New SpeedPro Kinetic Log Splitter from TSC...

[airwolf]

Watch the video on the tractorsupply website. The ram seems to extend too fast. A lot of the pieces are launched right off of the worktable.

 

[William Balaska]

Watch the video on the tractorsupply website. The ram seems to extend too fast. A lot of the pieces are launched right off of the worktable.

Isn't that the point, What did You expect it to do?:bang:

 

[angelo c]

Angelo, if it is a points model and the spark is weak, replace the condensor/capacitor with a WIMA. I have some and can give you one. If it has the electronic ignition then replace?

Pete

thanks Pete,
I should be able to get a look at her tomorrow morning. between football practice and two soccer games, cutting the lawn and splitting some wood oh and cutting my mothers lawn and....

 

[arlen]

not getting hit with rounds

Was going to get the DR model but now have pause to which one to get. The "two handed operation" looks like a major PITA. Push the green button and then push the lever. That would get old real quick.

At $600 savings over the DR model not sure if that two handed garbage is a deal breaker or not. The speeco can be towed and that would be a big plus.

Going to see if TSC has one to look at. I like the log cradle on the speeco. Hands are free of the moving parts.

Another good point is when the rounds explode or pop apart and shoot 20' in either direction you are not standing in front of they to catch the round in your face or groin area:msp_w00t:
I was hit in the head once by a round last year that required stitches, so I like the design and where the operator stands.

 

[airwolf]

Originally Posted by airwolf
Watch the video on the tractorsupply website. The ram seems to extend too fast. A lot of the pieces are launched right off of the worktable.

Isn't that the point, What did You expect it to do?:bang:

That's not a problem for pieces that have been split to their final size. For larger pieces that need to be split again, you would have to stoop down to retrieve these pieces off the ground for resplitting. The whole point of an outfeed worktable is to provide a waist high area for larger splits to stop on, so you can resplit them without having to stoop and retrieve them from the ground. If you wanted all the splits to go on the ground, you wouldn't need an outfeed table at all.

Watch the videos of the Supersplit. All of the splits stop on the outfeed table. They only get pushed off to the ground if you push them off manually, or if you leave them and let the next log push them off.

 

[Pcoz88]

Its made in china!!!!

Well I just came back from my local TSC.The splitter was still in the box and they still had to put it together.The outside of the box said MADE IN..........."CHINA".
Well that's why there so cheap.They open the box up and i looked at it.The weld for the wedge is alright and it will hold but.Iam going to ck it out tomorrow if they get it together.They said it would take 2 hours to put together.Well that sucks I was interested in it until I saw Made in china.

 

[Pcoz88]

Demoed neew splitter from speeco.

That machine is wicked,scary FAST!!It split oak like butter.That was at half speed.Full speed its shacks tooooooooo much.Does the DR or SS shack???Iam interested and its tow able.If you never seen one in person work you're missing out!And yes its made in china.Its faster then the Dr one in the dvd Dr sends out or it least looks way faster.Still tring to decide. $1000 difference is alot!!

 

[KiwiBro]

That machine is wicked,scary FAST!!It split oak like butter.That was at half speed.Full speed its shacks tooooooooo much.Does the DR or SS shack???Iam interested and its tow able.If you never seen one in person work you're missing out!And yes its made in china.Its faster then the Dr one in the dvd Dr sends out or it least looks way faster.Still tring to decide. $1000 difference is alot!!

With any luck, it might just be fast enough to scare your friends, neighbours and family enough to dissuade them from asking to borrow it.

 

[TFPace]

Differing designs

This is an interesting thread.

I have looked at both the Speeco and DR videos and web pages. Both are interesting machines.

I'll have to say that I like that DR allows the potential buyer to "see under the hood" were Speeco doesn't. The DR machine appears to be a close copy of the SS?

What gets me is that DR machine doesn't have a hitch and they don't show how to move the thing around your job site. With the flotation tires it is built to NOT trailer on the hi-way.
The safety feature that the Speeco has is most likely due to keep the lawyers off of someones back after they smash theirs hand.

I have watched the kinetic splitter posts on AS for several years now. It looks like the marketing guys at the TSC's have too

 

[sunfish]

That machine is wicked,scary FAST!!It split oak like butter.That was at half speed.Full speed its shacks tooooooooo much.Does the DR or SS shack???Iam interested and its tow able.If you never seen one in person work you're missing out!And yes its made in china.Its faster then the Dr one in the dvd Dr sends out or it least looks way faster.Still tring to decide. $1000 difference is alot!!

The shake, shimmer thing was discussed earlier. The SS does not have much shake, vibration, or wobble, mine is very smooth at all rpm.

Lets see, it shakes too much and it's made in China...:msp_blink: :msp_rolleyes:

 

[Pcoz88]

They took the covers off the speeco splitter for us!!It looks built pretty good.BUT.......................I don't know........Its towable is a real selling point.

 

[BSD]

our local TSC finally got their unit running. so I went to check it out, I was concerned about the shake and shimmy that's been reported... started it up and ran it at half throttle, 3/4 throttle and full tilt and no shake at all. So I bought it. I got it home and put a couple pieces of big black black cherry through it in the rain. Tomorrow I'll get some real splitting time with it. The first thing to go will be that annoying safety button. There's no point of having a 2.5 second cycle time if it takes 5 seconds to push the safety and push the lever. second will be to reverse the handle to face forward like the SS.

 

[Pcoz88]

May be a few have balance issues.:mad2::mad2:Iam emailing speeco about it.Iam not buying something I can't run at full speed.Iam really interested in buying one!!

BSD ,Let us know how your new splitter does.

Pete

 

[Iron Mike]

I have had a Supersplit since the summer of 2003. Every year it has split 10-12 full ( 128 cu ft ) cords for my boiler, fine split enough wood for 2000 bundles a year and some years we sell a little bulk fireplace wood in the winter. In late August the pinion gear gave up and all the teeth sheard off when my son mis-read a croth piece and the pusher got stuck and could not pop up to release. This can happen on occasion in nasty knotty, crotch or bigger elm pieces, but we do not shy away from splitting anything. Paul at Supersplit sent me the new gear, which was a measly 100 bucks , we visited for a bit, and he also sent along a new clutch for the Subaru engine that I have, just for the heck of it. The repair took less than a half hour. I spent about 2400 bucks on my splitter in '03 and other than two 15 dollar belts and oil changes, this 100 dollar repair is the first one I have had. It is smooth at all speeds and does not wobble. The machine is not babied, and sits outside more than it should. We split nothing but hardwoods. I know that it is tempting to buy a cheap copy, but the best is always the cheapest in the long run. When will we stop the race to the bottom in this country and keep putting the Pauls at Supersplit out of business with our buying decissions....when we all live in grass huts?

 

[BSD]

generally I do try to buy american first but at 70% of the price of a SS i'll take my chances. This one is highway towable and has heavier components. Even @$1700 this thing is horribly overpriced. I can't justify a SS with a table for $2700. The $'s do not add up. this thing can't have more than $500 worth of steel on it, the kohler is a couple hundred bucks.

I'm curious why no one bashes the speeco owners of "traditional" design...

anyways, I got my unit modified and removed that safety button. it took about 20 minutes of tinkering around and seeing whatelse could be done to reverse the handle to make it little easier to use.

I split some big pieces of cherry, a couple knotted pieces of oak and I must say it didn't disappoint. at one point I lowered the engine speed down as slow as it would go and still have the clutch engaged and put a nasty piece of oak in there and pulled the trigger. while it didn't go through on the first attempt it went through on the second, and that was with engine speed down as far as it would go. I still haven't run it at full throttle either, there is no need.

 

[BSD]

here are some pics of under the hood. first is just after removing the covers and the second two are after the safety is removed and part of the framework for the handle too while I was poking around.
View attachment 200379View attachment 200381View attachment 200382

after using it for a while I will say you want the logs to have very flush cut ends, i put a couple through that had some slanted cuts and it was a bit unpredictable where they would end up. had one come up about face-high and land by the engine. all and all I'm impressed so far. i'll try to put it through its paces over the next few days and weeks as we start production for 2012-2013 wood.

 

[KiwiBro]

 

[KiwiBro]

generally I do try to buy american first but at 70% of the price of a SS i'll take my chances. This one is highway towable and has heavier components. Even @$1700 this thing is horribly overpriced. I can't justify a SS with a table for $2700. The $'s do not add up. this thing can't have more than $500 worth of steel on it, the kohler is a couple hundred bucks.

I'm curious why no one bashes the speeco owners of "traditional" design...

anyways, I got my unit modified and removed that safety button. it took about 20 minutes of tinkering around and seeing whatelse could be done to reverse the handle to make it little easier to use.

I split some big pieces of cherry, a couple knotted pieces of oak and I must say it didn't disappoint. at one point I lowered the engine speed down as slow as it would go and still have the clutch engaged and put a nasty piece of oak in there and pulled the trigger. while it didn't go through on the first attempt it went through on the second, and that was with engine speed down as far as it would go. I still haven't run it at full throttle either, there is no need.

Thanks for the pics and for the initial review. If you get time and are so inclined, would you be able to break down in some detail the mods you did in please?

It would be great to also keep reading how your splitter is holding up after a week, month, etc.

Highway towable is a great bonus over the SS design, although I do still wonder how top heavy it is, but the lower (than SS/DR) engine is a good start.

Regarding Iron Mike's "race to the bottom" comment, I understand the sentiment. The same thing happens at alarming rates here in NZ - too many worship at the alter of 'cheap' rather than 'value'. We import crap, our trade deficit and along with it the influence of others over our destiny grows, and we pay through the nose and wallets to pollute our lands with mountainous monuments of consumerism called landfills. But one of the best things about this forum is it sorts out, via many willing and serious users, the products based on merit, not blind fanboy faith. Well, the fanboys/girls are alive and kicking on this forum too, but most of us, I would hope, can see through that. That is why I'm not about to automatically write a cheaper product off as lesser quality. I'll keep an open mind and listen to users like BSD and others and let time be one of the judges too.

 

[KiwiBro]

May be a few have balance issues.:mad2::mad2:Iam emailing speeco about it.

Good idea. Please let us know what they have to say. I wonder if, as is often the case ex: China, QC on the flywheel balancing isn't quite up there with the best.

 

[CUCV]

I'd put a tach on the motor before worrying to much about the vibration. My SS vibrates like a bastard when the motors turning 4600rpm my throttle stop now has a piece of keystock welded in place so the tab can't bend over.