Thinking about investing in a splitter...opinions on this

Those DHT splitters look good. And good price.

Or you could go with something like this. Watch your hands though.

 

Guy has guts I'll give him that

 

The rounds that "tipped" the machine up was when it took two of us to lift the rounds because I could no longer lift them myself. Tipping is not common problem, I only mentioned it because Rangerbait said in another thread he could load big rounds with the loader bucket.

Most people aren't lifting 20+ oak rounds on to a horizontal splitter. I usually go vertical before 20"

 

Check out the vids on you tube. Super split and split second are prolly the most expensive but made here in the USA. I think split second can be towed not so much for super split, I'm talking over the road here. There are a bunch of Chinese units here also. The one I have I believe to be a black diamond not sure though cause of no decals. Found it on evilbay for 800 bucks and thought I could a ford to loose that if it we junk I just couldn't believe the vids of how fast they split, I was wrong. I figured it wouldn't split tough stuff so I kept my 32 ton hydro just in case but haven't used it since. The fastest we have split with it was 1 1/2 cord in 22 minutes with 4 guys bringing wood an taking it away. They are really that fast. I have prolly 30 cords through it now not sure how long it will last but have had zero troubles with it so far. Real gnarly chucks my take a couple hits but will cut right through. I don't think I got into any elm yet or apple like @woodwolverine . I would definitely recommend checking them out. Good luck Buddy.

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Check out the YardMax line of splitters. They come either full or half beam and come with a lot of extras that other brands charge extra for, have seen good reviews on these splitters.
I have a 7 ton Boss electric. When it comes time for a need to go bigger I might stick with the Boss line or try a YardMax half beam. But some of the Kinetics look cool as well, a lot of different brands to choose from.
Or maybe one of the electric models like a 16 ton Ram splitter or the Swisher 22 ton electric.

 

Just don’t go making your own....
This one might get the job done but free fingers anyone??



I have the 22 ton DHT splitter. Got it on sale for about 850 but after tax it was close to 1000. It was originally about 1100 at Lowe’s.

 

Yep. The old didier splitter we have at the house is nowhere near 20 tons ( maybe 14?) and it splits everything, even a lot of stringy elm. No issues with anything really. The lighter physical weight will be appreciated when you have to lift it into a truck or onto a trailer. We also have an mtd 21 ton horizontal/ vertical splitter that we keep up north.

You want as quick of a cycle time as you can get.

Kohler motors are very good, easy to start. Honda's are too, but are typically way overpriced.

I'd wait for the tsc or whoever has the black Friday sale for 850 for the 22 ton.

 

I have an apple tree that I have in rounds right now. I haven't split much apple in the past, and when I did, it was dry, very dry. I'll let you know how the old didier splitter does on it. Now that didier it's like 14 Ton, and is around 40 yrs old. The old original Briggs 5hp would stall on elm and other gnarly hard to split stuff. But I attribute most of the stalling to the old weak low compression motor. I put a 6.5 HP chonda predator motor on it last winter, and I couldn't stall it. I processed 5 cords of wood last winter and most on the predator motor. There was 2 cord of elm in that amount. The honey locust was tougher to split than the elm. The new predator motor couldn't be stalled.

To me, it's more about the power of the motor than the tonnage of the hydraulics. These gear pumps go into low gear when they need to.

 

As I age I find slower can be safer.
Another vote for the 22 ton Speeco, splits everything I have run through it, I split wood for 30 years by hand (young, dumb, and stupid), and never going back.

 

Got a great deal on a Forest King 30 2 years ago at Menard's on Black Friday. Just over $800 out the door. If you are gonna buy, black Friday is the time.

 

On big thing for me is the height of the splitter, most newer splitters are taller but I have used some that are quite low. Meaning you would be hunched over when working not fun.

I too have the huskee 22 ton and haven't found a piece of wood that it won't split. And I don't find myself standing around waiting for it to cycle. Probably split 25 or so cord with it no issues. The ad on "table" is a must for me.
I haven't had the chance to use a Kenetic splitter.

 

I came to my senses Dennis! lol That monster elm I worked through would have laughed at a 20T. I only had a weekend with a 2xT years ago before I found my current 34. It did just fine splitting what I threw at it. My train of thought is instinctively "how would it do with the apple". I'm sure it would, just not as fast as my larger unit. Which is why I initially mentioned the kinetic.

 

I've watched them at gtg's and I'm sold. Wish I had one, in fact I'd trade in a heartbeat. They're just soo much faster. A lot of times I have to cycle the wedge the whole way to the bottom of it's travel.

All my experience is with orchard trees which are trimmed to stay low so pickers don't have to go way up a ladder. If your is a yard tree, it may not have the gnarly limb sections I get. Plus I usually split wet, which yields the most amazing aroma!!

 

Yeah, this tree was a yard tree, but pruned like an orchard tree. It was just cut down. It smelled amazing. But it's pretty gnarly. We'll see how it goes once I get the splitter here.

 

CountyLine 25-Ton is priced at $899.99 right now at some stores

 

Well
You should have Enough info
Which one you get ?

Money not the issue
My choice
Fast & power
Timberwolf 6 & with a log lift !