Need opinion please

[Wife'nHubby]

I am new to this list and have been reading awhile and know that all of you are way more experienced that I am so I thought I would ask a question. Please don't laugh at my inexperience, okay?

My husband is too ill to help with the firewood anymore so it's up to me. I think the engine on our log splitter took a dive today. The seal on the ram has been leaking. I know I can't fix it and even if I could I don't really know if it's worth it. So... I was looking at this little electric honey at Northern Tool:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316861_200316861

We don't heat with a wood burner but have a very generous, centrally located fireplace that has been known to heat our home nicely when our furnace was not working (crud in the heating oil that was delivered to us - ugh!).

I only need a splitter for maybe 1 or 2 cords per year so I think this little electric splitter may fit the bill for me. Comments or other suggestion are appreciated!

Does any thoughts on this electric log splitter?

Shari

 

[hickslawns]

I don't know if this will work as I have never tried one. I do know since I have been on here I have not seen too many people get bashed unless they just plain deserved it. Ex. The guy looking for free wood who also had an ad on here to sell wood. Duh. I feel for you, and commend you for stepping up to the plate while your husband is ill. I hope he gets better soon.

The seal leaking should not be too scary to replace. SHouldn't be ridiculous even if you pay someone. The engine? Post on here for help and you might just get it. You already posted, so hopefully someone in your area will chime in. Might find someone that is willing to help you get yours in order for allowing them to use your splitter occasionally. Otherwise, you might check out craigslist for a local guy repairing small engines on the side. I would think you could get your splitter back in order for less then the cost of the electric one by the time you ad shipping. Good luck!

 

[Wife'nHubby]

Ever had one of those days where nothing went right? Today was my day... The 3 yr. old Briggs just quit on me - the ram is extended and the splitter is dead in the water right now. I covered the ram with a tarp hoping it won't rust up until I figure out what to do. Thanks for your reply!

Shari

 

[superfire]

electric splitter

here is one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWu5HMHFvM4. what wood are you splittin???????? noty or really green wood. home depot has one and lowes does to.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Ever had one of those days where nothing went right? Today was my day... The 3 yr. old Briggs just quit on me - the ram is extended and the splitter is dead in the water right now. I covered the ram with a tarp hoping it won't rust up until I figure out what to do. Thanks for your reply!

Shari

There are ALOT of guys on here that work on stuff probably just like what you have, be it theirs or someone elses. Many of us could walk you through whether the splitte engine is fixable or not and how to do it. IF that is what you want.

I havent used the splitter you posted the link to, but the working height seems awfully low. If the wheels are 10" tall that puts the working heigth at about 22 - 24 inches. Unless you are 4'6" you will be bent over it working instead of upright. At 5' 4" tall you will still be feeling it in your back from being bent over.

If the wood you are splitting is straight grained wood that has no knots or forks it will probably work adequately to split with. It will need to be close to a good 20 Amp receptacle. Most house outlets are only 15 Amps. GFI outlests are rated 20 amps and if wired correctly should carry the load. If your wood stack is very far from the house this means either adding 40 - 60 bucks for an extension cord capable of handling the load with little voltage drop. This means a 10 gauge cord or 12 minimum for lengths up to 100 feet or bring the stack to it piece by piece. 14 gauge cord will not carry what it needs to do at 100 feet from the house. The longer the cord is the less power it will have to operate. If you dont have a 20 amp plugin you will want to plug it or the extension into an outlet as close to the breaker box as possible. Make sure the cord plugs in tight and doesnt wiggle around. Plugging in to a GFI outlet is a very good idea anytime you are working outside with an extension cord.

If it is your last resort and you can't get help fixing what you have it will split the easier stuff for you.

Wish I could offer more help.

 

[Wife'nHubby]

KSWoodsman - I AM 5'4"! How'd you know? On the model I posted they do have a mounting cart available but I figured I could set it up on our sturdy picnic table or some other sturdy base. The video posted used plywood over sawhorses - I could do that also.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I just checked our circuits and none of the switches are labeled for amperage except for one which says 15 so I guess that definitely will be a deciding factor (older, 1950's home). I'm going to check out Lowe's and Home Depot to see what they have to offer and what amp circuit is required. I'm cutting just outside our garage so maybe a 10' cord would be all I need.

I am also checking out a small engine repair person as I don't know which way to go with this.

You asked what kind of wood am I splitting - just about anything I can get my hands on. I actually prefer any type of dead tress that way I don't feel that we are taking anything from the environment. Right now I have some unknown species laying around from 3 years ago that needs to be sawed and split. We bought a green face cord of cut & split maple this summer and I 'think' I may have made a connection with a landscaper who will dump cut to length wood on our driveway. Right now, he has maple. We didn't burn much last year because hubby was in the hospital for a month and a half (Dec-Jan) and I kept the heat down at home because I was at the hospital every day. We still had heat bills of around $600 every 45 days or so for a total of around $2,400 last year. Wisconsin had a record snowfall last year and boy did I know it because I plowed every inch of it!

I remember my Dad and I going into the woods to cut trees and Dad hand splitting them at home - good memories! We used his 1952 Willys to haul the wood. I hung on to that Willys until just this year. It hurt to sell it but our city was after me because of 'stuff' parked outside the garage. The Willys hadn't run in years so we bought a little 4' x 6' trailer this summer for hauling wood. Any trailer had to be small because of parking space limitations.The city could have cited me for having a non-running vehicle but they can't cite me for the trailer. For the first time in my life I wired lights (on the trailer) and they worked right off the bat!

Hubby is on the heart transplant list and is living with a partial artificial heart (running on batteries) so I am doing what I can to retain the life we had before he got sick. Some days I do pretty good at retaining that life and some days I don't. Yesterday was one those 'not so good days' but with your suggestions I know today will be better.

Thanks everyone!

Shari

 

[Wife'nHubby]

I forgot to add: regarding the Briggs -

It's a 5hp about 3 yrs. old. Used once or twice in those 3 years. It was started up a couple of times in between and gas tank was drained in between. I was splitting dry wood for about 1/2 hour, the stroke had just completed and I removed the wood. I was in process of retracting the ram for another log when the engine just quit. I thought "Hmmm.... out of gas?" Nope gas is fine. There was no unusual sounds before it quit other than it sputtered once or twice just like it was running out of gas and then it quit. I was thinking maybe gas line filter at first but when I try to start it there doesn't seem to be any compression. That is probably not a 'guy' description of the problem but it is the best I can offer.

Shari

 

[Suz]

Hi,
I just wish that Milwaukee wasn't so far away from me, I'd come down with my splitter and take care of the wood pile for you. Anyway, IMHO I'd look into getting your old splitter fixed before spending the $320+ for the electric splitter that has only 5 ton of power. You can buy a new engine for that kind of money and as for the ram leaking, unless it is really gushing out of the seals, oil is cheap compared to buying a new splitter. Besides the oil lubricates the slider! Another option would be to rent a splitter, but I suppose you want one at home so you can split wood when the opportunity develops.
Next I'd like to commend you for taking on all of the additional duties that have been placed in your lap while your husband is "healing". I want to wish the both of you the best and I hope that he has a speedy recovery.
One last thing, check out Craig's List for the Milwaukee area, maybe you can find a used splitter.

Jim

 

[danrclem]

If I were you I'd try to fix the gas splitter. A three year old engine shouldn't be completely bad but it is possible. If it hasn't been run low on oil it's probably ok and just needs some maintenance.

Take your spark plug out and put your finger in the hole to see if it trys to pull your finger in and push it out. If it does this then your compression is probably ok. Make sure you keep the end of the spark plug wire away from your hand because it will give you a shock.

I would guess that it is a stopped up carburetor or line but it could be in the electrical system also.

 

[Suz]

I forgot to add: regarding the Briggs -

It's a 5hp about 3 yrs. old. Used once or twice in those 3 years. It was started up a couple of times in between and gas tank was drained in between. I was splitting dry wood for about 1/2 hour, the stroke had just completed and I removed the wood. I was in process of retracting the ram for another log when the engine just quit. I thought "Hmmm.... out of gas?" Nope gas is fine. There was no unusual sounds before it quit other than it sputtered once or twice just like it was running out of gas and then it quit. I was thinking maybe gas line filter at first but when I try to start it there doesn't seem to be any compression. That is probably not a 'guy' description of the problem but it is the best I can offer.

Shari

Shari,
I just re-read this posting and I'd like to suggest that you pour a 'little' gasoline into the carburetor to see if the engine will fire up and run. With the gas you people have to burn down there in Milwaukee who knows what is going through the system. If it runs for a second or two, then you know you have a gas problem, or even water in the gas. If it runs, put a little SeaFoam into the tank to take care of water and clean the carb.
Three things are needed to make an engine run, gas, spark, and air.
Jim

 

[KsWoodsMan]

5' 4" is the average height of most women. It was a guess at best.

All good suggestions so far.

A little gas in the carb is a cap ful not a cup full. Also, a shot of starting fluid in there works if you have it.

Post back with results and someone is bound to offer the next few steps in troubleshooting this for you.

Cheers and prayers your way.

Aaron

 

[Sawmill]

One other thing to check is the oil level in your engine. It may have a low oil shut off on it. As far as the electric spliter goes I don't know if they are any good or not, but a place by me buys up the returns from Northern Tools and fixes and resells them. The last time I was there they had 8 or 9 of these electric splitters sitting on the floor and some looked in sad shape. Good luck to whatever you choose to do.

 

[A. Stanton]

Get a hold of a local Boy Scout Trooop, they might be happy to send some kids over if you can rent a splitter and give a couple bucks donation. The other route might be to contact a local voc ed high school. Sometimes the students fix and build things to gain knowledge. Contact a school and see if they have such a program.

 

[savageactor7]

It might be something simple like the recoil. I'm betting the small engine guy will get you going for less than a C note...don't waste your money on an electric splitter.

When your working the wood it's important to keep your work area cleaned of splits...sometimes on the return stroke the ram can drag a split and bash it into the recoil. Good luck with the repairs.

 

[Wet1]

Anyone from Milwaukee?

There has to be someone on this board from the Milwaukee area that can help these folks out?!?!

 

[Jkebxjunke]

possible thought... maybe the spark plug has gone bad? or the clip at the top of the spark plug is not on very tight.... or.... maybe the diaphragm in the carb gave it up... maybe enough ethanol laced gas could have weakened the diaphragm and it gave out... it was posted that it was drained... but some could have lingered in the carb .... or vapor lock .. I had one that did that. it would do it occasionally but could never figure out why....
Is it getting gas? take plug out hook plug wire to engine .. there is usually a tab or something to hook it to... lay rag over spark plug hole .. pull a few times to see if you smell gas... check the end of the plug to see if it looks normal not broken or missing pieces.... might not hurt to try a new plug... my neighbor had a pump the ran fine then would not start... put new plug on it ran fine. Plugs are cheap. also could the air filter be blocked? maybe something I said might trigger someone else to come up with something. I wih I could look at it... my mother-in-law lives in mad-town but it dont look like we will be traveling anytime soon... with new baby due around thanksgiving. Wish I could offer more help.

I'm just brainstorming here....

 

[Wife'nHubby]

Again many, many thanks for all the suggestions! We had a busy day today living the normal life of grandparents (grandchild's soccer game & later a another grandchild's birthday party). Tomorrow I will print out all the suggestion, take them with me out to the splitter and see what I find. If I can find the cable to download pictures from my camera I will post photos of our splitter and details I find on the engine.

You people are great! Lots of ideas for me to check out. We have 3 sons but the only 'handy' son lives 4 hours away. If he was here I know he could get the splitter up and going.

Boy, if you people only knew me! (bashful smile!) I know what a carb looks like on a car but I've never worked on the innards of a car nor a small engine. I'm glad the suggestion was a cap full of gas otherwise I'm not sure how much I would have put it! And, yes, we have to run reformulated gas in the Milwaukee area.

In the last 2 years I have learned how to do oil changes on our riding lawn mower, change the air filter on it and reinstall a sump pump. With the problems we had with our furnace (crud in the oil) I even suggested to the furnace repairman to add an extension tube vertically to our drain valve inside the oil tank so the furnace wouldn't be sucking oil from the very bottom of the tank. He took my suggestion and it's working like a charm! (Thumping my chest here!) Okay, so I actually didn't repair the furnace, I just thought the problem through and made the suggestion. It still counts though, doesn't it?

I'm not against getting my hands dirty working on things - I think that's why hubby married me!

Shari

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Pictures will be helpful. It wont take much to put pointers on the pics and repost them to point to stuff that might be at fault or where to find what someone is suggesting to check.

I got to wondering if the manual choke was somehow engaged and flooded the engine while running. Had it happen to me before and took forever to clear it out. Maybe you will luck out and it is just low on oil tripping a safety shut off.

If you remove the sparkplug and pull it over be sure to put a rag of some kind over the open hole. Can't stress this enough, the "good guy has bad accident" thread in the chainsaw forum tells it all. I've done this enough times and never thought of it as extremely dangerous, I'll do it differently from now on.

If it was an hour or so drive instead of 14 hours ...

 

[Wife'nHubby]

Just a quick update: Replaced the spark plug (cheap fix if that had been the problem), checked oil levels, gas flow is fine, etc. - still no go. So I located an experienced Briggs repairman - he is due out to our house in about 2 hrs. Keeping my fingers crossed that he can diagnose the problem & fix our splitter.

Shari

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Was wondering what had come of this, just this morning.

Cheers for you and hoping it is a cheap fix.

I'm not considered a praying man but your family has made it into the few times I do pray.