Which log splitter should I get?

[046]

have cut down my fair share of rounds too large to split. loads of curly q's.

really do prefer to drag my 35ton speeco to the wood. in vertical position, large rounds are much easier to handle at ground level.

when they get too large to move, out comes 064 anyways.

after splitting with power splitter, would never go back to manual.
too much wear and tear on your body...

 

[wdchuck]

Purchased my Speeco 2? ton, 9.0hp B&S I/C motor, horizontal/vertical, so far, no crotch has stopped it, and in vertical it has been fine, just wish it had a bigger foot to fit the 30"+ rounds rolled onto it.

Cylinder is 5" outside diameter.

Starts and works like a champ, 3yrs now, $900 new from a farm store.

 

[rx7145]

Purchased my Speeco 2? ton, 10.5hp B&S I/C motor, horizontal/vertical, so far, no crotch has stopped it, and in vertical it has been fine, just wish it had a bigger foot to fit the 30"+ rounds on it.

Starts and works like a champ, 3yrs now, $900 new from a farm store.

Sounds like you have a splitter with a 4.5 or 5 inch Cyl. I'm thinking that will do the trick. Well tomorrow I'm going to go splitter shopping; I plan on buying one. Wish me luck.

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback.

 

[Fubar411]

I'm a little surprised everyone is so against the HF splitters. I don't have any personal experience, but they do have nice engines and pretty much any part that would fail is replaceable.

 

[046]

it's not that everyone is against harbor freight splitters... it's more if you have a choice. why not avoid units that have been reported as having leaking rams.

not saying all HF splitter leak, but several folks have reported having leaking rams on their HB splitters.

I'm a little surprised everyone is so against the HF splitters. I don't have any personal experience, but they do have nice engines and pretty much any part that would fail is replaceable.

 

[rx7145]

The search is now over!

I picked up a 37 ton NorthStar Splitter from Northern Tool in Blaine MN on Friday! I just got done assembling it. I may have broke a record for driving for a splitter. Short story is, My friend bought a new (to him) truck in MN. So I flew up to Minneapolis to pick the truck up and drive it back for him. On the way back, I stopped and picked up the splitter. It was a 13hr drive, but worth it.

Spec's are: 9hp Honda GX, Barnes 16gpm pump, 5x24' Cyl, 9gal hyd tank. Four way splitter capable.

What oil should I use? I was going to use ATF but the guy at Northern said to use hyd. oil only. I thought ATF would be good in the cold but I'm not sure. Suggestions?

 

[CaseyForrest]

ATF should be fine.

I built one not to long ago, 16GPM pump, 8 horse motor and 4.5" 3000psi cylinder. There wasnt anything I threw at it that it wouldnt split.

I think youll be happy with what youve got. Make sure you end with all the fingers you start with.

Not me at the controls, and Ive since sold it. I am going to probably start building another one this winter if I get bored.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Oh yeah...buy the little wings that go on the wedge. Youll thank yourself.

 

[rx7145]

Oh yeah...buy the little wings that go on the wedge. Youll thank yourself.

On northerntool.com they have some bad reviews on them. So I thought I would see what people here had to say about them before I bought them.

 

[CaseyForrest]

On northerntool.com they have some bad reviews on them. So I thought I would see what people here had to say about them before I bought them.

Did not know that.

I can see where they may have their issues...like not sticking out far enough to be usefull. Probably get stuck more than they split.

BUT...a 4 way is priceless. Sucks that with that northern wedge it would be difficult to fab some sort of 4 way up to work.

 

[computeruser]

A 4-way is nice, but its absence isn't the end of the world. Especially on a wedge-on-ram machine, where the splitting technique is different from a wedge-on-beam machine anyway.

What you should see about doing, though, is adding some sort of log holder grate/shelf thing on the operator-side of the splitter beam. This way you can flake off chunks on the away side of the beam, while not dropping the larger portion of the round on your feet.

In any case, it looks like you've got a solid machine that should keep you in firewood for a long time. I look forward to hearing some reports once you get some time in on this machine!

 

[046]

congrats!!!!

yup.. that's the one I should have gotten. but $2,300 after freight was too much vs $1,500 for speeco. they wanted $400 shipping to OK.

that same 37ton unit was $1,900 without a honda last year when I purchased mine.

$1,700 w/honda is a smoking deal! plus you get four way option, better towing and faster cycle times (5in cyl vs 6in cyl) than 35 ton speeco.

be sure and post lots of pics

just realized there's a northern tool in texas 250 miles away. may just have to sell my speeco and score a northern tool

I picked up a 37 ton NorthStar Splitter from Northern Tool in Blaine MN on Friday! I just got done assembling it. I may have broke a record for driving for a splitter. Short story is, My friend bought a new (to him) truck in MN. So I flew up to Minneapolis to pick the truck up and drive it back for him. On the way back, I stopped and picked up the splitter. It was a 13hr drive, but worth it.

Spec's are: 9hp Honda GX, Barnes 16gpm pump, 5x24' Cyl, 9gal hyd tank. Four way splitter capable.

What oil should I use? I was going to use ATF but the guy at Northern said to use hyd. oil only. I thought ATF would be good in the cold but I'm not sure. Suggestions?

 

[wdchuck]

Nice looking chunk of iron there man, does it go vertical to save your back or is it horizontal only?
Those Honda motors are mizerly on fuel, quieter too.
Good score.:chainsawguy:

 

[rx7145]

Nice looking chunk of iron there man, does it go vertical to save your back or is it horizontal only?
Those Honda motors are mizerly on fuel, quieter too.
Good score.:chainsawguy:

Thanks, Yes it is horizontal/vertical.

I'll be posting a couple "action" pictures next week.

 

[RCR 3 EVER]

TSC 27 ton

We recently (last month) picked up a 27 ton unit from TSC with the Honda engine. We have done several cords and are very pleased with the performance so far. Even though we ran it at slightly less than full throttle it did not stop for even logs that had multi crotches and 20-24" diam. Cherry,Maple and Ash logs

Last week I noticed a new engine on all their models of splitters but have no info on what they are or the specs, I guess we bought the last 27 ton model they had on the lot. Although we did get it for the price of the 22 ton! :biggrinbounce2:

The vertical option has been a very helpful feature for the larger logs and bad back.

We have to figure out how to add a shelf to it to place the semi split rounds and a tongue wheel without voiding the warranty though.

 

[wdchuck]

Just did that myself this year for the first time, running the splitter on less than full throttle, it did stretch the fuel time, and had no effect on splitting power or speed that I could discern, and it was going through some very curly silver maple and burr oak.

 

[VelvetFoot]

Hey Fubar,
I'll stick up for my Harbor Freight 30 ton unit!

Yes, the cylinder did leak somewhat when I first got it but after I reported it to the company it slowed to a virtual stop. The company sent me a new cylinder which I didn't install yet. I think I was the only one that posted about a leaking cylinder.

I split about 7 cords with it and it's been pretty good. I did have another problem with a control valve that would not hold, but they sent me a new one of those too.

The components might be similar to others. I have a gut feel that the cylinder is a generic Chinese model used by other companies but I don't know for sure. I know the pump is a 16 gpm Haldex and the control valve is an Energy (I think that's the name anyway.) The cylinder is 5" and has a 24" stroke.

The engine is a 9 HP Subaru Robin. I really really like that motor.

I split most all of the tri-axle load with the splitter on less than half throttle. The beam, footer and wedge all seem pretty sturdy to me. (On a side note, after splitting about 2 cords horizontally I switched to vertically, never to return.)

When I bought it from the catalog last year it was 1060 shipped.

It would be nice to have the safety net of, say, a TSC store that you could just drop off a non-functioning unit. Of course the turn around on that might be a while too. The ultimate would be a place that sells and services, I guess, but I guess you pay a premium for that.


How do these other companies come up with 37 tons with roughly the same equipment specs, or did I mss something?

 

[Fubar411]

Thanks for the reply on the HF unit.

I'm going to get one the second they drop anywhere near that price. I have a 15% off coupon burning a hole, even though it says not for special orders, my HF guys have been pretty stellar.

 

[triptester]

How do these other companies come up with 37 tons with roughly the same equipment specs, or did I mss something?

VelvetFoot,

Nearly all splitter manufacturers use marketing BULL in advertising.
A lot of cylinders are only rated for 2500 psi and the maximum rating is only 3000 psi.

4" bore @ 3000 psi = 18.8 tons
4.5" bore @ 3000 psi = 23.8 tons
5" bore @ 3000 psi = 29.4 tons

These figures are with no pump slippage or friction loss.

 

[046]

yours is not the only HF reported as leaking... do a search.
have not seen another HF with bad control valve.

to HF's credit they did take care of problems.

yes.. ignore ratings. go by size of ram, GPM of pump, HP of motor and size of support beam.

my 37 ton speeco has 6in ram, 22gpm, 12.5hp and 12in steel beam. so I'd say hardware supports speeco's 37ton claim. wish I had 5in ram instead of 6in to speed up cycle times.

seldom do you hear of comments that splitter will not handle any size log. this includes smallest 22ton tackling 3ft+ rounds.

Yes, the cylinder did leak somewhat when I first got it but after I reported it to the company it slowed to a virtual stop. The company sent me a new cylinder which I didn't install yet. I think I was the only one that posted about a leaking cylinder.~

I did have another problem with a control valve that would not hold, but they sent me a new one of those too.~

How do these other companies come up with 37 tons with roughly the same equipment specs, or did I mss something?