New SpeedPro Kinetic Log Splitter from TSC...

[philwillmt]

Ya no biggy on the part replacement, the way I look at it is if I can do it anybody can (although I could save them som expence). Thanks for the heads up on the screws also. I'll check mine before I use again.

Once again, Speeco is very big in the splitter sales and it's good to hear they are taking care of the problem.

Sorry, I have to say it, I saved over $1000 dollars, I'm still way ahead of the game. Still not disappointed with my purchase at all.

One has to wonder...if the rack gear is improperly heat treated, then what about the pinion gear? I would want to replace both. SpeeCo and TSC was very good to work with on my out-of-ballance issue, and I sure hope that continues with this gear issue. Personally, I would prefer to make the repair myself for two reasons: 1) I know it will be repaired correctly, and 2) it will be less hastle and less down time. From what I have experienced with my SpeedPro splitter, and after reading each thread on this forum, the root cause of all the issues seems to be a lack of quality control. The issues I had with my new splitter were: 1) flywheels were out of ballance, 2) pinion gear bearings did not turn smoothly (i.e. could feel rough spots when rotating the bearings), 3) left-hand lock washers on right-hand bolts in three locations, and 4) no dust caps came with the wheels. All of these issues could, and should, be caught with some good quality control measures in place. How hard is it to put the right parts in the crate, and how hard is it to insure the flywheels are properly ballanced? If they're out of ballance, don't ship them! With proper ballancing, these machines, and any others for that matter, should run as smooth as silk with virtually no movement at all when they're idling...regardless of the throttle position. Just like a well ballanced wheel on an automobile, you can run it at 1 m.p.h., 100 m.p.h., or anywhere in between and it will be smooth. It's not rocket science, just simple mechanics. I hope SpeedPro makes good on this low quality rack issue. I've already saved them a considerable amount of money on mine by making my own repairs...hopefully they'll show their appreciation by continuing to take care of their customers!

 

[Dalmatian90]

Seems to fit the consensus of the threads I've read over the years here -- Speeco has great customer service, and you're likely to gonna need it.

Used to have a Speeco used to have a customer service rep pop up here every so often.

For the low end of the log splitter price range, they'd be my choice from reading all the reviews and stories over the years. They are what they are -- and the customer's going to end up being their QA inspector for the price they're selling them at.

 

[Dozer Man]

Seems to fit the consensus of the threads I've read over the years here -- Speeco has great customer service, and you're likely to gonna need it.

Used to have a Speeco used to have a customer service rep pop up here every so often.

For the low end of the log splitter price range, they'd be my choice from reading all the reviews and stories over the years. They are what they are -- and the customer's going to end up being their QA inspector for the price they're selling them at.

Sure wish I had everybody else's money. Then I could afford "high end" equipment. Wow... Guess I should have went to lowes for the troybuilt hydro, wonder how bad everyone would try to make me feel about that. Sorry that "low end" is all that some can afford. Instead of helping speeco get through there teathing issues with their kinetic splitters, I'll just return mine and go buy an SS. By the way, can someone teach me how to sxxx $1300??? I spent what I could afford. I've read other threads, nobody's perfect... not ss and not dr, they all have a limited warranty for a reason.

 

[fox2]

SpeedPro

Dozer, I agree, that is why I am waiting it out. My only dilemma is if their repair does not work and they end up recalling units then I will be faced with throwing up the extra cash or going back to hydraulic. I can not go back to hydraulic so I am really banking on saving my money and them fixing their issues!
I have been very satisfied with customer service so far and I am not disappointed at all with my purchase.

 

[chillyhiker]

Well I just got back from tractor supply and found out the speedpro has a RECALL. They pulled the display to the back and were told not to sell another one till further notice. I read the recall paper they had printed off and it had something to do with the teeth being to small on the ram. It said right on the paper to offer FULL refund on ALL speedpro's sold. The manager said he saw this comming. He said too many customers mentioned after seeing the video that it could really hurt someone with the speed and got a hydro instead.

We ended up getting a 22T huskee.:msp_biggrin:

Same here ...had a hydro splitters for years albeit homemade and had allways wanted a supersplit but didnt have the cash...bought the speedpro at tractor supply and within 5 min a tooth broke off the rack. went and returned it and got another speed pro and parts started falling off it...I just didnt have the confidence in it even with extended warranty to keep it so i returned it and got the husky 22 ton.

 

[Dozer Man]

Same here ...had a hydro splitters for years albeit homemade and had allways wanted a supersplit but didnt have the cash...bought the speedpro at tractor supply and within 5 min a tooth broke off the rack. went and returned it and got another speed pro and parts started falling off it...I just didnt have the confidence in it even with extended warranty to keep it so i returned it and got the husky 22 ton.

I hate to cut on TSC but to some point quality control has to fall back onto the store. They unbox and do the setup on these things. There has to be a checklist that gets followed through assembly. And one would think they would go so far, at time of purchase, to fire it up and at least give it a few dry runs, before it leaves the parking lot. That alone would show any flywheel imbalance issues. A dry run would also show any engagement issues (After reading a thread on SuperSplits, I found where someone mentioned an engagement issue with a brand new unit...I certainly mean nothing bad about ss, just pointing out that even the best has an issue once in a while).

Like I've said before, I bought the demo unit. I got to watch it run and try it out. But I will add, as soon as I got it home, I went over it with a fine tooth comb. I was looking for loose bolts and bad welds(found none btw). I don't know who did the assembly at the tsc store, or how qualified they were, but I felt the need to double check there work. I believe Philwilmt went so far as to do his own assembly for the reason of doing his own quality control.

I agree with you guys in that I would hate to go back to a portable hydro unit. I have a very large hydro splitter, its not portable(unless chained and hoisted to a backhoe). I needed a portable splitter. My only other option was a vert.horiz./hydro unit. After using a kinetic splitter, I can't go back. So...I'll deal with the issues.

Just adding more $.02, but it's probly only about $.01

 

[sbhooper]

I don't see the fascination with buying these splitters. It looks to me like there are just plain too many moving parts. That is a lot of money to lay out to maybe save a little bit of time splitting wood.

As far as TSC, they are shakey with their service plans etc. Here, they sold plans on Husqvarna saws for repair at a shop that was not even aware of it. He was incompetent anyway. On other equipment, they had a local shop-which is a good shop-doing the service work and they stopped. TSC was not paying the bills for the repairs.

I like the TSC store, but I will never buy into their service plans again.

I had to replace the hydraulics on my Speeco/Huskee and the Speeco customer service was great. They sent me the part and I did the work. The splitter has worked great since.

 

[76mark]

Broke my 2nd SpeedPro in 3 weeks today. I'm returning it right now and I'm done with the SpeedPro's. Anyone have any suggestions for a splittie in the $3000 range. I'm thinking either a Hydro that can do 4+ way splits or the DR kinetic splitter.

 

[philwillmt]

That is a lot of money to lay out to maybe save a little bit of time splitting wood.


I wouldn't exactly consider six times as fast as a hydro "saving a little bit of time!" That's what I call a HUGE time saver!

 

[Como]

Just looking at them they seem to have less parts?

 

[Como]

That is a lot of money to lay out to maybe save a little bit of time splitting wood.


I wouldn't exactly consider six times as fast as a hydro "saving a little bit of time!" That's what I call a HUGE time saver!

That is a bit misleading, even their video does not claim that you can process 6x as much wood. Or am I thinking of the DR video?

 

[Dozer Man]

Huge Difference

I agree, kinetic splitters are a lot faster. You are never waiting on the machine.

And, if you consider the engineering, you have a motor, flywheel/pinion gear (they're attached to each other), actuating lever, and then the ram...there's no more moving parts than a hydro.

 

[philwillmt]

That is a bit misleading, even their video does not claim that you can process 6x as much wood. Or am I thinking of the DR video?

Let's do the math...17 seconds (avg. hydro cycle time) / 2.5 seconds (SpeedPro cycle time) = 6.8 times faster. That's a fact...I've used both! With the SpeedPro, it's not a matter of how fast it will split...it's a matter of how fast can you feed it! If you are a fast worker, six times as much production is not out of the question.

 

[sunfish]

I don't see the fascination with buying these splitters. It looks to me like there are just plain too many moving parts. That is a lot of money to lay out to maybe save a little bit of time splitting wood.

Absolutely no way in hell I'd go back to a hydro after owning a Super Split for the last year and a half...Just saying. :msp_biggrin:

 

[Dozer Man]

With the SpeedPro, it's not a matter of how fast it will split...it's a matter of how fast can you feed it!

That's absolutely true...and with the speedpro, your will work your help to death. The machine is waiting on you to feed it, and I often find myself waiting on my help to clear the table! I frequently have to help them load the splits just to get them out of the way. I can't go back to a hydro for production. For busting big rounds, yes(noodling works well too), but for fast production of firewood, you can't beat this type of machine(kinetic).

And as far as "safety" goes, complacency is eveybodies worst enemy. Doesn't matter if you are running a kinetic splitter or a hydro. With this machine, there is no time for your attention to wander away from it. With the slow movement of hydro machines, there's just to much waiting. Once you get used to the speedpro,or any kinetic splitter, you won't want to go back to waiting... I know I don't anyway!

And I know, I know...opinions are like xxxholes, everybody has one!!!

 

[Como]

[video=youtube;UNI4f-rpRT4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UNI4f-rpRT4[/video]

Here is the DR comparison.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Very interesting they added "if you split for profit" -- I don't usually associate with DR marketing to folks who make money with their tools. Though I have seen the occasional landscaper with some DR stuff (especially the rough mower and the power wheel barrows). That could be me not watching enough of their literature though!

 

[Mntn Man]

There is no question that a DR is faster, but why do they still stack the deck? Did you see how slow that ram was moving? Also, on my hydro, I rarely have to go more than 1/2 stroke and most times just to the shoulder of the wedge and the wood is split. (Ash, Oak, Locust mostly)

 

[Dalmatian90]

There is no question that a DR is faster, but why do they still stack the deck? Did you see how slow that ram was moving?

Don't know if it's why they chose it...but it looks like the 34 ton Swisher with the labels removed to me, and that has a listed cycle time of 22 seconds (are you supposed to go make a cup of coffee between logs?):

Swisher LS12534HP - 34-Ton Horizontal / Vertical Gas Log Splitter

I didn't see any full splits that weren't edited in the video; I timed one at 5 seconds and it looked like it would need another 2 seconds before the log was split.

 

[philwillmt]

What's the latest with the stop sale on SpeedPro splitters?

Any updates on the supposedly defective rack gear issue? I sent an email to the SpeeCo technical representative and TSC. TSC says they are not sure what the issue is, nor what the remedy will be, but will let me know when they find out something. Just wondering if anyone has heard anything else about this.