# Troy-Bilt 27-Ton 160cc Log Splitter from Lowes



## bobspruce (Sep 16, 2010)

Can someone give me a review on this Log splitter from Lowes? Thanks so much. Bob


http://www.lowes.com/pd_116418-270-24BF572B711_0_?productId=1005417&Ntt=log+splitter&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=log%20splitter$y=0$x=0#


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## Patrick H (Sep 17, 2010)

I bought one last week. I've split about 4 cords of pine with it, and it works great as far as I'm concerned, but I've always split my wood by hand up until now.


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## turnkey4099 (Sep 17, 2010)

Have used mine for over a year now. Only a few complaints. The log cradle is poorly designed and the fuel tank is miniscule. I've split Elm and through knots/crotches of Black Locust.

It is rebadged with several names. White is one. Dunno who is the manufacturer.

Harry K


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## nixon (Sep 17, 2010)

I used mine (26 ton ) for around 9 years . Other than being slow , it never let Me down .


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## Alan Smith (Sep 17, 2010)

2years now it is faster than me go for it


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## chugbug (Sep 17, 2010)

How do they compare in price to the huskee 22 ton ?? Seems like the manufacture of the huskee - speeco is taking care of any issues on here which means alot , wonder where lowes will send you ?


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## Patrick H (Sep 17, 2010)

They're $1299 (here anyhow).
2 year warranty. The guy at Lowes told me to bring it back to the store if I had any issues.


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## UnConundrum (Sep 17, 2010)

The Huskee 22 ton is only $999, $300 cheaper. Given not only the service, but the rave reviews of the Huskee in many threads, there should be no question. I have not been able to find one sincere complaint about Huskee. Common comments are "best bang for the buck."


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## mrdinks (Sep 17, 2010)

Its a good splitter. I have used mine for 3 years with no problem.
The only thing I have done is added a large plate over the log cradle and that does make a difference. Otherwise a very nice good running machine.


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## conrad (Sep 17, 2010)

I've had mine 2 years now and only complaint is the poorly designed log cradle. Honda engine starts first pull.


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## flewism (Sep 17, 2010)

There is a tread on the ********** right now about bad welds. It is probably an isolated incident, but he states that troybuilt is blowing him off. 

I have an older retired friend selling firewood near the campgrounds around us and he has used the same troybuilt for many years and is quite happy with it. 
He is small time I'm guessing less than 20 cords a year, He offers way better deals than the bundles sold at the campgrounds or local party stores and sells out quite often. Anyway that troybuilt splitter has treated him well.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Sep 17, 2010)

chugbug said:


> How do they compare in price to the huskee 22 ton ?? Seems like the manufacture of the huskee - speeco is taking care of any issues on here which means alot , wonder where lowes will send you ?





UnConundrum said:


> The Huskee 22 ton is only $999, $300 cheaper. Given not only the service, but the rave reviews of the Huskee in many threads, there should be no question. I have not been able to find one sincere complaint about Huskee. Common comments are "best bang for the buck."




There is NO comparison on quality! The Speeco is a *far *better machine!


Just take a look at the log guard. It's stamped sheet metal on the MTD/Troy, thick welded plate on the Speeco.

There's no comparison!


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## Jredsjeep (Sep 17, 2010)

i have had mine for about 5 years now and have had no problems with it. it gets used by my family and has been loaned out several times. the only minor complaint i have is the small log cradle and slower cycle times. minor issues really because it always starts right up and i have never stalled it in knots. it will start shearing the wood before it stops.

i bought it before i knew of this place and the reputation of speedco so it was price for me because at the time they were both equivalent.


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## jcappe (Sep 17, 2010)

Mine has been great. This will be my 3rd year splitting with it. Elm,Oak,Locust not a problem. The only thing I can recommend is see if there is a Cub Cadet/Troy bilt dealer in your area and buy from them. If you have any issues with it I would assume you will have better luck than one of the big box stores.


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## Swamp Yankee (Sep 17, 2010)

Hey Bob

How much wood are you splitting a year?

If it's 5 cord and under you'll probably do OK. Over that you may want to consider a heavier duty unit. 

Also, based upon the numerous horror stories posted here about splitters from Big Box stores, and the issues when something goes kaboing, be sure you know up front who does the warranty repair on these units for Lowes and where are they located.

Take Care


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## Patrick H (Sep 17, 2010)

One of my reasons for buying the Troy was the fact that there just aren't many dealers selling anything else around here. It's 50 miles round trip just to the Lowes. The Husqvarna/ Stihl dealer doesn't handle any splitters.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Sep 17, 2010)

Patrick H said:


> One of my reasons for buying the Troy was the fact that there just aren't many dealers selling anything else around here. It's 50 miles round trip just to the Lowes. The Husqvarna/ Stihl dealer doesn't handle any splitters.



That sounds like a pretty good reason!


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## Beaver eager (Sep 17, 2010)

I'm another one with the HUSKEE 22 ton machine and I LOVE the log cradle on this thing! 6 cords through it so far and zero issues or complaints on how it was built. Works great horizontal or vertical. After using it almost a month now I'm glad I didn't get the one at Lowes even though it has a higher tonage rating.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Sep 17, 2010)

Beaver eager said:


> I'm another one with the HUSKEE 22 ton machine and I LOVE the log cradle on this thing! .





Yeah, I can't see that "flat beam" approach that other splitters have. I can toss a round on there and get my hands out of the way - don't have to hold it in place.


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## turnkey4099 (Sep 17, 2010)

I made a 110 mile round-trip to pick mine up at Lowes only to find when I got home that one of the air filter cover clips was broken. Called them and they put together another one and sent it down on their truck the next day. No quibbles.

That, BTW, is another problem with the troybilt. The motor hangs out there and that air cover will get wiped off going through gates or near wood piles. Seems it is the first thing that will catch on anything.

Harry K


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## TreePointer (Sep 17, 2010)

Another consideration: Brave 22-ton for the same price (includes shipping in "Zone 1").


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## BlueRidgeMark (Sep 17, 2010)

TreePointer said:


> Another consideration: Brave 22-ton for the same price (includes shipping in "Zone 1").





A Brave for the same price as an MTD? That is a no-brainer!


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## Conkers (Sep 17, 2010)

I have the troybilt 27ton, I got it last year and it now has close to 100 hours on it now. (i put an hour meter on when it was new)
The log guards are flimsy and broke off the small bolts but i drilled them out and put some 3/8 bolts in. The adjuster bolts bent so i put some set screws in there.
Other than that it has been great. A little slow and the fuel tank lasts only an hour but not that big of a deal.
The Honda engine is awesome, starts first time every time.

I got it a lowes with a 20% off coupon. I haven't seen any 20% but you can get a 10% off in the moving packet at a post office.


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## Cambium (Sep 17, 2010)

bobspruce said:


> Can someone give me a review on this Log splitter from Lowes? Thanks so much. Bob
> 
> 
> http://www.lowes.com/pd_116418-270-24BF572B711_0_?productId=1005417&Ntt=log+splitter&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=log%20splitter$y=0$x=0#



After long research and reviews online and at retailers, I purchased a 27Ton Troy Bilt from Lowes... After 3 hours it stopped working, called Lowes, they came next day with brand new one and took back broken one...No Hydraulic Fluid was in there...Stupid me didn't bother to check before starting it..

Been 1 year now.. I love it! 
~First pull is amazing. 
~Motor pretty quiet compared to other splitters. 
~Height is great where I can hold a large log on my thigh instead of making it fall.
~It is a little slow in cycle time but average compared to whats out there for that price.

It split the toughest Elm just fine. I took the cradle off so the splits can just fall easily.


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## Cambium (Sep 17, 2010)

P.S - I had a 4 way wedge custom made for this splitter since the manufactuer and nobody else sold it...4way wedge works excellent... I take it off for large logs or logs with more than 2 large knots.


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## Kydan (Sep 18, 2010)

Now that would be interesting to see.


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## Cambium (Sep 19, 2010)

Kydan said:


> Now that would be interesting to see.



I had to replace the bolt and washer to accomadate the width..(longer bolt)..and I have broken 3 bolts so far becuase of the power of the machine to push and also you cannot let it go back all the way.

Max size piece that will fit with 4way is 24" but I only recommend splitting less than 21" with 4 way.


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## fidiro (Oct 16, 2010)

Hope I'm not late helping with your decision. I'm registered on ********** as 'pelletnubi' and this link will show you what is happening to these. On this thread I have posted pictures of the bad design failure. Hope you can make a decision based on the pics.

http://www.**********/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/57455/

I see the pic with the 4 way and that is really asking for trouble from this design although 27 tons should definately be able to push that 4 way the cylinder wall will not. I'm trying to spread the word as this problem needs to be recalled as it is a safety issue. Wish I had found a Huskee instead.


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## mustangwagz (Oct 16, 2010)

i bought a cub cadet from home depot, identicle pretty much. Its got the steel diamond plate fenders, and an actual jack/wheel for the tongue stand. My neighbor and i have split close to 30 cord of wood with it. only problems i had was a hose clamp was loose on return line, sheered off the cheap self tapping 5/16'ths bolts that held the log cradle on. 

Changed the oil like suggested, along with hydro oil. Only major thing i noticed was ya gotta keep the unit level as hell!! like to spew a little hydro oil outta the fill plug/vent if ya dont keep it level. 

We've split some rather big rounds with this splitter, Deff used every little bit of stoke the cylinder has. (28 inches?) Gas tank only lasts about an hour as i read in a diff post, but thats fine with me. i usually need something to drink or need a smoke by then anyhow. lol let er cool, have a "Pop", and then fill up the hog and start all over. 

It was deff worth the 1200 i paid for it in my opinion. it has paid for itself more than once already and ive owned it for like, 3 years?..or damn close anyhow. 

ONLY thing i'm not big on, is the idea that their building these splitters with the spindles welded onto the damn oil tank..Piss poor idea in my opinion.. ROUGH pa roads, and that little splitter hoppin round like it does, will eventually lead to a major problem. Hence why i trailer it or load it into the truck. Piss on Draggin it, i want this thing to last a while! lol


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## Alan Smith (Oct 17, 2010)

*troybilt*

http://www.troybilt.com/wcsstore/Ma.../media/ConsumerInspectionProcedures_Final.pdf


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## fidiro (Oct 17, 2010)

mustangwagz said:


> i bought a cub cadet from home depot, identicle pretty much. Its got the steel diamond plate fenders, and an actual jack/wheel for the tongue stand. My neighbor and i have split close to 30 cord of wood with it. only problems i had was a hose clamp was loose on return line, sheered off the cheap self tapping 5/16'ths bolts that held the log cradle on.
> 
> Changed the oil like suggested, along with hydro oil. Only major thing i noticed was ya gotta keep the unit level as hell!! like to spew a little hydro oil outta the fill plug/vent if ya dont keep it level.
> 
> ...



Your sig states you have a 30 ton splitter, is it something similar to the 27 ton being described here or is it the next step up that has a full I beam with the cylinder mounted on the end instead of trunion mount? 

The trunion mount is the problem with these 27 ton and similar models, because the cylinder wall is too thin and it will blow apart in time, just keep that in mind as you split to try and avoid injury. At first I thought it was bad welds but it is the cylinder wall that needs to be thicker to support the pressures of 27 tons. This 27 ton, as is, needs the pump to be reduced to 15tons to make this setup safer or beef up the trunion of the cylinder and cylinder wall to keep the rating up to 27. 

Most of this is being talked about in the link I posted above if anyone needs to add to it. I joined there right after I installed my pellet stove. I joined here right when I bought my first stihl 041 and I have since sold that one and bought a ms390 and just recently a 034av.

There is no recall yet for this problem but as more of these fail and people file with the safety commission it will come and hopefully before someone gets seriously hurt.


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## fidiro (Oct 17, 2010)

I just have to comment on that homemade 4 way. It really looks like you took your time getting it right. Very nice. I would definately love to get one like that made if the cylinder was mounted on the end instead.

Just in case, if your cylinder blows I wouldn't mention this because they will blame the 4 way and not their bad design.


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## NCPABill (Oct 17, 2010)

*Go Huskee / Speeco*

I have the 22 ton Huskee, and am absolutely thrilled with the purchase. It was definitely the best value (plus 10% off purchase coupon). I made two shelf brackets from angle iron and bolted through the two holes in the main beam. Screwed two 2x pieces on these "shelf brackets" and have my own 1/2 hour cradle, which also protects the oil filter assembly. I can't believe a homeowner use (light commercial maybe) could be much better.


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## mustangwagz (Oct 17, 2010)

fidiro said:


> I just have to comment on that homemade 4 way. It really looks like you took your time getting it right. Very nice. I would definately love to get one like that made if the cylinder was mounted on the end instead.
> 
> Just in case, if your cylinder blows I wouldn't mention this because they will blame the 4 way and not their bad design.



Wow ya your right about my sig. (wander wtf i put 30 for??..) 
its the 27 ton splitter. and yes after looking at its design after reading your post, and the other site you posted on..i agree, a little fab work oguhta be done. Another reason one should maybe consider supporting at rear, would be due to the idea that the damn thing bounces around a little.. its not excactly, "SOLID" it does float around a bit. 

Glad i read your posts, ill be diggin out the welder in the future i can see!


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## Patrick H (Oct 17, 2010)

FWIW, I bought a 27T Troy Built from Lowes about 5 weeks ago, and the welds around the trunions are a whole lot more substantial than the ones in this pic. About 1/4" to 5/16" more bead around them.
I've split 6 cord with it with no issues.
http://www.**********/econtent/index.php?ACT=24&fid=3&aid=39087_0mNshwzrvZMzNhqeNZ3J&board_id=1


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## Phil_Marino (Oct 17, 2010)

[QUOTE...

The trunion mount is the problem with these 27 ton and similar models, because the cylinder wall is too thin and it will blow apart in time, just keep that in mind as you split to try and avoid injury. At first I thought it was bad welds but it is the cylinder wall that needs to be thicker to support the pressures of 27 tons. This 27 ton, as is, needs the pump to be reduced to 15tons to make this setup safer or beef up the trunion of the cylinder and cylinder wall to keep the rating up to 27. 

[/QUOTE]

Fidiro : 

How does the trunion mount cause the problem ?( if the cylinder wall is too thin) Or, is it just certain cylinders with that kind of mount that are faulty?

Also - the maximum pressure is generally limited by a pressure relief valve ( PRF) in the splitter control valve, not by the pump. Usually you can adjust this maximum pressure limit ( it depends on the particular valve). 

Pumps are specified by flow rate ( gpm), not pressure, and the only limit to the pressure the pump can produce ( unless it fails from overpressure) is the torque that the engine can provide.

Phil


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## Phil_Marino (Oct 17, 2010)

Phil_Marino said:


> [QUOTE...
> 
> The trunion mount is the problem with these 27 ton and similar models, because the cylinder wall is too thin and it will blow apart in time, just keep that in mind as you split to try and avoid injury. At first I thought it was bad welds but it is the cylinder wall that needs to be thicker to support the pressures of 27 tons. This 27 ton, as is, needs the pump to be reduced to 15tons to make this setup safer or beef up the trunion of the cylinder and cylinder wall to keep the rating up to 27.



Fidiro : 

How does the trunion mount cause the problem ?( if the cylinder wall is too thin) Or, is it just certain cylinders with that kind of mount that are faulty?

Also - the maximum pressure is generally limited by a pressure relief valve ( PRF) in the splitter control valve, not by the pump. Usually you can adjust this maximum pressure limit ( it depends on the particular valve). 

Pumps are specified by flow rate ( gpm), not pressure, and the only limit to the pressure the pump can produce ( unless it fails from overpressure) is the torque that the engine can provide.

Phil[/QUOTE]

Oops. Ignore my first question - I just looked at your post again and I see what you're saying - the mount is the problem. At first I thought it was just an overpressure failure in the cylinder.


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## fidiro (Oct 17, 2010)

Phil_Marino said:


> Fidiro :
> 
> How does the trunnion mount cause the problem ?( if the cylinder wall is too thin) Or, is it just certain cylinders with that kind of mount that are faulty?
> 
> ...



Oops. Ignore my first question - I just looked at your post again and I see what you're saying - the mount is the problem. At first I thought it was just an overpressure failure in the cylinder.[/QUOTE]

yep, the problem is the cylinder wall is too thin to get those pins welded directly onto it around the trunion. If there was a sleeve to go over the cylinder in that area of the trunion and those pins got welded to the sleeve instead of directly to the cylinder it would work much better without these failures. The sleeve would then get welded all the way around cylinder instead of just a small section of cylinder. I have a pic of a caterpillar backhoe trunion mount cylinder on the thread in my sig that should be copied by them to fit this splitter if they want to continue building these this way. Either that or reduce the pump pressure and try to sell these at 15 ton rated, no one will want a 15 ton. Right now I would go with huskee/speeco until they redesign this problem.

The reason you see more weld now around the pins in the newer ones is because they know they have a problem on their hands and are trying to fix it by throwing a wider area of weld. I still think it's going to be a problem design with just the extra weld. To try and eliminate this problem they need to beef up the cylinder wall to 1/2" at least 6" in from end of trunion and then weld the pins to that.

I hope you have better luck with yours but there will be many that will face what I have faced eventually. I'm still waiting for something to happen to get TB/MTD to fix this.


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## fidiro (Oct 17, 2010)

mustangwagz said:


> Wow ya your right about my sig. (wander wtf i put 30 for??..)
> its the 27 ton splitter. and yes after looking at its design after reading your post, and the other site you posted on..i agree, a little fab work oguhta be done. Another reason one should maybe consider supporting at rear, would be due to the idea that the damn thing bounces around a little.. its not excactly, "SOLID" it does float around a bit.
> 
> Glad i read your posts, ill be diggin out the welder in the future i can see!



If your handy with a welder and could come up with a plate to mount on back of cylinder and 4 rods running the length of the cylinder mounted somehow to the trunnion plates. Something like this splitter on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Max-27-Ton-Powered-Splitter/dp/B00274XQ80
This splitter on amazon has a full length I-beam and still used the 4 rods running the length of the cylinder. Someone there was a little more cautious building something to take the pressure.


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## triptester (Oct 18, 2010)

The Blue Max splitter you see on Amazon is basically a tie-rod cylinder with longer rods that allow it to be attached to a front plate. This can be done with almost any cylinder. The Troybuilts or the other similar MTD splitters can be retrofitted in this way quite simply.
I have converted 5 cylinders to front mount and not had a problem.

Attached is are pics of a Cat rear tang cylinder that has been shortened and changed to front mount.


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## mhyme71 (Oct 18, 2010)

I have used both and the troy built is a toy compared to the huskee brand splitters. Just look at both of them and you can tell right away. Troy built has thinner steel on it than the huskee and i dont like the way the wedge rides on the beam with a bolt on design. The huskee has its wedge ride inside of a groove in the i beam. The mtd splitter split wood fine .The huskee has a faster cycle time. i just compared both a month or so ago and the huskee is the way to go. Plus the 22 ton huskee is 999 and they are all over craigslist.


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## Junkrunner (Oct 18, 2010)

i bought a cub cadet (26 ton?) used and it left ALOT to be desired, in my opinion. It replaced the MTD yard machine (27 ton) that got stolen:chainsawguy: If I had the chose to buy another it would be a Huskee, mostly because of what ya'll already pointed out. Just a heavier, better built machine. 

I hated the skimpy "stick" holders they bolted on this thing. So i built my own, and did some other modifications. IT holds up good now.


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## Frank Boyer (Oct 19, 2010)

I had a 27 T Troy built and sold it, and went to a 35T Speeco. The Troy built strugled with the hard to split stuff. It would take 5-10 seconds extra to build up enough pressure to finally split large oak. If I split a lot of hard stuff the ram hose fitting would seep a bit. The honda engine worked great. It was a good medium duty splitter.


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## Jredsjeep (Oct 19, 2010)

went out and looked at mine last night and it looked like a larger better weld was on the cylinder. now you got me thinking about making a sheild in case it does blow. sometimes i let my boy run the ram for me, i shudder to think what would happen if it blew up with him there.


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## fidiro (Oct 19, 2010)

Jredsjeep said:


> went out and looked at mine last night and it looked like a larger better weld was on the cylinder. now you got me thinking about making a sheild in case it does blow. sometimes i let my boy run the ram for me, i shudder to think what would happen if it blew up with him there.



I trusted mine as well and at times I would let my son run the ram. Glad that day it happened he was in school and not there. On the other forum one of the failed cylinders is getting replaced by Troy Bilt so who knows what they are up to. It seems I was the first to push the fix and didn't get it but maybe as it happens troy bilt will do right for the future failures, just hope there are no injuries as these fail. A new cylinder design should fix their problem.


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## gpsman007 (Oct 19, 2010)

Patrick H said:


> I bought one last week. I've split about 4 cords of pine with it, and it works great as far as I'm concerned, but I've always split my wood by hand up until now.



What are you doing with pine????fire starters? I didn't know people burned pine for firewood....learn something new every day

I'll bet that pine splits easy as pine


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 19, 2010)

gpsman007 said:


> What are you doing with pine????fire starters? I didn't know people burned pine for firewood....learn something new every day





There's more pine burned in North American than any other wood. It's the most plentiful. Out west, hardwoods are a lot more rare than in your neck of the woods, or mine.



gpsman007 said:


> I'll bet that pine splits easy as pine




:monkey: Go sit in the corner!



:hmm3grin2orange:


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## Jredsjeep (Oct 19, 2010)

fidiro said:


> I trusted mine as well and at times I would let my son run the ram. Glad that day it happened he was in school and not there. On the other forum one of the failed cylinders is getting replaced by Troy Bilt so who knows what they are up to. It seems I was the first to push the fix and didn't get it but maybe as it happens troy bilt will do right for the future failures, just hope there are no injuries as these fail. A new cylinder design should fix their problem.



to bad they are not helping you out, being an engineer i would be ashamed to have my name on something like that.

you could re-try contacting them. to often a company is judged on correspondance between just one individual, you might get a differant response if you get someone else. i know they all represent the company but they are not all the same.

i wish you luck, you got the short straw on this. i know if i had know this i would not have bought my troy-built.


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## fidiro (Oct 19, 2010)

One good thing about using this splitter for just pine is it may last you a long time, or at least longer than mine.

I've split mostly maple and ash, some oak and about a cord of sycamore. It was the sycamore that blew open my cylinder. I had about a 20" round that was about 16" long that took the splitter out of service. I wish it was a round of pine.


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## fidiro (Oct 19, 2010)

Jredsjeep said:


> to bad they are not helping you out, being an engineer i would be ashamed to have my name on something like that.
> 
> you could re-try contacting them. to often a company is judged on correspondance between just one individual, you might get a differant response if you get someone else. i know they all represent the company but they are not all the same.
> 
> i wish you luck, you got the short straw on this. i know if i had know this i would not have bought my troy-built.



I have to judge them on my situation and cannot find a reason to say anything good about their product or their service. 

Everyone who is pleased with their same splitter will defend them but would you defend them if you were in my shoes?

If by miracle they fixed my problem, I would simply add here they have a bad design with failing products but are willing to try to fix it right for the ones with failed products. They prefer to spread the word of their bad product and service then to make the customers happy one at a time. 

They may lose thousands dollars on sales more than just offering to fix for hundreds or even less and keep their name clean and a good reputation for future services on issues like these.


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## kgreer (Oct 19, 2010)

gpsman007 said:


> What are you doing with pine????fire starters? I didn't know people burned pine for firewood....learn something new every day
> 
> I'll bet that pine splits easy as pine



Here in the Colorado mountains, we don't have much choice but to burn pine. Works great just burns fast.


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## Patrick H (Oct 19, 2010)

gpsman007 said:


> What are you doing with pine????fire starters? I didn't know people burned pine for firewood....learn something new every day
> 
> I'll bet that pine splits easy as pine



Um, heating my house. Just like the majority of people in the western united states who heat with wood.


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## mhyme71 (Oct 20, 2010)

im in ohio and i burn pine all the time. nobody wants the wood and it burns nice in the boiler. especially this time of year when it might be 65 in the day and 35 at night. when the damper doesnt open for an hour or so the pine will fire right back up when it opens


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## avalancher (Oct 20, 2010)

gpsman007 said:


> What are you doing with pine????fire starters? I didn't know people burned pine for firewood....learn something new every day
> 
> I'll bet that pine splits easy as pine



I used to turn my nose up to pine,at least until this year.What the deal is, I dont know, but the majority of my tree removals this year has been pine, so early this summer I faced the fact that I would be burning pine to heat the house.And I wish I hadnt thrown out all that pine over the years!Wife likes it, lighter to haul from the rack outside the door,lights easier than oak and hickory,and since I got 20 cords of the stuff who cares if it burns faster?Heat is heat!


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## John R (Oct 20, 2010)

I have a Husky by Speeco and never had trouble with it, 22 ton bought it at TSC for $899.00 with a 10% off coupon. 5 years and counting.
TB's are pretty much poor quality sense MTD started building them.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 20, 2010)

John R said:


> TB's are pretty much poor quality sense MTD started building them.



Yep.


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## jcappe (Oct 20, 2010)

John R said:


> I have a Husky by Speeco and never had trouble with it, 22 ton bought it at TSC for $899.00 with a 10% off coupon. 5 years and counting.
> TB's are pretty much poor quality sense MTD started building them.



I call BS. How many years do you have to go back to get a "good" one?


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## fidiro (Oct 21, 2010)

Made another try to contact TB and nothing. It's almost 7 years old and no repair will be issued and it is resolved to their satisfactory.

I asked why there is more weld in that area and no straight answer. They just said they use different manufacturers to make the cylinder.

When did they change manufacturers for this extra weld to recently just start showing up?

By spreading this info on the net it will hurt their sales more than if they were just to fix the problems and go on. Now this information will show their bad product and their bad service that comes with it.


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## 1harlowr (Oct 22, 2010)

fidiro said:


> Made another try to contact TB and nothing. It's almost 7 years old and no repair will be issued and it is resolved to their satisfactory.



You want warranty work done on a 7 year old splitter?? I'm no fan of MTD/Troybuilt etc, but you're asking for more than your're entitled if I'm ready it correctly. And no the customer is not always right


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## jcappe (Oct 22, 2010)

1harlowr said:


> You want warranty work done on a 7 year old splitter?? I'm no fan of MTD/Troybuilt etc, but you're asking for more than your're entitled if I'm ready it correctly. And no the customer is not always right



:agree2:
It's a $~1300 splitter. If something goes wrong with your brakes on a $40,000 truck seven years after you buy it Ford, GM, Dodge are more than likely not going to pay for new brakes. If it is a recall issue then they will,as will Troy Bilt. Out of the thousands of member on hearth and this site there has been I believe three, of these cylinders go bad. I'm not saying it should have happend and I'm glad that the ones that it did happen to the owners had no serious injury but come on, get another cylinder or get a new splitter if you don't want to use the TB "junk" as you call it.


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 22, 2010)

jcappe said:


> :agree2:
> It's a $~1300 splitter. If something goes wrong with your brakes on a $40,000 truck seven years after you buy it Ford, GM, Dodge are more than likely not going to pay for new brakes. If it is a recall issue then they will,as will Troy Bilt. Out of the thousands of member on hearth and this site there has been I believe three, of these cylinders go bad. I'm not saying it should have happend and I'm glad that the ones that it did happen to the owners had no serious injury but come on, get another cylinder or get a new splitter if you don't want to use the TB "junk" as you call it.



The whole thing reminds me of the "I won't buy another (insert a brand) here truck because the flimdoodle broke on my 10 year old one. That brand is junk!"

Harry K


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## Alan Smith (Oct 22, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> The whole thing reminds me of the "I won't buy another (insert a brand) here truck because the flimdoodle broke on my 10 year old one. That brand is junk!"
> 
> Harry K



amen


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## fidiro (Oct 23, 2010)

1harlowr said:


> You want warranty work done on a 7 year old splitter?? I'm no fan of MTD/Troybuilt etc, but you're asking for more than your're entitled if I'm ready it correctly. And no the customer is not always right



Well, if you had "ready" it correctly I had said it was out of warranty in either this thread or the link I have posted in my sig.

I know it is out of warranty but this is an issue with the design and hope that it will be in a recall to prevent this from happening to everyone else.

No the customer is not always right but when there is currently a 5 year old cylinder with the same exact issue being fixed by TB what difference does 2 years make to decide not to get replaced. Warranty is only 2 years they are both out of warranty. TB just decided to make right with one and not the other.

Again, this is not a warranty claim. What I was after was a recall to this cylinder that may blow open on some of yours that also have one and wouldn't have to go through this.

Thanks for jumping down my throat on this one but think about if you had this issue and the replacement cylinder is almost 500. I'm sure some of you will just dig in your back pocket and there will be enough to just buy the whole splitter again and I'm happy for you but don't judge others income.

And this is not a home depot special at 1300 with the cheesy plastic fenders and training wheels it was bought from a dealer for 1700to be road legal. Look it up at a dealer not lowes or home depot.


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## Jredsjeep (Oct 25, 2010)

i can see both sides of the story but i would tend to agree with fidiro on this one. this was not a wear item or an obvious case of abuse. this was a catastrophic failure of high pressure system. they admitted to it being an issue and have changed the design. 

to be properly designed the metal should never get anywhere close to failure with full pressure on the system. depending on the system you usually want a safety factor of 2-10 where you could load the system 2-10 times the factory pressure and parts should still not fail. 

this does not look like the case, he know the splitter was out of warranty. he never claimed the splitter failed in warranty. this part did not wear out, get modified or beaten/abused/neglected. it failed from the factory and you can clearly see were the metal broke out.

manufacturers do recalls on vehicles and power equipment when there is a defect in their manufacturing process or design. even though this might not be a high failure rate it is a problem that can cause serious injury. 

have you ever seen the movie fight club.
first you take the average cost of an out of court settlement as X, then you take the cost of doing a recall Y. If X is less then Y we don’t do one.

i am just paraphrasing but you get the idea.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 25, 2010)

Jredsjeep said:


> i can see both sides of the story but i would tend to agree with fidiro on this one. this was not a wear item or an obvious case of abuse. this was a catastrophic failure of high pressure system. they admitted to it being an issue and have changed the design.





Bingo. This isn't normal wear and tear, this is junk. DANGEROUS junk.


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## John R (Oct 25, 2010)

John R said:


> I have a Husky by Speeco and never had trouble with it, 22 ton bought it at TSC for $899.00 with a 10% off coupon. 5 years and counting.
> TB's are pretty much poor quality sense MTD started building them.





jcappe said:


> I call BS. How many years do you have to go back to get a "good" one?



Are you talking the Huskee, or the MTD Troy Bilt?


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## jcappe (Oct 25, 2010)

Troy Bilt. 
I have a friend that bought a huskee just before I bought the TB. Neither one of us have had any problems.


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 25, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Bingo. This isn't normal wear and tear, this is junk. DANGEROUS junk.



And if it is "junk" it is a problem that was found and fixed long ago according to the OP. so why is he bad mouthing _all_, including the current ones?

Harry K


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## John R (Oct 25, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> And if it is "junk" it is a problem that was found and fixed long ago according to the OP. so why is he bad mouthing _all_, including the current ones?
> 
> Harry K



If they (MTD) fixed the problem, they owe it to their customers that have the older ones a fix too.
If they reworked it because of a safety issue.

Course this is IMHO, and most company's look only at the bottom line.

If it were me and I got hosed in the face and eyes with hydraulic fluid like the OP did, MTD would be dealing with my lawyer and not me.


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## jcappe (Oct 25, 2010)

John R said:


> If they (MTD) fixed the problem, they owe it to their customers that have the older ones a fix too.
> If they reworked it because of a safety issue.
> 
> Course this is IMHO, and most company's look only at the bottom line.
> ...



If you blew a tire would your lawyer be calling Good Year too? 
I'm not trying to make light of the situation and say it isn't dangerous and once again I'm glad that nobody has been hurt. But, you are running a "machine" that is putting out 20 some ton of power. There is going to be some risks of failure.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 25, 2010)

jcappe said:


> If you blew a tire would your lawyer be calling Good Year too?
> I'm not trying to make light of the situation and say it isn't dangerous and once again I'm glad that nobody has been hurt. But, you are running a "machine" that is putting out 20 some ton of power. There is going to be some risks of failure.





*BZZZZT!*


Wrong answer.



Whether there's good cause to sue over a tire failure depends on why it fails. If the tire manufacturer does a sloppy job of putting together their tires, they are at fault, and liable for damages. If it's because the tire was abused by the operator, it's his own stupid fault.

A hydraulic cylinder failing because it was just too flimsy for the designed usage is the manufacturer's fault.


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## firewood guy (Oct 26, 2010)

Just looking at all these splitter problems.. Why would any MFG weld trunions to a cyl wall? The heat incurred in the welding process would not only affect the cyl wall integrity but would likely leed to an out-of-round condition ..not good for pistons/seals/wipers! I have my own issues with a "new" Northstar 37-ton unit.. anyone have experience w/ model M1114K? I am running their 4-way wedge wings and in two weeks or about 40 cords have actually warped the I-beam. I suspect the steel is of import origin (can anyone say china?) But I must say that Northern's cust service and warranty support is 100%. The machine has some design issues, but we use it to split the nastiest wood I've ever known .. Red Gum Eucalyptus. Way tougher than Elm crotches or Black Oak stumps. The wood is stringy to the 100th power!!:bang:


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## Jredsjeep (Oct 26, 2010)

jcappe said:


> If you blew a tire would your lawyer be calling Good Year too?
> .



firestone sure got a call a few years ago and yes they did do a major recall.


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## fidiro (Oct 26, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> And if it is "junk" it is a problem that was found and fixed long ago according to the OP. so why is he bad mouthing _all_, including the current ones?
> 
> Harry K



Since you say it's been fixed long ago can you tell me when because I have only been reading about the newer ones sold this summer that have extra weld around the trunion.

So, I'm curious how old some of yours are and does it have more weld or is it just the same amount of weld as mine? Honestly more weld will probably just blow farther out on the cylinder wall


If you read the last posts on the other site about this there is actually someone saying that now there is even more weld creating a square around the trunion, WHY all of a sudden is this being welded even more?

I'm not a welder but it makes sense that if you heat the cylinder wall it may distort and weaken so everyone with this design needs to keep alert.


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## fidiro (Oct 26, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> *BZZZZT!*
> 
> 
> 
> A hydraulic cylinder failing because it was just too flimsy for the designed usage is the manufacturer's fault.



Amen, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you


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## fidiro (Oct 26, 2010)

jcappe said:


> If you blew a tire would your lawyer be calling Good Year too?
> I'm not trying to make light of the situation and say it isn't dangerous and once again I'm glad that nobody has been hurt. But, you are running a "machine" that is putting out 20 some ton of power. There is going to be some risks of failure.



This machine is rated for 27 tons so why didn't the seals/hoses go before the cylinder. The seals/hoses and even the engine should be your "some risks of failure".

This info is being spread to let the ones with this same design keep an eye on it to try and avoid serious injury. If this info never made it to the net for everyone to read about you would be running this machine blind without knowing this risk involved. If you prefer not to read about the risk, or just don't want to care about it, and put yourself or others around the machine at risk then that is also a choice you have to make. But the info is here to read with pics to show the damage of failure, for everyone. 

If I read about it before it happened to me I would be more alert about this situation and hope this is a lesson learned for some.


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 26, 2010)

fidiro said:


> Since you say it's been fixed long ago can you tell me when because I have only been reading about the newer ones sold this summer that have extra weld around the trunion.
> 
> So, I'm curious how old some of yours are and does it have more weld or is it just the same amount of weld as mine? Honestly more weld will probably just blow farther out on the cylinder wall
> 
> ...



I don't know when it was 'fixed'. Mine is almost 2 years old and has a beefy square weld.

It really doesn't matter _when_ as long as it was fixed. My point is that bad mouthing any piece of equipment for a component that failed but has been fixed is not warranted. You want to bad mouth them, fine, just bad mouth the ones with the weak component. No, I don't think my TroyBilt is the be all/end all of splitters and had I had more money I would have moved up when I bought one. They seem to be a good, serviceable thing and are hardly "junk".

Harry K


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## fidiro (Oct 26, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> I don't know when it was 'fixed'. Mine is almost 2 years old and has a beefy square weld.
> 
> It really doesn't matter _when_ as long as it was fixed. My point is that bad mouthing any piece of equipment for a component that failed but has been fixed is not warranted. You want to bad mouth them, fine, just bad mouth the ones with the weak component. No, I don't think my TroyBilt is the be all/end all of splitters and had I had more money I would have moved up when I bought one. They seem to be a good, serviceable thing and are hardly "junk".
> 
> Harry K



I'm glad you trust yours enough not to worry about it blowing but I don't see the point of spreading extra weld around just to weaken more area of the cylinder trunion. You may keep splitting with that design without worries, that's fine as it has not appeared to have any issues but I have been talking about the design where the weld is what mine shows, little weld and not enough cylinder wall. I never said the design like yours with extra weld is also junk, as you say, as I do not have any experience with one like yours. I have only been reading about the ones showing up with extra weld for just about a month, but now your saying you have yours for two years now. 

Mine has little weld and I can say it's a flimsy junk cylinder that was obviously changed for safety reasons and has not been recalled. I can say this because I own one and it is what the pictures show and the oil bath I had was something to remember.

I say keep using yours, forget about this issue and don't worry about a thing and let my design get the attention it needs to keep others safe and keep the oil from contaminating our planet. I know you want to defend yours but if it failed like mine did would you just sit back and do nothing.

For every one that reads these threads and is worried about staying safe then keep alert and keep others away while operating just in case you have one ready to blow. It has been said here on the other thread and on a welding forum, that welding cylinder walls may distort and weaken cylinder so more weld concentrated on the same area will heat up cylinder more and may do just that. So stay safe.


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## fidiro (Oct 26, 2010)

firewood guy said:


> Just looking at all these splitter problems.. Why would any MFG weld trunions to a cyl wall? The heat incurred in the welding process would not only affect the cyl wall integrity but would likely leed to an out-of-round condition ..not good for pistons/seals/wipers! I have my own issues with a "new" Northstar 37-ton unit.. anyone have experience w/ model M1114K? I am running their 4-way wedge wings and in two weeks or about 40 cords have actually warped the I-beam. I suspect the steel is of import origin (can anyone say china?) But I must say that Northern's cust service and warranty support is 100%. The machine has some design issues, but we use it to split the nastiest wood I've ever known .. Red Gum Eucalyptus. Way tougher than Elm crotches or Black Oak stumps. The wood is stringy to the 100th power!!:bang:



Wow, 2 weeks and 40 cords. Someone keeps busy splitting. I ran probably 40-50 cords through mine but it took me about 6 years to do that much. Almost finished splitting the last cord for this year and mine took a dump

Glad to hear your getting yours taken care of. I almost considered the harbor freight splitter before I bought this one and I didn't because I was almost sure it was all China made parts, but I probably would still be splitting with it today though if I would have just ordered one. It would have been 400 bucks less too for the 30 ton. I guess I wanted to keep the money flowing here but got the short straw for doing it.


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## John R (Oct 26, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> I don't know when it was 'fixed'. Mine is almost 2 years old and has a beefy square weld.
> 
> It really doesn't matter _when_ as long as it was fixed. My point is that bad mouthing any piece of equipment for a component that failed but has been fixed is not warranted. You want to bad mouth them, fine, just bad mouth the ones with the weak component. No, I don't think my TroyBilt is the be all/end all of splitters and had I had more money I would have moved up when I bought one. They seem to be a good, serviceable thing and are hardly "junk".
> 
> Harry K



Guess if I had bought a TB splitter, I'd defend them too, when I decided to buy a splitter I looked at them all, and knew the TB was a poor design at best.

You just can't weld something to the side of the cylinder and expect it to hold up.
Have you ever seen any other hydraulic cylinder used on any other piece of equipment set up this way? There's a reason.


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 27, 2010)

John R said:


> Guess if I had bought a TB splitter, I'd defend them too, when I decided to buy a splitter I looked at them all, and knew the TB was a poor design at best.
> 
> You just can't weld something to the side of the cylinder and expect it to hold up.
> Have you ever seen any other hydraulic cylinder used on any other piece of equipment set up this way? There's a reason.



Hardly defending them. Jusst stating the obvious - to call a design "junk" after a problem has been fixed is not only unfair it is downright WRONG! From reading this thread it appears that only 3 instances of the problem have appeared and have been addressed. That the OP is in a snit because he can't get a free cylinder seems to be problem.

Harry K


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## John R (Oct 27, 2010)

If a part wears out from wear and tear I can seen the manufacture not wanting to replace the part if the unit is out of warranty, but this part is faulty workmanship, and TB should step up to the plate and do the right thing.


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 27, 2010)

John R said:


> If a part wears out from wear and tear I can seen the manufacture not wanting to replace the part if the unit is out of warranty, but this part is faulty workmanship, and TB should step up to the plate and do the right thing.



I agree with that. In fact I am surprised that they didn't

Harry K


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## fidiro (Oct 27, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> Hardly defending them. Jusst stating the obvious - to call a design "junk" after a problem has been fixed is not only unfair it is downright WRONG! From reading this thread it appears that only 3 instances of the problem have appeared and have been addressed. That the OP is in a snit because he can't get a free cylinder seems to be problem.
> 
> Harry K



You own one so you have the right to defend them but still don't see how you feel I'm calling yours junk. You must have serious issues to protect them this much and don't even take into consideration that this is a serious faulty manufacturing problem that can cause serious injury. You can defend them all you want but that will not stop this faulty cylinder from doing whatever to whomever is around it. So if you don't care if anyone gets hurt go ahead and say what you want and hope I don't get to read about yours in the same situation in the near future.

Are you just saying to yourself this has been 'fixed' to make yourself feel better that you have extra weld on yours and you don't want it to happen to you? If that makes you feel better, than it has been 'fixed' as you say and you are lucky enough to own the new reliable version that will never blow up and throw oil everywhere.

You say there are only 3 instances that have been address and I have to reread this post to see who has been taken care of because I only read about one that is being taken care of.

So go ahead and bash me all you want as it will not make this problemed design go away. And I say it's a problemed design because the cylinder is still not worthy of a trunion mount.

You want to protect TB and not the people who own this design, this can't be right. Why would you choose TB over the safety of the people using these?


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## fidiro (Oct 27, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> I agree with that. In fact I am surprised that they didn't
> 
> Harry K



Here you agree it's faulty. I don't get it. Are you just busting b4lls?


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 27, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> I agree with that. In fact I am surprised that they didn't
> 
> Harry K





I'm not. MTD is NOT known for standing behind their products. They're into the "build it cheap and sell a lot of them" business model. Customer service is NOT their priority.


If there were a way to prove it one way or another, I'd bet a pretty big pile of money that once these blowing cylinders were made known to the executives of MTD, there was a serious discussion about whether it was cheaper to leave it alone and just pay off the people who got hurt, or to re-design it.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 27, 2010)

fidiro said:


> Here you agree it's faulty. I don't get it. Are you just busting b4lls?




Fidero, chill a bit. Harry is a good guy.


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## fidiro (Oct 27, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Fidero, chill a bit. Harry is a good guy.



I just feel like I'm getting initiated here with all this b4ll busting.

Hope Harry is having a good time initiating the really low post count guy, me.


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 28, 2010)

fidiro said:


> Here you agree it's faulty. I don't get it. Are you just busting b4lls?



You keep avoiding my point. Your own posts show that the problem has been addressed. Whether you or some else did or did not get a replacement for the cylinder has nothign to do with the design.

Did I _ever_ say those cylinders were _not_ faulty? 

Would I have designed one that way? No I would not seeing as there are trunion mount cylinders on the market. They must have gone with that design due to a cost consideration.

Is the TB a cadillac of a splitter? Not even close.

Is the TB a Model T of a splitter? Also not even close.

You have shifted from the 'tear out' problem (apparently on only 3 (thus far) of all that have been built) to now claiming the weld will cause seal problems and using that to still keeps calling the TB a piece of junk. Too bad you have zero evidence of the seal problem.

Somewhere way back up thread apparently TB said they subcontract the cylinders. The faulty ones appear (note that is my OPINION) that it is a quality control problem and not one of design.

You seem to be riding a hobby horse really hard.

Harry K


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## WOODHOGG (Oct 28, 2010)

*Troy 27 ton*

My son got one of these a few days ago,yesterday he ran it for about (6)hrs.
did not miss a lick the only down side is no 4way splitter,we found a 4way
splitter for a 32ton that slips right over the original that is on spearco site.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 28, 2010)

WOODHOGG said:


> My son got one of these a few days ago,yesterday he ran it for about (6)hrs.
> did not miss a lick the only down side is no 4way splitter,we found a 4way
> splitter for a 32ton that slips right over the original that is on spearco site.





Now all you need is a Speeco to slip under that 4-way and you'll have yourself a great setup! 



:greenchainsaw:


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## fidiro (Oct 28, 2010)

turnkey4099 said:


> You keep avoiding my point. Your own posts show that the problem has been addressed. Whether you or some else did or did not get a replacement for the cylinder has nothign to do with the design.
> 
> Did I _ever_ say those cylinders were _not_ faulty?
> 
> ...



OK, so now you are saying they have a 'crap' design and not 'junk'.

You can call it a crap design for now, since yours is fairly new design and did not blow up on you. And I'll call it 'junk', as you say, since mine blew up on me.

The complete design is faulty because they should have used a full I beam to mount this same cylinder on the end instead of trunion or they should use a properly built trunion mount cylinder.

Again, if you trust this splitter without worrying that it will blow then have your young kids, that want to run the lever, run it once in a while for the years to come. Split wood that needs 27 tons of force and you'll know the type of wood that needs it when it takes a few secs to build up enough pressure for ram to push into it, don't just split soft pine. As a kid I would love to pull the lever and watch the wood split so it's fun for them.

What difference does it make if I want to write about this problem to keep people alert while using it? Your bashing me because I wrote about this problem and you don't want to read about it because you own one. Again I don't get why you don't want this safety precaution info. to be spread. Defending TB is not going to stop yours from blowing if it had to. And if yours does blow you can go about a fix the way that makes you happy.

I never said that it's causing seal problems, your saying it, I have read about welding cylinders and what it MAY do to the cylinder wall. I have read about welding them because mine is apart and waiting for a sleeve to be manufactured to cover the whole trunion area and I have been told that welding the cylinder may cause it to go out of round and may cause seal problems. Because TB spread more weld over the cylinder wall it has created more heat to the cylinder and it may cause seal problems if cylinder becomes distorted.

Do you work for TB or have friend or family member who does?


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## fidiro (Oct 28, 2010)

WOODHOGG said:


> My son got one of these a few days ago,yesterday he ran it for about (6)hrs.
> did not miss a lick the only down side is no 4way splitter,we found a 4way
> splitter for a 32ton that slips right over the original that is on spearco site.



Although it would be nice to run a 4 way and 27 tons should definately have no problem pushing one there is a reason a 4 way is not made factory for this design. You can make one to fit but I wouldn't advertise it with pics as TB may use it against you one day.

I have seen a couple different homemade ones here that came out pretty nice. If I get my cylinder welded up with the double wall at the trunion I might as well put one together at the same time. It will save time when you have rounds that need double splitting.

Or you can take it back and put a speeco under it


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## turnkey4099 (Oct 28, 2010)

fidiro said:


> OK, so now you are saying they have a 'crap' design and not 'junk'.
> 
> You can call it a crap design for now, since yours is fairly new design and did not blow up on you. And I'll call it 'junk', as you say, since mine blew up on me.
> 
> ...



Chill a bit there and quit reading stuff in that I didn't say. Nowhere did I even come close to clling it a "crap design".

You persist in missing my point. You made _you_ point way back up thread pointing otu a problem, dangerous at that, with a component. That wasn't good enough though. You call the entire machine "junk". Then even that wasn't good enough, you sstill call it "junk" even after the problem has been addressed. I wonder what the companies lawyers would say about someone persisting in a defamation campaign.

I can see there is no getting a reasonable discussion with you so good-bye.

Harry K


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## jcappe (Oct 28, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Now all you need is a Speeco to slip under that 4-way and you'll have yourself a great setup!
> 
> 
> 
> :greenchainsaw:



Mark, I have to admit that was a good one.  
I have nothing against the Speeco they are darn good splitters as well.


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## fidiro (Oct 28, 2010)

Take care Harry, it was a pleasure talking with you.

I can now stop taking my ulser medicine and I can put the bottle away, till the weekend at least. I knew I shouldn't have been doing both and reading.


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## firewood guy (Nov 13, 2010)

fidiro said:


> Wow, 2 weeks and 40 cords. Someone keeps busy splitting. I ran probably 40-50 cords through mine but it took me about 6 years to do that much. Almost finished splitting the last cord for this year and mine took a dump
> 
> Glad to hear your getting yours taken care of. I almost considered the harbor freight splitter before I bought this one and I didn't because I was almost sure it was all China made parts, but I probably would still be splitting with it today though if I would have just ordered one. It would have been 400 bucks less too for the 30 ton. I guess I wanted to keep the money flowing here but got the short straw for doing it.



Have been busy spliting! One guy 8 hours x 6 days / week. He needs the work and is trying to impress. Will have to give him a big Christmas bonus!! Having said that, we managed to bend the entire main beam on the splitter. Told Northern of the problem, and they shipped out a brand new revised beam. Spent most of last Sunday replacing parts and 'tweaking' the splitter, but now she runs GOOOOOOOD!!!


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## BlueRidgeMark (Nov 13, 2010)

firewood guy said:


> Have been busy spliting! One guy 8 hours x 6 days / week. He needs the work and is trying to impress. Will have to give him a big Christmas bonus!! Having said that, we managed to bend the entire main beam on the splitter. Told Northern of the problem, and they shipped out a brand new revised beam. Spent most of last Sunday replacing parts and 'tweaking' the splitter, but now she runs GOOOOOOOD!!!




Can't argue with that kind of service! 



What did the bending?


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## firewood guy (Nov 13, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Can't argue with that kind of service!
> 
> 
> 
> What did the bending?



The cause seems to be the cylinder rod center-line is not the same as the four-way wedge wings, hence putting a cantilever force on the the wedge assy onto the beam. Told that to a rep @ Northern, got a deer-in-the -headlights response over the phone. He said he had never heard that! I suggested he go out in the warehouse and look for himself. The c/l is off by about 1.5". The splitter is rated @ 37 tons. Thats a lot of force when you max it out on eucalyptus or other really tough wood.. probably never be an issue with easier-to-split species.


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## Alan Smith (Nov 13, 2010)

*troybilt woodsplitter or ride home*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCriz0vM3-I 

had a truck full of help and my wife had to ride the woodsplitter home


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## jester8118 (Nov 13, 2010)

great way to get everybody home. awsome video, wouldn't belive it without it!


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## Mr. Firewood (Nov 13, 2010)

all I have gathered from this thread is that you want a 7 year old splitter repaired for free, and sence they wont repair your beat to hell splitter for free your going to trash talk the company....


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## indiansprings (Nov 13, 2010)

We have used a troy-bilt now for two and a half seasons in our firewood business. I can safely say it has split over 400 cord. Is it the fastest splitter, no, it is on the slow side. After 2.5 seasons we finally blew the little honda, locked it up tight, had a valve drop. I got my local service center to warranty the engine. It seems like the pump is starting to have issues. 
For the money I spent on the intial purchase and the use and abuse this machine has seen I am very happy with the longevity. Next week I plan on putting a 11 hp i/c briggs on it and change the pump to a 22 gal min pump to speed the cycle time up.

In an 10 hour day with only a 30 lunch break I have seen the hydraulic oil get hotter than hell but she kept on splitting. We change our hydraulic filter approx every 100 hours. The auto detent on the return cycle has long since stopped working. 

I traded wood for a "swisher" brand unit that uses a 11 hp briggs and a 16 gpm pump and a much different wedge set up and it does an excellent job.
I think it is rated at 26 ton. 

For a home owner doing 5 to 25 cord of wood a year the Troy Bilt splitter is fine. Use the factory log cradle until they break off and then weld some 2" angle iron to directly to the beam on the engine side and make you a 20" x 24" table right in front of the motor. It works fantastic.

Sure there are better splitters out there, but for the money you'll get a heck of a lot of wood split with the troy bilt. Love to have a timber wolf but can't justify the expense.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Nov 14, 2010)

Mr. Firewood said:


> all I have gathered from this thread is that you want a 7 year old splitter repaired for free, and sence they wont repair your beat to hell splitter for free your going to trash talk the company....





I guess you weren't paying attention, then.


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## fidiro (Dec 9, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> I guess you weren't paying attention, then.



Hope Mr F. had time to reread everything to learn something.

Here are some pics of my cylinder in the works of becoming the right way to build a trunion mount or at least a better way. Notice what happened to the inside of cylinder where the pins got welded from factory. Am I wrong or is that blue metal from too much heat from welding pins directly to cylinder? Doesn't that blue metal make the walls lose it's strength?


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## fidiro (Dec 9, 2010)

a couple more pics of the ongoing project. I can't post pics direct onto thread without having them uploaded to my sig, one of these days I'll spend some time figuring that out


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## Jredsjeep (Dec 10, 2010)

nice work, i look forward to seeing the results. nice to see an option for fixing them if mine fails.


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## fidiro (Dec 10, 2010)

Jredsjeep said:


> nice work, i look forward to seeing the results. nice to see an option for fixing them if mine fails.



Thanks, I just wished that I had all this info about this failure before mine blew. I would have had done this work before it all happened as now I can't seem to find a local shop to get me the right seals. One seal broke coming off past the hole on side of cylinder. I am going to another place tomorrow and hope I can get them there so that I can get this back together. I have 120+ yards of full length logs(20') to cut and split for next season and I wanted to get started soon.


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## hunter0182 (Dec 22, 2010)

*troybuilt log splitter*

I have two one honda and one briggs the honda is far better and quiet they are not the fastest but they are steady the briggs i have had 5 years no problems , i changed the cradles to tables, and we split about 300 cords a season


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## fidiro (Jan 1, 2011)

Here are the latest results from my splitter. Pics are probably all over the place and out of order but you'll get the idea which came first. I decided the cly pins were too thin for my likings and created thicker ones. Had to grind the cylinder mount on the splitter to accept the thicker cly's.





The honing process after I welded the sleeve around cylinder.


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## fidiro (Jan 1, 2011)

Here's a few more of the work during progress.

I still need to figure the picture posting out. I'm getting just those little x's.

Anyway need to find the 4 way slip on wedge for this now to really put it to the test. What thickness metal should the plates be to weld one up myself? I'm not a professional welder but I got it done and it looks decent. I drained the 10w hydro that was still in excellent condition and refilled it with dexron III to test out during winter. I'll go back to 10w in the summer.


















I can't seem to get the pics to come out bigger. Pics are all over the place now but you get the idea what it looks like now. Hope to make time to have it splitting in the next few weeks. The 4 way will definately test this trunion, I wouldn't use it on the stock cylinder.


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## bpirger (Dec 17, 2011)

*4-way done?*

Did you ever get your 4-way head for the TB splitter after the rebuild?

I have the splitter, wish I had noticed what I agree is a poor fundamental design before I purchased. Told the wife to make sure when she's running it not to let it push through the really nasty knots when there is an easier way.

I worry about my kids being around as well....

I for one am truly appreciative of your efforts to inform those of us with the splitter of what has happened. Thank you. Merry Christmas!


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## Chainsaw_Maniac (Dec 18, 2011)

Be sure to get a Honda engine is you do get one!! You can actually get the models with the Honda (usually) for the same price.

I'm looking for a new woodsplitter as well, and I am not considering the Troy-Bilt since other brands appear to be superior. I'm looking more at a commercial duty wood splitter though.


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## fidiro (Dec 18, 2011)

bpirger said:


> Did you ever get your 4-way head for the TB splitter after the rebuild?
> 
> I have the splitter, wish I had noticed what I agree is a poor fundamental design before I purchased. Told the wife to make sure when she's running it not to let it push through the really nasty knots when there is an easier way.
> 
> ...



I've only split about 3 cords since rebuild and still have not had a use for a 4 way. What I really need is a nice table on motor side instead of those bendy cradles. Maybe after making a table it will be easier to hold the bigger logs and I may find a use for the 4 way. But then I'll probably be replacing the little honda since it will stress it out more than it was made to handle, making it fail.

I've pushed this splitter to the limit through very knotted maple recently to the point where it would just barely crawl through the whole log length and kept my eyes mostly on the cylinder to see it shouldn't be a problem there anymore for me. One really nice feature about this splitter is it is easy to maneuver by hand and takes up little space.

Try not to split very knotted hardwoods as it was a sycamore knotted log that did it for my splitter. Keep the stuborn knotted pieces for last.

I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas as well.


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