Price? If I were to buy a flywheel splitter, it would be a Super Split. The 2 handed thing could be defeated and I'm sure 99% of owners will. Last guys to venture down this path didn't do so well, so I certainly wouldn't be the guinea pig and would bet on the sure thing.
Price will be the determining factor. Coming from Agri-Fab, I'm betting it will be less than a Super Split. Every demonstration for these splitters shows them running 12" or smaller rounds. I'm all for showing off the best attributes of the machine but the majority of us run bigger wood than that and the horizontal only/no lift design would not work for me in the vast majority of what I bring home. (18" and up!)
Works good when splitting veneer quality rounds. I don't see it working on my gnarly hedge rounds where my 22 ton is in granny gear for 75% of the stroke. I like to see how it would have handled this gem:
I want to see it eat a round with a 10" limb/knot coming off the side. If everything I processed was something I could reasonably lift, then one of the kinetic machines would make a lot of sense. And for more than one of you guys, perhaps they do. But there is a reason I own a chainsaw with a 36" bar.... That lift is manually operated. I have never tried one but I can't see it being "easy" to get something 24" + up on the splitting bed. The machine is almost certainly limited in the size of the rounds that it can efficiently process without undue strain on the operator. This where the fast hydraulic machines shine. No definite limit on the size of the rounds you can process, vertical capability, and with a little technique and know how, very little speed penalty on the smaller stuff.
For most of what I encounter, one of these kinetic splitters would do the trick. One day... When I can actually stop buying saws....
I have the same reservations on the large knotty rounds. I guess if you can own a half dozen saws, what's wrong with owning two splitters?
I have to bust up my big ones to lift them up and put them on my 7 ton so the next splitter will be horizontal vertical all in one unit, with no extra crap to drag out and set up. Having to use two hands on that splitter to cycle, is not cool either That accessory lift they have looks kind of flaky but then again, that set up with that lift might fit some people's needs perfectly. The price point will make or break it probably
