Just move back home to the cold weather of Vermont and burned about five cords last winter. Planning on getting a splitter and splitting all the wood I’ve gathered from my property and continuing to try to supply myself with wood in the future years. So I’ve got two options that I’m trying to decide between both used and seem to work very well. First option is a dirty hand tools 30 ton splitter With Kohler SH series 6.5hp. My second option is A county line 28 ton with a Honda GC 190 engine I know they will both fit my needs I am just curious if anyone has any recommendations between the two options? Thank you
Both very similar splitters. Ive ran both engines and both have been very reliable. Obviously the honda is going to be a bit better quality, may even last longer. Honda always started easier in the cold. What is the price difference like between the two?
I'm sure either splitter would serve you well, but, am I the only one that feels the Dirty Hands splitter seems under powered with only a 6.5 horse motor? I have the Country Line 25 ton and it's all the splitter most will ever need. So far the Kohler motor seems to be easy starting and easy on gas.
I have the County Line 25 ton as well. Runs at 1/2-3/4 throttle all the time. Might slow a bit on the gnarliest chunks, but I've never had to go and bump it up for max power.
Welcome to the club. Great bunch of folks on here sharing knowledge and humor. Never ran a DHT splitter but they look like a County Line almost. We got the 30 ton fast cycle County Line last Sept with 9.5 Kohler. Only had a couple pieces make second stage kick in. Starts easy, my hunny can crank it. Great customer service, valve got to sticking when in horizontal position, sent me a new valve, no questions asked. Only problem I have I the hydraulic filter had gotten loose twice. Might look at cost of engine parts to help you decide.
Thanks for all the help. The photos of the splitter is a 30ton dirty hands and has a 6.5hp motor on it. Here are some photos
That looks like the same motor my county line 25 ton splitter has. If it were me I think I’d go with the Honda motor even though I’m very happy with my splitter and it’s motor.
I have a DHT with the Kohler. It runs well, but it isn't a Honda. The manual will say to run it dry before storing ... DO IT!! That carb is a PITA to clean out.
Welcome to the forum Travis. Either of those machines should serve you well. Kohler used to have great engines but not so much lately. Honda, well, not much to say as they are usually great engines. As for 15 cord split, that would barely be noticeable. My splitter (with a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton) has split over 300 cord (and is a 20 ton). The best advice I can give to anyone is to not get so excited over tonnage. It is highly overrated unless you are a commercial guy. Our 20 ton does excellent and is even faster than many higher rated splitters. However, I do not put much emphasis on speed for sure. That is one big cause of accidents. All said and done I'd probably go for the county line as a choice between the two. Also because you are new, here is some reading material which might be a help to you: Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage
DHT has put out a lot of splitters, the max splitting force, pump, cylinder and cycle times vary slightly between them. Swap one or two components, get a different (better?) rating. From what I remember the DHT 22, 25 & 27 ton splitters had the 6.5hp Kohler engines. The 28, 30 & 35 had the 9.5hp. I have not seen a 30 ton with the 6.5 but the mounts and dimensions are similar enough that with little effort a 30 ton 9.5hp could be re-powered with a 6.5 hp engine. Then again, DHT may have had a 30 ton with a 6.5 and decided to up the horse power a little and change the pump to get a faster cycle time. Do you know what year the DHT is? KaptJaq
I have always liked Honda engines. I consider a splitter a tool to split all the wood I cannot split by hand so I only run it to split crotches, white oak, sycamore, etc. I'll use it to quarter large rounds so I can split those pieces with an ax. Splitting by hand is more work but a lot faster than a splitter. also sugget a horizontal/vertical splitter, just got one this year and the vertical position is fantastic for those 30-40 inch rounds
There are multiple versions of several of the DHT splitters including the DHT/power equipment dealer version and the box store (home depot, lowes, etc) version. DHT no longer lists the 30ton Kohler specs on their site but if you buy a 28 ton from DHT or a power equipment dealer it has the 9.5 hp kohler engine. (28 Ton Horizontal/Vertical Log Splitter, Kohler Engine - Dirty Hand Tools, Colorado USA) The big box store 30ton has the Kohler 6.5hp. www.lowes.com/pd/Dirty-Hand-Tools-30-Ton-Gas-Log-Splitter/1000246157 The newest 30ton sold directly by DHT has a 5.2hp honda (30 Ton Horizontal Vertical Log Splitter, Honda Engine -) As I wander through their archived specs I find a number of different cylinder/engine/pump combinations for similarly rated equipment. Some are even powered by Chinese knock-off engines. KaptJaq
