I never have any fuel issues with my chainsaw (MS500i), and never did with previous saws. I use Sta-Bil every time. My saw sits idle about 10 months out of the year, and I do not drain it. As for my log splitter, it is a 20 ton electric. No fuel issues, no fumes, less heat and noise!
Buying a Wood Splitter?
- Thread starter Hexa Fox
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VirginiaIron
ArboristSite Operative
Buyers remorse once itemsbecame a possession, or someone used it and returned it in the same window. Or, they realized the wood doesn't split itself and even though you have a splitter, there is work involved.
Hexa Fox
The Fox Rocks!
I would not worry too much. I am not sure what the manufacturer warranty is but Oregon has a reputation to maintain so they are probably one of the better ones to be dealing with. I just saw another one today. They do look like sturdy log splitters just a few things I personally did not like, as I mentioned before. The one that was brought back to the store was still there this morning. This one actually has something wrong with it, as in the guy broke off the welds from putting the log catcher on the wrong side. If they would discount it more I would pull the trigger. Just did not like how they were already dishonest about it.
Hexa Fox
The Fox Rocks!
This is what I do not want to be. It feels like almost every year or at least every couple years there is a though going through my head saying "wish I had a log splitter right now". People give wood away in our neighborhood all the time for free. I wonder how they would feel if you came over, split the wood where it sat, loaded and took off with it? lol
The last time I took away free firewood I had to load the large pieces into the back of my truck. It was not a fun job for my father or I. I wish I would have had a bigger saw and a log splitter for that. We would have had firewood for a few seasons if I could have gotten it all.
I've got an Oregon splitter with the Kohler SH395 engine. It works fine. The engine starts up easily and runs well. Parts like air filters are a little expensive, but they are readily available.
Much of the wood I have is difficult to split. Bay and tan oak are both stringy and you have to drive the wedge all the way through the piece. Live oak and Eucalyptus are super dense. I tried splitting Eucalyptus by hand- an 8lb maul just bounces off. My criteria for a splitter is that it has to split the Euc and Bay. The Oregon "28 ton" splitter with 4.5" cylinder does it well. (splitter ton ratings are often wildly inflated. Calculating with the piston diameter and relief pressure, this one is not too far off).
Having used one for a few years, I'm not a fan of horizontal/vertical splitters. I find vertical mode to be useless. It takes a lot of upper body strength to position a round in the splitter. I'd rather use my much stronger legs and back to lift a round onto a horizontal splitter. When the rounds are too big to lift I section them by noodling with the saw. The H/V design has the wheels in the way of the operator, which is a bit of a pain but I can work around it.
I'd like to fab a log lift but the geometry of the H/V splitter with the wheels in the way makes it difficult. I'd love a push through splitter with log lift but I can't justify $6k+ for one.
Much of the wood I have is difficult to split. Bay and tan oak are both stringy and you have to drive the wedge all the way through the piece. Live oak and Eucalyptus are super dense. I tried splitting Eucalyptus by hand- an 8lb maul just bounces off. My criteria for a splitter is that it has to split the Euc and Bay. The Oregon "28 ton" splitter with 4.5" cylinder does it well. (splitter ton ratings are often wildly inflated. Calculating with the piston diameter and relief pressure, this one is not too far off).
Having used one for a few years, I'm not a fan of horizontal/vertical splitters. I find vertical mode to be useless. It takes a lot of upper body strength to position a round in the splitter. I'd rather use my much stronger legs and back to lift a round onto a horizontal splitter. When the rounds are too big to lift I section them by noodling with the saw. The H/V design has the wheels in the way of the operator, which is a bit of a pain but I can work around it.
I'd like to fab a log lift but the geometry of the H/V splitter with the wheels in the way makes it difficult. I'd love a push through splitter with log lift but I can't justify $6k+ for one.
Good luck convincing someone that it's normal to split free wood at their house and not yours. Most I'd consider doing is bucking into smaller rounds or noodling to make the rounds manageable. Then can up the mess. Never would even consider taking a splitter to someone else's house that I don't know well to split wood to take home.
VirginiaIron
ArboristSite Operative
"...I'd love a push through splitter with log lift but I can't justify $6k+ for one...."
I think the RuggedMades are around $3K.
Go to youtube, find your design, and see how others have made a lift.
Old-Feller
Pretty Fart Smeller
People buy stuff they need for one job instead of renting it and return it, It's wrong, The companies just add their loss to their bottom line and you and I pay for it, It's just dishonest, That's what 80% of returns are, I knew a guy that would buy a nice set of clothes for a wedding, Or a special occasion and wear them and return them on Monday, Drives me insane! Although I know it's a short trip!
many years ago had a guy working for me that did just that buy something for the job at hand then return it this was in the 70's.
On Another note my oldest son who would borrow my 12" sliding miter saw for months on end went out a bought his own. funny part is he complained abought the cost of blades. Huh? What ? the old man here has been running a saw/machine shop for 30 years - guess things don't always click.
On Another note my oldest son who would borrow my 12" sliding miter saw for months on end went out a bought his own. funny part is he complained abought the cost of blades. Huh? What ? the old man here has been running a saw/machine shop for 30 years - guess things don't always click.
Hexa Fox
The Fox Rocks!
They are closer to 4k and that is for a 22 Ton and I am definitely considering it. Like I said before you get a log lift, push through splitter, work table and a 4 way slip over. Just it is hard to justify for something I personally may not use for potentially a couple years at a time.
Right now I am looking at the County Line splitters like a few others here have mentioned.
VirginiaIron
ArboristSite Operative
Yeah, things never change. I wanted the RM full beam six years ago for $2,900? (free shipping) but couldn't justify it.
guess i am just a cheep bastard... I just fabbed up my own. too lazy to split by hand when I can make my own splitter from odds and ends.
VirginiaIron
ArboristSite Operative
Me too...! Thats why I modded one. We need a picture!
Hexa Fox
The Fox Rocks!
I wish that I had some materials laying around so I could start something. I am short on everything though. I need a proper shop to start. Plus A log splitter probably isn't the most complicated of things to build but I do not have much experience welding and even less in fabricating. I guess you have to start somewhere but it is just not possible for me personally. I would end up purchasing or sourcing about every piece of the splitter. It would be different if I had some stuff lying around.
that's how we all start out... at the bottom and working our way up. do what you can, every effort pays dividends. I started out as a kid working nights at a fabrication shop. joined the military but held onto the skills I was taught every step of my life. 35 years later being lazy i built a wood splitter using skills taught to me 35 years prior. you can do it, but a cheap stick welder as you are working with thick metal its perfect and cheap. a piece of scrap steel here a piece of scrap steel there.... 90% of my splitter is 40 years old plus. the only new things were the hydro pump and the valve assembly, everything else was "scrap" but of good pedigree. everything else was just scrap...in everybody else's eyes....
Old-Feller
Pretty Fart Smeller
Yeah, I have around $2000.00 in my current Home Built Splitter and probably 60 hours of work, But it is many steps up from anything from a box store. You can build one yourself cheap if you try to source everything a little at a time, The I beam, The ram and pump and hydraulic hoses will be what is the hardest to find. I have built 3 of them over the years, Where I live now there isn't many places to scrounge stuff. A Scrap yard is a great place to find much of what you need. One of my early splitters I built was made from scrap yard parts, But that's when I lived near Los Angeles and there was lots of stuff to be had. One of them I built I used an old lawn mower engine from a wheel horse mower and an old road grader ram, I did by an auto return log splitter valve and new hoses. Some guys have used large square tubing instead of I-Beam for the main beam.
Find yourself an old Buzz box welder on CL and learn to use it, The little 110 wire feeds won't make a strong enough weld for most of the things you need to weld on a splitter, But in my younger days I built quite a few trailers and things with just an AC buzz box. Like this one.
Thanks for the good words! I hope you and everyone else are indeed correct. I looked at it yesterday and it's hard to understand why they would mount the log catcher on the wrong side...maybe they shouldn't own a log splitter in the first place, it seemed like a pretty obvious mounting to me.
Hexa Fox
The Fox Rocks!
Yeah no problem. Something I did not want to mention to you that I noticed is that the 'power train' on the 25 Ton County Line is identical to the 30 Ton Oregon. The engine is the same 6.5 HP Kohler and the hydraulic pumps have the same part number. Having that said, if you want your mind a little more at ease it does look like the Oregon is a little over 150lbs heavier than the County Line. So sounds like you at least got a heavier product, which I would say counts for a lot in a log splitter.
VirginiaIron
ArboristSite Operative
I took this heirloom piece my dad built from 1980(?) and used it until about 2013(?) as it was, then raised it with an axle and tongue jack. Then decided to go full mod around 2016.
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Hexa Fox
The Fox Rocks!
I can confirm that the Speeco 4 Way Wedge does not fit on many modern log splitters. It fit on old style Champion Log Splitters but I tried it today and it does not fit on the Champion 27 Ton or the 34 Ton. It also does not fit on the County Line 25 Ton. Ironically though I do think it will fit over the Oregon 30 Ton. Tractor Supply was really busy and I did not want to be messing around with it. I believe it is going to be a tight fit though. Like I said, I may have to look into that used Oregon if he agrees to lower the price. It was still there today.
I am going to invest into one of those Curt Adjustable Trailer Hitches as well. They get pretty good reviews and will provide more than enough towing capacity for my truck and probably even if I upgrade trucks. I will leave the part number at the bottom of this thread. They have a 14,000 trailering limit, which exceeds my 1500's capacity easily. I figure I will probably easily be able to drop it down so that the log splitter is not too awkward while towing it home or from place to place.
I am going to invest into one of those Curt Adjustable Trailer Hitches as well. They get pretty good reviews and will provide more than enough towing capacity for my truck and probably even if I upgrade trucks. I will leave the part number at the bottom of this thread. They have a 14,000 trailering limit, which exceeds my 1500's capacity easily. I figure I will probably easily be able to drop it down so that the log splitter is not too awkward while towing it home or from place to place.
