I have had a 25HH with lift for about a dozen years .dead reliable, solidly built The only thing that I didn’t like ,and changed later is the hyd.tank size . 5 gallons is too small for a 16gph pump .
It’s never failed to split what it was fed . I’ve had everything from maple to old locust on it . I did eventually put a pressure gauge on it and turned it up from 2650 to 2800 . But, it never failed to split at 2650 . Don't worry about CLS not rating the tonnage . Most ,if not all other companies are wildly exaggerating their products tonnage . Get hold of a hyd . Force calculator . You’ll see what I mean . Most splitters with 4” cylinders are running around 14-17 tons at full pressure demand . Splitters only build pressure when the pump encounters resistance . Most of the time they’ll be splitting stuff at pressures of between 600-800 psi after they encounter the initial resistance of piece being split . Even then it rarely hits 1000 psi . Oh yeah , one gripe that I failed to mention in my other post is this : I would have welded the cross splitter wedges on the 4 way about 1/2 to 1 “ lower . Nothing major , just my preference on split size .
I had a chance to run one about 11-12 years ago. Very fast and well made splitter. Biggest complaint was the 4 way was not height adjustable, so lots of little sliver pieces. Kept three of us busy. I'd talk to Brad Curtis (Curtis Outdoor Power) in Brooklyn. He sells them, or at least used to.
All good info, thanks. Yes I surely think Chinese tons are much lighter than American LOL The biggest cringe is I want to cut the wedge off first thing. Or at least shorten the ones on it. Make a box wedge splitter out of it. After looking at the boxes others have made I think I could design one that doesn’t require as much power. I think, famous last words.
Good to know. I’ll look into Curtis. Did find another place with them in stock, which considering the backlog on all other brands is amazing and somewhat concerning. Hence looking for info Always good to have another option.
Looks like Bethel equipment in CT also sell them. Theirs says call for price, Curtis's website doesn't show a price either. I'd guess that model is about 5k right now. Back when Curtis was blowing out 7900's for $650, the AM-25S was $3,995. This was about 10-12 years ago. I'm sure they've went up considerably since then, like everything else in life.
Roughly. 25HH is around $4300+ Super is around $6400+ I looked around a bit because there’s a almost new 25HH on FB for $6000. Looks like that guy wants the taxes and then some back
This ^^^, all good info. Most big box/farm store splitters don't make the pressure that they claim (not that they can't, but if you look at the pressure rating on the hoses many of them have, hose working pressure is lower than their "rated/claimed" splitter pressure, and the math is simple, pressure x piston size/area = force...all it takes is a pressure gauge to prove their lies. The good thing about it all is like you said, it rarely takes over 1000psi to split...mine runs around 500 peak to split most stuff (4" cylinder, so just over 3 tons) I also have one of those cheap 5 ton electric splitters in the garage just for re splitting stuff that I left too big for my liking in my current burner, and it rarely fails to do the job just fine
Six hour use Honda flawless 300 # sugar maple lifts no problem a lil tippy on uneven ground with narrow base.. duh Knotty yard tree splits no problem more than enough spliting power mostly 40% engine speed
Why they were dropped for free.. should have finished them sooner my splitter died; life always gets in way but I will measure a big one
It’s a quality built American machine in the beginners commercial category. Not overbuilt, not all the bells and whistles but it does what it was designed for. As expected I butchered mine up, added caster wheels, push and pull on both ends and a box wedge. The Super is NOT the machine for a box wedge as it’s designed for speed more than power. But if ya keep the gnarly stuff to a minimum it’ll do the job. Been having fun ever since.
