I had to cut one side up just a little, and the tire firs perfectly over the engine ( predator 6.5 hp) and between the wheel and the main beam. It stays put pretty well, but I usually put a split on top of it to prevent wind gusts from blowing it off. It seems to work well. It keeps the rain and snow off of the engine, and in the couple of years since I put the chonda on it, the predator still looks pretty much like new. When the predator went on, that's when I put the tote on for the cover.
40+ years our splitter has sat outside. Always used canvas tarps because they breath. Keep the ram retracted and the tires and hoses covered from the sun. I do spritz with diluted cosmoline as I have a dislike for rust.
I've had a an old wheelbarrow upside down over my splitter for years (one of those old cheap metal ones with a plastic push mower wheel on it). Well the old wheelbarrow rusted through so I have gone to an old galvanized wash basin. I went with the wheelbarrow to the wash basin because when I stop splitting I can put the metal cover over my splitter right then while it is hot. I don't have to remember to go back out after it cools off to cover it.
This is a picture showing what our splitter looked like in winter. We now have a barn to put it in but from the time we bought the splitter (in late 80's) until just a couple years ago, it sat year around under a tarp. Wood under the tires so it did not sit on the dirt. All is well. Never had a tire problem nor any sun damage. Still works like a charm. However, it is still better to keep it in a building if at all possible.
The only time my splitter s outside overnight is when the weather outside is good enough for me to split 2 days in a row. Its normal home is inside my pole barn.
One other thing about storing..... my rototiller and lawn mower reside outside, 365. Both have good covers. After last use, I pull the plug and squirt some WD40 in the cylinder, turn it over a couple of time...and one more squirt. Snow blower lives in the shed in summer. Lives by the back garage door in winter, covered. It gets the same treatment. Anyone else do this?
The only gas motor that stays outside is the large out board on the boat. The 8.5 outboard, generator, pressure washer' chainsaws and log splitter are all stored inside. All use ethanol zero gas and all start immediately. They also look next to brand new with the exception of the generator which was bought used. I can't stand leaving gas motors outdoors!
Mine stays outside all year around. The only thing I make sure of is the cylinder is fully retracted.
Good point, I do also! And as my valve body is remote from the splitter, I have a plastic bucket over the handles/valves.
Apparently, you don't have to do a dang thing to store a splitter outside in the winter. Nothing.....at all. Not even move it. Not even put a cover on it. I stopped by a home depot this morning and that is exactly how their new ones are stored.....just behind a snowbank and covered with snow!!! And I've been keeping mine inside the garage all these years.....
Yesterday There's a sheet of rubber roofing covering the important parts. Ya gotta just prioritize what gets to spend the winter under cover.
They also keep 50k cars, trucks, and tractors outside in the winter on the lots. Maybe garages will become a thing of the past.
Storing Your Wood Splitter? This is how I stored the first splitter I had for it worked for 40 years.
I think the question shouldn’t be can you, but should you. I could survive on twigs and berries, doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for me. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should or that it’s the best choice. Sure places like Home Depot and TSC store splitters outside, they also sell junk splitters for $1,000. Go to a Timberwolf dealer, or an American dealer or Wolfe Ridge, or Eastonmade or Supersplit. None of they’re splitters are kept outside during inclement weather, or even ever at all. I wonder why. To each there own though. Reminds me of a guy who lives down the street from my parents. Has a huge 30x50 or so barn with a bunch of junk in it, while his New Holland tlbh and an antique sports car sit outside.