Harbor Freight log splitter

[FlyingDutchman]

My friend has a firewood business. He's been using my Speeco 8hp light commercial splitter. It has running issues and is sensitive to poor fuel, so I have to help him run it. Which is fine. He's cognizant of the fact that he should get his own eventually.

We started shopping, and currently speed is an issue for him with my splitter. So he's looking at a kinetic splitter. There's a Split Second for sale locally hes got his eyes on, but money is a bit of an issue and we have concerns about parts availability.

I came across this Harbor Freight unit that seems like it would work nicely. The wedge splits in both directions which seems like it would be efficient. Nowhere near the price of a used kinetic splitter too. Of course there is no real replacement for a kinetic when it comes to production, but I didn't find many people talking about this unit on here.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-212cc-log-splitter-61594.html

 

[Wood Hound]

Get on Youtube, i think you can see it in action..

 

[cat10ken]

I've read some reviews on it. The cylinder is prone to blow seals and the hydraulic fittings aren't standard size and replacement parts have a very long wait time.

 

[Wood Hound]

Cat, thanks, because these guys need to know this, i am not a fan of firewood eqp. coming from China....

 

[FlyingDutchman]

I read the reviews too, and that sort of issue comes from anything Chinese, some are ok, some are not. When I used to work in the hydraulic shop, Chinese products that arrive DOA we need to adapt to plumb it if it doesn't include hoses... or an oddball blown seal can cost more than what they paid for the entire unit.

Based on the videos, the double action wedge helps less than I think it would, weren't always using the full stroke. In actuality the productivity is only marginally increased vs the cycle time. Plus his wood is on the shorter side (16"). This would only benefit if the wood was almost the length of the stroke.

 

[rancher2]

A few weeks ago I did a repair job on a snowblower for a friend of a friend deal and the couple came out to the farm to pickup the snow blower and we got to talking wood splitters as they knew I burned wood. They had bought a acreage about ten years ago with a OWB and they tried a HF splitter. Sounds like they went threw three of them on warranty all with the same problem. Blew the hyd cylinder apart. They finally got there money back and pickup a used older TSC splitter and its been working well. I have several HF gas engines on the farm and have had good luck with them but never tried any thing with hyds on it from HF .

 

[jetsam]

At $850 he could be shopping for a high quality used machine or even a decent new one, no need to go to HF.

I got a new DHT with a Kohler engine for about that brand new at Lowe some years ago... minus a few bucks for cosmetic damage, minus a 10% movers coupon, minus 5% for opening a card. brought it down to about $900 after tax I think.

(You could also point out that a maul is both faster and easier on the back than lifting rounds onto a splitter. He probably doesn't sell the uglies he splits with your hydraulic anyway- tell him to leave the uglies for later and split them when he does get a splitter.)

 

[sean donato]

That thing just looks like a whole lot of extra work to move a split around to use the other face of the wedge.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

At $850 he could be shopping for a high quality used machine or even a decent new one, no need to go to HF.

I got a new DHT with a Kohler engine for about that brand new at Lowe some years ago... minus a few bucks for cosmetic damage, minus a 10% movers coupon, minus 5% for opening a card. brought it down to about $900 after tax I think.

(You could also point out that a maul is both faster and easier on the back than lifting rounds onto a splitter. He probably doesn't sell the uglies he splits with your hydraulic anyway- tell him to leave the uglies for later and split them when he does get a splitter.)

He does sell the uglies. But that's another thread altogether. But as a former mauler, he LOVES watching this sail through gnarly crap.
I kind of thought this design on the HF would be a production improvement, but with further thought, I doubt it, especially with the questionable reliability of the product.

 

[jetsam]

He does sell the uglies. But that's another thread altogether. But as a former mauler, he LOVES watching this sail through gnarly crap.
I kind of thought this design on the HF would be a production improvement, but with further thought, I doubt it, especially with the questionable reliability of the product.

I'm still a mauler, but I agree with him on loving the hydraulic on the ugly gnarly pieces!

Just like splitting medium-difficulty rounds with a maul is a puzzle that you learn how to do with practice, I try to figure out how to get nice rectangular slabs out of my uglies with the splitter.

I still own a sledge and wedges, but they don't see much action these days. Maybe a nostalgia run here and there (remember how great it was splitting elm with these wedges as a kid? Oh yeah, I hated it... ok, back in the shed).

 

[jetsam]

It does seem like people like it... but they're people who are cool with replacing the pump and modding in an oil filter, etc.

https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...itter-disassembly-slow-cycle-question.321651/
BUT if you have a cylinder failure, you have to replace the cylinder AND the shaft and wedge. So either hope you can get parts or have a machine shop handy.

https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...ight-log-splitter.249279/page-10#post-6453687
That would be enough to scare me off at a much lower price point than $850.

 

[rarefish383]

I read the reviews too, and that sort of issue comes from anything Chinese, some are ok, some are not. When I used to work in the hydraulic shop, Chinese products that arrive DOA we need to adapt to plumb it if it doesn't include hoses... or an oddball blown seal can cost more than what they paid for the entire unit.

Based on the videos, the double action wedge helps less than I think it would, weren't always using the full stroke. In actuality the productivity is only marginally increased vs the cycle time. Plus his wood is on the shorter side (16"). This would only benefit if the wood was almost the length of the stroke.

This guy looks like a homeowner that has never run a commercial two way, which this isn't. I had a 40 HP Bliss Two way splitter back in the late 70's and 80's. When you use it like he is, it's not much faster. If he knew how to utilize the machine, he would be a lot faster. Like anything it's a learning curve, and if you don't have some one to show you how to achieve production results, you will just keep plugging along. If he knew how to use it, I think it would be more impressive than it is. I thought about one, but passed it up, being too small for most of my work.

 

[cantoo]

I would go to a big box store and buy one there. Warranty is easier to deal with if you have to go that route. Could likely use a credit card there and stretch payment out a few months while he sells enough to pay for it. https://www.homedepot.com/p/CHAMPIO...al-Operation-and-Auto-Return-100424/302367049

 

[sean donato]

Tiss the season to grab up deals on box store splitters as well. Lowes normally marked theirs down around now so they dont have to put them back in storage again. Theres one splitter there with a scratch on the tank going on 4 years now of display and storage. Keep thinking about offering them $700.00 for it and see what they say. Lol.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Jetsam. Yes, this fella is not capable of dealing with mechanical issues beyond adding oil or gas or seeing a leak. Those threads were good finds. The threads I did find when I searched didn't have any conclusive content. Thanks for doing that. I just figured there would be a couple die hard fans in the woodwork somewhere.

Rarefish, I don't doubt a better operator would help. But since my friends wood he sells is so short 16" I think the wait time would still be the same using the same side vs alternating sides... unless the anvil on both sides was spaced out. But that would then hinder how soon the piece could be loaded and give the load guy less time to get another piece because he's waiting for the gap to open enough. I don't know. At first, I thought 2 way splitting would be an benefit enough to surpass a standard box store splitter by a long shot. Now not so sure.

Cantoo and Sean, this may be a good solution. We are pretty far from a Home Depot but many box stores around. I think if he got a lighter duty machine it would be okay if he ran it himself in smaller bursts. Currently we are running against it overheating in the summer with the "light commercial" Speeco I have, which is almost double the HP and double the hydraulic capacity of most everything I've seen.

 

[jetsam]

Tiss the season to grab up deals on box store splitters as well. Lowes normally marked theirs down around now so they dont have to put them back in storage again. Theres one splitter there with a scratch on the tank going on 4 years now of display and storage. Keep thinking about offering them $700.00 for it and see what they say. Lol.

Tip: Ask on the first day of the fiscal month... even better if it's the first month of the quarter... especially in the summer. (It looks like Lowes' fiscal weeks start on a Saturday according to a 2017 fiscal calendar I found on the internet?)

It might sound arcane but the manager probably has a lot more leeway to say yes then, because his markdown budget ought to reset. In the summer sales are higher, and his budget to reduce prices comes out of sales.

And tomorrow's the first Saturday of March!

 

[homemade]

https://www.drpower.com/power-equipment/log-splitters-wood-cutting/rapidfire-splitter
Here is a cheaper opting to the super split.

Otherwise go in halves with your buddy on a commercial hydro. Eastonmade, lone wolf, super split, Dirty hand tools. All make good units. And tell him it’s an investment, not an expense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rarefish383]

I finally gave my Huskee 22 ton to my BIL and got a new TSC 30 ton. It was on sale from $1599 to $1399, and I wanted one that day. I only had 10 cord split this year, but I sold out two weeks before Thanksgiving, paid for the machine with a little left for me. Next year I hope to have 20 cord, and that's all for me. I put it on my credit card to defer the payments a month, it helped.

 

[cantoo]

If you are near a water supply it's easy to cool down the splitter. Wrap a garden hose around the cylinder or the tank and let it run for awhile. It doesn't take much to cool the oil.

 

[Philbert]

Not going to vouch for HF equipment, but the 2-way splitters can work really nice for smaller firewood. The dual action splitting eliminates return travel in cycle time. There are other manufacturers of these, if they are a good choice for him. Here is a older thread on them:

https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/ran-a-2-way-splitter-sunday.190097/
Philbert