Didier splitters

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Hi
I am new here. I googled Didier splitter model MF26 and came across this thread. I thought one of you might be able to help me. Does any one have a manual for this splitter? Right now I'm trying to identify a part that needs replacing. Any help you can offer would be much appreciated!

I have the manual and the sales brochure on my computer at work. PM me with your email address and I'll send them out to you tomorrow.

-Paul
 
Didier splitter part

I could really use some advice. I am looking for this part in attachment for a Didier splitter Model MF26. Any advice on how to obtain this part? Oops--wrong file. Please check next post.
 
Last edited:
Shoot-wrong file

Sorry, I selected the wrong file. Again, any idea how to obtain this part for a Didier splitter model MF26?
 
#6?
If your talking about the brass parts
I had to have a machine shop make them for me
 
Last edited:
Didier splitter

If refering to the tube you will either have to have a hydraulic shop make up one or replace the tube with hydraulic hose.

Thank you so much. I didn't think of using tubing. That might be a nice solution.

And thanks to all who responded. I have a good idea what to do now. I'd have been lost without you.
 
First post. I'm glad I found this site. I bought my Didier MF26 about 10 years ago when the guy I bought it from switched to propane. Two years later he wanted it back.

I had to get a new engine. Well, my own fault. I could have left well enough alone but in doing a tuneup, I decided it needed a new muffler and ruined that whole affair and rather than drill out the manifold, etc, I bought a new 5.5 horse Briggs & Stratton.

It goes thru about 15 cords a year because I let people borrow it for a case of beer.

Question: On the opposite side of the handle is part No.4Z0007, silver in color. It appears to be leaking slightly on the lower left corner next to the cylinder and also out what appears to be a weep hole. Maybe a cup of fluid a year. As I don't like the mess, is this anything to worry about or will I make more problems trying to fix it? And is it something the local implement dealer will have a seal/gasket for? They have the rubber piece and unions for the motor/pump because I had to get a new set of those last week. Thanks for any advice/assistance.
 
I'm hoping I found the right place to troubleshoot my problems with my Didier.

My father bought this splitter about 30 years ago. He used it for 10, then it sat for 20. Now that I have a big house and wood splitting needs, he offered it to me. It's in fantastic condition. Kept inside, well maintained... He also pulled it all apart before giving it to me. Fuel tank was all gummed up as we the carb. He cleaned it all out and got it working. It was just a bit tough to start. I believe all the parts are original, but he modified the wedge and put a tire on the front.

I solved the starting problem, by holding the choke open as I pull. Starts in 1 or 2 pulls doing that. He also left too much oil in the air filter, so it was starving for oxygen. I fixed that too, but not until I had run it for a while. Then I was having idle issues and stalling issues. I took off the head and found a lot of carbon buildup. I cleaned it all out as well as the spark plug and it ran great.

Right now my mystery problem is that when I put a log on the splitter, the jostling motion causes the motor to splutter and run rough. If I let it be for a minute, it evens out and runs fine. However, any time a log bumps into the beam, it goes back to running rough again until it settles down.

I also had a stalling issue under load, but I think I was running it too lean.

Any ideas?

Also, it seemed like there was a way to get a copy of the manual. That would sure be handy!

Brokk...
 
Brokk,

Click on my list name (wife'nhubby) on the left side and send me a pm (private message) with your email address. It might take me a day or two to respond but I will send you the manuals I have. I need your email address because the manuals are in .pdf file format which I haven't figured out how to post to the list. :)

Shari
 
Didier Cylinder MF26

Hi To All,

For the life of me, I could not figure out how to load the actual photos...
Hopefully I have done it!
See new Northern Hydraulics 4" x 24" cylinder installed on my splitter. $160

Mark

193585d1312913045-wood-splitter-20-june-007-jpg


193588d1312913798-wood-splitter-20-june-008-jpg


193589d1312913810-wood-splitter-20-june-002-jpg
 
Last edited:
Markjewell, that's a nice looking splitter. I got one for FREE from my BIL. It needed a new cyl and hoses. The best price I could come up with was about $240 delivered. The prices I was seeing from Northern were a lot more than $160 at the time. Good buy! I also replaced the steel lines with new hyd lines in order to line up with the new cyl. Looking at yours makes me think that replacing my wedge might be a pretty good idea in the next few years. I've only split a few truck loads with it so far, but I have about 4 loads waiting to be split and stacked for the following season. Between the little diddier and my new X27, I'm not sure which one will be doing the most splitting :)
 
I'm hoping I found the right place to troubleshoot my problems with my Didier.

Right now my mystery problem is that when I put a log on the splitter, the jostling motion causes the motor to splutter and run rough. If I let it be for a minute, it evens out and runs fine. However, any time a log bumps into the beam, it goes back to running rough again until it settles down.

I also had a stalling issue under load, but I think I was running it too lean.

Brokk...

I dont know the splitter very well, but the engine stuff is sorta universal.

Have you checked the height of the float in the carb? It could be when you hit it, it messes with the level enough to cause a problem. My guess is that it needs another teardown/rebuild to get it all set. If you havent already, you should pull it all apart, pull out all of the screws and jets and whatnot (be careful, they can strip easily) and soak it in the paint bucket of cleaner. After a day of that, pull it out, blow it all out with compressed air (wear safety glasses!) and put it back together. Depending on the model of the carb, you may have to re-set the float height.

Put it together and give it a shot!
 
I dont know the splitter very well, but the engine stuff is sorta universal.

Have you checked the height of the float in the carb? It could be when you hit it, it messes with the level enough to cause a problem. My guess is that it needs another teardown/rebuild to get it all set. If you havent already, you should pull it all apart, pull out all of the screws and jets and whatnot (be careful, they can strip easily) and soak it in the paint bucket of cleaner. After a day of that, pull it out, blow it all out with compressed air (wear safety glasses!) and put it back together. Depending on the model of the carb, you may have to re-set the float height.

Put it together and give it a shot!

I'm new to tinkering with small engines but I've tried to do a lot of reading about the subject in regards to the B&S on the splitter. They all seem to recommend a carb "rebuild" kit, that should contain things like springs, O-rings and other small bits that are the most likely to wear out. Looking at the B&S website for my engine, they don't seem to list such a thing, but they do sell a replacement carb kit, that replaces the main section of the carb, including the jets. It runs just over $100. I'm not sure if that's a better way to go. Quite honestly, I'm a bit intimidated by tearing it apart, for fear it won't work when I put it back together. There seems to be so many little things that could go wrong. Right now it's running, and I'm using it to split a couple cords more of wood I have lying around. Maybe I'll do one more cord with it, then try to tear it apart. At least then I'll have the bigger part of the work out of the way and stacked for the winter.

I'll likely pull it apart enough to take a look at the float. Sounds like it's not too deep into the carb breakdown process.

Brokk...
 
I'm new to tinkering with small engines but I've tried to do a lot of reading about the subject in regards to the B&S on the splitter. They all seem to recommend a carb "rebuild" kit, that should contain things like springs, O-rings and other small bits that are the most likely to wear out. Looking at the B&S website for my engine, they don't seem to list such a thing, but they do sell a replacement carb kit, that replaces the main section of the carb, including the jets. It runs just over $100. I'm not sure if that's a better way to go. Quite honestly, I'm a bit intimidated by tearing it apart, for fear it won't work when I put it back together. There seems to be so many little things that could go wrong. Right now it's running, and I'm using it to split a couple cords more of wood I have lying around. Maybe I'll do one more cord with it, then try to tear it apart. At least then I'll have the bigger part of the work out of the way and stacked for the winter.

I'll likely pull it apart enough to take a look at the float. Sounds like it's not too deep into the carb breakdown process.

Brokk...


You dont want a new carb kit, since thats just really a new carb.

If you know the part # for your carb, you can go to any B&S dealer, or even hit up ebay to get those parts. I have rebuilt without getting the new pieces, but its not suggested. Its probably not too complicated in there, but you are right. Finish your splitting first, then crack it open. No sense in breaking something thats running well.
 
Mark, since I haven't gotten my hands on a manual yet, could you tell me about the silver cylinder on "our side" of the photograph at the top of the splitter? a hydraulic line is going into it. I'm guessing it's some kind of filter. Had anyone pulled one of these apart? Do they have anything inside that can be cleaned or replaced, or do you just need to replace the whole cylinder?

Since stalling under load has been one of my issues, I was told to check for a filter that might be clogged and causing the machine to work harder than it needs to. This could cause the stalling if it was the case.

Also, from the small engine perspective, what is the most likely cause of carbon buildup in the cylinder and valves? My dad never cleaned it out in his 10 years of use. I cleaned it out (quite a bit of black buildup) and after about 8 hours of use, there was plenty of buildup again (but more liquid-like and easier to clean). I've also found it useful to pull off the spark plug and clean it off every time I use it. There is always build up on it, even after an hour of use. The last time I checked the gap and it needed some adjustment as well. Hopefully that will make a difference.

After cleaning out the buildup in the cylinder and valves, the machine runs *much* better, for about 60-90 minutes. I can adjust the mixture to run much leaner (since I thought a rich mixture would cause that buildup). After 90 minutes, it starts stalling under load and I need to adjust the mixture a little richer. Then later, I need to adjust it even more to richer. This slowly progresses until I'm back to my original mixture and it's running rough at idle, but not quite stalling under load. Then it's time to clean out the cylinder again.

Brokk...
 
How does your air filter look? Has that been changed recently?

You definitely should gap the plug correctly, but cleaning it after every use is a little excessive.

There are several types of buildup that could be on your plug... It could be from bad gas (unlikely since you just put in fresh, right?), or running rich (which you seem to know how to adjust), or also you could be burning oil. That could cause the buildup on the plug in that short amount of time. Has the oil level gone down as you use the splitter? What kind of oil are you using in the engine?

Are you operating the splitter at full throttle, and is the choke all the way open when its running?
 
How does your air filter look? Has that been changed recently?

You definitely should gap the plug correctly, but cleaning it after every use is a little excessive.

There are several types of buildup that could be on your plug... It could be from bad gas (unlikely since you just put in fresh, right?), or running rich (which you seem to know how to adjust), or also you could be burning oil. That could cause the buildup on the plug in that short amount of time. Has the oil level gone down as you use the splitter? What kind of oil are you using in the engine?

Are you operating the splitter at full throttle, and is the choke all the way open when its running?

Air filter looks like new. Actually, it might be. My dad replaced a few things when cleaning it up for me. I know he put in a new spark plug at the time. The only issue was he over oiled the filter, so for the first couple hours of running, it was struggling a bit for air. I've since squeezed it out better into paper towels, so that should be fine now.

The spark plug will end up with a liquidy black residue around the edges near the threads. More solid (or dried) black matter where it fires.

I've used a couple types of gas. The problems started when I was using 89 octane that was fairly fresh (couple weeks old?). My standard is to get 2.5 gallons of 89, add Stabil and Marvel Mystery Oil to it. That goes into all my power equipment around here. So it's usually pretty fresh, especially in the summer when my lawn tractor is guzzling it down. I had run the splitter for at least 4 hours this year and a few hours last year with that type of gas. I was well into my issues, when I ran out of that, and switched to some older (few months) gas, 87 octane with Stabil, that I had around for my plow truck. I've been using that since, knowing that I should use it up. I could just dump it into my SUV and get some new 89 octane. I'll try that tomorrow. Nothing else is complaining about the gas I've been using, and both types had the same result.

I'm not sure of the exact oil type. My dad changed the oil before giving me the splitter late last year. I took off the cap on one side and the level is right up there and when I dipped my finger in, it came out looking pretty clean, for oil.

I'm not sure where the throttle control is, for setting the speed. I pull the choke out, pull the cord a couple times and it fires up and sucks the choke back in. That's where it runs. Under load, the throttle increases, when you ease off, it drops back to idle.

I'm hoping to run it Saturday and see how it goes, with a clean cylinder, and much cleaner valves. I'm curious if I'll see the same behavior with no issues for the first 90 minutes, then if it starts to stall under load. Also, it's not just about running it cold. I had issues before and shut it down for a couple hours. Within minutes of firing it back up the troubled behavior was back.
 
I replied last night, but it hasn't shown up yet, so I'm sending it again. Hopefully it won't post twice.

How does your air filter look? Has that been changed recently?

You definitely should gap the plug correctly, but cleaning it after every use is a little excessive.

There are several types of buildup that could be on your plug... It could be from bad gas (unlikely since you just put in fresh, right?), or running rich (which you seem to know how to adjust), or also you could be burning oil. That could cause the buildup on the plug in that short amount of time. Has the oil level gone down as you use the splitter? What kind of oil are you using in the engine?

Are you operating the splitter at full throttle, and is the choke all the way open when its running?

Air filter looks like new. Actually, it might be. My dad replaced a few things when cleaning it up for me. I know he put in a new spark plug at the time. The only issue was he over oiled the filter, so for the first couple hours of running, it was struggling a bit for air. I've since squeezed it out better into paper towels, so that should be fine now.

The spark plug will end up with a liquidy black residue around the edges near the threads. More solid (or dried) black matter where it fires.

I've used a couple types of gas. The problems started when I was using 89 octane that was fairly fresh (couple weeks old?). My standard is to get 2.5 gallons of 89, add Stabil and Marvel Mystery Oil to it. That goes into all my power equipment around here. So it's usually pretty fresh, especially in the summer when my lawn tractor is guzzling it down. I had run the splitter for at least 4 hours this year and a few hours last year with that type of gas. I was well into my issues, when I ran out of that, and switched to some older (few months) gas, 87 octane with Stabil, that I had around for my plow truck. I've been using that since, knowing that I should use it up. I could just dump it into my SUV and get some new 89 octane. I'll try that tomorrow. Nothing else is complaining about the gas I've been using, and both types had the same result.

I'm not sure of the exact oil type. My dad changed the oil before giving me the splitter late last year. I took off the cap on one side and the level is right up there and when I dipped my finger in, it came out looking pretty clean, for oil.

I'm not sure where the throttle control is, for setting the speed. I pull the choke out, pull the cord a couple times and it fires up and sucks the choke back in. That's where it runs. Under load, the throttle increases, when you ease off, it drops back to idle.

I'm hoping to run it Saturday and see how it goes, with a clean cylinder, and much cleaner valves. I'm curious if I'll see the same behavior with no issues for the first 90 minutes, then if it starts to stall under load. Also, it's not just about running it cold. I had issues before and shut it down for a couple hours. Within minutes of firing it back up the troubled behavior was back.
 
I'm getting mighty confused. I've tried to post a reply twice in the past 12 hours and each time it tells me I need the moderator to approve my post first. That has never happened before. Has something changed?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top