iron-oak 22ton northern 37ton or speeco 25ton

[robby26wi]

I really like the iron and oak but is it worth 1900 for 22ton? The northern is like 1800 and it has like 15 ton more and the speeco is only 1000 with a 10.5 horse ic briggs...The others have a 5.5 honda and a 9 hp honda...

 

[046]

you really need to ignore tonage ratings. some like iron and oak tend to conservative in ratings. go instead by HP, GPM ratings of pump, diameter size of ram and size of main beam.

you've named off two of the best low priced splitters. speeco and northern tools. iron & oak tend to be higher priced, but folks rave about quality.

37ton northern splitter, hands down will be most bang for buck.
all three will split most anything you throw at it and be reliable.

I've got a 35ton speeco with simular build to northern's 37ton. mine will split 3ft + diameter oak with no problems.

also depends upon your needs... are you doing production work or 3-4 cords a year?

most homeowners will do just fine with $1,000 speeco...

I really like the iron and oak but is it worth 1900 for 22ton? The northern is like 1800 and it has like 15 ton more and the speeco is only 1000 with a 10.5 horse ic briggs...The others have a 5.5 honda and a 9 hp honda...

 

[robby26wi]

I will be splitting about 20 cords a year so maybe i will just get the speeco...But i do like the honda engines...I guess the 30 ton northern would do good then also...thats like 1500

 

[046]

for 20+ cords, I'd go with northern 37ton $1,800 or speeco 35ton for $1,500. northern 37ton has advantage of four way option.

don't forget to ask about cycle times...

 

[robby26wi]

ya the iron and oak seems to be the quickest....They say the 25 ton speeco is like 13 seconds but who knows...

 

[046]

my 35 ton speeco (tractor supply) is more like 15-16 seconds. sure seems like a long cycle time. rather speeco installed a 5in ram instead of current 6in ram to speed up cycle time. more than enough tonage generated.

rated at 16 gpm if memory serves me correctly, but we figured it at closer 21gpm to achieve actual cycle times with 6in ram.

plenty of HP with 12.5 OHV briggs motor.

 

[wdchuck]

Haven't been able to stop my 25ton Speeco from the farm store yet, the 10.5hp I/C Briggs engine is more than enough, but a Honda would be quieter and easier on fuel. Big engines are a real bugger to pull start when its real cold out too.

The cycle time seems slow, getting to under 15 seconds down/back would be nice, but for $900 I have nothing to complain about.

 

[SWI Don]

A 28 gpm pump and 5" cyl will net you approx 5 sec each way. Mine is run by an 18 hp Briggs v-twin.

The things you want to look at are pump size and ram size. Norther lists their pump sizes in their catalogs. You may have to ask on the others. Ram size = tonnage but larger ram means more gpm for a given cycle time. Pump size has an effect on cycle time. You can sometimes go by engine size but just because they put a bigger engine on it does not mean it got a bigger pump. But it is an indication, it is just not always accurate.

Don

 

[robby26wi]

Now the northern is on sale...may just get that...I like the fact that it has a decent cycle time and a 9 horse honda also

 

[046]

$1699 + shipping and 9 gallon of hydralic fluid

it's $242 shipping to me. sure wish they were closer. with shipping it was $2,000 vs picking up a speeco 35 ton for $1500 local (75 miles away)

two things I don't like about speeco 35ton are: can't tow at highway speeds safely and no four way option. otherwise it's an excellent machine!

in hindsight... should have purchased the northern 37ton

Now the northern is on sale...may just get that...I like the fact that it has a decent cycle time and a 9 horse honda also

 

[robby26wi]

i have a store 35 miles away...no problems with that

 

[triptester]

In comparing log splitters beware of advertising hype.There are a few things that are common to all splitters under $2000.00.
They all use Barnes two-stage pumps, exception will be the super cheap ones may have a MTE brand pump.
The common bore sizes are 4", 4.5", 5",3.5"in the cheapest models. 6" bore cylinders are extremely rare and never found in a splitter for the residential market.
Maximum tonnage ratings without damaging components are 4" bore 20 tons ,4.5" bore 24 tons ,5" bore 30 tons ,these figures are optimum and almost impossible to attain.
Pumps will be 11,13, or 16 GPM. Larger 22 and 28 GPM pumps will not be found on splitters under $3000.00.
Two-stage Barnes pumps require a minimum HP. to operate at full capacity.
11 GPM req.5.5 HP.
13 GPM req.6.5 HP.
16 GPM req.8 HP.
Larger HP. engines WILL NOT provide any more speed or tonnage. They only add to cost and consume more fuel.
When it comes to engines Honda GX horizontal are best followed by Robin-Subaru then Briggs. Horizontal engines are generally better than verticals.

When it comes to highway towing if the splitter does not come with suspension it is unsafe at speeds over 30 MPH.

 

[Fubar411]

Could someone look at the splitters offered by Harbor Freight and tell me if any of the gas powered ones are worthwhile? They're powered by Subaru Robin engines. And they're cheaper than the 27 ton Troy_Bilt I've been watching.

 

[046]

that's generally true... one exceptions are $1,500 speeco 35 ton w/6in ram, 12.5hp briggs. pump is rated at 16gpm, but to achieve 15-16 second cycle. we figured pump is delivering 22gpm, riding on a huge beam. fuel economy is amazingly good for 12.5hp motor.

don't know how large ram is on nothern 37ton. but wheels are safe to tow at highway speeds. unlike speeco is not rated to tow fast. also has four way option.

based upon several negative feedback... stay away from harbor freight.

In comparing log splitters beware of advertising hype.There are a few things that are common to all splitters under $2000.00.
They all use Barnes two-stage pumps, exception will be the super cheap ones may have a MTE brand pump.
The common bore sizes are 4", 4.5", 5",3.5"in the cheapest models. 6" bore cylinders are extremely rare and never found in a splitter for the residential market.
Maximum tonnage ratings without damaging components are 4" bore 20 tons ,4.5" bore 24 tons ,5" bore 30 tons ,these figures are optimum and almost impossible to attain.
Pumps will be 11,13, or 16 GPM. Larger 22 and 28 GPM pumps will not be found on splitters under $3000.00.
Two-stage Barnes pumps require a minimum HP. to operate at full capacity.
11 GPM req.5.5 HP.
13 GPM req.6.5 HP.
16 GPM req.8 HP.
Larger HP. engines WILL NOT provide any more speed or tonnage. They only add to cost and consume more fuel.
When it comes to engines Honda GX horizontal are best followed by Robin-Subaru then Briggs. Horizontal engines are generally better than verticals.

When it comes to highway towing if the splitter does not come with suspension it is unsafe at speeds over 30 MPH.

 

[Fubar411]

Thanks for the reply 046. On the cheaper end, can you recommend any that amazon sells? They do offer the Speecos, but it doesn't come up when you type splitter or log splitter. You have to type Speeco splitter.

Thanks!

 

[046]

do a search for splitters... you'll find all sorts of threads with loads of feedback.

Thanks for the reply 046. On the cheaper end, can you recommend any that amazon sells? They do offer the Speecos, but it doesn't come up when you type splitter or log splitter. You have to type Speeco splitter.

Thanks!

 

[aprr454]

Hi, I'm new to the site. It looks great so far. I bought the Northern 37 ton splitter last year. I've split around 60 cords with it now.

The cons:
1: I ran a peice of wood into the fuel tank denting it and cracking the engine mount plate. I didn't know I had done anything until I saw the engine was tilted back. I added steel to the piece that the ram returns into so instead of wood thats caught on the ram backing into the engine, it hits the modified piece I made.

2: It seems like I'm replacing broken bolts all the time.

3: Wood chips/bark gets packed under the cylinder when the ram returns. Sometimes it's a bear to clean out under the cylinder with a steel bar and a hammer.

The Pros:
1: The four-way wedge works pretty good.

2: Honda engine.

3: Grease zerks on the ram.

4: Price. Alot of splitter for $2000.

5: It's light enough to move around by hand.

6: Alot of power and the beam is heavy duty.

Over all I think it been a good machine for what I do.

 

[robby26wi]

I ended up getting the 37 ton northern....So far a very nice unit...I had planned on making a gaurd for the engine-tank so that cant happen...And yes the hardware isnt that good but bolts are cheap...Everything runs great sofar...very happy