another splitter question???

[moose5180]

Hey all, first post here. I have done a lot of research on these and wonder if you fellas have any recommendations? I live in a fairly remote spot in Wyoming, we have Lowes and Home Depot within 200 miles. I have looked at their splitters online and have read so so reviews. I have also looked at others online but cant see paying $400+ for shipping. I am a welder by trade and thought i could build my own, from what i have figured i will have 12-$1500 in a home made version. Does not make sense either. So, are the Big box store splitters any good? They have a MTD 27 ton for $1300 and a Troy Built for the same price. Are the MTD and Troy the same thing? They sure look to be. They also sell an Ariens? Never heard of them. All we have to cut and burn is pine so i really dont need a monster as far as tonnage. I see some retailers online have free shipping, but jack up the price $400 to make up for it. Does anyone here use the MTD or TB? How do you like it? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[ericjeeper]

Much to my disappointment MTD bought out Troy bilt a few years back.. Took a company that was built on quality and service and tanked the product resale value..

 

[ponyexpress976]

That should do fine for you. Since your a welder and splitting mostly pine...make a 4 way wedge for it and you'll be happy.

 

[moose5180]

Thanks for the replies!
After even more looking, what about the 27 ton Earthquake model?
I found a site with free shipping and no tax, if i buy locally i have about $100 in tax. So, the earthquake at the door is just a few bucks more.
I am also seeing an Iron & Oak brand 15 ton with an 8 second cycle time. Is a 15 ton unit enough? Thanks again for the help!

 

[kubotakid]

ariens

Thanks for the replies!
After even more looking, what about the 27 ton Earthquake model?
I found a site with free shipping and no tax, if i buy locally i have about $100 in tax. So, the earthquake at the door is just a few bucks more.
I am also seeing an Iron & Oak brand 15 ton with an 8 second cycle time. Is a 15 ton unit enough? Thanks again for the help!

Ive seen the ariens splitter at our local John Deere dealer, And It looks like a qulity built machine, (IF) it was built by ariens, Id buy one over the mtd, IF you can get the Iron and Oak, Thats definetaly a better machine than a mtd or tractor supply/speeco, in that price range, dads got the Iron & Oak 9 hp model, and its very impressive,.very fast cycle times, Quality,. Eric

 

[trailmaker]

Maybe you're not new to wood heating and you know you need a splitter but if you're just getting into this don't count out hand splitting. I just started heating with wood a couple of years ago and researched all kinds of hydraulic splitters before I realized I could hand split the wood. I actually really enjoy it now and look forward to it. I understand a lot of people have no choice but hydraulics but it sure is nice not having to maintain and store another machine.

 

[moose5180]

I agree Trailmaker, i enjoy splitting a bit of wood up camping, but not 5-10 chords a year. I only have so much free time and the less time i spend splitting firewood the more i can spend fly fishing

I also heard my Dad say he was going to put a wood burner in the shop, so i know what this means, more wood cutting and splitting for me. I gotta get a splitter.

 

[trailmaker]

Gotcha, powered splitter makes a lot of sense then.

 

[Whitespider]

Don't get too hung-up on the "tonnage" thing. Truthfully, I don't get how some of these manufacturers come up with their "tonnage" numbers... the math don't add-up. Sometimes I think they use the area of the push plate to calculate "tonnage", which is ridiculous.

My little 18 ton Log Boss has a total weight around 200 pounds... if I really need to I can load it in the back of a pick-up by myself. I've used it side-by-side with 22/25 ton "fleet" store type splitters, and that little Log Boss will power through crotches that the "fleet" store type stalls on. That Log Boss runs a 7 HP Tecumseh and only a 2-inch cylinder... wanna' try and explain that one to me?

Possibly it's because Log Boss Manufacturing claims to use 8000 PSI with their splitters... most "fleet" store types run around 3000 PSI. Still, I find calculated "tonnage" to mean next to nothing... it's the applied "tonnage" that matters.

 

[Horsepower]

I have used both a Troy Bilt and an Iron and Oak splitter. Both did the job. That being said, the Iron and Oak is in a whole different class for quality and cratfsmanship of construction. IMO this means fewer repairs, less to maintain, longer lifespan, and a more satisfied operator.

 

[GLOBOTREE]

Much to my disappointment MTD bought out Troy bilt a few years back.. Took a company that was built on quality and service and tanked the product resale value..

In a response to your buddies terrible mistake~ MTD had to buyout TROY~happy trails EJ, steves yer pal!

 

[mga]

Hey all, first post here. I have done a lot of research on these and wonder if you fellas have any recommendations? I live in a fairly remote spot in Wyoming, we have Lowes and Home Depot within 200 miles. I have looked at their splitters online and have read so so reviews. I have also looked at others online but cant see paying $400+ for shipping. I am a welder by trade and thought i could build my own, from what i have figured i will have 12-$1500 in a home made version. Does not make sense either. So, are the Big box store splitters any good? They have a MTD 27 ton for $1300 and a Troy Built for the same price. Are the MTD and Troy the same thing? They sure look to be. They also sell an Ariens? Never heard of them. All we have to cut and burn is pine so i really dont need a monster as far as tonnage. I see some retailers online have free shipping, but jack up the price $400 to make up for it. Does anyone here use the MTD or TB? How do you like it? Thanks for any suggestions.

1300 isn't a bad price foir that splitter. unless you have the parts laying around, you'll be investing that much into a home made one.

the advantage you have is you're a welder and you can always beef that splitter up to your liking after you bought it.

one suggestion tho: look at the axles on that since you'll be driving a long distance. i'd suggest bringing a trailer and loading it up on that.

oh yea...welcome to the forum!!

 

[Mowingman]

I was an MTD/Cub dealer for a while. anything built by MTD is total junk.
The Ariens appears to be a very nice machine. My old shop is selling them this year. I am very tempted to buy the Ariens splitter. After close inspection, I see no major flaws in the design. Ariens builds some very nice machines, including the Gravely line of commercail mowing equipment.
Forget about the MTD/Troybilt trash.
Jeff

 

[mga]

I was an MTD/Cub dealer for a while. anything built by MTD is total junk. The Ariens appears to be a very nice machine. My old shop is selling them this year. I am very tempted to buy the Ariens splitter. After close inspection, I see no major flaws in the design. Ariens builds some very nice machines, including the Gravely line of commercail mowing equipment.
Forget about the MTD/Troybilt trash.
Jeff

what exactly was "junk" about it?

i've read a lot of reviews on line and they seem favorable.

 

[Mowingman]

Everything about Cub MTD is trash and cheap. The only MTD machines that are any good at all, are the Cub Commercial Tank series of ZTR's.
The engineering is very poor on all products. The engineers seem to be told to design everything with the cheapest materials and the cheapest manufacturing cost in mind. When I say cheapest, I really mean the "Cheapest". If they can save 25 cents by cheapening up a bearing or a valve, or some structural item by making it a little thinner, they will do it. No cares at all about how long term performance will be affected.
Their is no quality control process at the plant that I can see. Every machine received at our shop over a 1 year period was missing parts, or had loose or misaligned parts. Customers returned failed units after only 1 or 2 hours of operation, on a regular basis. It was so bad, I hesitated to sell any of the machines we received, for fear that something would fall apart before we could even get it loaded on the customer's truck or trailer. Oh, I forgot, they never bother to check if bearings are greased at the factory. Never assume a Cub/MDT machine had been greased or has fluids checked at the factory.
Need parts?? forget it. Common parts for about anything, could be backordered for months. That is correct, I said months, not weeks.
I would NEVER recommend anyone buy anything built by MTD. That includes about 20 different brands of machines, including Cub, Troybilt, Bolens,Husky, and many others.
Jeff

what exactly was "junk" about it?

i've read a lot of reviews on line and they seem favorable.

 

[mga]

Everything about Cub MTD is trash and cheap. The only MTD machines that are any good at all, are the Cub Commercial Tank series of ZTR's.
The engineering is very poor on all products. The engineers seem to be told to design everything with the cheapest materials and the cheapest manufacturing cost in mind. When I say cheapest, I really mean the "Cheapest". If they can save 25 cents by cheapening up a bearing or a valve, or some structural item by making it a little thinner, they will do it. No cares at all about how long term performance will be affected.
Their is no quality control process at the plant that I can see. Every machine received at our shop over a 1 year period was missing parts, or had loose or misaligned parts. Customers returned failed units after only 1 or 2 hours of operation, on a regular basis. It was so bad, I hesitated to sell any of the machines we received, for fear that something would fall apart before we could even get it loaded on the customer's truck or trailer. Oh, I forgot, they never bother to check if bearings are greased at the factory. Never assume a Cub/MDT machine had been greased or has fluids checked at the factory.
Need parts?? forget it. Common parts for about anything, could be backordered for months. That is correct, I said months, not weeks.
I would NEVER recommend anyone buy anything built by MTD. That includes about 20 different brands of machines, including Cub, Troybilt, Bolens,Husky, and many others.
Jeff

lol..damn...more info than i expected.

thanks.

when i bought a rider mower, i grabbed an electrolux poulan pro, 26hp and it drives/rides like a Cadillac.

both my neighbors bought cub cadets. both have been in the shops several times and they are always replacing parts. the only part i had to replace was a drive belt.

goes to show ya, buying the "name" isn't always better.

 

[Outlander]

I have to agree with Mowingman and MGA. I have an old Cub Cadet 149, I think it's a 1971 model but not sure. It mowed the yard, and several others, tilled several gardens and pushed a lot of snow until 1993 when I bought a new MTD Cub Cadet to mow with. By 1996 the hydro had went out 4 times, it never did mow right, you had to drive really slow for it to cut all the grass. I traded it for a Gravely zero turn and couldn't be happier. I got out the old International Harvestor Cub Cadet today to till gardens and went around to all of my friends and tilled all day with absolutely no problems. I tilled more than acre with that old thing today. It still does a great job and it's 40 years old. To bad MTD ever got ahold of Cub Cadet.

 

[cuttingintime]

Anyone else with the Iron & Oak or Ariens splitter?

 

[doubleh]

I kind of stumbled into a fairly decent wood sales business this year (80 cords sold in a pretty small and isolated rural area). I split with a maul for the first two years (about 30 cords of pinion pine and some cottonwood the first two years). But a bone spur in my shoulder (and then surgery to fix it) and the purchase of almond rounds pretty much forced me to start using a splitter this year. And then when I started selling a bunch more wood there was no way I could keep up. I traded some wood for the use of other people's splitters during the fall and winter and then decided that before I was paying to replace/repair someone else's splitter I better get my own this spring.

I read just about every thread on here about splitters as well as anything else I could find. I used one of those MTD 25-ton splitters with a 6.5 B&S as well as a homemade jobber with an old (unmuffled) Ford Pinto engine and a steel beam big enough to build a bridge with.

If you happen to see something such as an Iron and Oak sitting next to an MTD like I did at a rental yard there are obvious differences in the quality of materials (cast iron wedge vs. solid steel, size of beam, pump capacity). And of course there is an obvious difference in price.

I settled on an Iron & Oak 30 ton (just under $2k shipped) with a Robin engine primarily for these three reasons:
1) the engine and fenders are completely out of the way of where the wood is split; the only thing the wood falls onto or chips fly into is the air and ground and occasionally my toes.
2) it sits up about 30 inches from the ground and I'm 6-1 so I don't have to bend over that far when operating.
3) 12-inch tires and a nice wide wheelbase, probably at least 6" wider than even the 22-ton I&O models; I don't intend to tow it much, but if I do I'd like to at least pretend there's something stable behind me.

I wasn't sure how difficult it would be to move by hand, but with the engine sitting behind the axle and the bigger tires, it's actually easier to move around than the MTD I was borrowing. And it's a whole lot quieter than that Pinto-powered splitter. Also, the MTD splitter had no throttle control so when it starts up it's going full bore and when you want to stop for a minute and grab a cool one you either let it run full bore or shut if off.

So far I've run a couple of cords of almond through it as well as several cords of pine and cottonwood. Of course it's had no problems splitting anything and I believe because of the two-stage pump, it's less prone to shoot-out split pieces like both of the other splitters I used did.

The 30-ton is horizontal only. I used the MTD in the vertical position once for some big spruce rounds. It was a pain in the rear so I figured if I really came upon some big rounds I could put them on a pallet and use my little Kubota tractor with a fork attachments to lift them next to the beam.

Cycle time is a little slower than smaller I&O models (but a little faster than the MTD), but if I'm splitting by myself it's just about right. As someone pointed out to me, an 8-second cycle time sounds really good, but the fact of the matter is that you probably can't keep up with it if you are operating it yourself.

Turns out I made the right choice for me, just need to get a four-way splitter and a small table made.

 

[moose5180]

Some great posts, Thanks!
I am either going to buy the 22 ton I&O model.
Or build one similar. I am a bit of a stickler for quality and will spend twice as much to get it. I have went cheap in the past and would have been better off paying for quality from the start. Time is money too, and my time off is precious.