Buying splitter, what should I look for?

[046]

yup... speeco still makes the splitter for TSC labeled as Huskee.

huskee splitters... cheesey.. hmmm, that's the first time I've heard that. Timeberwolf, iron & oak, speeco/husky splitters all get great reviews on AS.

pretty happy with my 35 ton huskee/speeco. mine comes with a 12in I beam, 5in ram and 12.5 hp ohv engine. nothing cheesey on mine

would like a little faster cycle times than 15 seconds currently getting. will probably upgrade to a 22 gpm pump at some point. Ram travels 26in during full cycle. stroke could be shortened by two inches. as I rarely split rounds over 24in.

I looked at the Huskee splitters at TSC and they looked cheesey. I don't know if Speeco still makes them for TSC but they weren't the same as the older models.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Before I bought my Iron & Oak I looked at the Huskee. I didn't like the way the ram/wedge mounted. It had lots of play and you could rattle the wedge back and forth in the channels - and it appeared the channels made a valley for all the bark and debris to gather in. I suppose the tapered bottom of the wedge will clean out the debris with each stroke - but it just didn't look right to me.

The Iron and Oak was a few dollars more - but to me looked like a much better design and everything fits tightly together without the play in the ram/wedge that the Huskee had.

 

[046]

can't comment about other huskee splitters, but my ram/wedge has little to no play. And I like the channel on I beam. makes a perfect path for logs to ride in, when splitting horizontal. no debris problem, pretty much self cleaning.

besides, almost never use horizontal mode. too much extra work lifting rounds up to splitter. no way I'd even consider a horizontal only unit without a lift.

don't get me wrong, if someone has the budget and/or doing production work. by all means go with iron & oak or timberwolf. lots of happy owners here on AS.

Before I bought my Iron & Oak I looked at the Huskee. I didn't like the way the ram/wedge mounted. It had lots of play and you could rattle the wedge back and forth in the channels - and it appeared the channels made a valley for all the bark and debris to gather in. I suppose the tapered bottom of the wedge will clean out the debris with each stroke - but it just didn't look right to me.

The Iron and Oak was a few dollars more - but to me looked like a much better design and everything fits tightly together without the play in the ram/wedge that the Huskee had.

 

[hanko]

the chepest around, CAll BOB 517 521 3624

I can tell you thiis as fact, bob is NOT the cheapest around by any means. but for me he is local,

 

[oneoldbanjo]

046 - For me the horizontal mode works the best - but I do occasinally use the vertical mode when the rounds are too heavy. I split alone and I use a trailer to bring the wood home. I back up just short of the woodpile or woodshed, then I put the splitter in between the trailer and the pile of wood. I am able to get the wood out of the trailer without bending over and walk with the wood to the splitter and set it on the rail, I then split the round and carry the pieces to the wood pile and stack them and there is very little bending over. I have an outdoor woodburner and most pieces only need to be split once - if the pieces are really big and need to be split more I may have to make a couple of trips betwee the splitter and wood pile. I have the optional wings/supports that bolt on the side of the rail and provide a working surface to hold the pieces after they are split and the wedge is returning.

I am so glad I was able to borrow my neighbors splitter and learn a little bit about them before I bought mine. His was a tractor mounted horizontal one and the wedge was on the beam and the ram had the flat plate. Everytime you split the wood is pushed off the end of the beam and must be lifted/moved back onto the beam for another split - it was lots more work than the splitters that have the wedge on the cylinder shaft. For the commercial splitters I guess they just let the wood fall off the end while they are splitting and keep moving the splitter forward as the pile gets bigger - but for me that requires more handling and I try to handle the wood as little as possible so I can get more done in less time. Having the wood fall off the end was really a problem on the big rounds - I had to keep retrieving the pieces and bringing them back to get split again and they were Shagbark Hickory that was about 30" in diameter and really heavy. I was able to lower the beam so it was almost touching the ground and I could roll the rounds up onto the beam - but it was a lot of work even as they became halves and quarters - the Hickory was really stringy and kept holding together and I had to use a hatchet on some to cut the stringy fibers.

 

[046]

oldbanjo, sounds like you did it the intelligent way.... that is try one before buying.

your system of off loading directly on to splitter sounds like a good one!
for me that would never work. will off load 2+ cords of wood at a time. commonly 3ft + rounds weighing 350+lbs or heavy enough to hurt you, if you try lifting without help.

a cant hook is a must. vertical mode works best for me. everyone is a little different. since I'm free to use either mode. vote with your feet as they say

 

[Vibes]

046, the Huskee that my neighbor rented was like the one that you have. Like I said it worked real good. The thing I didn't like about the 37 tonner was the amount of fuel that it used.

The ones I looked at at TSC were differant than yours, and like I said they didn;t impress me. They had the new Briggs homeowner grade motors, or the Honda GC motors.

I went with a Timberwolf because I wanted to deal with a local OPE shop. He's a good guy and I'm sure he appreciates the business. He got me what I feel was a good deal on a good machine, and most importantly he services what he sells.

 

[Petr51488]

I thought i would chime in on this discussion. I have a MTD splitter that i bought in home depot. I know many of you may not like them, but mine works great. Theres a picture below when i bought it new. At first i only split about 4 cords a year for myself. Then i started to sell and jumped to about 20-30 this past year. Its really a great piece of equipment. It might be because i really take care of my equipement. Oil changes ever 25 hours (synthetic) hydro oil every 100 hours and hydro filter every 50. It has close to 200 hours on it now. I think i paid 1200 for it, and for that type of money, its paid for itself over and over for the money i made selling wood, and the money i saved heating my house with wood. we pay close to 600 a month in the winter for oil heating. with the firewood it cut it down to about 250-300. I think the poster is only intending to use it for himself and not start a business. A homedepot splitter is a great machine and worth the money.

 

[LNG24]

I went with a Timberwolf because I wanted to deal with a local OPE shop. He's a good guy and I'm sure he appreciates the business. He got me what I feel was a good deal on a good machine, and most importantly he services what he sells.

A Deal on a Timberwolf:jawdrop: That alone is enough of a reason to get one.

 

[LNG24]

I rented a splitter today. it was a Northern of all machines Horizontal/Vertical style. Not sure if you want that in a rental fleet, but gave me a good opportunity to see what it was like...I don't think highly of it at all! Didn't have any problems with it other than from previous abuse, but was slow and felt cheep.

 

[user 19670]

A feature I like

Prolly you have already made your purchase and from what you posted when you started this thread you really wanted to know of a good brand to buy.
I have inherited a homemade splitter for the price of perpetual storage and a new engine for it. Not a bad deal really and it seems plenty heavy duty enough four our use.

What I dislike about some splitters (ours included) is that the wood is split *between* the rear wheels of the tow vehicle and the wheels of the splitter. Start splitting and you can't move the rig forward OR backwards until the split wood is all moved. My preference would be to park, split, move, split, move ... and maybe (just maybe) pick up the pieces and stack them on another day. Didn't dawn on me until we got an urgent call to travel 1 hour to town to the hospital because a family member was dying and here I am with my work in the way of putting the splitter away and out of sight.

Just a personal preference and for some my opinion won't matter too much

 

[046]

mine gets amazingly good fuel economy. it's the 12.5 hp OHV commercial version.

it was a stretch paying $1,500 on sale for my 35ton splitter. believe me had my budget been $3,000+.... I'd be splitting with a timberwolf or Iron & Oak instead. (my original budget was $900 for a 22 ton unit)

again... other than slow cycle times, been really pleased with quality of 35 ton speeco. but I'm splitting under 10 cords a year. so speed is secondary to getting the job done.

so yes... I'm envious of you folks with super nice production splitters.

046, the Huskee that my neighbor rented was like the one that you have. Like I said it worked real good. The thing I didn't like about the 37 tonner was the amount of fuel that it used.

The ones I looked at at TSC were differant than yours, and like I said they didn;t impress me. They had the new Briggs homeowner grade motors, or the Honda GC motors.

I went with a Timberwolf because I wanted to deal with a local OPE shop. He's a good guy and I'm sure he appreciates the business. He got me what I feel was a good deal on a good machine, and most importantly he services what he sells.

 

[LNG24]

What I dislike about some splitters (ours included) is that the wood is split *between* the rear wheels of the tow vehicle and the wheels of the splitter. Start splitting and you can't move the rig forward OR backwards until the split wood is all moved.

You can move the hitch to the oppisite side and have this problem corrected. Might need to add a leg on the existing hitch side. Weight distribution shoudl not matter much once it is hooked to the hitch.

 

[hink]

I was just about to buy a Timberwolf TW2 when I found American CLS. The fit and finish isn't as nice as the Timberwolf but from a overall standpoint it is close to equal as each has different pluses and minuses.
The biggest thing is the American was roughly 1000.00 cheaper from a local dealer. The add ons are cheaper as well. If money was no object I would still like the Timberwolf.

 

[Vibes]

Now that I just went over budget, I'm hearing about splitters that are $1000 dollars cheaper. Is there a website for these American CLS. I was also told about a dealer 1.5 hrs away who sells Iron and Oak for a pretty competative price. Seems this always happens.

 

[Dok]

Keep all this info coming, I'm still shopping for my splitter. I'm leaning towards Iron and Oak because my local OPE shop is very good and they have good prices on them. Still, I'm keeping my options open.
Dok

 

[Dok]

yup... speeco still makes the splitter for TSC labeled as Huskee.

huskee splitters... cheesey.. hmmm, that's the first time I've heard that. Timeberwolf, iron & oak, speeco/husky splitters all get great reviews on AS.

pretty happy with my 35 ton huskee/speeco. mine comes with a 12in I beam, 5in ram and 12.5 hp ohv engine. nothing cheesey on mine

would like a little faster cycle times than 15 seconds currently getting. will probably upgrade to a 22 gpm pump at some point. Ram travels 26in during full cycle. stroke could be shortened by two inches. as I rarely split rounds over 24in.

Question about that Huskee splitter in your picture- the top picture looks like it has pieces of wood in the channel that the wedge carriage rides in. Have you had any problems with that? Seems like you would have to keep the channel clean when using it horizontally?

That's a nice looking splitter!
Dok

 

[cmetalbend]

Here's my homemade one

Check out one of my first Splitters I built. Still use it today. Wiffer is in the control seat. Yes it's mounted to the truck. I push a lever in the truck and the thing folds down for transport. And I still pull a trailer aswell. I should tell you it comes off by disconnecting the two hydralic lines and pulling two pins.

 

[jerry wayne]

Ditto

Vibes,

All good advice you have gotten from a few different angles...

My 2cents worth...

I just got a 22 ton Husky / TSC / Speeco unit this week. I have split nasty knotty locust that was ~ 24 " in diameter with out a problem. I have also split 14 " of terrible gum. I hate this stuff as it is miserable to split. The unit grunted and split it.

For the money ($ 999.00) i don't think you can beat it. It has a Briggs and Stratton engine and a Haldex pump, all common and well known stuff.

I'd love to have gotten a Timber Wolf but it simply wasn't in the budget.

I had decided to get the 27 ton until I realized they kept the same 11 GPM pump and it had longer cycle times. So far I'm really happy with the 22.

Good luck!

JD in PA

same thoughts exactly......glad i got this unit,can take all ive thrown at it and then some.The 27 only uses more gas IMO. POP roll another one...POP , allday long......only wish for an electric start

 

[046]

never a problem with pieces of wood in channel. 35tons of force will clean just about anything out.

really like that channel... rounds ride real nice.
please note due to amount of 3ft+ rounds split on a regular basis. almost never use horizontal mode. for large rounds, vertical takes much less effort to operate.

huskee makes a very good splitter, but if you have the budget. go for an iron & oak or timberwolf.

Question about that Huskee splitter in your picture- the top picture looks like it has pieces of wood in the channel that the wedge carriage rides in. Have you had any problems with that? Seems like you would have to keep the channel clean when using it horizontally?

That's a nice looking splitter!
Dok