Which splitter, or what to look for and what to avoid?

So I ended up with a fair amount of tree wood and I think I am going to buy a splitter. Not just for this load of course but for more freedom in the future in the ability to buy tree- length firewood; I am sick of magical, mystery pricing of firewood, even more magical methods of measuring a cord and how unbelievably light a split of "oak" can be (yeah, right).

My thoughts are something like this:
1) it seems decent but simple splitters are around $900 to $1,200. I am looking for the best value and would appreciate some old- hand splitter owner / users to steer me a bit. Such as 'watch out for this type of filter' or 'this method of mounting the wedge is poor and it is best to avoid those types of splitter' or anything along those lines.
2) I am thinking that a vertical / horizontal unit would be best so I can use it vertically for the first splits on the big rounds and horizontally for most other splitting.
3) They all seem to be similar, more or less, other than engine type (Honda vs. Brand X) and cycle time. Is a slow cycle time really a big deal or not in actual use- meaning I assume most of the time the full stroke is not used, most time is spent moving wood around so actual splitting time is not critical?
4) Any particular features to reach for and any specific pitfalls to avoid?
5) Does brand name mean anything anymore or are splitters like most other relatively inexpensive consumer equipment: buy whatever brand you want, the parts were made in China and it was assembled in a plant that assembles MANY brands and just slaps the name / brand colors on it on the way out the door?

Thanks in advance- I am really looking to avoid 'stepping in it' and making a big mistake rather than going for the last 2% of 'goodness'.

Brian

 

I have used quite a few splitters and honestly I can't tell much of a difference different models. I ended up with a 22 ton from tractor supply and have been happy with it so far. It has split whatever I have fed it including black gum and stringy hickory. Unless the wood is stringy I almost never use more than a 1\4 of a stroke into the length of the round.

I split wood vertically 90%of the time but like the horizontal feature for when I am splitting rounds out of the back of the truck.

 

I did a lot after research then I tried a few different ones I liked out. I ended up going with a dirty hand tool. Fast cycle time, strong as all get out, and the beam height is higher than most. That beam height is probably the most important one. My brother can't stand running my DHT splitter cause it's too high. I can't stand his speeco, it's too low and kills my back. Power and speed are about the same.

 

Personal preferences also played a big part in my decision to build a splitter. I couldn't find one that had the options I wanted without spending a small fortune. As far as value for what you get . As mentioned ,,, you cant go wrong with the TSC splitters. Huskee and county line. I've looked at them many times in the last few months just for ideas for my build. Stuff like hose routing, pump/engine positioning, hose brands and fittings.

 

I have three splitters to shorten things up a little one is way to low for me constant bent over. Worked great but no vertical feature One is a real old ford splitter spent more time working and modifying it wasn't productive

My other is a county line 27 ton I did a review on it its up in the sticky section if you want to read it

Vertical is a must I think even if you don't think you will operate it vertical it's still nice to have I personally want one that is waste height I don't want to be bent over all the time

I notice a bunch of people have nothing but good to say about 22 ton splitters so that is a good consideration when it comes time to buy as it will save you some money

FYI I rarely go to Walmart but did yesterday and seen they had 25 ton mtd splitters for sale for $1200

I think tractor supply has some good sales on splitters now to One thing for me and it's a personal thing when I bought mine from there I got one that was in a crate that needed assembled. I didn't want one that had been sitting outside and I wanted to do the assembly so I knew it was right but that's just a personal preference

All of this was split with my 27 ton county line

 

I would like to add unless your doing just massive amounts of wood I think you can get by with any one of the ones mentioned here. If you get into the commercial side of splitters your looking at a bunch more money


I think the key to any piece of equip is good maintainence I clean mine after each use I run good fresh gas through mine each time and i use a good synthetic oil in it and change it quite often and store it inside

A friend of mine changes his oil after each use granted he is using it approx 4-5 hrs at a time but he has had his huskee splitter for 22 years now with original motor

 

Another vote for the tsc county line 22ton. I've got the huskee version of it. Haven't found a log it won't split yet. Get a 10% off coupon and buy. There are a couple bolts you want to check tightness on since they get assembled by the store workers, but after that, they are pretty much bulletproof.

 

Husky 22 ton is gonna be your best bang for your buck IMHO.

 

Another happy TSC Huskee 22t owner here.

 

Do you guys feel it's worth trying to get a brand name engine - Subaru, Honda, etc? Those options always seem so much more expensive though.

 

My 27 ton has a Honda engine on it I'm not sure what the 22 tons come with.

 

CountyLine 22-Ton Log Splitter - For Life Out Here

According to the specs the 22 ton comes with a kohler or Honda engine

Click on more info when the page comes up

 

Excellent- many thanks for the replies and the great info.

I think the comments about the machine's height really hit home as I never thought of that an am 6'2" tall and will probably have the same back problems given a machine too low. Will keep and eye out for machine height.

Thanks again,
Brian

 

Yeah we the same height. Don't buy one till you stand next to it and see if it fits you I think a county line or dirty hand tools will do fine for you there are several good options out there but tractor supply is prob going to be the easiest as far as going to look at one

Lowes carries dirty hand tools splitters too You may check our Home Depot as well they had a 35 ton model that I was looking at last year that was priced good I can't remember the brand though

 

One more happy TSC Huskee 22t owner here.

 

I have a Huskee 22 ton from TSC and no complaints.

Get a log table with it and you won't regret it.

 

yes

 

I'm still thinking the Harbor Freight 20 ton, if I ever get to where I want something bigger than my 5 ton electric or my x27. I have never used one, but it looks interesting. There are some threads here about it, it sells for $699.

Greg

 

I've got a 27 ton dht with table and love it. It's a slightly longer cycle time than the 22 but I generally split solo so I'm ok with that. I might get rid of the table and get the newer one that they offer. It's bigger and I like the design better.

 

Well I'm probably not a good one to ask this to, as well I always tend to go over board. I did have a Troy built, I think it was "27 ton" or something of that nature. It worked well, but it was slow and I was able to bend pieces of the "table" by just throwing the big pieces that I was splitting on it. It was a horizontal and vertical. I used the vertical once and hated it. I'll half and quarter rather than try to position it right so the wedge will hit it.

After about 6-7 years with that splitter, I was due for something way different. I stepped up to a "commercial" splitter, with log lift and 4/6 way wedge. I won't go back after using one. No more back pains, and well they are just so much more productive. I bought my first one online and liked it at first but the more I used it, the more I hated it. It was cheaply built and well just didn't perform like I thought it should.......for the money I paid for it. Long story short, the company bought it back and I had my own custom built. It was to my height (I think was around the 30" beam height) and I changed a lot of things from my first commercial one, and I picked out the components and such, and I ended up with a really nice and high quality built splitter. Cycle time to me is important. I had some custom rod work done so I have a really fast return stroke. I wanted the ram out of the way so I could get the next piece set. The log lift is a no brainer. Big rounds I don't have to half and quarter.....as long as I can roll it to the lift, so it saves a lot of saw time too.

It'll take a super long time to recover the costs of my equipment, but well I built it to have the last one I'll ever need in mind. I have split for other people as well, so being able to chew threw the wood quickly is a plus.

Here's a few pics.

Here's a video of the first time I used it. It's not the best video, but well I have to get used to it yet. The wood was burr oak and was very twisty and knotty. It was a good test for the splitter though. I hope to get more vids this fall, where you can see up close better.