Log Splitters Is Best, So Many To Choose From,,,Need To Pull The Trigger On One Fast,,,season Is Late For Splitting,,swicher,,troy Built,cub Cadet,which Is Really Mtd,YARD MACHINE,,or Please Tell Me The Ones To Stay Clear Of,,,,Honda,,,or B&s? I Split About 10 Cord A Year. OH YEA, HOW MUCH HORSE POWER SHOULD I GO WITH???

hey, yea, i do have a DUERR 24 TON 5 B&S IT'S MY BROTHER'S BUT HE LIVES ACROSS THE STATE,,I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND THEIR WEB SIGHT,,,,DID THEY SELL OUT? WE'VE HAD THIS THING FOR OVER 20 YRS,,,AND WORKED THE SNOT OUT OF IT,,,I DO ABOUT 10 CORD PER YR...YES, THEM TRACTOR SUPPLY ONES ARE OK, BUT DON'T CARE MUCH FOR THE WAY THE HOSES ARE LINKED WITH A HOSE BAND,,,,LOVE THE TIMBER WOLF,,,,MAN,,,,BIG BUCKS,,IF ANYONE CAN TELL ME IF "DUERR" SOLD OUT..? THAT WOULD BE GREAT,,,,JUST CAN'T SEEM TO WANT TO GO WITH A "HONDA " ENG,,,,,LOVES AMERICA,,,,BUT I HEAR THE B&S ARE NOW MADE IN MEXICO,,,,THANKS ALL OF YOU!!

 

[eric_271]

I looked around before I bought a splitter and shopped all brands. I first looked at the MTD units (YardMan,Troy Built,Cub Cadet) which are all very similar but have upgrades in engines, fenders and hoses. I didn't like them as the wheel and fender where in the way of my right leg when using the splitter horizontally - I had to kind of walk around the wheel/fender when carrying a log up to the splitter. The larger horsepower Cub Cadet unit has the I-beam extending underneath the hydraulic cylinder the same way most conventional splitter do and it appears the axle and fenders are not in the way - but no dealers had this unit in stock and I wanted to see one before I committed $2,000 to a splitter I planned on keeping for many years. I just knew that having that fender in the way on the smaller units was going to bother me.

I looked at the Huskee units at my Tractor Supply company and they were rusty and the engine blocks were corroded from sitting outside for months. I also tried to find Swisher - but the local dealers did not have any in stock and when I did a search on the internet for local Swisher dealers most of them were out of business and the two that I contacted by telephone never returned my call with a price. (It was odd that we went by a Tractor Supply Company in West Virginia that had Swisher splitters in stock - but the ones in Kentucky do not).

Before I bought my splitter I tried one with the wedge on the end of the beam and everytime you split a round it would fall off the end of the splitter onto the ground. When you split alone it is very time consuming to retrieve the pieces if you need to split the pieces again and you have to bend over everytime to retrieve them (I guess a table solves this problem - but you still have to drag the pieces back to the area between the cylinder and wedge. I really like having the wedge on the cylinder as the round is not pushed off the beam when it is split and it remains right in front of you. I realize the large professional model splitters have the wedge on the beam and use 4 or 6 way wedges for mass production and the pieces fall off into large piles - but that system would not work well for me and I only need to split the rounds into pieces that I can lift and stack easily as my OWB has a 24" square door and a 44" long firebox.

My final selection got narrowed down to Iron & Oak and Brave. I ended up getting an Iron & Oak 26 Ton Splitter from a Mail Order company that sells to the Construction Industry (Construction Complete) - they were $ 400 less than buying it directly from Iron & Oak and they had free shipping to any business address. It will split both horizontally and vertically and I did get the log cradle and dislodger attachments. For my method of splitting having the wedge on the cylinder works best as I have the splitter parked at the entrance to my woodshed. When I load my trailer I put all the large rounds on the bottom and as I unload the trailer I first stack all the smaller pieces that don't need splitting, then as I get to the big pieces I start the splitter up and I pick up a round from the trailer and carry it to the splitter which is at the door to the woodshed. I split the round and cycle the cylinder back and pick up the split pieces and carry them inside the wood shed and stack them - I only have to bend over if I drop something. The log cradle makes it very nice and catches the split rounds and keeps them up where you can easily pick them up - and it is really nice not having the fender in my way. The log dislodger is also nice in case you get something stuck - which isn't very often with a 26 ton or bigger splitter. I use the vertical position when I get to the rounds that can not be lifted easily, and this doesn't occur very often for me as the trees I get are seldom over 18".

If you don't split huge amounts of wood and the fenders don't bother you the MTD brands are probably fine and the prices are attractive, the Huskee Brand seems to have lots of praise from owners and maybe you can find one that is not weathered like the ones I saw. I am very happy with the Iron & Oak that I purchased - but it was twice the cost of the MTD units!

+ 1 and being I don't use a conveyor I back the wheat truck up and load my wood as I grab it split right off the table, no bending over after its split to load it. I went with the splitez design but built it my self. This thing is a battleship. Cycle time is a little over 9 seconds but because of the wide wedge seldom will you go out more then half of the travel be for your wood splits, there by cutting your cycle time in half. I can pull a pin to take the tabels off but the only time I will do that is for verticle splitting.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

+ 1 and being I don't use a conveyor I back the wheat truck up and load my wood as I grab it split right off the table, no bending over after its split to load it. I went with the splitez design but built it my self. This thing is a battleship. Cycle time is a little over 9 seconds but because of the wide wedge seldom will you go out more then half of the travel be for your wood splits, there by cutting your cycle time in half. I can pull a pin to take the tabels off but the only time I will do that is for verticle splitting.

That thing looks sweet. I like the grab bars on the side for moving it around. Been thinking of doing something like that for mine.

Is that black plastic tank your fuel tank? How long can you run that thing?

 

[eric_271]

That thing looks sweet. I like the grab bars on the side for moving it around. Been thinking of doing something like that for mine.

Is that black plastic tank your fuel tank? How long can you run that thing?

Thanks Mark. The tank and engine came off my old toro grounds master. It's a 4 or 5 gallon tank and on the mower would run close to 5 hours at full throttle under heavy load. The engine is the quiet series 17hp kohler. I have not run it long enough yet to tell you on this splitter but it wont see much over part throttle to go as fast as I want. The cylinder is 5'' 24'' with a 2 1/2'' chromed rod rated for a constant 3000psi and 3/4'' ports to match the 3/4'' ports on the auto return control valve. The knife in the wedge is 4130 steel, heat treated. The only thing I might change down the road is the barns 22gpm pump for a 28gpm. Pretty sure the engine will handle it. The beam is 8''x8'' reinforced with 1'' 1/2 thick end plates. I just tried it out on some hard osage orange yesterday with no flex in the beam. A ton of grinding went into this being I cut almost all the steel with torch. All I can say is I'm glad its done. The grab bar on the side is for raising the beam for verticle splitting. If you run the wedge out all the way the beam becomes balanced and raises very easy.

 

[NC Firewood]

most of the posts about splitter problems are with home made ones.

after a few years of use, any splitter can develop problems...i don't care what or whose name is on it.

Very true, have you seen my homemade units? Here are some adjectives to describe, rusty, ugly, leak like the exxon valdez, smoke like a 2 stroke detroit, accomplishes job. "You ain't working, if you ain't wearin' something out".

 

[abohac]

Can Anyone Please Help Me With What Name In Log Splitters Is Best, So Many To Choose From,,,Need To Pull The Trigger On One Fast,,,season Is Late For Splitting,,swicher,,troy Built,cub Cadet,which Is Really Mtd,YARD MACHINE,,or Please Tell Me The Ones To Stay Clear Of,,,,Honda,,,or B&s? I Split About 10 Cord A Year. OH YEA, HOW MUCH HORSE POWER SHOULD I GO WITH???

Buy a Timberwolf if you have deep pockets. Go to tractor supply if you don't.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

The tank and engine came off my old toro grounds master. It's a 4 or 5 gallon tank

...

The grab bar on the side is for raising the beam for verticle splitting. If you run the wedge out all the way the beam becomes balanced and raises very easy.

Slick.


All of it's very nice. Well thought out, well executed. If I ever build my own, I'll come back and take another look at this as a model.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

"You ain't working, if you ain't wearin' something out".

Very true!


Love your sig, too!

 

[Hugenpoet]

"You ain't working, if you ain't wearin' something out".

Unfortunately, at my age the thing I usually wear out is myself.

 

[nickg]

I'm not sure about "THE BEST" but.... 35 ton Huskee/Speeco is an awesome machine for the money, the redesigned horizonal shaft engine is easier to start, (Briggs), and for the money it will split wood with the best of them,, remember dudes,, this is not space shuttle technology,, its a motorized ram and allot of steel,, Buy the Huskee/Speeco , and dont look back..

 

[willt1981]

Well, I guess I will have to argue with the Troy Built being junk, I own one. I have used it for two seasons so far, and a heap of wood has gone through that splitter. It sits at a comfortable height, has plenty of power to go through some of the most knarled up pieces of wood, including big dried up hickory forks that I could find, and all without a complaint. I had one issue with it, the directional valve leaked but that has been repaired and I have had no issues with it since. Powered by a quality honda engine and the controls are easy to reach, although its hard to reach from the one side, not a big deal in my opinion. The bed swings to vertical use when necessary, and I am pretty happy with the machine.
Now, MTD lawnmowers and such really do strike me as junk, had one years ago and quickly replaced it with a big Husky lawn tractor.
All in all, I wouldnt discount the MTD splitter, it seems to hold its own against anything else on the market.

i agree. have a 27 ton troybilt. its split hundreds of cords with very few problems. had to replace the valve but got a new one for only $70. now the carb on the engine is acting up but at worst its a new carb for $22. i like the honda engine (at the very worst a brand new engine the exact same is $250) and the frame, etc seems stout. never, ever had it stop in wood. if a piece wont split the splitter will cut the :censored: piece. ive had it cut shagbark hickory pieces that were all knots from one end to the other. cost new - $1329.