Very aggravated With Spee Co

[indiansprings]

The splitter just looks too lightly built compared to some I have used, the troy built 27 ton I bought this year looks quite a bit more substantial than this unit.

It does not look like it has been abused too me, more like poor design, lack of quality control in their offshore sourcing and poor workmanship.

Good luck in getting it taken care of, you deserve better.

 

[thejdman04]

well that certainly looks like a marginal weld. wonder why speeco didn't just get the old one repaired by welding it. looks like you'd been better off getting the old one welded and be done.

looks like one good slam and your new weld will be broken too.

it's hard to tell how much wear is on splitter due to new beam, tank, cylinder, etc. but I'm starting to think you certainly have basis to be pretty pissed.

looks like quality sure has gone down as compared to my 35 ton speeco. mine has good quality fab work all over. 35 ton's beam is 200+ lbs.

mine has been trouble free with exception of foot bending. it's so simple to change out beam. can't imagine going to all the trouble of taking to someone for repairs. changing out tank is another kettle of fish. all hydraulics fluids has to be drained with all hoses unbolted. have you tried using heavy Teflon tape to stop your leaks?

I'm still rooting for speeco to come through and do you right.

This is the weld on the new splitter, the same as it was on the old one. It is a piss poor design. The reason they replaced the tank is the local "tech" wasnt a good welder. I didnt want to weld it do to any future repricautions of warranty. They would not pay for me to take it to a local welding shop. I have not used teflon tape. The local tech told me to try that as well. It is a fairly new machine, and THEY screwed up. They need to make it right. I want it right. It will never get better. Teflon tape is a bandaid. Its temporary. Then to check it all the time you have to mess with that.

Is that welded on as crooked as it looks in that picture?

It IS welded crooked. Because of the light, it looks alot worse in this picture then it acutally is, but it IS welded on there crooked.

I never saw a speeco in real life before. I'd think the channel that the wedge travels in would fill up with bark and wood pieces, and the design would make it difficult to clean out. Those 2 holes by the foot plate look too small for most garbage to fall through

:agree2: You are 200 percent correct. Stuff always gets in the rail. You have to clean it out or push the stuff through the holes every or every other piece of wood you split. If you dont, slivers will build up under the wedge and will jam it. Another poor design.

 

[thejdman04]

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This is a video of it. As you can see the cycle running wide open throttle is 26 seconds without wood.

 

[Kydan]

Speeco should give you a new 35 ton splitter just for the aggravation you have put up with.. And use that thing for show and tell, ''On how not to build a splitter''.

 

[thejdman04]

Well, the more I think about it the more aggravated I get.
The ram leaking while I was told by the servicing technician, that was a supplier issue and it was common, lets assume that failed because of use. It happened less then a month into my ownership, how could I have over used it within 1 month. The coil going out, its not lubricated, doesn't move, no maintenance, I am going to file that under shtuff happens. The foot plate bending. I am not the only one who has had that happen, I chalk that up to piss poor design on spee cos end. If their beam is truly designed and engineered to withstand the force put out by the splitter and everything in the pump is set up correctly, no matter how much I use it or what I put in it, if it is twisted elm, the pump should go into bypass mode if it is working correctly. If their machine is of any quality and their rail is of any quality and if the machine had any engineering behind it you would think that the pump would go into full bypass mode and the wedge would stop long before you could ever bend the beam. I am not the only one who has had that problem, and I am sure spee co would have engineered the pump to go into bypass mode well before the steel would give so I would think they have a fatigue/steel problem. Again, how is this my fault, attributed to my use? The tank having to be replaced is due to a spot weld THAT HOLDS A 200 LB RAIL AND CYLINDER on to the tank failing. To me that is piss poor designing what would you expect to happen? The other tank had to be replaced because the company cross threaded the wrong cap into the tank how is this my fault or problem. Even the new tank leaks. Spee co is trying to cop out. In my opinion if I was their company I would say hey sorry this machine was sold to you lets try to get you into a better machine for your needs and situation (which will never happen, cause I wont own another spee co at all). Or they are saying it is costing them more to fix the machine then it is worth (in my opinion due to THEIR FAULTS AND DESIGN FAULTS), STEP UP say hey were sorry its like this and your having problems well buy it back from you. Wash it, take 200 dollars off the price, sell it with full warranty and be done with it. Take a 200 dollar loss sell it as a demo and be done. (or maybe they need to take it back and make a paper weight out of it one or the other). If I know then what I know now I would have never even thought of buying this splitter.

 

[046]

after thinking about this.... some of your claims sure sounds like BS.

you claim that if you don't clean slivers out... wedge will jam...
now how can that possibly happen? you've got a 25ton ram that goes thru solid wood. how can it possible jam by slivers only?

the pivot is thinly welded and should not have broke, but speeco has already replaced the entire tank and then sent a second tank, the Ram and entire beam. your picture of the bent foot could easily pass as good one.

if it was me... I'd never sent out all the tanks. I'd insist on getting those two spots welded and be done.

now the entire basis for rejecting fix is plug will not seal perfectly and you refuse to try Teflon tape.

FYI Teflon tape is used routinely to seal plugs all the time. it is not a stop gap as you claim. also it's hard to believe plug is stripped. as in your pictures plug is fully seated deep into threads.

speeco has already sent a second tank, why is the mechanic refusing to install it? wonder what the mechanic would have to say?

and yes... I agree it'd been much cheaper for speeco to buy you out vs paying for shipping ($200? per trip) and labor ($50 hr?) multiple times... not even counting for costs of major parts.

This is the weld on the new splitter, the same as it was on the old one. It is a piss poor design. The reason they replaced the tank is the local "tech" wasnt a good welder. I didnt want to weld it do to any future repricautions of warranty. They would not pay for me to take it to a local welding shop. I have not used teflon tape. The local tech told me to try that as well. It is a fairly new machine, and THEY screwed up. They need to make it right. I want it right. It will never get better. Teflon tape is a bandaid. Its temporary. Then to check it all the time you have to mess with that.

It IS welded crooked. Because of the light, it looks alot worse in this picture then it acutally is, but it IS welded on there crooked.

:agree2: You are 200 percent correct. Stuff always gets in the rail. You have to clean it out or push the stuff through the holes every or every other piece of wood you split. If you dont, slivers will build up under the wedge and will jam it. Another poor design.

 

[carvinmark]

If the tank was repaired properly and didn't leak, would that make the splitter back to what you purchased?
If so, why not drive to the other dealer and give them a shot at making it right. I'm sure you are pissed right now and don't want to be inconvienced any more but if that's what it takes I think you should give it a try.
I think the splitter looks good in the pics, like a fairly new one (you should see my old homemade one,lol).
So is there any other defects that have not been delt with now?

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Well I was just watching and observing like a bunch of others.....waiting to see the pictures of this beat up and abused machine....but the pictures certainly don't show abuse. Either it looks this nice because the parts have all been replaced and are nearly new.....or the machine just hasn't been abused.

When I saw the picture of the weld that is supposed to hold on the pivot point for the heavy beam and cylinder.......it really shows how little quality control goes into these machines. If the rest of the machine is built this poorly I have little doubt that it will not hold up to normal use.

 

[boostnut]

Yeah, what he said! Olbanjo's right. From a fabricators point of view that is a $hit design. I would never allow a product to come out of our shop looking like that. 2 (maybe 4, can't tell from the pictures) tack welds holding a 200+ pound beam assembly to the base assembly, you gotta be kidding. I really hate to bash speeco but between this pile of crap and the 22 ton I ran a couple weeks ago, well, I don't even know where to start. Cycle times are like watching paint dry, fabrication quality is similar to products of China, ok, I'll stop. Ya'll get the message.

BTW, wasn't there a speeco rep that used to stop in and post once in a while? Where'd he (she) go?

 

[046]

the more I think about this... the more apparent the ridiculous extremes speeco has already gone through in an attempt to make the customer happy.

only I disagree with how the fix was done. NO way I'd ship two tanks and pay labor to change out over a simple weld that should have never broke. Plus there's a break down internal to speeco. someone should have physically checked the tank before it was shipped.

rejecting the tank for the leak shown is bogus. betcha Teflon tape would seal right up. is the tank overfilled?

one thing is for sure... someone has enough parts to almost build up another splitter.

seems this entire fix was mis-handled. the splitter should have been sent out to a professional welder ($50?) and been done. this would saved all the extra expense in changing out tanks, not to mention the additional inconvenience to splitter owner.

yes the new tank should have been rejected. not for leaks but for crappy welding.

here's a picture of welds on my 35ton speeco's beam.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

In looking at this picture I guess the other side of the pivot tube could be welded much better to the vertical portion of the tank - that part is hidden and cannot be seen. These two small "tack" welds may not be the real support for the pivot point. Still....that little bit of weld on the left side of the tube looks pretty weak.

 

[thejdman04]

after thinking about this.... some of your claims sure sounds like BS.

you claim that if you don't clean slivers out... wedge will jam...
now how can that possibly happen? you've got a 25ton ram that goes thru solid wood. how can it possible jam by slivers only?

the pivot is thinly welded and should not have broke, but speeco has already replaced the entire tank and then sent a second tank, the Ram and entire beam. your picture of the bent foot could easily pass as good one.

if it was me... I'd never sent out all the tanks. I'd insist on getting those two spots welded and be done.

now the entire basis for rejecting fix is plug will not seal perfectly and you refuse to try Teflon tape.

FYI Teflon tape is used routinely to seal plugs all the time. it is not a stop gap as you claim. also it's hard to believe plug is stripped. as in your pictures plug is fully seated deep into threads.

speeco has already sent a second tank, why is the mechanic refusing to install it? wonder what the mechanic would have to say?

and yes... I agree it'd been much cheaper for speeco to buy you out vs paying for shipping ($200? per trip) and labor ($50 hr?) multiple times... not even counting for costs of major parts.

I can assure you that when slivers get under the wedge it will jam it. Its hard to explain, but I can assure you it does. When the wedge splits the wood it has relief the wood opens up(ie gets wider). If the track is filled, it has a lip on the side and top, it has nowhere to push the wood (if the holes are filled) it will stop the ram. Also, a normal piece of wood has grains. When the track fills up with slivers, its like a really twisted bunch of knots. When you find a knotty piece of wood it is very hard to split, or it stops the splitter. If you a bunch of slivers in the track with no grain, and nowhere for the slivers to go(ie the holes get plugged) it will stop the ram trust me I have used this machine many times. I wouldnt have had a problem getting the spot welds fixed, but as I as I said their warranty tech wasnt a good welder and they didnt want to pay to have me take it to a welding shop. Yes the new cap is fully seated into the threads. The wrong plug that they cross threaded into the tank was larger then the correct cap. The new cap fits and screws in, but too well. Its like putting a slightly larger metric bolt cross threading into the hole. Removing it and then putting the correct sae and size bolt in. Once the hole is enlarged and cross threaded the new smaller bolt doesnt really fit or seal because the hole is bigger. As an example it would be like putting a softball in a hole, and then putting a baseball in a hole. Yeah the baseball is obviously gonna fit in the hole, but it wont fit very tightly. I dont really like putting enough teflon tape around the baseball to make it fit tightly in the hole. The mechanic says that he is refusing to install it because speeco warranty locked the machine and wont pay for the labor to install the tank.

the more I think about this... the more apparent the ridiculous extremes speeco has already gone through in an attempt to make the customer happy.

only I disagree with how the fix was done. NO way I'd ship two tanks and pay labor to change out over a simple weld that should have never broke. Plus there's a break down internal to speeco. someone should have physically checked the tank before it was shipped.

rejecting the tank for the leak shown is bogus. betcha Teflon tape would seal right up. is the tank overfilled?

one thing is for sure... someone has enough parts to almost build up another splitter.

seems this entire fix was mis-handled. the splitter should have been sent out to a professional welder ($50?) and been done. this would saved all the extra expense in changing out tanks, not to mention the additional inconvenience to splitter owner.

yes the new tank should have been rejected. not for leaks but for crappy welding.

here's a picture of welds on my 35ton speeco's beam.

The tank is not overfilled, it has been back to the dealer to verify it is not, they verified the tank had not been overfilled and that the machine was leaking when operated on a level (ie wasnt at a slank or on sloped ground) before they would ship a new tank. The origional tank was changed by the dealer that had the cross threaded cap. I didnt see that until I took the splitter home. He should have never installed the tank with the wrong cap or sent me home with it cross threaded. I dont have the old beam or cylinder etc. The tech has all of that, and while I havent been to his shop in a while last I knew he still had it all too sitting in his shop. Maybe he is going to get enough parts and build a splitter???? I have to disagree with the leaking being minor and just Teflon taping it. I believe if its right its right, it should seal without tape. If you bought a brand new car and it had a 1300 dollar engine, and you parked that car inside a fairly new shed on concrete and the oil plug leaked, would you just crawl under the car and pull the oil plug and Teflon tape it or would you be back at the dealer making them make it right?

 

[k8crd]

Looking at your pictures,

thejdman04:

Looking at pictures:
splitter_6.jpg and splitter_7.jpg it looks like the foot is not a solid piece of metal.

Is that true, or am I looking at something else in the picture??

 

[thejdman04]

If the tank was repaired properly and didn't leak, would that make the splitter back to what you purchased?
If so, why not drive to the other dealer and give them a shot at making it right. I'm sure you are pissed right now and don't want to be inconvienced any more but if that's what it takes I think you should give it a try.
I think the splitter looks good in the pics, like a fairly new one (you should see my old homemade one,lol).
So is there any other defects that have not been delt with now?

Yes if the tank was repaired and didnt leak it would be back to what I purchased. The thing that scares me is they are warranty locking the machine. The hydraulic warranty is almost up (1 year and it was purchased 4-18-08). The engine and steel though should be warrentied for 2 and 3 years. I would drive the extra distance and give another dealer a shot at fixing it if I was given and all clear that the mechine wasnt warranty locked.

In looking at this picture I guess the other side of the pivot tube could be welded much better to the vertical portion of the tank - that part is hidden and cannot be seen. These two small "tack" welds may not be the real support for the pivot point. Still....that little bit of weld on the left side of the tube looks pretty weak.

The other side of the pivot is welded, not welded well but are welded. I will agree that the tack weld arent all that hold it together. Its possible that such little bit of the tack weld actually is holding anything together, it could have cracked due to vibration. These spot weld arent the only thing that hold it together, but when I was changing the filter I noticed the spot weld was cracked. Granted the spot weld isnt the only thing holding it together but I saw a weld cracked so it went to the dealer. The dealer cant weld and spee co wont pay to have me take it to a welder and I am not welding it do to warranty repricutions what else is there to do? Leave it cracked? To me that would mean abuse because the machine has a problem and you continue to use it It was kind of ridiculous to replace the whole tank due to a spot weld failing but what else are you gonna do if spee co wont pay a local weld shop to fix it?

 

[thejdman04]

thejdman04:

Looking at pictures:
splitter_6.jpg and splitter_7.jpg it looks like the foot is not a solid piece of metal.

Is that true, or am I looking at something else in the picture??

Its one piece of steel but I really wouldnt call it solid steel.

 

[Lookin4lunkers]

:agree2: Plugs are designed to seal. If one of our cars leak we change plugs we don't teflon it

 

[046]

I've got my own 250amp MIG welder, but would have gladly pay the $25 to $35 a welding shop would have charge to avoid the garbage you have gone through.

usually when cross threading occurs ... it happens at beginning of threads. it's hard to turn screw pass the first few threads. except by brute force.

if plug is fitting that loose, caused by shop that cross threaded plug. then your beef is with shop. they should change out second tank at no charge.

what does the other side look like on pivot? are there enough welds to hold crossbar without support of tack weld?

The other side of the pivot is welded, not welded well but are welded. I will agree that the tack weld arent all that hold it together. Its possible that such little bit of the tack weld actually is holding anything together, it could have cracked due to vibration. These spot weld arent the only thing that hold it together, but when I was changing the filter I noticed the spot weld was cracked. Granted the spot weld isnt the only thing holding it together but I saw a weld cracked so it went to the dealer. The dealer cant weld and spee co wont pay to have me take it to a welder and I am not welding it do to warranty repricutions what else is there to do? Leave it cracked? To me that would mean abuse because the machine has a problem and you continue to use it It was kind of ridiculous to replace the whole tank due to a spot weld failing but what else are you gonna do if spee co wont pay a local weld shop to fix it?

 

[super3]

jdman did you check the cycle time b4 you bought it? No right to complain about that after.All the rest...yes it shouldn't have took this long. You bought a low end (price) splitter, you really expected high end quality?


Speeco, buy this guy out,have the unit sold at a discount, as is no warranty.Someone will be very happy with it,many allready are.

 

[thejdman04]

I've got my own 250amp MIG welder, but would have gladly pay the $25 to $35 a welding shop would have charge to avoid the garbage you have gone through.

usually when cross threading occurs ... it happens at beginning of threads. I've never seen a cross threaded bolt or plug be able to tighten that deep. usually that means threads got started correctly or it wouldn't be able to go that far in.

if plug is fitting that loose, caused by shop that cross threaded plug. then your beef is with shop. they should change out second tank at no charge.

what does the other side look like on pivot? are there enough welds to hold crossbar without support of tack weld?

I suspect the plug woudlnt go and was rammed in with a impact and a 12 pt socket that size I SUSPECT. Supposedly the dealer says that that is how it came from the factory, I dont think spee co would do such a thing but I dont know, The plug was cross threaded deep who did it I dont know. There is some welds, on the other side,unfortunatly I dont have pictures nor able to get any until at least monday. I realize like I said that the tack welds dont play a HUGE part in holding the splitting beam on, but they must play some or they woudlnt be put there at all. Like I said once I saw that it was cracked I wanted it fixed. If I kept using the mechine with a weld cracked that is abuse, if the weld is there it shoudlnt be cracked. Yes its a shame to replace a whole tank for a spot weld I agree, almost foolish, but what else when the local tech cant weld it, I dont want to jepordize the warranty by welding on it, and them saying well you have been welding on it, they wont pay a welding shop to do it, then in my opionon a new tank was the only option.

 

[thejdman04]

jdman did you check the cycle time b4 you bought it? No right to complain about that after.All the rest...yes it shouldn't have took this long. You bought a low end (price) splitter, you really expected high end quality?


Speeco, buy this guy out,have the unit sold at a discount, as is no warranty.Someone will be very happy with it,many allready are.

No I personally didnt check the cycle time out before I bought it. I was told by the saleman it was 15 seconds. Not is not my big complaint, it is what it is. I am just showing people what it is. No I bought a lower end splitter that I expected to last 3 years since that is what the warranty is for, I would think it would last that long. If not, it would get fixed under warrenty. I would expect a timberwolf split right etc to last me 10-15 years. I realize it was a lower end splitter but was expecting 3 years of service out of it.