# Log splitter



## reiterch

I'm in the market for a log splitter. 

I'm looking for something in the $1000 - $1500 range. I've looked at the Timberwolf and Northstar splitters on the internet, and have yet to look at any in person. What I want from you guys are any opinions/suggestions for brands and models. Any pros/cons as well.

I was looking for a 3 point hitch splitter to hook up to my Ford 1720, but decided a standalone would be nice to haul behind a pickup.


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## tawilson

Tractor Supply Company has one for $1499 that I thought looked decent. I didn't buy it, I decided to keep the homemade one I already have and beef it up as needed.
Guess I didn't do the link thing right. Anyways, you know where to find it.


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## NeTree

I've been using a 20 ton MTD horizontal-vertical for 4 years now, with no problems. And believe me... it's seen ALOT of wood- something on the order of 400 cords.

I've yet to get a piece I can't split.


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## Wolfcsm

The $1500 Husky splitter from Tractor Supply works great! Bought one last year and found that there was nothing I could not either split or just simply crush into pieces. A smaller splitter would stop in some of the oak I worked on in Texas.

Hal


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## reiterch

The big Husky from TSC has a Briggs engine. I would rather have a Honda engine, I think they start/run better then the Briggs engines. 

What do you guys think?


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## Wolfcsm

THe Briggs works fine for me.

Hal


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## reiterch

The $1500 Husky splitter is a horizontal/vertical splitter. As such, the wedge is attached to the ram. Do you know if it is possible to get a 4 way wedge for a splitter like this? 

After looking into it some more, the Husky splitter seems to be a very good value.


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## Wolfcsm

Have not seen one but I would think that one could be fabricated for it.

The design of the Husky works better. The wedge rides in a slot in the beam. On a MTD designed splitter, the wedge is bolted together with a backing that rides down the bem. I actually had one of the plates for the wedge break. Then I found how much fun it can be to get warranty repairs from MTD.

Have never seen the same sort of problem from a Husky splitter.

Hal


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## Marky Mark

Here's a timberwolf HD2.

For me it has been a proven unit about 150 cords. I did however buy an original Brute with the hydrolic wedge to slide into my conveyor that is also a Timberwolf. Once I started plitting alot of wood I brought the HD2 to Vt and left it there. 

ONce I realized I was undergunned with the conveyor and the hd2 I bought a TW5, when a local guy here in NJ was selling his Brute due to money problems I grabbed it. I have run both plitters and they are very well made. The timberowolf is a well made splitter.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6740&highlight=new+toy


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## Wolfcsm

Just courious: what does a TImberwolf cost for the TW 2 or TW 5?

Hal


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## reiterch

If you read to the bottom of Mark's linked thread, he states he paid $2500. 

Out of my price range. 

It seems to me that the Timberwolf splitters are very expensive. If you compare the specs of the TW2 to the $1500 TSC Huskee splitter, the Huskee blows it away (on paper anyway). What is the big claim to faim that Timberwolf has that allows it to charge so much?


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## Bills Oak

Reiterch, I bought a 26 Ton Vertical/Horizontal Log Splitter with a 6.75 Briggs Motor from Lowes about 24 months ago & have really used it & it has performed just fine. I think I paid about $1,100 for it & it has 12 inch road wheels on it that are rated for highway use. I mainly use it vertically & it will handle up to 30 inch tall logs. You might check with them also...1 year non commercial warranty..:angel:


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## Wolfcsm

I think that the TImberwolf splitter would be great for someone who split a lot of wood each year.

I have used my Husky to split about 50 cords of wood in the past year and have had no problems with it. In fact at 35 tons, it can split (or crush) anything put into it.

I have had a bad time with a product made by MTD (there are a lot of brands they use). Foremost of the problems was repair and specifically parts, once the thing did break. Waited two weeks for the parts, that when received took only about 20 minutes to put on. There was no way for the local shop doing the repair to track the status of the parts and no delivery date available to them. It appeared to me that MTD had a "drop out of the sky" (the part will be here when it drops out of the sky) method of parts distribution.

Hal


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## Marky Mark

The timberwolf is by far a better built product. The TW1 will cost about 1475. That is with the honda motor and the extra 4 way wedge. Basically all the 1100 splitter, Lowes, walmart, homdepot are all MTD. Even the troybuilt is MTD.

You get what you pay for.I would rather buy the best right out of the shoot than have a subpar machine that I will hate in a while.
But that is me, like guns a Mossburg will shoot just like a Parezzi. Which one would you want to own.

http://www.timberwolfcorp.com/splitters/product_line.htm


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## woodho

Marky Mark,
I couldn't agree more. I bought a Timberwolf TW-5 and its incredible. As to why they are expensive, go and take a look at one and you will see immediately.

Woodho


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## arty460

check out the american log splitters,,, dont get confused with the all american there a great machine i just bought one last year .and did 50 cord towards the end of winter no problems with it at all comes with a 4 way . also if you want the tables there another 150 good machine for the money.


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## reiterch

*Huskee Log Splitter*

Well, I bought the TSC Huskee 35ton/12 HP splitter this weekend. I must say, this thing is amazing. I split some pretty ugly logs and it went through everything no problem.

I posted earlier about wanting a Honda engine, and it turns out this splitter is available with an 11 HP honda in place of the 12 HP Briggs. At a premium of $500!! $1500 vs $2000, I took the Briggs.


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## Wolfcsm

Congraduletions! Let us know what you think of it.

Hal


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## Menchhofer

The Huskee splitter is decent. Had one for very few years. Did the job, but slow.

Once you split on a Timberwolf TW5 the difference is night and day. Sold the Huskee for about $950 and have never regretted. 

The TW5 is about 5500.00 (with table, 6 way wedge and log lift) but well worth the money considering one operator splits on the the average of about 4x faster than the Huskee.

Found it difficult to move large pieces with the Huskee in a vertical position. The vertical adjustment seems like a good idea until you use the unit and discover it is nothing but a pain on the larger pcs. And of course the logs need to be lifted to the unit in a horizontal position. Would much rather get 4-6ps on each stroke instead of 1 or 2.


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## reiterch

I'm sure the Timberwolf is a great splitter, but for $5500, I would still buy the Husky, and then pay some kid $5 a hour to split my wood for me! I only split wood for home use, so a little extra time is no big deal. I just got tired of splitting by hand.

Out of curiosity, I looked up what the Honda vs Briggs engines cost new if I had to buy a replacement. The Honda is ~600, the Briggs about 430. So TSC is way overpricing the splitter with the Honda engine. 

As a side note, the most interesting piece of wood I split this weekend was a log that I've had cut (not split) over a year ago. I'm not sure what type of tree it was from, (elm?) but the other logs like it were nearly unsplittable. There doesn't seem to be any real grain to this wood, so it doesn't split clean, brute force is all that will split it. I hand split the other ones I had like it during the winter when they were frozen, because it was easier to split them that way! Anyway, I put this sucker on the splitter and the wedge buried itself (slowly) about an inch and a half into the wood before it cracked, then it just tore in two as the splitter finished the job. Tough stuff, I'll have to figure out what it was. I would compare it to sycamore in terms of splitting, very stringy and tough.


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## Bills Oak

I agree with all in reference to the less expensive unit. The one major thing I did to my splitter was to put a very sharp edge on the splitting wedge. This greatly reduced the amount of waste due to log ( fraying & splintering) & made it easier for the splitting wedge to get a good starter bite on the log.......


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## Bill G

> _Originally posted by reiterch _
> * Out of curiosity, I looked up what the Honda vs Briggs engines cost new if I had to buy a replacement. The Honda is ~600, the Briggs about 430. So TSC is way overpricing the splitter with the Honda engine. *



What engine were you pricing ? A 12HP horizontal Vanguard for $430 is a real good price. If it was a vertical shaft or a Intek I could see it being that cheap.

Bill


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## Bills Oak

I think that the Honda Engines are over rated. I have a 26 Ton unit I bought from Lowes for $999 with a 7 HP Briggs Engine. I have split about 150 cords of wood on this unit & I have only had to replace a fuel tank( under warranty) on this unit. This unit has paid for itself three times now & still starts on the first pull. I just change the engine oil every 30 running hours or so, the hydraulic oil filter every 50 running hours & I have only changed the hydraulic oil 1 time. I use this unit & I have a young helper that also uses it. I'm planning on keeping it another year & then getting another one just like it--probably selling mine locally for about $450. Not bad for a unit that cost under $1000 new.


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## Kleek

I own a Split-fire two way splitter with a four way wedge and log lifter. I understand that not many people can justify the cost of a timberwolf or split-fire, but those who need a commercial unit, or just want to impress thier friends will pay the price. The main issue in getting the most production out of my splitter is getting enough help to keep wood on it. 
Also, I'd be careful about that kid for $5 an hour with liability and all. May be better off giving him a share of the wood and buying it back from him. Your homeowners insurance will run and hide from you (and him) when they find out you're his employer.


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## Bills Oak

Kleek, I agree with you, the kid is my nephew & he is very careful--by the way how do you like your 4 way splitter?-Does the 4 way wedge cause a lot of fraying, splintering of the pieces?--If you can please post a pic of your unit. One of these days I'm going to have to break down & invest in a unit like yours & bite the bullit on the price!--With my unit I'm only able to split & stack three cords per day at best with a cutting day inbetween & a rest day every forth day. Not sure how much more production I can get out of my unit & not sure how much longer my old body will hang in there!


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## Kleek

You can see pics @ www.split-fire.com. I have a model 290-4 with the 9 horsepower Honda. The 4-way wedge is interchangeable with a two-way. They can be switched it a few seconds. My wife and I can split 40 face cords (+/-) in a day when running the conveyor. Yes, there are a lot of splinters, really depends on the wood type and grain. Once you see one of these two-way machines work, you wont go back. Also, the log lifter is great for lifting big pieces and great to use as a work table to hold multiple small pieces.


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## Cubbby46

*MTD 20 ton*

I bought one of these last year, from Menard's on sale for I think about $900, and it being the first one I'v ever owned, I'd haveta say overall I'm FAIRLY satisfied.
I've split 20 cord so far, mostly oak. No problems there. Haven't met a log it won't split. 
However, MTD as a company needs a wakeup call. I had trouble finding the bloody oil drain plug on the thing, and the manuals are useless. They refer you to the Tecumseh manual which shows a LAWNMOWER being tipped on its' side for oil draining. Being real clever, I grasped immediately this was probably not an option for the splitter. Their site offered to sell me the same manual that came with the unit. Gee, no thanks. Haven't had to order any parts yet, but I've had prior experience with MTD and warranty...let's say I'm real under-impressed.
Unit is kinda poorly designed in a couple of respects. First day, the cowling over the exhaust was bent because the log extractor is ingeniously designed to dump your log directly on it . Oil change is a pain. Hydraulics to me are overly complicated, they actually show a match book cover as a template for setting head-space on one of the parts.
BUT...it cuts flawlessly.
I'm good with the unit, and if MTD is reading, take this as constructive criticism, eh?


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## Cubbby46

*Clarification to above*

Lemme clarify here.
The MTD is just OK. Guess you get what you pays for.
The unit apparently comes with several options in engines, I'm guessing whatever engine they buy at the moment is slapped on with no thought to the modifications needed for each engines idiocyncracies. The Tecumseh engine is bolted onto the frame made for a (I'm guessing) a Briggs. The engine oil drain plug is offset about an inch or so, meaning you CANNOT get to the oil drain plug through the frame. MTDs solution? Use an oil siphon to drain your oil. And be sure you change the oil every 50 hours duh huh duh huh.
ACK! 
I'm sure if I modify the frame by drilling a hole to reach the drain plug I've voided warranty.
GEEEEZE.


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