My countyline 25 ton thoughts.

I broke down and bought my countyline last Sunday.
Due to the rain I didn't have a chance to uncrate it till wednesday.
I also wanted to get a few things for the splitter.
I bought a hour/tach meter for it. Still need to get the catcher for it.
I held off because everything I need to split is vertical at the moment.
I finally was able to move it to the wood pile today and get almost 2 hrs on it.
I had to add 3 quarts of AW-32 to it as it wasn't even touching the dipstick after cycling it a few times.
I still think I have to add some more to it but it's really hard to read the shiny dipstick with clear fluid on it. It's close enough though.
In my haste of assembling it I broke the plastic manual tube.
I almost took this back to return it and buy the brute 30 ton but I decided not to.
Some cosmetic issues with it but they don't affect the way it works.
Which it works quite well, I almost stalled it on one piece but it powered on thru.
A lot of the stuff I was working thru was quite old and ended up in the burn pile sadly.
So I didn't really get to work it too hard yet.
It starts easy, the cycle time is plenty fast enough for me.
It's much easier than swinging that 8 pound hammer.
I still plan on splitting the easier stuff by hand. It's peaceful and relaxing to me.
Being in the back yard with the woods to my back and listening to nature is nice.
Running this thing on full is not loud but it isn't quiet. It's more like "work"
Maybe a few cold brews will change that.
I'll update with more pics as I go along.

 

The 2 stage pump probably just shifted into "low gear"

 

That is possible, not enough experience yet to realize it.

 

Yeah you'll get used to it...you'll find on most trees the splitter will be in "high gear" 98% of the time...but once in a while you'll hear the engine start to labor a bit, then the pump will "shift", at that point the ram will slow down and the load on the engine will noticeably lessen...as soon as the split surrenders you'll notice the pump shift back into high and the ram speed will return to normal.
And BTW, those plastic storage tubes for the manual are a joke anyways...if you actually store the manual in there when you go to read it next it will either be gone or trashed.

 

Been working great! Coming up on 2 years old.

 

Thank you for that insight, I got into some knotty, gnarly stuff today and saw/heard exactly that. I knew what was happening from your post.
This splitter didn't skip a beat at anything I threw at it today. It was all tough stuff.

 

Hello , On new assy most splitters after the first cycle or two the oil level will go down you are filling valve,hoses etc no worrys
most of my customers who use those type splitters in the vertical mode build a platform to go around the foot of the splitter to make it easier to keep the larger rounds in position for splitting Good luck with it JB

 

For those hard to read dipsticks with clean oil, spit on your thumb and pointer finger, rub the spit on both sides of the dipstick and insert, then pull out to read, oil and water don't mix so you will be able to see the separation line.

 

I just lay the end of the dipstick of my clean dry finger, then you can see how far the oil goes...

 

There’s definitely a joke in here about spitting on it vs using oil, but I’ll leave you all to your own devices!


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Keep an eye on the foot when running horizontal those holes and under beam will plug up with trash and you’ll eventually lose full stroke- royal pita to get it all unplugged once you’ve reached that point.

 

Yep I already noticed how it likes to fill up and fairly quick.

 

I usually just lay a stick of wood down on the ground in front of my foot when vertical, if needed. Like, 3" or so around x a couple feet long. The round easily tips up over the stick, & stays there.

 

Love mine , this makes 3 years I’ve had it

 

Have had a few days of dry weather but yard way to squishy to play anymore with the splitter.
I'm hoping to get an hour in tonight but I have to mow my lawn before more rain hits tonight.
One thing I've noticed is; and it's probably me needing to get use to the choke, is it's a bit of a pain to start.
I'm sure it's me and getting the feel for the choke.

 

Those Koehler engines are awesome, mine can sit for 3 or so months at a time, turn fuel on choke it and always starts first pull, excellent on fuel also considering the rpms they turn

 

That was one of the reasons I bought this. But I sure can't get a 1 pull start.
I've tried full choke, no choke and partial choke.
If I give it partial choke it will do a sputter. I kill the choke and no start.
If I open the throttle a little it seems to sputter and dies,
open a little more; it eventually fires up and runs fine than.
But full choke I can pull my arm off and nothing. I figure it's hot out and it doesn't really need full choke but it's taking way more pulls than I would think is normal. I run 93 in all my OPE. My lawn tractor has a kohler that is probably 45 years old and needs a carb rebuild and it fires up easier than this brand new engine.
I'll figure it out.

 

That’s all it takes sometimes is just learning the sweet spots, what I have found with mine 2/3 throttle full choke is what it likes

 

I'll try that when I get back out there.

 

Good luck with er.