In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

★☆☆☆☆ Oregon (Speeco) 28 ton splitter

Discussion in 'Wood Splitters' started by Deer Meadow Farm, Apr 12, 2016.

  1. Deer Meadow Farm

    Deer Meadow Farm

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    My nephew and I have owned this splitter since 2012. I know a lot of guys on here have similar models under different brand names and like them. Below is the chronological details of what we went through with ours. Some of it is due to operator error for sure, some of it is design related, and some is quality related. I created this review on another forum that I used to frequent before I found this one. That's why it's kind broken up like it is. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.


    2/14/12: I've been using my father's 20 ton splitter now since the 70's and after several rebuilds I was thinking of upgrading. My nephew (who has been using it as well) mentioned to me that he'd like to invest in a new one as well so we decided to go in on one together. We picked an Oregon 28 Ton splitter. It is made by SpeeCo. We picked the Honda for the motor. We got the 4-way wedge with it and the log catcher (which was backordered and being shipped to us).
    I used it this weekend to split about a cord of mixed hard wood; white and red oak, cherry, ash, and some maple that was harvested at my buddy's house in Brimfield after the June 2011 tornado came through. I brought it home in log length and I cut a gas tank's worth of wood into length, split it all and stack it and then start cutting again.

    Here is my review:
    Pros:
    1. Wicked powerful: I didn’t stall it once on any piece I put on there; even with the 4-way!
    2. Working height: I think this is the first time I have ever run a splitter without back pain. I was a little sore in the morning, but it was from lifting logs more than operational stance.
    3. Log “strippers” work good for removing stuck pieces off the wedge. Slight improvements could be made (see improvements below)
    4. 4-way wedge works well. It will need some mods (see improvements below)

    Cons:
    1. Engine started horribly. I bet I pulled the starter cord 100 times if I pulled it once. The only time it would pop at all was with the choke off.
    2. Engine “surging” at full throttle/no load. Definitely worsens after it warms up.
    Note: This is not my experience with Honda engines at all so I assume there is something wrong/not set properly.

    Improvements:
    1. Shelf is a definite “must have item” IMHO. I may want to build in an additional guard on the motor side of the shelf to protect logs from hitting engine when being “stripped”.
    2. Locking pin/restraining system for 4-way needs improvement or I just need to remove it for transportation; it worked fine without the restraint in operation which was good because I broke the pin supplied with it on my 2nd chunk.
    3. Could possibly use a guard on the operator side of the machine as well for the hydraulic fluid filter/lines.
    4. Strippers work good except when the chunk is stuck to the wedge but during the splitting process may have tilted upward so that the end of the log rides over the stripper which causes the following problems:
    a. On engine side: if it misses the stripper it may allow the chunk to come back and then fall on the engine (shelf may help this)
    b. On operator side: If log misses the stripper it may allow the chunk to come back and hit the control lever (this happened to me once during my usage) which could bend the lever.
    c. Problem: Strippers are too short (I prefer tall strippers) but if I extended them, the 4-way wouldn’t work….I need to work on this I think….



    2/17/12: Here's an update:

    We called the dealer and explained the surging problem. He first asked how old the initial fuel was. I explained 2 months and he immediately said that's the issue. I also explained that we drained it and filled it with fresh gas. He still says it is a fuel issue and recommends using a high octane, premium fuel and mixing it with a product called "Startron". I asked him if this was per Honda specs and he said this is what you should do for all small engines. I proceeded to explain I own two generators with Honda engines and I have never had an issue. I leave my big generator chock full of fuel that may be as old as 2 years and it runs great.

    I asked him where to bring this for service and he said that we needed to try the fuel first and he would look into how to handle the service.

    I checked Honda's website and all they recommend is 86 octane or higher. I don't like the idea of putting in a higher octane fuel or this additive, if it does work, I think it would only mask a problem.

    2/21/12: Well, we drained the fuel, spayed the carb clean, mixed up some high octane with the startron stuff per the dealer's suggestion and ran the engine in the barn Friday night until it got to operating temperature. We cycled the cylinder a dozen times and things seemed better the big test would be actually splitting wood.

    Saturday I cut up a HUGE ash that fell on my property from a recent wind storm. Crushed one of my apple trees and also smashed my 10' wide lime spreader. Pictures of the tree to follow in a different thread.

    My wife and I took the new splitter, turned it vertical and split one of the huge rounds into manageable chunks. Returned it to horizontal and finished that piece up. Then we went vertical again and tried round number two. This one split a few times and then got hung up on the wedge. What followed was what I initially described in 4b above.

    The cylinder retracted pulling the chunk up with it. The wood jumped over the stripper and before we could react, the wood jammed itself against the handle/valve. This forces the lever to remain in the retracted position. The cylinder continued to pull the chunk back up and self-destruction was imminent. The nipple between the valve and the cylinder bent as did the hard line to the cylinder's rear port, something gave way and hydraulic fluid spewed everywhere. I shut the engine off but obviously too late.

    pizz-poor design in my opinion. My father's 40 year old splitter (which I used the remainder of the weekend, my back can vouch for that!) has the valve mounted directly to the cylinder as well, however on his the cylinder pushes the wood into the wedge; if it gets stuck, the cylinder pulls away from the wood and you beat it off the wedge with your maul; this happens often.

    I think the new splitter works much better. I'm not sure if it's because it is stronger of if pushing the wedge is a better use of the power altogether. However, in that design, the valve should not be mounted anywhere near where a chunk of stuck wood, riding the wedge back, could come in contact with it. A new valve mount will be designed and mounted; pictures to follow.

    On the plus side, the engine ran.......better. It still seemed to hunt a little, but it would settle out not like before. This whole "it's the gas” thing just doesn't set right with me though. I have two 1970's cub cadets; one I mow the lawn with and the other I use to mow around our Christmas trees. I put them away at the end of the season with whatever gas is left in the tank. Come spring, I will most likely need to charge the batteries, but for fuel, I'll just top off the tank and they'll run fine. I have a generator that I fire up once a year to make sure it'll start. It does and it runs great with whatever gas is left in it from the previous time.


    2/22/12:

    So, I dropped the valve off to my nephew and the bent hard line this morning. He'll try to get the bent nipple out of the valve (I had it in a vice, with a 3' length of square tubing over the wrench reefing on it and all I was able to do was to pull my bench away from the wall). He'll also make up a new line. We'll see how it goes from there. I have a couple of ideas on how to protect the valve or relocate it....we'll see.

    2/24/12: Met my nephew for coffee this morning. His mechanic got the nipple out; it was definitely split. I'll reassemble it tonight and give it a try. Big test will be Sunday when I get back to the wood pile. The log catcher shelf came in as well. I installed that last night. At first glance I was disappointed...kind of flimsy looking. It seems more rugged now that it's mounted. Again; we'll see....

    6/12/13: Sorry for the long spell between updates; a lot has happened. First of all on the good side; I left off my last post by saying the log shelf looked flimsy; it still looks flimsy but works remarkably well; no issues!

    Now for the bad stuff: I noticed a puddle of hydraulic fluid under the machine last spring. It took a long time to figure out where the leak was but eventually we determined that it was coming from the tank itself where the axle stubs are welded to it. Went around with Oregon a bit before given the OK to bring it to a local authorized repair shop. There it sat most of the summer waiting for a new tank. The dealer was also an authorized Honda repair shop so they tinkered with the motor and got that running a lot better. Tank was repaired and my nephew took it home late summer and used it through the fall/early winter. I took the splitter back late winter and used it for splitting about 6 more cord.


    My brother had some trees dropped in his yard so my nephew and I went over there to cut and split them up. They were some huge oaks; a good 30" at the butt. We split up a bunch before tackling some of the big rounds. My nephew and I had to wrestle them onto the foot of the splitter (vertical position) and had to kind of hold it in place while my brother ran the valve. Well, it happened again; the wood got stuck; jumped over the strippers and broke the valve; not just the nipple this time. :(


    So, we got a new valve and put it on. My nephew manages a shop that sells and services lift booms for trucks and works with hydraulics all the time. He asked Oregon what the relief on the valve should be set at and they told him that it should be set to max. Seemed weird to him, but OK. Once repaired, he went back to my brother's house by himself (I had other commitments so I couldn't go) He called me about 10:00, said he was splitting a knarly piece and the cylinder folded in half.


    So...... we've hit the valve twice; once with not too much of a repair, but the second time broke it. $175 for the new valve. Hydraulic tank sprung a leak; fixed under warranty but had to go without it for most of the summer. Now we just bent a cylinder. $380 to replace it. Overall, I am not really too happy with the splitter. My plan is to build my own. Horizontal style with a log lift.

    6/20/13: So this is how it misses, or as I say, "jumps" the wings. Picture the splitter in the vertical position. Remember, you are using it vertically because the piece is too heavy to lift. Let's say its 3' in diameter which is about what we had, maybe less, but 3' is a nice round number. So the wedge is about 6" or 1/2' tall, so with the log as tight to the beam as you can get it, the wedge is only going through 1/6 of the diameter (36"/6") so it has the ability to go through the piece, but because it's only hitting 1/6 of the diameter, it doesn't split and now it's stuck to the wedge. So, you start to back it up and hope the wings strip it because beating a 2' long, 3' diameter log off the wedge is no joke, and many times it does. But picture the log riding up with the wedge. It's only being held by 1/6th its diameter so gravity kicks in and it starts to tip and that tip is away from the wedge, the beam and of course the wings so it pops over the wings and now you have a short window of time to stop it before it starts to self-destruct. After I did it the first time, I had never done it again and since I explained it to my nephew, neither did he. But because the wood was so big and the two of us were trying to do the positioning, my brother was running the lever and he wasn't aware of the problem and he didn't react quickly enough. Does that make sense?

    7/1/13: Good news is my nephew and I split a truckload yesterday and didn't break the splitter (other than bending the log tray/cradle).


    5/12/14: Got the splitter back from my nephew as he had it over the winter. The hydraulic tank (2nd one, 1st one was replaced under warranty) is leaking again. I can't stand this splitter..... :mad:

    4/20/15: Hydraulic tank was repaired by the students at my nephew's school (he teaches at a vocational school now) and hasn't leaked. But now the cylinder (2nd one) leaks. We bought a kit to replace the seals. We'll see how this goes. The engine is back to hunting all the time at idle again. The good news is that it doesn't seem to break down all the time, only when we want to use it. This is by far, the worst piece of power equipment I've ever owned.

    4/12/16: Almost one year to the day and the cylinder is leaking again….
     
    Kyle Mulligan likes this.
  2. RCBS

    RCBS

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    Wow, rough going for sure. I've used a Huskee 22T for about 10 years splitting around 8 cord or so a year and only managed to wear out the detent on the valve. No other significant issues.

    Odd about the engine. Is it a GC or GX series? The GCs are a "consumer" engine but for the most part are fairly bulletproof. I don't buy the fuel thing either. I've cleaned hundreds of Honda carbs and every once in a while, one just doesn't want to work correctly. We usually just replaced them if we couldn't coax them into proper fueling. I have a suspicion that is what the shop did for yours. Problem with the surging is partly due to EPA. The main jet is just too small and its to meet emissions. Can drill them, but ordering a new jet for an older model is much easier. A tier 2 jet will fit and function just fine in a tier 4 engine.

    I think your splitter may be cursed by the way.
     
    Deer Meadow Farm likes this.
  3. Deer Meadow Farm

    Deer Meadow Farm

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    Me too.... :(
     
    RCBS likes this.
  4. Locust Post

    Locust Post

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    Sure can't like that review.....I have a 22t Huskee that has been a joy to use now for about 6 years.
     
  5. Deer Meadow Farm

    Deer Meadow Farm

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    Well, you've been luckier than me, or I just got a lemon. Either way, my review is what it is; a statement of the facts and I'm happy for your success.