DR Rapid Fire Rack & Pinion

[biker250]

Well, I just read through almost every page of this thread, and finally toward the end saw somebody post about a broken rack. Is anybody else having problems with breaking teeth on the rack and/or pinion? I'm not understanding how the splitters are holding up so well given the design principle of this splitter.

You have a pinion gear spinning at X RPMs and then you slam it into a stationary rack....over & over & over again. How is it that more people aren't having more problems with the rack & pinion? Just curious..... Thanks.

 

[D&B Mack]

Well, I just read through almost every page of this thread, and finally toward the end saw somebody post about a broken rack. Is anybody else having problems with breaking teeth on the rack and/or pinion? I'm not understanding how the splitters are holding up so well given the design principle of this splitter.

You have a pinion gear spinning at X RPMs and then you slam it into a stationary rack....over & over & over again. How is it that more people aren't having more problems with the rack & pinion? Just curious..... Thanks.

The rack and pinion concept isn't new for mechanical methods. It is proven and it works. You just have to have the correct engineering and metallurgy.

 

[morewood]

Need that push into ownership

I've been considering a new splitter for some time now. I have read over quite a few including the DR. The other day I got a flyer in the mail about the DR products. Now they are offering them on sale and with no interest over 36 months. Is there anything you guys that own one know that would push me over the edge into ownership? I would get the original (pro xl) with the work table and manual start. Just need that extra little something to pull me off the edge or push me over. Thanks for any replies.

Shea

 

[NHMike]

Besides the no interest, how about the fact you get to use it for up to a year and return it if you don't like it.

I finally got some logs bucked up last Monday and got to spend about an hour splitting. I am still amazed at how fast I worked thru those rounds. I am actually looking forward to dropping some more trees so I can split some more.

I really don't think you can go wrong picking this unit up. I have the Pro XL with table and manual start. The table makes working with large pieces a breeze.

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

I took delivery of the Pro XL about 3 weeks ago. Due to health issues I have not been able to use it as much as I would like. I have split about 2 cords of wood and I am still amazed at how well it works. No issues at all. It even splits one year old seweetgum that is about as stringy and tough as anything I have ever tried to split. I love it.

 

[morewood]

Finally decided to make the plunge and purchased the Pro XL. Not sure when it will be here but i plan to split everything i can get up on it. Just wondering, but how big is the crate it is shipped in? Deciding which vehicle to take to pick it up when it gets here.

Shea

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

Finally decided to make the plunge and purchased the Pro XL. Not sure when it will be here but i plan to split everything i can get up on it. Just wondering, but how big is the crate it is shipped in? Deciding which vehicle to take to pick it up when it gets here.

Shea

The crate is 84 inches long and 43.5 inches wide.

 

[Cortez 1521]

DR: Made in PRC or USA

"Hope you don't mind me jumping in - I'm Michael, the Product Manager for the new Rapid Splitter product line from DR.

Thought I could answer a couple of the questions raised. First thing I'd like to point out is that we actually manufacture most every product we sell under the DR brand right here in our factory in Vermont."


Salutations, woodsmen.

I buck, burn, and split & stack 8-10 cords of wood a year at my home here in the lower Hudson Valley, and as I am looking to buy a splitter aside from my Stihl ax & maul, today I read the first few pages of this thread and was interested to see DR the company personally enter the discussion.

I'd like a clarification from DR about precisely where the "Rapidfire" splitter is made. Michael of DR speaks of an assembly line in Vt., and of many DR products made here--but not specifically the splitter.

I ask because this week, of November 30, 2012, when I called DR at its 800 number in Vergennes, Vermont, the customer rep who answered did not know, although she said "they [were] assembled right here in Vermont." That is undoubtedly true. But I pressed and said, "Not assembled, made," so she courteously checked with a DR technical specialist. He said that DR logsplitters are in fact made in China.

So, it would appear DR splitters are made in China. Unless of course DR was wrong on my call.

Supersplit is made in the States. This week I also spoke to Paul there, who said he ought to send DR a Christmas card this year, because its marketing has so increased demand on his product (the original, it seems, more or less) that he's swamped with new business.

Which product is better, I don't know, having personally laid eyes on and used neither of them, but there's only one of 'em made in the good ol' U. S. of A.

Hope this is helpful to some of you all.

Cortez1521
Hudson River Valley

 

[lakesideC1]

Glad to hear Paul at Super-splitter is well. Picked up mine earlier this year. It was nice to shake the hand of the man who made my Splitter in the good old U.S.A.

Best of luck to you on your splitter quest.
Mike

 

[CampHamp]

Cortez - if you click on a member's name, you can view their posts to the forum. You'll find more info from the DR Product Mgr on your question by doing this.


According to the Federal Trade Commission, "Made in the USA" means this:


For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

What does "all or virtually all" mean?

"All or virtually all" means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.

I don't see any "Made in the USA" claims on the SuperSplit site. Where did you get that info from? What about their engines, for example?

 

[Cortez 1521]

CAMPHAMP says:
I don't see any "Made in the USA" claims on the SuperSplit site. Where did you get that info from? What about their engines, for example?[/QUOTE]

Greetings Camphamp.

I got it from Supersplitter, from the horses mouth hisself, so to speak, namely Paul, who I believe is the owner, who said and I quote: "We make 'em from scratch right here in Massachusetts." The Subaru engine may or may not be made in the States although I do believe that like many small Hondas, it is made here--I'm more concerned with the rest of the DR machine: the fly-wheel/rack-and-pinion guts and frame.

I asked your question of Paul, by the way, namely why don't you plaster "Made in the USA" on your site--he replied, he hasn't had time to revise the site as planned due to being so jammed with orders. Feel free to call or email him yourself if you still have questions--his name's right on the website.

I thank you for your suggestion as to running down every post of DR on this site, but I don't know why I would--just go to page 2 of this thread to see the apparently erroneous claim of the product manager (who really ought to know, if he's actually the product manager) that the Rapidfire is made here, when the 800-line of DR admits it's not. That's why I would, however, welcome a comment from DR to sort it out. I'm not going to call 'em again.

Mike, thanks for the good wishes, and glad you're happy with the Supersplitter. I think I would be too, especially with the 90-lb flywheels, although I would think the 75 pounders of both the entry level and the DR XL would do the job.

Gentlemen, if the DR is indeed made in China, it could explain the 36-month no-interest financing (which is practically giving away money) as well as the $600 discount, which undercuts the price of competitors. That's exactly the problem with runaway manufacturing in China. Not to mention the death of our manufacturing base. But hey, I'm glad the product manager of DR and its execs are I'm sure amply paid even though in this case he seems not to know where his product is produced.

But hey, I gotta buy one that I can afford, so who knows...?

Cortez1521
Hudson River Valley

 

[Pcoz88]

Glad i bought mine from howard,ohio

Its made here in OHIO.Its a great machine!!!

 

[Cortez 1521]

Where is DR Manufactrued; Same for SuperSplitter

Thanks Mike and Camphamp & Pcoz for your response.

Camphamp, Thanks for the suggestion. I perused some of the other DR postings, and learned a little more--parts made "in Asia" like the flywheel assembly, yet US-sourced steel. Yet it comes down to the DR spokesman in Vermont readily admitted the thing is made in China, under "strict US-std. quality control." I am concerned less with the engine (DR and SS both use a Subaru, and odds are it's made in the States) than the flywheel and frame.

In response to your question as to SS made in the States, it's simple: like I called DR, I called SS and spoke to Paul there. He told me and I quote: "we make 'em here from scratch." Like y ou I wondered why isn't that on the website, so I asked Paul, who said he's been meaning to completely revise the website but is so busy trying to keep up with orders that he hasn't had a chance yet.

If DR is made in China, or even largely made there, it might explain how DR can afford to make a 36-month no-interest offer--that's practically giving money away. Plus a $600 price cut. (which incidentally bring it in under the price of the entry level SuperSplit). Looks like some big margins there, which generally come from cheap labor, duty free imports and such which seem to me to be part and parcel of the wreckage of the US manufacturing base begun under Bush II and continued since. That's my main objection to made in the PRC, aside from the tyrannical nature of the regime.

That said, I don't favor one brand over another solely on that basis. The quality of the machine, the truth in advertising (where again DR is slightly suspect pricey ad campaign but in that hydraulic video, the hydro guy is clearly killing time in little ways, also as pointed out several times early in this thread), and of course affordability.

PS Mike and Pcoz--How's your splitter handle large diameter by which I mean 30" and up and gnarly logs. Is table stable enough, and how many hits would say locust or old-growth beech require?

Best regards all,

Cortez
Hudson River Valley

 

[sunfish]

I don't see any "Made in the USA" claims on the SuperSplit site. Where did you get that info from? What about their engines, for example?

I talked to Paul at Super Split at length about this before I bought one. He said the flywheels are made in Canada to his specs, the motors are Subaru and Honda and made in Japan, everything else is made in the USA.

 

[CampHamp]

DR told us in this thread, that the same parts were imported by them as well. They seem to be comparable products to me, in this regard (and most others!). The DR guys did make some changes in the latest model, though. They now have a built-in tow hitch (pin style) and lowered the whole unit (I guess to make it less likely to tip while towing). They no longer have the knobby wheels and no more handles. Table is smaller, I think in both dimensions.

 

[Como]

I am pretty sure they do not make their small engines in Japan for obvious reasons.

 

[KiwiBro]

Used my SS for the first time in months yesterday. Was reminded how good, strong, simple and productive machinery like this is such a joy to use that it's not really work, rather a real pleasure. It's one of my best firewood tool buys ever, and I think it will always be that way.
I paid through the nose for this machine, given that Paul wouldn't sell it to me here in New Zealand. I bought it near new privately and shipped it down here. so it was not a cheap process, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had the money and needed another splitter, it's that good.

 

[morewood]

I picked my rapid split up today. First impressions are of a decent machine. I looked it over when i got it home and found most things to my liking. one thing that will be leaving soon is the hitch. I hope to put a pintle style hitch on it and think I have what I need here to do it. I tried it out on some oak in the wood pile and it seemed to do everything fine. A friend came over and stood in amazement for a few minutes, then grinned. I will put the big locust on it tomorrow but see no reason why it can't go through it just as well. I'll keep posting as I use it.

Shea

 

[Dozer Man]

Check with DR...

one thing that will be leaving soon is the hitch. I hope to put a pintle style hitch on it and think I have what I need here to do it.

Be careful of any mods you do. When I was looking at the DR, I talked to the sales rep a good bit about changing a few minor things (at that time adding a hitch). I was told explicitly that ANY modification of ANY kind would void my warranty and return policy.

That was a year ago, but I would still be careful of how you do any mods. And yes, I know there are ways around this too...

 

[Guswhit]

Anyone used a D.R. and a Super Split side by side? I guess lets forget costs for a few moments and compare straight up. When it comes down to it which one is the best? I have read all of the threads, I think, about each one and read about overcoming some of the obstacles, like trailering, but I really don't want to get my opinion swayed just by cost. It looks to me with shipping right now it is about $600.00 differant, which is alot of money, but not compared to down time and aggravation. Any more help on the pluses and minuses would be appreciated. Thanks!