New SpeedPro Kinetic Log Splitter from TSC...

[philwillmt]

Dozer: It has done both on my machine. The handle kick back the first time it happened scared poop right out of me. I though the whole kabash had come apart or something. I figured I had not engaged the rack hard enough and when it hit a knot it just forced the handle up out of my hand violently. I now make sure with each engagement I keep a fair amount of pressure on the handle. When that is done and the splitting ram is stopped by knots, whatever, then the clutch takes over and everything just sounds like it powers down. The engine is still running but is under "Strain". I disengage the ram by pulling up on the engagement handle and if the ram retracts, good and I hit the stump again. If it jams a second time, I disengage again and try turning the stump to hit it somewhere else even doing a 180' turn. A few times when the ram is on the power stroke it will jam a knot on the splitting wedge and it I can't get the ram to retract by hand engagement handle. I have to turn the machine off and hit the stump with another stump or a small sledge to free it off the wedge, then start up and go again. Those are fewer and fewer as I learn to look at a stump and see the best way to attack it. It is all auto now and takes only a glance. I've done over 30 cords and had 20 cord more of logs delivered. Any Kinetic Splitter, now that I have and understand them, is soooooooo much better than hydraulics. Instead of weeks it takes days. Instead of Days - Hours. Instead of Hours.....you can time it in minutes.
Bless ya Buddy. I'm reading but only jumpin in to answer. I still pray for the best outcome for ya.

Nysparkie,

Does your DR have an adjustable stop for the rack engagement mechanism? Also, out of 30 cords, how many times would you estimate that your ram has automatically disengaged? There is certainly a learning curve associated with these kinetic splitters...I agree that the more you learn to read the wood, the better the splitter works. And that goes for any splitter...especially the ole trusty splitting maul! Thanks for the information...looking forward to hear what other DR and Super Split owners have to say about their experiences with this issue.

 

[nysparkie]

Nysparkie,

Does your DR have an adjustable stop for the rack engagement mechanism? Also, out of 30 cords, how many times would you estimate that your ram has automatically disengaged? There is certainly a learning curve associated with these kinetic splitters...I agree that the more you learn to read the wood, the better the splitter works. And that goes for any splitter...especially the ole trusty splitting maul! Thanks for the information...looking forward to hear what other DR and Super Split owners have to say about their experiences with this issue.

Well if you mean where the clutch does it job and I manually retract the ram....couple of dozen I would have to say.
If you mean that violent ripping of the engagement lever out of my hand.....just a few when I first started using. Can't remember when this last happened.
There is no adjustable stop for the rack...It appears to run its course through the engagement teeth on the rack and by that time you have split your piece and released the downward pressure on the engagement handle and the springs are retracting the ram. It looks like it was engineered to stop right at the Splitting wedge. When I service I can pull the ram right up to the wedge. Will it go farther? Can't tell cause the wedge is there.
On their demo video it looks like the ram traverses through all the teeth on the rack, no more teeth, no more further forward travel. Can't go any farther for there are no more teeth to engage. Take a look....
http://www.drpower.com/standardcontent.aspx?page=rapidfire_splitter_gallery
Page 25 of Owners Manual - Exploded view...Nothing is labeled as a Stop or limiter.
Parts List – DRIVE ASSEMBLY
NOTE: Part numbers listed are available through DR Power Equipment.
Ref# Part# Description
1 11239 Washer, Flat, 3/8", USS
2 15043 Bolt, HHCS, 3/8-16 X 1-1/4", GR5
3 11075 Nut, Nylon Lock, 3/8-16
4 29452 Cradle, Spring, Carriage
5 11238 Washer, Flat, 1/4"
6 11243 Washer, Lock, Split, 5/16"
7 11149 Bolt, HHCS, 1/4-20 X 1.00", GR5, ZP
8 11070 Nut, Finish, 1/4-20, ZP
9 18081 Washer, Lock, 3/8"
10 11158 Bolt, HCS, 5/16-18 X 1.00" L
11 11241 Washer, Flat, 5/16"
12 16484 Bolt, HCS, 3/8-16 X 2-1/2", ZP
13 11073 Nut, Nylon Lock, 1/4-20
14 29498 Cylinder, Bumper
15 29472 Bearing, Yoke, Roller, .750" Dia
16 29451 Spring, Carriage
17 29468 Spring, Compression, Carriage
18 29473 Bearing, Yoke, Roller, 1.125" Dia
19 29443 Rail, Slide, Carriage
20 29445 Wear, Plate, Carriage
21 29444 Top, Slide, Carriage
22 29447 Ram, Carriage
23 29474 Belt, 4l730
24 13443 Bolt, 5/16-18 X 1.5"
Ref# Part# Description
25 29494 Key, Square, 3/8" X 3/8" X 1.5" L
26 29493 Screw, Set, Cup Point, 3/8 X 16 X .5" L
27 29492 Bolt, HCS, 1/2-20 X 3", ZP
28 11242 Washer, Lock, 0.5"
29 29456 Insert Bearing W/ Snap Ring
30 29454 Gear, Pinion
31 29461 Flywheel, Spoke Design
32 29459 Gear, Rack
33 11076 Nut, Nylon Lock, 5/16-18
34 29455 Housing, Bearing
35 16514 Washer, .385" ID, 1.39 OD, .15 T
36 19335 Bolt, HCS, 5/16-24 X 1.5", GR2, ZP
37 22912 Bolt, HCS, 3/8-16 X 4 1/2", GR5
38 22885 Bolt, HCS, 5/16-18x1 1/2", GR8, ZP
39 29462 Clutch, Centrifugal Dual Sheave
40 29458 Plate, Engine Mount
41 27574 Engine, Subaru, 6hp, 50state, E/S,
w/label
29541 Engine, Subaru, 6hp, 50state, M/S,
w/label
42 18887 Label, Hot Surface, R/C
43 13758 Label, Warning Check Oil
44 27575 Key, Square, 3/16" X 3/16" - 1/2"
45 29487 Boot, Terminal, Red
46 27594 Key, Start Switch, 13.74, Sub

I'm not good enough to get the exploded view into a jpg format

 

[philwillmt]

There is no adjustable stop for the rack...It appears to run its course through the engagement teeth on the rack and by that time you have split your piece and released the downward pressure on the engagement handle and the springs are retracting the ram. It looks like it was engineered to stop right at the Splitting wedge.

Take a look....DR® Power Equipment - RapidFire Splitter Gallery

Nysparkie,

You must have misunderstood my question, which was "does your DR have an adjustable stop for the rack engagement mechanism?" Thanks to the good videos you posted, specifically the one titled "Under The Hood," it is clear that your DR does in fact have an adjustable stop for the rack engagement mechanism. This particular video does a great job of demonstrating what I have been saying all along...the engagement roller MUST travel past vertical to "lock" the rack down against the pinion gear. In fact, the video demonstrates that the roller on the DR travels a considerable amount past vertical, and there is NO WAY it can become "unlocked" unless it is manually disengaged, or the rack reaches the end of its travel, allowing the roller to return to the "home" position. Again, this video does a great job of demonstrating what I have repeatedly been trying to say. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what's a video worth? I REST MY CASE...SOMEONE FROM SPEECO NEEDS TO WATCH THIS VIDEO AND LEARN SOMETHING!!! :mad2: By the way, I did some splitting with my SpeedPro today, and at only 2700 rpm (1000 rpm BELOW what they recommend running it at) the rack violently auto disengaged a number of times. In fact, the pin that connects the handle to the push rod got bent considerably. I had to remove it and straighten it with a hammer. This was no surprise, as I keep expecting something to flat out break when this happens! Also, three of the four roller bearings that hold the push plate down against the I-beam loosened up quite a bit. Tightened all four. In my assessment, there is way too much slop in the rack engagement mechanism. This auto disengagement bull crap SHOULD NOT HAPPEN...PERIOD!!! The more I fool with this splitter, the more I come to the realization that the quality is just not there!

Guinea Pig...or something like that.

 

[ziggo_2]

I like how DR steals the design and then markets it like its their idea and they are genius for inventing it. Not only that but they also try to say that its a new idea....

Also I am shocked at how bad speeco screwed this up...its not like they are new to wood splitting. Not only did they screw up the splitter but now they are ruining their reputation for great customer sevice. Hasnt it been long enough? I cant recall exact dates when issues arose but it seems like it been along time,before thanksgiving i know.

I Know what you mean about going over center, Something has to keep the ram engaged or it will pop out. If any body could do a slowmotion video of it, that would probly be a good help.

The gearing must be off, if they advertise it at 2.5 second cycle time at 3800rpm and your getting 1.5 second cycle time at 2500 rpm.

I think if you guys really want to keep this splitter, I think your better off fixing it yourself at this point. Seems like you guys know more about these kinetic splitters than Speeco.

 

[Cmccul8146]

Engagement Mechanism

philwillmt, Look at the "Under the Hood" video again,very colsely. Even though the "roller bracket" goes past vertical, the bolt holes for the roller & pivot rod are not on the same centerline. The roller is offset slightly left of the pivot point, and is actually lined up vertically with the pivot rod when fully engaged. I still maintain that the forward movement of the rack & rack lift spring put all the pressure needed on the roller to keep it engaged. Not trying to start an argument with you on this issue, but I've been a machinist & toolmaker for over 40 years, & have designed & built many different specialty machines over that period and fully understand the mechanics of these splitters. Just wish that I'd been the guy that originally invented & patented these great timesavers. Also, building mine from scratch, I am passing along information I learned in the process that SpeedPro owners apparently are not getting from Speeco. I have my opinion & you have yours, and if we disagree, that's fine too. Having never seen a SpeedPro other than in pictures, there may be other differences that I don't know about, but my homebuilt is now 2 years old & have NEVER had any "violent disengagement" or bent parts issues with it. I'd be mainly concerned with slowing the flywheel speed to no more than 300 rpm as a starting point.

 

[philwillmt]

philwillmt, Look at the "Under the Hood" video again,very colsely. Even though the "roller bracket" goes past vertical, the bolt holes for the roller & pivot rod are not on the same centerline. The roller is offset slightly left of the pivot point, and is actually lined up vertically with the pivot rod when fully engaged. I still maintain that the forward movement of the rack & rack lift spring put all the pressure needed on the roller to keep it engaged. Not trying to start an argument with you on this issue, but I've been a machinist & toolmaker for over 40 years, & have designed & built many different specialty machines over that period and fully understand the mechanics of these splitters. Just wish that I'd been the guy that originally invented & patented these great timesavers. Also, building mine from scratch, I am passing along information I learned in the process that SpeedPro owners apparently are not getting from Speeco. I have my opinion & you have yours, and if we disagree, that's fine too. Having never seen a SpeedPro other than in pictures, there may be other differences that I don't know about, but my homebuilt is now 2 years old & have NEVER had any "violent disengagement" or bent parts issues with it. I'd be mainly concerned with slowing the flywheel speed to no more than 300 rpm as a starting point.

Cmccul8146,

You are correct...the roller bracket pivot bolt is offset from the roller and hinge bolts, so I was a bit deceived about how far the roller was traveling. However, try pausing the video when the rack is fully engaged with the pinion gear, then put a square (i.e. the corner of a piece of paper worked for me) along the top of the rack and see where the roller bolt lines up with the pivot bolt. Looks to be slightly past vertical to me, and the amount is more in line with what I would have expected (i.e. ever so slightly past vertical.) And that's all it would take to "lock" the rack down against the pinion gear. I agree that it's not as far past vertical as it originally appeared to be, but I still say it broke over center. If the friction from the roller rolling along the advancing rack were all that was keeping the bracket in place, then it seems to me it would disengage every time the rack came to a stop prior to reaching the end of its travel...unless the roller were slightly past vertical. An easy way to verify this on your splitter would be just like I suggested doing with the video...put a square on the rack and see how the center of the roller lines up with the center of the pivot bolt. Then again, maybe you have already done that...I don't know. I would try that on my SpeedPro, but you can barely see the engagement mechanism...much less access it. It is sandwiched between two pieces of plate steel. Thanks for pointing out the alignment issue...good eyes!

 

[Dozer Man]

Auto dis-engage???

Having never seen a SpeedPro other than in pictures, there may be other differences that I don't know about, but my homebuilt is now 2 years old & have NEVER had any "violent disengagement" or bent parts issues with it. I'd be mainly concerned with slowing the flywheel speed to no more than 300 rpm as a starting point.

Hey Cmccul,

You state that you have never had a "violent disengagement". What about a simple misfire, or as we've been calling it, "auto dis-engage". Has your machine ever automatically disengaged? Usually this happens just as the ram hits the log. It just smacks the log lightly then retracts. I had seen mine do the simple misfire a few times, but this doesn't compare whatsoever to the "violent disengagement". Just curious and want to make sure we cover all the bases.
Thanks for your help too. We all appreciate it.

 

[BSD]

I finally got my rack head back together after the bolts fell out of the brass wear plate. I had retapped 12-24 threads, which upon later discover was stupid, can't find those bolts ANYWHERE, my father actually had some brass 12-24's but they were round-tops instead of the inverted ones, so i ended up just welding the plate in there, hopefully that keeps it in there. LOL

when I was putting it back together I took a putty knife and put a bunch of axle grease on the rack. i also greased the bearings on the flywheel bearings while i was in there, one took a few pumps and the other took a ton of grease. I also took the advice of members on the board here and coated the clutch with WD40. I wanted something that could come off with brake cleaner if it didn't work out so well. So I fired it up and got the flywheels spinning and then sprayed the clutch, I really coated the snot out of it. I checked my engagement rod with the rack out and it seems to have good travel and stop at the right place. I buttoned up the covers and took it down back to split some wood. I fired up and got the flywheels going, with a bit more effort on the clutches part, I settled the RPM's around 2550rpm and started splitting. Immediately I noticed it seems to engage a lot smoother with the grease on the rack, I then went and found the nastiest piece of wood I could find in the pile and split it. The clutch slipped perfectly, probably like it was intended to do. I split about 1/3 of a cord (face cord you other guys). and only had one violent disengagement, I think it was only because the piece jumped out of the cradle as it made contact with the splitter wedge. Overall I'm happy and feel confident to keep splitting with it. I've got 30 hours on the machine now, I'll give it a good inspection @ 50hrs when we do the second oil change

 

[CUCV]

As others have commented the SS does NOT disengage when stalling on a hard piece of wood, the ram stays against the wood and the belts and clutch slip until the operator disengages the lever. No broken ram, pinion, or I-beam and I'm well over 1000 cord (128 cu ft) on this machine. Note I did bend a rack on a very early model SS (still worked fine when I replaced it) and the replacement rack I got was totally different.

I know the violent phenomenon you are talking about, it happens on the SS when you have a super long piece of wood that just fits between the ram and wedge and you try to engage the ram.

If the Speedpro is disengaging the mechanism may be just at the hairy edge of going over toggle or there is to much backlash between the rack and pinion in the engaged position.

From Dozers post with all the measurements it looks like it would be worth putting the clutch setup from the SS on the Speedpro, would slow down the pinion and give more torque.

Check out the extra flywheel I put on my my supersplit for extra inertia.

Modified Supersplitter log splitter - YouTube

CUCV,

I will have to do some measuring to get that information. Question...does the ram on your Super Split automatically disengage after striking a hard piece of wood? If so, does it happen more often at higher speeds? And, if so, are any parts breaking or bending when it happens? Are there any safety issues or concerns associated with the auto disengagement, if and when this happens? I'm told ALL inertia splitters auto disengage, regardless of manufacturer. I would like to learn more about this from a Super Split owner's perspective. Thanks!

 

[CampHamp]

Modified Supersplitter log splitter - YouTube

It's great to meet the owner of that contraption. It seems like you know how to use it, too. I wonder if you saw an improvement and if there were any side-effects...

 

[Dozer Man]

You are famous

CUCV, for a minute there I was excited to have a celebrity on our thread!! I've watched that video several times on youtube. I also have to ask how your mods worked. Thanks for your input CUCV.

 

[philwillmt]

As others have commented the SS does NOT disengage when stalling on a hard piece of wood, the ram stays against the wood and the belts and clutch slip until the operator disengages the lever. No broken ram, pinion, or I-beam and I'm well over 1000 cord (128 cu ft) on this machine. Note I did bend a rack on a very early model SS (still worked fine when I replaced it) and the replacement rack I got was totally different.

I know the violent phenomenon you are talking about, it happens on the SS when you have a super long piece of wood that just fits between the ram and wedge and you try to engage the ram.

If the Speedpro is disengaging the mechanism may be just at the hairy edge of going over toggle or there is to much backlash between the rack and pinion in the engaged position.

From Dozers post with all the measurements it looks like it would be worth putting the clutch setup from the SS on the Speedpro, would slow down the pinion and give more torque.

Check out the extra flywheel I put on my my supersplit for extra inertia.

Modified Supersplitter log splitter - YouTube

CUCV,

I've watched that video a few times...very smooth and impressive machine! Looks like you've split a cord or two before! Is that a debris cleaner in front of the lower roller bearing that holds the push ram down against the I-beam? If so, that's a good idea! I wish the SpeedPro had four roller bearings instead of two...seems that would be much more stable and smoother. So why do you think the SS does the auto dis-engagement on a long piece of wood? Is it because the ram has not had time to gain full inertia before encountering a load? Interesting. Thanks for sharing, and again, that's a smooth machine you have there! The operator is pretty smooth too!

 

[CUCV]

I feel most of the mods have improved and already great machine. I really like my production table, it sits level with the top of the I-beam which lends itself to sliding a piece back to be resplit. The lower motor mount is sick, I flipped the whole splitter over on the landing withing hours of owning the unit because they are so top heavy, hence moving the motor lower. I get better belt wrap on the motor pulley thus better push thru power on stringy wood like elm an willow. The actuation leaver is great ergonimically. The cam followers inside the I-beam are smooth and I rarely get a sliver of wood jammed under the ram as I did frequently with the stock "J" setup. (The HD is supposed to be better). The scrapers infront of the cam followers work will (they need to be replaced now as they are warn and beat up.) The extra flywheel gives more inertia to the system with no side effects to date.

Basically the only side effects are that the pivot pin I used on the engagement mechanism is to small and I have probobly sheared 6, The bolt I used on the tensioner for the 3rd flywheel belt is to small and have replaced it a couple times. The unit is a work in progress but also needs to make production so all to often I just replace to bolts instead of upgrading.

I have been wanting to get a Speedpro to try some other mods on a machine that can sit while I tinker without dropping the coin for another SS, hope they are up forsale again soon.


I just started fabing up a 4 way wedge for the SS. What I am fabing up now is my #2 idea, I will try my #1 idea on a Speedpro because I will be cutting the I-beam and wedge off for that design.

It's great to meet the owner of that contraption. It seems like you know how to use it, too. I wonder if you saw an improvement and if there were any side-effects...

 

[CUCV]

LOL, I can't believe how many hits I have on that raw footage video I put up to show a few friends!

CUCV, for a minute there I was excited to have a celebrity on our thread!! I've watched that video several times on youtube. I also have to ask how your mods worked. Thanks for your input CUCV.

 

[CUCV]

Thanks philwillmt!

It does it on the super long wood because the rack is not fully engage on the pinion, the engagement mechanism is not over toggle and its trying to transmit supstantial force.

CUCV,

I've watched that video a few times...very smooth and impressive machine! Looks like you've split a cord or two before! Is that a debris cleaner in front of the lower roller bearing that holds the push ram down against the I-beam? If so, that's a good idea! I wish the SpeedPro had four roller bearings instead of two...seems that would be much more stable and smoother. So why do you think the SS does the auto dis-engagement on a long piece of wood? Is it because the ram has not had time to gain full inertia before encountering a load? Interesting. Thanks for sharing, and again, that's a smooth machine you have there! The operator is pretty smooth too!

 

[philwillmt]

Thanks philwillmt!

It does it on the super long wood because the rack is not fully engage on the pinion, the engagement mechanism is not over toggle and its trying to transmit supstantial force.

CUCV,

That stands to reason. Let us know if and when you start modifying a SpeedPro!

 

[ksfastman]

Speeco Video

I see Speeco has the vid up and running on their site. Called the local TSC's and they don't even know what a Speedpro splitter is. Lol

 

[philwillmt]

I see Speeco has the vid up and running on their site. Called the local TSC's and they don't even know what a Speedpro splitter is. Lol

Ksfastman,

Where did you see a SpeedPro video on the SpeeCo website? I did not find it.

Thanks!

 

[Dozer Man]

Ksfastman,

Where did you see a SpeedPro video on the SpeeCo website? I did not find it.

Thanks!

For some reason if I type "speeco speedpro" into my search engine, it brings up a different web-page than if I type in just "speeco". Sounds strange but it works. (google search) Still goes to speeco, but to the speedpro section (which I can't get to from the normal speeco page)

 

[philwillmt]

For some reason if I type "speeco speedpro" into my search engine, it brings up a different web-page than if I type in just "speeco". Sounds strange but it works. (google search) Still goes to speeco, but to the speedpro section (which I can't get to from the normal speeco page)

Dozer Man,

Got it...thanks! I was just curious if it was a new video or something. I used mine quite a bit this weekend...hopefully I have enough wood to get me through the winter now!