I purchased my splitter directly from @DHT last year and they asked that I please post up a review once I have put some time on the unit. Here goes.
Background: This 25T splitter is basically identical to their 27T unit with the exception of a faster pump to increase cycle time at the expense of a little bit of tonnage. DHT had a demo unit in my area and I was put in touch with them by a fellow who used to be active in the Scrounging Firewood thread.
The first thing I did after getting the splitter home was converting the low speed hubs to high speed trailer hubs so I could tow the unit directly behind the car. Being my two cabins are about 40 miles apart, this makes it much easier to transport rather than having to load the splitter unit into a trailer. More info on the very easy hub swap is located here:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/splitter-purchase.294506/page-4
In retrospect I might suggest upgrading to taller/wider tires to the ease of rolling the unit around on uneven ground.
My wood processing is a combination of splitting at/near my woodpile (75%) on relatively level ground and at/near the site of the tree (25%) which obviously the terrain can vary. I did use the unit a bit in the vertical position but found (at least for me) that it was faster to rip larger rounds in to halves or quarters rather than wrestling them into position next to the beam.
One of the first tests was some very large (~40"), twisted silver maple. For those that have never dealt with large silver maple trunk wood, it is very difficult to split and is twisted and much more dense than limb wood. The splitter took that down without a challenge. Next up was some very large and twisted red maple and large knotty Norway pine and it took that all down without a challenge as well. I also split some very stringy wood and the wedge shape really seemed to work well to spread the wood far enough to bust those strings loose. I've used other brands of splitters in the past that didn't have as wide of a wedge and they didn't work nearly as well.
The only issues I had was we blew the bushing out of the lovejoy at about 5 cords and DHT mailed me a new one for no charge. We've done significantly more wood since with no issues. Otherwise I have only had to tighten a couple of fittings since purchase.
In review, here's a quick summary:
Pros: Plenty of power, engine starts very well, mild fuel consumption. Very well built and easy to operate unit.
Cons (all minor ones): Wood table is too small and pitched outward so wood wants to roll off. The table does not cover the top of the engine and I am worried that a piece may fall forward and damage the engine. I will probably build a larger table with a lip on the outside to prevent roll offs.
Bark and dirt tends to get wedged at the end of the beam so I would recommend the cleanout holes be reshaped to help the ram push more of the debris through.
I also might suggest finding a way to keep the hoses closer to the unit to avoid them catching on brush.
The measuring sticker on the beam wears off almost immediately, I might suggest adding hash marks on the beam that are either put in with a grinder of a small bead of weld to indicate lengths.
Overall Experience: I am very happy with my purchase and between the quality of the product and the customer service I received I would strongly recommend the DHT line to anyone looking for a splitter.
Background: This 25T splitter is basically identical to their 27T unit with the exception of a faster pump to increase cycle time at the expense of a little bit of tonnage. DHT had a demo unit in my area and I was put in touch with them by a fellow who used to be active in the Scrounging Firewood thread.
The first thing I did after getting the splitter home was converting the low speed hubs to high speed trailer hubs so I could tow the unit directly behind the car. Being my two cabins are about 40 miles apart, this makes it much easier to transport rather than having to load the splitter unit into a trailer. More info on the very easy hub swap is located here:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/splitter-purchase.294506/page-4
In retrospect I might suggest upgrading to taller/wider tires to the ease of rolling the unit around on uneven ground.
My wood processing is a combination of splitting at/near my woodpile (75%) on relatively level ground and at/near the site of the tree (25%) which obviously the terrain can vary. I did use the unit a bit in the vertical position but found (at least for me) that it was faster to rip larger rounds in to halves or quarters rather than wrestling them into position next to the beam.
One of the first tests was some very large (~40"), twisted silver maple. For those that have never dealt with large silver maple trunk wood, it is very difficult to split and is twisted and much more dense than limb wood. The splitter took that down without a challenge. Next up was some very large and twisted red maple and large knotty Norway pine and it took that all down without a challenge as well. I also split some very stringy wood and the wedge shape really seemed to work well to spread the wood far enough to bust those strings loose. I've used other brands of splitters in the past that didn't have as wide of a wedge and they didn't work nearly as well.
The only issues I had was we blew the bushing out of the lovejoy at about 5 cords and DHT mailed me a new one for no charge. We've done significantly more wood since with no issues. Otherwise I have only had to tighten a couple of fittings since purchase.
In review, here's a quick summary:
Pros: Plenty of power, engine starts very well, mild fuel consumption. Very well built and easy to operate unit.
Cons (all minor ones): Wood table is too small and pitched outward so wood wants to roll off. The table does not cover the top of the engine and I am worried that a piece may fall forward and damage the engine. I will probably build a larger table with a lip on the outside to prevent roll offs.
Bark and dirt tends to get wedged at the end of the beam so I would recommend the cleanout holes be reshaped to help the ram push more of the debris through.
I also might suggest finding a way to keep the hoses closer to the unit to avoid them catching on brush.
The measuring sticker on the beam wears off almost immediately, I might suggest adding hash marks on the beam that are either put in with a grinder of a small bead of weld to indicate lengths.
Overall Experience: I am very happy with my purchase and between the quality of the product and the customer service I received I would strongly recommend the DHT line to anyone looking for a splitter.
