wood splitter tonnage question

[billgreen]

Say it comes down to being able to afford either a 25 ton Speeco, or a 20 ton Wallenstein.

Splitting hardwood less than 24" diameter which of the two splitters would you buy and why?

Thanks, Bill.

 

[matt9923]

Say it comes down to being able to afford either a 25 ton Speeco, or a 20 ton Wallenstein.

Splitting hardwood less than 24" diameter which of the two splitters would you buy and why?

Thanks, Bill.

they will both work. how long are the cycle times.
and price differences.
iv split 4' round's with a 20 ton worked fine.

 

[triptester]

The 25 ton Speeco comes in 4 models. The Wallenstein 20 ton splitters come in 6 models.

The Speeco 25 ton splitters have 4.5" bore cylinders . They are all H/V splitters with different engine -pump combos. The lowest price model has a Briggs 190 cc vertical shaft engine with 11 gpm pump. This pump and cylinder combo is slow .The highest priced model uses a Honda horizontal shaft commercial 8 hp. engine and a 16 gpm pump. This pump and cylinder combo is much quicker.

The Wallenstein 20 ton splitters use a 4" bore cylinder. They all use a 11 gpm pump, engines vary between GC residential models or GX commercial models. The models vary from horizontal only to vertical/horizontal. The models vary greatly in work height which can be important.

Which is better depends on what is important to you and which models are compared.

 

[billgreen]

heres what im considering:

princess auto has the 25 ton Speeco with a Honda GVC 160 / 18 sec cycle time for $2000 http://www.princessauto.com/hydraulics/log-splitters/gas-log-splitters/8203929-25-ton-horizontal/vertical-logsplitter?keyword=splitter

home depot has the 20 ton Surge Master (debranded Wallenstein WX530) with 5hp Honda GC160 / 14 sec cycle time for $2000 http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=975385&Ntt=975385&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

I need to split about 20 bush cord a year, and I want the splitter to last a long time.

While were at it, whats the difference between the Honda GC and GVC engines?


thanks, Bill

 

[triptester]

The princess auto specs are different than speeco's. The only speeco splitter with a 3.5" bore is their 15 ton model. The 25 ton models are 4.5" bore cylinders.

If most of the wood you will be splitting splits easily the wallenstein will be quicker.

 

[jd6030]

You could buy 20 ton fast cycle iron and oak with 8 second cycle time for 295 more with briggs motor from Baileys one of the sponsors on here.

 

[danrclem]

Check out tractor supply. Their 28 ton Huskee is $1,500.00 with a 190 cc Honda engine. They have a 35 ton Huskee with a 342cc B&S for $1,800.00.

I have a 22 ton Huskee with a B&S and it's done good for me.


http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...0551_10001_130692_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1

 

[wkpoor]

I don't know what a bush cord is but what ever it is its probably alot of wood. Speed will be everything. 18sec cycle time will get real boring and you'll think your never going to get there. I would try to get closer to 10sec cycle time or less if possible.

 

[TreeClimber57]

I don't know what a bush cord is

A bush cord technically does not exist, but something that was invented to sell wood to the city folks I think. (They broke a cord into two terms - a face cord, which is one sixteen inch row, or 16" X 4' X 8" - and a bush cord, which is a cord, or 4' X 4' X 8'). So think of a bush cord as simply a cord (or some call a full cord).

 

[TreeClimber57]

heres what im considering:

princess auto has the 25 ton Speeco with a Honda GVC 160 / 18 sec cycle time for $2000 http://www.princessauto.com/hydraulics/log-splitters/gas-log-splitters/8203929-25-ton-horizontal/vertical-logsplitter?keyword=splitter

home depot has the 20 ton Surge Master (debranded Wallenstein WX530) with 5hp Honda GC160 / 14 sec cycle time for $2000 http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=975385&Ntt=975385&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

I need to split about 20 bush cord a year, and I want the splitter to last a long time.

While were at it, whats the difference between the Honda GC and GVC engines?


thanks, Bill

The one at Home Depot will more than suffice for what you need. It is a far better built machine than the one at Princess Auto (I have the Home Depot one and my brother the Princess Auto one). It also has the necessary lights, fenders, VIN, etc for road towing, which the one at Princess Auto does not.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I don't know what a bush cord is but what ever it is

It's whatever anybody wants it to be. The only CORRECT unit of measure for firewood is the cord. 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked wood.
No modifiers other than legitimate fractions (1/2, 2/3, etc.)

Any other term means whatever anybody wants it to mean. If somebody sells you a "bush cord" or a "face cord" or a "rick" or a "spizzle" of firewood, and shows up with a 5 gallon bucket of twigs, well, if he says that's a [insert made up meaningless term here], well, that's what it is. You have no legal recourse.

 

[TreeClimber57]

It's whatever anybody wants it to be. The only CORRECT unit of measure for firewood is the cord. 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked wood.
No modifiers other than legitimate fractions (1/2, 2/3, etc.)

Any other term means whatever anybody wants it to mean. If somebody sells you a "bush cord" or a "face cord" or a "rick" or a "spizzle" of firewood, and shows up with a 5 gallon bucket of twigs, well, if he says that's a [insert made up meaningless term here], well, that's what it is. You have no legal recourse.

Correct!! Although most around here advertise a cord, and deliver only 1/3 of a cord... and get away with it.

However, as you said ONLY 128 cubic feet of wood is legal (and is a cord). I looked it up on Canadian Govt website, as the original poster was from Canada.

Here is quote:

Which Units Of Measurement Are Legal?

Some firewood dealers have been known to use various units of measurement to sell firewood. Some of these units of measurement are legal in Canada and some are not. Beware of terms that are not recognized as legal units of measurement, as they will often mean less than a cord.

Common legal units of measurement used in the sale of firewood:

cord
fractions of a cord
cubic feet
stacked cubic metre
fractions of a stacked cubic metre

For full article see URL:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/mc-mc.nsf/eng/lm03963.html

Bellow is the article summary:

Summary
A cord is equal to 128 cubic feet of firewood.
Legal units of measurement for firewood are: a cord, fractions of a cord, cubic feet, a stacked cubic metre, and fractions of a stacked cubic metre.
Beware of units of measurement that are not recognized in Canada (illegal). You are likely to receive less firewood for your money.
Verify that the quantity of firewood received is the same as the quantity paid for.
If you have any questions or complaints regarding the quantity of firewood received, contact the nearest Measurement Canada office.

 

[Laird]

Check out tractor supply. Their 28 ton Huskee is $1,500.00 with a 190 cc Honda engine. They have a 35 ton Huskee with a 342cc B&S for $1,800.00.

I have a 22 ton Huskee with a B&S and it's done good for me.


http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...0551_10001_130692_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1

Does the 28 ton Huskee have a 4 way wedge option? Haven't seen anything on it and not even sure it could take one.

 

[Thickskin]

Check out tractor supply. Their 28 ton Huskee is $1,500.00 with a 190 cc Honda engine. They have a 35 ton Huskee with a 342cc B&S for $1,800.00.

I have a 22 ton Huskee with a B&S and it's done good for me.


http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...0551_10001_130692_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1

The Huskee models are also made by SpeeCo. They've been in the splitter business for over 40 years and make some pretty good splitters.

 

[Thickskin]

The one at Home Depot will more than suffice for what you need. It is a far better built machine than the one at Princess Auto (I have the Home Depot one and my brother the Princess Auto one). It also has the necessary lights, fenders, VIN, etc for road towing, which the one at Princess Auto does not.

The home depot one looks pretty rickety to me. the way the cylinder just hangs off in to the air and isn't anchored. It only has half of a splitting beam which also isn't an I beam. Also no built in cradle to balance the log on, you have to balance it with your hand while splitting.

 

[danrclem]

Does the 28 ton Huskee have a 4 way wedge option? Haven't seen anything on it and not even sure it could take one.

You're probably right about it not being able to take a 4 way wedge. I would think that a 4 way wouldn't work with the wedge connected to the cylinder end.

I went to the Speeco site and didn't see anything about it. Here is a contact link to the Speeco site.




http://www.speeco.com/contact/

 

[danrclem]

The Huskee models are also made by SpeeCo. They've been in the splitter business for over 40 years and make some pretty good splitters.

I've had mine for several years and have been very satisfied with it. There have been a few times that I would liked to have had a little more grunt than the 22 ton had. To me they're the best bang for the buck if you're just cutting wood for yourself.

They seem like they take good care of their customers too. One of their representatives posts on AS from time to time helping people deal with problems.

 

[turnkey4099]

The home depot one looks pretty rickety to me. the way the cylinder just hangs off in to the air and isn't anchored. It only has half of a splitting beam which also isn't an I beam. Also no built in cradle to balance the log on, you have to balance it with your hand while splitting.

It isn't just "hanging" there. It is solidly fastened by means of what is known as a 'yoke mount'. It allows use of less iron for far more rigidity. Moment of force is approximately 1/2 of what you are used to seeing. After I figured that out, I wonder why all the manufactureres don't do it that way.

HarryK

 

[billgreen]

Seen in person the Surge Master is solid as a rock. The local Home Depot uses this model as the rental splitter- but has a 5.5 HP GX engine instead of the 5.0 GC.

Home Depot kindly invited me in to bring my own logs to see how tough it is. Turns out the 14 second cycle time is the fully extended ram cycle, the average splitting cycle time was between 5 and 7 seconds.

When it came to hands on testing, Princess Auto did not invite me in to try out the Speeco- I was told that it works great and if I buy it and theres anything wrong to just bring it back in... (a 1.5 hour drive each way!)

Other reasons I am leaning towards the Wallenstein: its highway ready, made in North America, ships with hydraulic fluid, assembled and tested, and has the optional 4 way splitting wedge available.

Thanks for all the input. By the way- back to the bush cord thing, always known a bush cord to be 4' X 4' X 8' worth of tightly stacked wood. Had to get the calculator out, but it works out to 128 cubic feet all right!

Thanks, Bill

 

[TreeClimber57]

Seen in person the Surge Master is solid as a rock. The local Home Depot uses this model as the rental splitter- but has a 5.5 HP GX engine instead of the 5.0 GC.

Home Depot kindly invited me in to bring my own logs to see how tough it is. Turns out the 14 second cycle time is the fully extended ram cycle, the average splitting cycle time was between 5 and 7 seconds.

When it came to hands on testing, Princess Auto did not invite me in to try out the Speeco- I was told that it works great and if I buy it and theres anything wrong to just bring it back in... (a 1.5 hour drive each way!)

Other reasons I am leaning towards the Wallenstein: its highway ready, made in North America, ships with hydraulic fluid, assembled and tested, and has the optional 4 way splitting wedge available.

Thanks for all the input. By the way- back to the bush cord thing, always known a bush cord to be 4' X 4' X 8' worth of tightly stacked wood. Had to get the calculator out, but it works out to 128 cubic feet all right!

Thanks, Bill

I agree. Mine has easily cut 100 cords, and still looks like new. It also has option for four way split head if one so desires, however not sure if you can get through Home Depot or need to order directly as have not yet purchased one.