buying a new splitter this weekend. need advice

[460magnum]

Looking at the HUSKEE brand that tractor supply sells. Can't make up my mind between the 5.5 Honda on the 27ton model or the 12.5 briggs on the 35 ton model. Any good recomendations? I am primarily splitting the wood to sell and burn in my house and garage. I used my buddies 22 ton but it had a 6.5 briggs. I don't want one like that. It struggled a bit on some of the knotty pieces. I figure the 27 ton would do it but then realized it had the 5.5HP Honda.....

 

[creaid]

Looking at the HUSKEE brand that tractor supply sells. Can't make up my mind between the 5.5 Honda on the 27ton model or the 12.5 briggs on the 35 ton model. Any good recomendations? I am primarily splitting the wood to sell and burn in my house and garage. I used my buddies 22 ton but it had a 6.5 briggs. I don't want one like that. It struggled a bit on some of the knotty pieces. I figure the 27 ton would do it but then realized it had the 5.5HP Honda.....

The "struggling" was probably the 2-stage pump switching.

 

[460magnum]

I'm new to the splitters and don't nescessarily understand the hydraulic end fully. So from what your saying the 2 stage pump has a travel flow and a splitting flow or speed?

 

[stihl sawing]

I have the 35 ton huskee and with the 12 horse motor and it will not struggle to split anything. I split some sweet gum this weekend and it went through it easy. I have a 5.5 honda on a lawnmower and it is weak on high grass. If you don't plan on splitting big logs then the 27 ton is probably big enough.

 

[kevin j]

Force in tons is strictly cylinder size and pressure. totally unconnected to engine hp.

'tons' should be pressure times cylinder area, but it seems to get multiplied by a marketing BS factor- from 15 to 22 tons for the same cylinder and pressure. I had a salesman say 'our cylinder is more efficient than the others'. Total BS and ignorance. Or, mfr 'rating' the tons at 3250 psi, when everything in the system is rated and set to max at 2500 psi.

Larger tons probably (I hope) has larger cylinder, which then goes slower unless there is a larger pump. Pump size determines speed of the cycle, then the bigger engine hp is required to turn that pump. So bigger engine means faster cycling, NOT more tons directly. It can mean more force sort of indirectly, only if they increased the cylinder size. Does that make any sense?

So, check the cycle times. I get frustrated way more by SLOW than by too small.

I'll PM you some files.

kcj

 

[460magnum]

Makes sense I am just looking for some tips on buying the right splitter. I know nothing of Honda motors at least on mowers and splitters. Would it be a long lasting motor for that splitter? Given it is garage kept and maintained? I know they are quite and easy starting. I know the one my buddy has is a 22 ton with a 6.5 briggs and it is as easy to start as push starting a tankopcorn: I just sit back and watch him yank his brains out!!!

 

[Wood Scrounge]

I have the 27 ton and it has split anything I put in. THe Honda motor has been a little concerning though. It does not seem to be to reliable, I have had to adjust the carb several times and it just does not sound all that healthy. do a search and you will find a long thread on this subject.

 

[046]

depends upon your budget... both will do the job and have excellent feedback on AS.

IMHO a large part of this is directly related to delivering a machine fully loaded with all fluids ready to split. no need to purchase another 10 gallons of hydraulic oils, engine oils, etc. and resulting problems bleeding air out and purchasing wrong hydraulic fluids.

real tonnage is closer to 20 and 25 tons. (27/35 ton)

advantage is huskee/speeco has a really great reputation for building reliable splitters. disadvantage is cycle times... don't expect pro-grade splitter like timberwolf TW5 cycle times.

if you've got the $$$ go with 35ton speeco/huskee. much better splitter!
scored mine for $1,600 on sale and got TSC to match no tax day at a competitor. closest other choice was northern 34 ton at $2200 with shipping to me. then I'd still have to purchase hydraulic oil/engine oil. naturally if you have a Northern store near you, that may be the better deal.

upgrade to 22 gpm pump is in the plans for my 35ton speeco. only need pump and 3/4in hoses, as 12.5hp motor will pull larger pump with no sweat. cycles times will then be on par with pro-splitters.

note 12.5 briggs in a high grade overhead valve motor. it's been dead reliable and starts with no problems at 20 degrees. note hydraulic oil thickens and makes harder to start at low temps.

 

[czar800]

Go with the 35ton I have one works fine.

 

[Andyshine77]

I've never had a problem with the B&S on my 22 ton, it runs fine and starts in one or two pulls. It splits everything I've thrown at it, but if I were to do it all over again I'd buy the 35 ton.

 

[cabinman]

honda vs briggs

I've never had a problem with the B&S on my 22 ton, it runs fine and starts in one or two pulls. It splits everything I've thrown at it, but if I were to do it all over again I'd buy the 35 ton.

I have both, The bigest difference is honda lasts longer, If every thing isnt quite right, carb adj, plug, fuel quality, etc, It dosnt matter what brand it is, They dont start as good,. one of my best briggs starts as good as any honda Ive ever had, but its an oil burner,..Eric

 

[skytow]

I have the 22 and it has split everything I have thrown at it, knotty nasty stuff included. Yeah, it will slow for a second or two and then just grunt on through. I'm not a Briggs fan but this thing has been one pull hot or cold since new. Amazing. The primer thing (no choke!!) seems to work great.

Hopefully hold up over the long haul. No problems at all with the hydraulics or splitter frame / tank / wheels, etc....

Check the cycle time on the 27. It has the same size pump as the 22 but with a bigger cylinder....... I hate to wait....

If I had it to do again I'd still get the 22 ton. The price difference all but paid for my PS 7900!!

JD in SE PA

 

[A. Stanton]

I'll put it this way to you: did you ever buy something small and wish you went bigger or did you ever buy something large and wish you went smaller? I got the 35-tonner: it's great.

 

[460magnum]

Thanks for all the replies!! I will post a pic of the pile of wood I am going to split with my new splitter this weekend. I think I am going to go with the 35 but I will let that up to the voices in my head when I go there tonight or tomorrow. again thanks for the replies it really helps!

 

[Zodiac45]

I'm new to the splitters and don't nescessarily understand the hydraulic end fully. So from what your saying the 2 stage pump has a travel flow and a splitting flow or speed?

Yes the two stage pump is like a 2 speed automatic trans in reverse. Your splitter starts off in 2nd gear and moves quicker towards the wood. If it runs into a certain amount of resistance, it will shift down too 1st gear and moves slower but with more force. This shift will occur after a second or so of the high resistance (the struggling you witnessed).

I personally think that the 5.5hp 22 ton is all you'll ever need for home firewood. It's what I use and I've never stopped it even splitting rounds vertically the side of truck tires. The Honda engine is a plus in my opinion too. You would normally pay a premium for any equipment to be Honda powered. They are dead reliable and most equiptment rental places use them exclusively for that reason.

 

[FarmerSid]

Well, A buddy went down to the US and bought a Huskee splitter at TSC. It has a 12 HP B&S. I don't really like it that much. Cheap plastic fenders that broke before a piece of wood was split. Dinky tires. Hard starting when it's cold out (-10 C), funny choke/throttle setup, wheels are in the way when trying to use it especially when you are trying to lift a heavier piece. I guess this is a sacrifice when you can change the splitter to vertical. The end plate bent when trying to split a 16" piece of dead elm. I'm not too fussy having the filter on the suction side of the pump and using a vertical shaft engine which puts the pump below the engine and puts it in the perfect position to get hit when pulling it through the woods to the wood cutting site. There is not one bit of protection for the pump. He has already made new fenders out of SS, made a pump guard out of SS, welded an extension to the knife and modified the jack as it was really flimsy and wobbled like crazy on the thin U channel tongue.

Mind you, this is MY opinion on this splitter and I don't want to offend anyone as many seem to love it. We can't get this splitter up here in my area of Canada. I made my own based on the Split-Fire design and works good for me. I didn't care for the vertical splitters to begin with so that maybe why I don't care for the Huskee very much. Again this is just my opinion and hope others that have a Huskee and love it continue to.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[stihl sawing]

NO problem here, Everybody is different with different needs. Their are a lot of splitters on the maket, Just buy what will suit you. I really can't picture the end plate bending as it is about an inch thick. I will agree with you on the jack it is flimsy and wobbles. Mine is easy to start but i have not tried it in -10 so it may be hard in that cold. Good luck in finding what you want, Whatever you buy it will beat the heck out of a splitting maul.

 

[FarmerSid]

-10 C is not that cold at all up here. LOL! It's perfect weather for cutting or splitting. I agree that any splitter can be better than using a mual. The end plate on this one is cast. It is a good 1" thick at the edges but it is dished out with ribs on the back side. We were kinds suprised that it bent instead of the welds breaking. It's tough to get cast to weld good to normal mild steel. It would'nt have bent if it was solid 1" plate. It probably wouldn't have bend if we started splitting near the outside edge as opposed to going right down the middle. The pump kicked down to the second stage as soon as it hit the elm and stayed there the whole split. That's when we noticed the bent end plate.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[046]

all your comments about cheap parts like fenders and jacks are completely valid... cheap plastic fenders came off right away. like splitter better without fenders. cheap jack too, but no big deal. it's not supporting much.

most all splitters have dinky tires without going up to pro-grade splitters costing 3x more. or build your own of course.

use mine in vertical mode almost all the time. no hydraulic lift and 3ft + rounds don't mix if you are doing a lot of large rounds (3ft+), vertical mode is the way to go.

for use in low temps, I'd try synthetic engine oil. but that might not make much difference starting engine and pushing cold hydraulic oils at the same time. make sure your plug is not fouled for easy starts. mine fouled a plug and refused to start easy, until I put a new spark plug in. with new plug, no problems starting at 10 degree F. but that's nothing for your folks. some folks store their splitter in a warm garage, then take out for splitting duties.

yup.. pump is not protected. this splitter is not a good choice if you need to drag over rough terrain.

don't understand how end plate could bend for a 16in round, as that plate is massive. support beam is 12in and massive too. some parts hanging on splitter like fenders are cheap. but main support are massive. very hard to believe they got bent with a tiny round.

could you please post a pic? otherwise I call BS...

Well, A buddy went down to the US and bought a Huskee splitter at TSC. It has a 12 HP B&S. I don't really like it that much. Cheap plastic fenders that broke before a piece of wood was split. Dinky tires. Hard starting when it's cold out (-10 C), funny choke/throttle setup, wheels are in the way when trying to use it especially when you are trying to lift a heavier piece. I guess this is a sacrifice when you can change the splitter to vertical. The end plate bent when trying to split a 16" piece of dead elm. I'm not too fussy having the filter on the suction side of the pump and using a vertical shaft engine which puts the pump below the engine and puts it in the perfect position to get hit when pulling it through the woods to the wood cutting site. There is not one bit of protection for the pump. He has already made new fenders out of SS, made a pump guard out of SS, welded an extension to the knife and modified the jack as it was really flimsy and wobbled like crazy on the thin U channel tongue.

Mind you, this is MY opinion on this splitter and I don't want to offend anyone as many seem to love it. We can't get this splitter up here in my area of Canada. I made my own based on the Split-Fire design and works good for me. I didn't care for the vertical splitters to begin with so that maybe why I don't care for the Huskee very much. Again this is just my opinion and hope others that have a Huskee and love it continue to.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[FarmerSid]

I don't have any pics of the elm or end plate. We straightened it out by chaining the splitter to a large tree. The end plate about 12" from the tree. It was chained below the end plate and put a hydraulic jack between the tree and top of the end plate as the splitter sat it the horizontal position. The end plate straightened back straight by jacking the hydraulic jack. It didn't go easy but we didn't want to use heat as we were afraid of weakening the end plate. I hope the end plate is not weakened now by bending it back cold. It probably won't be but what else do you do.

The elm was frozen and was twisty. It should have spli easier being frozen but it wanted to live up to it's name.

Cheers!

Sid