# Harbor freigth wood splitter arrives



## johncinco (Aug 20, 2008)

Well after a very, very long wait, my HF splitter arrived (ok a couple weeks ago now) They delayed it twice and sent me postcards saying I could back out of the deal if I wanted to. I see the price has already gone up, and the shipping too. Arrived on a big pallet and I had to put it together. Everything was pretty straight forward. Some of the nuts had come off somewhere in shipment, and finding 14mm, course thread, nylock nuts proved to be impossible in my small town. I had to buy new bolts and nuts. Also the hydraulic oil filter was crushed. Some of the labels on the hoses were missing, but it was not toohard to figure out. The wedge has a four way adapter to it that I found worked great, but there was a pin holding it down. I took out the pin and let it "float" and it did a much better job. The wood would pinch between the horizontals and the bed and jam up pretty good. The log lift does an outstanding job. After seeing the thread on the split fire I was concerned. I loaded one of the biggest pieces I could find and licked it right up, I even gave the wheel a lift and I could not make the machine flip over. The lift in the horizontal position makes a great table to work off of, but I plan on adding another table after the wedge. 30 ton, 9 HP Robbins motor, 8 gallons of hydraulic, 24" throw, 2 or 4 way wedge. Log lift. hitch, chains, everything you need to split. On the third day of using it a really nasty piece was getting split and "popped" and slammed into my hand. I think the bone where my thumb joins my habd is broken, so getting anything done now is a real problem. I'll update later after I get some more use out of it, but I am extremely please with this thing so far. On with the pics!


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## johncinco (Aug 20, 2008)

*Tbc*

more pics


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## johncinco (Aug 20, 2008)

*last few*

heres the last for now.


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## PA Plumber (Aug 20, 2008)

Congrats on the splitter.

Ouch on the thumb!!


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## johncinco (Aug 20, 2008)

*in action*

I knew I missed a money shot! 

Oh yeah, we nicknamed it "Tommy Lee". You can take that for whats it worth!


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## mga (Aug 20, 2008)

looks great!

it looks better than i imagined it would.


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## A. Stanton (Aug 20, 2008)

John,
Looks like a nice unit; and that 4-way is sweet.


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## ms310 (Aug 20, 2008)

*Nice*

Very nice splitter, i have one question for anyone that cares to respond. Why do most log splitters have the wood after being split drop between the hitch and the axle. This to me seems like a very poor design and would be a major pain. 
Just a side note: i got into some wood yesterday that i think they call p!22 elm and man that stuff was twisted, and we couldnt split it for nothing. It ended up in the brush, stump pile, we are clearing a woods right now to make it easier to farm.


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## Rookie1 (Aug 20, 2008)

Was that a picture of the directions in the trash. :greenchainsaw:


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## Zodiac45 (Aug 20, 2008)

Nice unit! Those Subaru Robin's are a great motor too. Congrates


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## Swamp Yankee (Aug 20, 2008)

Good luck with the new splitter. Looks like a good solid unit.

As previously stated the Subaru Robins engines are top notch. Usually have to pay a premium for them but they're well worth it.

Who made the pump and valves?

Take Care


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## johncinco (Aug 20, 2008)

Its marked as made by central hydraulics. I have no idea what all they make, other than a lot of parts for hydraulic equipment. 

Yeah, the directions in the trash was a lil humor. 

I have a friend building a splitter, and we have drawn up several ideas. Reinventing the wheel is not always easy. The wood pushes toward the hitch, which is better than having it push towards the engine and possibley damaging a vital part as it falls. Switch the motor to the front and push towards the rear, now you need the oil tank near the motor. Put the oil tank towards the front, now you are unable to move the splitter around by hand because of the weight and balance. You also want a working table after the wedge, you cant have that and be able to get to a hitch unless your beam is extremely long. 

I would like to be able to have it on a hitch, maybe my quad, and as you split wood you move forward and leave a long pile behind you a couple feet high. 

Its wood splitting, how complicated does it need to be? 



Then again, I have a antique chainsaw with a stuffer and pipe. Why? Because its fun and goes like hell! :greenchainsaw:


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## tomtrees58 (Aug 20, 2008)

HOW $$$ DID YOU PUT OUT TOM TREES


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## Wood Doctor (Aug 20, 2008)

ms310 said:


> Just a side note: i got into some wood yesterday that i think they call p!22 elm and man that stuff was twisted, and we couldnt split it for nothing. It ended up in the brush, stump pile, we are clearing a woods right now to make it easier to farm.


I cut about 1,500 lb of that elm yesterday and hauled it to my log splitter. My homemade power logsplitter with about 25 tons of ram force ate it for breakfast, and it's only a single-stage pump. Could I split it by hand? No entire way. Elm has sold lots of power log splitters.


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## wkpoor (Aug 20, 2008)

Nice splitter. One thing I'm curious about. The filter looks to be in a compromising location. Has it got damaged yet when big pieces fall off during the split?


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## skid row (Aug 21, 2008)

Nice looking splitter. 

Yep those robin engines are top shelf, use one myself and like it better than the honda GX engines.


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## arlen (Aug 21, 2008)

Congratulations on your splitter I had ordered one about 4 months ago. I finally gave up and bought a splitter form Lowe's. Looks really beefy and well made hope you enjoy it and get lots of use out of it David


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## avalancher (Aug 21, 2008)

I like the location of your controls, on top. That is one beef that I have with mine, controls on one side only which sometimes can be a real bummer.
Congrats on your new purhchase. What did that thing run you?


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## johncinco (Aug 21, 2008)

Cost was $1449, plus $61 delivery. Cost is now $1599, and delivery is a quote after calling. Hydraulic fluid was $49. oil $6. 

The oil filter was crushed during delivery and I put a new one on. The hoses got hit with a block of wood once, and loosened and hyd fluid started leaking. I plan on making up a shield out of sheet metal to protect that whole area. 

The delivery took forever, I almost cancled but then I figured I had plenty of time left before winter. If it did not arrive in time I was going to just go buy a different one from Tractor Supply, and when this did arrive I would assemble and compare the two. I figured if I did not like it I could park it at the curb with a $1800 price on it and sell it in a matter of hours. If they were still at the same price, I would order another and do just that, with a $2000 price.


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## avalancher (Aug 21, 2008)

You got a pretty good deal then. I paid almost that for mine, and its a 27 ton with no log lift.
I have been wary of buying anything from Harbor Freight, it seems that so much of their tools are junk, but it looks like that thing you got there is a real exception. 
good luck and congrats on your new purchase! Happy splitting!


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## The Groove (Sep 9, 2008)

*auto return*

Does your log splitter valve have auto release on the return I'm thinking of getting one. HR said they won't ship it to one of their stores. Thanks


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## dahmower (Sep 24, 2008)

*whats your opinion now?*

So after using this splitter for a while how is it? whats the cycle time on it? how does the 4 way handle the knottty and tough wood? and if you had it to do over would you still buy this one or choose another brand? thanks


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## bluequill56 (Sep 25, 2008)

How does that style of 4-way wedge work?


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## johncinco (Sep 26, 2008)

*splitter update*

OK I'll update on the details and condition after using it for a bit. 
Its Dog ##### Broke! 
First the 4 way splitter came apart at the main welds. The vertical pieces were barely penetrated and simply came apart. I had it pressed back together and some excellent welds put in place. All ground back to a nice point and back to work. 
Then the "shoe" or part that pushes the log into the wedge bent backwards. This is some of the thickest steel on the machine. It simply just bent back over time. While this would still work without issue, it caused a bunch of problems from there. Since the shoe leaned back, the forward pressue was not straight to the wedge, but tilted up. There are retaining blocks that hold the shoe even with the rail. These blocks bent and eventually snapped the bolts that hold them in place. These were replaced with longer pieces, and stronger bolts. Back to work. 
Then major failure. The rail simply could not handle the work load. It bent the complete two top planges. The blocks and shoe can not follow the bends in the rail so its a big noisy paperweight. I have it at a good shop and he is going to press the rail back straight, the add steel between the top flanges and the lower flanges, and then blocks that slide under the bottom of the whole rail. If that does not work, I will get a whole new rail and mount the working parts of the splitter onto a good rail and go from there. 
The Robin (subaru) engine performs flawlessly. The ram pushes like a beast. The hydraulics, lines, controls and tank all work great. They took some excellent parts from Northern Hydraulics and mounted them to a lot of cheap steel. 
Did I overwork or abuse it? Maybe, it says right in the description "do not split anything over 12" " I figure it is rated at 30 tons, it should be able to handle that. I split a lot of elm I had around, some knots that I had around simply because I never wanted to tackle them with wedges and mauls. I still think it should have held up better. 
If your gonna split 12" wood, or straight grained pine or maybe ash, it'll work for ya. if you run into some knarly stuff on a regular basis, you want to buy something else. 

Some lessons are harder to learn than others. I'm betting I could still sell it for $1800 in a couple of hours. The aggravation is worse than a couple bucks.


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## johncinco (Sep 26, 2008)

bluequill56 said:


> How does that style of 4-way wedge work?



Once I got it repaired, its a real jewel. The horizontal splits are not even with the vertical, maybe 2" behind. The vertical split starts, and gets the wood popped apart at least, then the horz starts, so you are not trying to split it 2 ways at once right from the start. Once it gets moving it just runs right through. The horz also has "wings" going vert on top and bottom, about 1/2 way back. This accelerates the spreading of the pieces, so the L/R and top/bottom all fall off the wedges at the same time.


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## avalancher (Sep 26, 2008)

Do not split anything larger than 12"? Who are they kidding? If I had wood that was only 12 inches I wouldnt even bother with a splitter. Who would need 30 tons of force for a 12 inch round?
I guess this is their way of protecting their warranty. If it breaks, then it must be because of you abusing it. Coporate America for you! Anything to make a buck. Then people wonder why we are on the verge of a major depression.
Well,Im glad you got it beefed up and back to work. Hope it works out for you. It sure is a nice looking outfit though!


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## AKKAMAAN (Sep 28, 2008)

*To the manufacturers.....*

Putting a 30 ton ram on a 15 ton fixture i WRONG!!! 
Put the Piston in a more "balanced" position in the fixture so the main beam dont bend at high force......


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## 046 (Sep 28, 2008)

yikes.... sure sorry to hear about all your problems



johncinco said:


> OK I'll update on the details and condition after using it for a bit.
> Its Dog ##### Broke!
> First the 4 way splitter came apart at the main welds. The vertical pieces were barely penetrated and simply came apart. I had it pressed back together and some excellent welds put in place. All ground back to a nice point and back to work.
> Then the "shoe" or part that pushes the log into the wedge bent backwards. This is some of the thickest steel on the machine. It simply just bent back over time. While this would still work without issue, it caused a bunch of problems from there. Since the shoe leaned back, the forward pressue was not straight to the wedge, but tilted up. There are retaining blocks that hold the shoe even with the rail. These blocks bent and eventually snapped the bolts that hold them in place. These were replaced with longer pieces, and stronger bolts. Back to work.
> ...


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## johncinco (Oct 23, 2008)

Just an update. Yellow freight is schedule to come pick it back up. I am getting a full refund, including the shipping. Darn shame, I wish it woulda worked out better. I wanted to get a $500 refund, and pay the welding shop guy to mount it all to a better main rail. He was gonna add a work table at the same time. HF said they would do that, then came back and said no, they would just take it back completely. 

Looks like a Timber Wolf is in my future.


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## Wet1 (Oct 23, 2008)

Well at least HF made good on it.


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## avalancher (Oct 23, 2008)

Sorry to hear that it didnt work out for you. Nothing sucks more than a tool that doesnt work like it should. Guess it was for the better that it failed while it was still new though, it would have really sucked to have all that go wrong after the warranty was up!


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## ghitch75 (Oct 26, 2008)

i got a 30 ton....we have split 30 cords with it and haven't had a min's trouble from it...have split up to 42" rounds....and if it don't split it, it will crush it...best 1300 buc's i'v spent....sorry for your bad luck with yours...


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## Dok (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks for the updates- good to know! 
Dok


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## genovet (Mar 23, 2009)

What is the cycle time on the HF 30 ton?

Thanks.

Tim


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## 2smart4me (Oct 12, 2009)

I don’t see any posting of anyone who has had a HF 30 ton log splitter that is several years old.
I would like to know how it has held up and what if any problems they have had and would they recommend it?
Also talking to technical support the cycle time is 30 Seconds, is this splitter that slow? Most are about 15 seconds, also they say it has a 2.5 gallons of hydraulic oil, most splitters I researched have a lot more, so is this splitter hydraulic oil getting hot?
HF sent out a sale flier, 30 ton is now $1099 20% off coupon ( found in Sept. popular mechanics exp 11/14/09) puts it under $900 bucks.
PLEASE RESPOND BEFORE 11/14/09
THANKS


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## ms310 (Oct 12, 2009)

*2.5 gallons*

It has 2.5 gallons of hydraulic fluid, are you sure? My Iron and oak has 16 and i will tell you that the cylinder gets pretty hot with that much hydro fluid in it! 2.5 GALLONS take a turkey to the woods with you and deep fry it in they oil that is how hot i would think it could get, you could eat turkey while you wait for the oil to cool down!


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## htpd43 (Oct 12, 2009)

Swamp Yankee


> Who made the pump and valves?


Last few times I looked at the HF flyers for the 30 ton splitter they advertise the pump as a 16 GPM 2 stage Haldex.
Lou


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## garmar (Oct 12, 2009)

Those pics of the pallet condition is about what I've come to expect from HF. I made the mistake of ordering a box of one inch staples from them...it showed up in a box that ten boxes of staples coulda fit in without any packing material and they were broken into about ten thousand 'mini rows' of staples. I called them up and they said they would send out another box. 

Guess how they showed up... opcorn: 


You got it. :censored:


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## kevin j (Oct 13, 2009)

overloading? no way an explantion for failure. They are bsing you.

One of the big advantages of hydraulics is ability to stall forever at a constant known force (pressure times areas).
So the engineers know exactly how much force to design into the structure. It does not matter at all on log size. 6 inch block of steel, 36 inch block of pine, still only 30 tons of force. Applying that force at the top corner of the wedge defines the bending forces on the beam.

Someone didn't do their design properly, or the welds properly.
Not anything the customer did.

glad you got a refund, minus all the time and aggravation.

When you add in the risk cost, modification, and aggravation to the initial cheap price, usually HF stuff ends up costing as much as quality in the first place.


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## blades (Oct 13, 2009)

OK you asked for older hf splitter info. 30ton, vert/horz 2002 vintage 8hp Briggs no issue there, 11 gpm . About 150 cords through unit. First problem after assembly, filter blew off, figured I did not hand tighten enough, reinstalled promptly blew filter fixture in half, must have been installed backwards from factory. Do not remember any thing else for that season. 2nd season bent toe plate which is close to 2" thick and the beam slightly in the direction of ram travel, towards the middle of season cylinder mount ripped off (very exciting), upon examination weld failure was evident, typical robotic weld, lack of penetration. somewhere in between here the valve started to leak a tad. No other failures till this season, hose from pump to valve sprung a leak at crimp at top of pump ( Most likely due to being clobbered a few dozen times by various splits) Oh and I really twisted and bent the beam this year on a knarly piece of Elm. Beat it back into submission with a sledge hammer and the flame wrench.Have since split another 5 cord, with 2 or 3 more to go yet. No cylinder issues so far, hydro tank too small gets hot fast. Original cost $900 including shipping. Want to rebuild this winter with lift and larger tank going to use 2 I beams welded sxs with 3/8Top plate welded on to flanges, not sure if I will keep vertical mode yet. Oh, on this unit the wedge slopes back from bottom to top which I thought odd, so sometimes chunks come sliding up the wedge.


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## 2smart4me (Oct 13, 2009)

What about cycle time? on the HF30ton splitter


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## chillyhiker (Oct 13, 2009)

I bought a 4 way for my splitter and you are not supposed to split rounds as big as you had photos of ...according to them.


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## urhstry (Oct 13, 2009)

As mentioned, we feel your pain. BUT your bad misfortune has educated us all here on arboristsite. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your next purchase.


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## 2smart4me (Oct 16, 2009)

It's true I got a HF add today and it has the 30 ton splitter stating ( fluid capacity : 2.5 gallons) now what damage could hot hy. oil do??


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## blades (Oct 16, 2009)

I do not know what damage it will do, but it took less time to empty that little tank then it took me to get around the unit to shut it down when the hose blew. Luckily I was not in the path of least resistance.


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## AKKAMAAN (Oct 16, 2009)

I just want to make a comment about bending beams on splitters. 

I strongly agree with KevinJ!

Pressure Relief Valve, PRV, is supposed to protect all parts of the splitter from self damage from Force and Pressure. So is does not matter at all, how big logs you try to splitt.....if ram is moving, then you are operating below PRV setting, if ram is not moving, PRV opens and bypass the flow (that is maximum force)....and no damage should be done...
So if of some reason beam get bent (damaged), it can only be two things....someone increased PRV setting WAY above manufacturer setting, or IT IS A POOR DESIGN!!!

Before buying a splitter, test by trying this, put a 8-10" diam log across and let cylinder hit and go to a stop, keep pushing whit ControlValve, CV, at full stroke....even if it is a true 30-37 ton force splitter, the beam still should NOT BREAK or BEND...

Note:
It takes 3770PSI, to get 30 tons out of a 4.5" bore cylinder
It takes 3060PSI, to get 30 tons out of a 5" bore cylinder

Higher pressure than 3000PSI is unherad of on logsplitters.....most splitters are set at 2500-2700PSI


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## Steve NW WI (Oct 16, 2009)

AKKAMAAN said:


> Before buying a splitter, test by trying this, put a 8-10" diam log across and let cylinder hit and go to a stop, keep pushing whit ControlValve, CV, at full stroke....even if it is a true 30-37 ton force splitter, the beam still should NOT BREAK or BEND...
> 
> Note:
> It takes 3770PSI, to get 30 tons out of a 4.5" bore cylinder
> It takes 3060PSI, to get 30 tons out of a 5" bore cylinder



What happens when the block you use just shears? What if you put a car tire in there and use the splitter to demount the tire from the rim by smooshing the rim down flat?

BTW... to get 30 tons out of an 8" cylinder, you only need 1200 psi to do the job, 3000 will get you 75 tons. To make this move at a good speed, get a single stage pump and a +-50hp motor.


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## blades (Oct 17, 2009)

Never messed with the valve, I have bent the xxxxxx out of the beam and foot plate, wouldn't surprise me at all that it is not set correctly from mfg. considering that the filter assembly was install backwards by them. Lot on miles on mine time for rebuild anyway.


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## 2smart4me (Jun 29, 2010)

I hope some one can help me, I bought a 30 ton Harbor Freight Log Splitter, awesome machine, rips right thru cottonwood, but has blown the return hose off several times, I spent the bucks to make it a high presser hose, now it blows the filter off. After blowing the filter off 3 times in less then a hour and at 3 gallons of hydraulic oil each time I have a blow out, I removed the filter to finish my wood splitting job with out any other mishaps.
I cut the first filter open and there was some orange paint in it but not enough to plug it. Inspecting the set up the return hoes comes out of the directional valve at 1 inch, goes thru a 1 ¼ inch hose goes into the filter housing at 1 inch and out of the filter housing into the hydraulic reservoir at ¾ inch, this is where I think the design error is, it’s restricting the flow. I have looked at others and see they have put the filter on the pump inlet side. Also how do you remove 15 gallons of oil from my work area? Any advice would be helpful.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Jun 29, 2010)

2smart4me said:


> I hope some one can help me, I bought a 30 ton Harbor Freight Log Splitter, ... Any advice would be helpful.



:arg:

Start a new thread.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Jun 29, 2010)

*I knew this was coming, if this thread lasted long enough...*



johncinco said:


> OK I'll update on the details and condition after using it for a bit.
> Its Dog ##### Broke!
> First the 4 way splitter came apart at the main welds. ...
> 
> ...




Yes, it should. A 30 ton splitter should handle a whale of a lot more than 12 inches. 


I learned my Harbor Freight lesson a few years ago, and a lot cheaper, and I don't intend to forget it. 

*HF = garbage.*



At least you have a good engine out of the deal.


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## ghitch75 (Jun 29, 2010)

2smart4me said:


> I hope some one can help me, I bought a 30 ton Harbor Freight Log Splitter, awesome machine, rips right thru cottonwood, but has blown the return hose off several times, I spent the bucks to make it a high presser hose, now it blows the filter off. After blowing the filter off 3 times in less then a hour and at 3 gallons of hydraulic oil each time I have a blow out, I removed the filter to finish my wood splitting job with out any other mishaps.
> I cut the first filter open and there was some orange paint in it but not enough to plug it. Inspecting the set up the return hoes comes out of the directional valve at 1 inch, goes thru a 1 ¼ inch hose goes into the filter housing at 1 inch and out of the filter housing into the hydraulic reservoir at ¾ inch, this is where I think the design error is, it’s restricting the flow. I have looked at others and see they have put the filter on the pump inlet side. Also how do you remove 15 gallons of oil from my work area? Any advice would be helpful.



mine did the same thing.....take your filter and go match it up with a car oil filter.....mine been on there for over a year now and hasn't blowed out yet...


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## Tree Pig (Jun 29, 2010)

Nice looking machine. Do yourself a favor and watch the hoses. These guys arent kidding. I received a hot hydraulic fluid shower from a HF splitter of my neighbors. Crap hose blew right off under load.


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## ghitch75 (Jun 29, 2010)

Stihl-O-Matic said:


> Nice looking machine. Do yourself a favor and watch the hoses. These guys arent kidding. I received a hot hydraulic fluid shower from a HF splitter of my neighbors. Crap hose blew right off under load.



got 1 of those showers too:censored::censored::censored:


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## Tree Pig (Jun 29, 2010)

ghitch75 said:


> got 1 of those showers too:censored::censored::censored:



Well as much as I didnt like the shower the neighbor that owned the splitter didnt like me jumping in his pool to get the fluid off... well try to at least. Left a nice slick behind.


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## blades (Jun 29, 2010)

Reply to filter blowing off,( been there done that) likely it is only a 1/2 inch filter assembly so can not handle volume as that seems to be what they install on all of them. They also like to install the filter assembly backwards.Maybe because the Chinese read right to left( bassackwards) Northern has a higher flow unit, get that and install it in the correct orientation. Do not use a filter element of more than 10 microns. ( car filters are typically 20+).
Yes you can bend the 2" foot plate and the beam, twist it, and mangel the flanges.( hey I got the whole bag of hand outs) Not so much a question of the bypass ( i have never touched mine, or checked with a gage) but of the assembly, as supplied, of the wedge system. Notably that the sliders are of 3 piece construction, and no matter how tight you crank the bolts invariably the spacers get knocked out of position resulting in slop, which causes the cup the ram is connected to to flare out (too thin) allowing the wedge to go willy-nilly. The spacers need to be welded in position to the wedge base plate. You then have a fixed distance to follow the beam flanges.


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## SkyP (Jun 29, 2010)

My HF 30 ton splitter also blew the hose off twice, soaked a nice pair of Goretex lined Rockport boots the second time:censored:
I replace the filter with a car filter and no more problems...


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## 2smart4me (Jun 30, 2010)

Talk about been there done that, I never said any thing about bending the 2" foot plate and the beam and I never touched the bypass,(where is it) or the spacers get knocked out of position but I have all of above problems. The blown off filter has been replaced 2 times with the best filter made by mankind (WIX) that NASCAR uses, although I have no clue how many microns, The high pressure hose and no filter works, but is not acceptable
Has any one put the filter on the suction side?


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## webie (Jun 30, 2010)

Do not put the filter on the suction side it will cause the pump to cavitate and blow your pump.


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## ghitch75 (Jun 30, 2010)

2smart4me said:


> Talk about been there done that, I never said any thing about bending the 2" foot plate and the beam and I never touched the bypass,(where is it) or the spacers get knocked out of position but I have all of above problems. The blown off filter has been replaced 2 times with the best filter made by mankind (WIX) that NASCAR uses, although I have no clue how many microns, The high pressure hose and no filter works, but is not acceptable
> Has any one put the filter on the suction side?



i have a Fram on mine for a year and a half....Wix's are better at filterin' the oil but aren't built as good.... Fram's are tougher built.....


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## triptester (Jun 30, 2010)

The return line should never have enough pressure to blow hose or blow the filter unless there is restriction in filter or line between filter and tank. A possible cause for damaged filter or return hose is a restricted tank vent.


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## blades (Jun 30, 2010)

By the way the hf vent is just a tiny hole in the fill port, recommend getting an elbow 3/4" and a vented cap for it.


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## 2smart4me (Jul 1, 2010)

OK ,I did modify the vent to a ¼ petcock, because when I tow the splitter around with my riding lawnmower the splitter leaks oil out the 1/8 inch vent with the original vent/plug with O ring, although with a high pressure replacement hose on the return side, the weak link is the oil filter. I agree the return line should never have enough pressure to blow hose or blow the filter, I need to know where is all the pressure coming from? Those who put on a fram filter, did you replace the original HF filter housing? And what’s the fram filter number? My return going into the hydraulic tank is a ¾ pipe which is wielded to the tank, this would be major to change and not get contamination in the tank.
HF has agreed to give me a complete refund, and reimburse me for all the oil (15gallens) .
This may be the best deal yet! Any comments??


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## blades (Jul 1, 2010)

There should be a flow direction arrow on the filter housing. I have rebuilt/modified my unit. i will get pics up after i resize them.


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## BlackOakTreeServ (Jul 1, 2010)

2smart4me said:


> OK ,I did modify the vent to a ¼ petcock, because when I tow the splitter around with my riding lawnmower the splitter leaks oil out the 1/8 inch vent with the original vent/plug with O ring, although with a high pressure replacement hose on the return side, the weak link is the oil filter. I agree the return line should never have enough pressure to blow hose or blow the filter, I need to know where is all the pressure coming from? Those who put on a fram filter, did you replace the original HF filter housing? And what’s the fram filter number? My return going into the hydraulic tank is a ¾ pipe which is wielded to the tank, this would be major to change and not get contamination in the tank.
> HF has agreed to give me a complete refund, and reimburse me for all the oil (15gallens) .
> This may be the best deal yet! Any comments??



Sounds like you need a new filter housing. I use 'Zinga' 3/4 NPT return line...it handles 20gpm and the filter is a 10 micron, which is recomended.

i got mine from www.surpluscenter.com part # 9-059


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## blades (Jul 1, 2010)

AS promised pics of rebuilt HF. Couple things to add yet, extra tank, and a catch tray. The new beam is made out of two 4x6x6' schedule 80 tubes welded together all the way around + a 3/8" x6" x6' plate welded on top of those and plug welds at either stress point. The wedge is a 1"x12" A36, ground here in my shop followed by a 2.5"sq.x12" schedule 80 tube as a spreader. The push plate is 1.5" thick with 1/2" butresses. the cup for the ram head is 4" dia., bored out for the ram and pined with a 1/2" bolt. It just smiles and eats ELM for snacks. There are 4 - 1/2x18 tapped holes in the push plate for sticker pins.


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## Thickskin (Jul 2, 2010)

johncinco said:


> OK I'll update on the details and condition after using it for a bit.
> Its Dog ##### Broke!
> First the 4 way splitter came apart at the main welds. The vertical pieces were barely penetrated and simply came apart. I had it pressed back together and some excellent welds put in place. All ground back to a nice point and back to work.
> Then the "shoe" or part that pushes the log into the wedge bent backwards. This is some of the thickest steel on the machine. It simply just bent back over time. While this would still work without issue, it caused a bunch of problems from there. Since the shoe leaned back, the forward pressue was not straight to the wedge, but tilted up. There are retaining blocks that hold the shoe even with the rail. These blocks bent and eventually snapped the bolts that hold them in place. These were replaced with longer pieces, and stronger bolts. Back to work.
> ...



Shoulda bought one of the Huskees at TSC. The beams on those things are like 300 lbs of steel. pretty damn solid..


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## Thickskin (Jul 2, 2010)

johncinco said:


> Just an update. Yellow freight is schedule to come pick it back up. I am getting a full refund, including the shipping. Darn shame, I wish it woulda worked out better. I wanted to get a $500 refund, and pay the welding shop guy to mount it all to a better main rail. He was gonna add a work table at the same time. HF said they would do that, then came back and said no, they would just take it back completely.
> 
> Looks like a Timber Wolf is in my future.



Like I said after your other quote, I would seriously look at the Huskee from TSC. From everything I hear from some friends that have them, they are the most bang for your buck. Assembled here in the USA too, not shipped in a crate from China. Good luck!


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## ptabaka (Jul 18, 2010)

*splitter*

i looked at them , the beams are welded peases of steel not 1 solid i beam good luck


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## Thickskin (Jul 19, 2010)

ptabaka said:


> i looked at them , the beams are welded peases of steel not 1 solid i beam good luck



They may be welded but way thicker and sturdier than the HF ones.


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## 2smart4me (Nov 3, 2010)

woodsman44 said:


> Sounds like you need a new filter housing. I use 'Zinga' 3/4 NPT return line...it handles 20gpm and the filter is a 10 micron, which is recomended.
> 
> i got mine from www.surpluscenter.com part # 9-059



I like your idea on the filter upgrade, did you replace the hoses, and clamps? Give me more information on the up dates, it sure would be cheaper to fix it before I receive another oil bath


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