Experiences with small hydraulic splitters?

Half because I've sold some machinery and the money is burning a hole in my pocket, and half because my elbow got tweaked a couple of months ago and hand-splitting is looking less fun than it used to, I am flirting with the idea of getting a small hydraulic splitter. I only burn a couple of cords a year, and I have little storage space, so a full-size unit would make no sense for me. Has anyone here had much experience with smaller, lower-powered splitters?

Yesterday I was browsing CL, and happened on this old Didier splitter, probably from the 70's:



And this Flowtron splitter, probably from the 80's:



In new splitters, there's the Brave EZ split:

And of course there are the electric options, which mostly seem pretty similar to each other.

For the ones I've been able to find specs on, these seem to range from 5-8 tons. I realize that's not exactly unstoppable, but I cut my wood pretty short (14") for N-S loading in a smallish stove, and anyhow I have saws big enough to noodle with.

I have virtually no experience with hydraulics. Would something like this be worth having for small-scale suburban use? Would the older ones require more maintenance than they're worth? Would the slow cycle times drive me nuts? I just don't know what it would be like living and working with one of these, so any insights would be appreciated.

 

The power is only going to be an issue in knots & crotches.
The cycle time could be improve by adding a beam stop if it has auto-detent - you only need a portion of the beam travel (though they all seem to be in the 18" range anyway)

Short wedge height will be a bit frustrating in wider logs, you'll be rolling them to get them split in halfs/thirds when in stringy wood.

Check out gmule's splitter here ($300 is a sweet deal):
http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/for...ter-do-you-have-post-pic.33/page-7#post-33607

 

My thinking on the small units is to just go electric. I see used electric ones routinely for $150 on CL.

 

Used a 6 ton elec splitter inside our basement at our last house. Worked fine. When we moved, I gave it to my son who uses it in his garage. As mentioned, it splits all hardwood except the crotches and big knots.

 

Harbor Freight 7 ton electric is pretty quick with two speeds, it will even do some crotches and gnarly stuff.
As far as I know harbor freight doesn't sell that model anymore at least its not online.
It has a good size splitting blade on it, take, taller than the ones I have seen on the 5 tons in the store
I have never used a 5 ton but the videos I have seen looks to me like it's pretty slow with the single speed.
The other ones that I know of that are similar to mine would be, Pow R Kraft 7 ton and woodeze 7 ton, $450 to $500
Mine takes a 20 inch log but I put a block behind the pusher so it doesn't return all the way that saves me a little time, I cut to 17 inches . But because of scrounging I often have shorter pieces also, so I have a couple different sized blocks to stick in there

Wow that, Brave ez split 8 ton is like, 1100 to 1300 hundred

 

The brave can be had for less if you shop around, but yeah, it's still pricey.

Electric is sounding like the way to go, so I guess I'll start keeping an eye out for one. The option to keep it just inside the basement door instead of in the garage is attractive, and besides, I just got an old Lawn Boy mower. If I got a splitter with a 4-stroke engine, I'd have to start keeping 2 cans of gas again.

Right now there are a couple of 5-ton units on CL near me -- one Homelite, and one Speeco, but maybe I'll get lucky and find a 7-ton.

Thanks everyone.

 

I have seen a couple of 7 ton on CL people upgrading to 20 ton or so.
The 5 ton are much lighter ,mine is 190lbs but rolls easy

 

I've got the earthquake 5 ton from TSC for 300, the cycle time is about 15 seconds but that's no problem for me because I hate hand splitting. I have split up to 19 inch red oak rounds that are straight grained, with the knotty rounds you have to get creative and split off the sides and work you're way in.

 

I need an earthquake splitter to go with my saws. Have an all round quake experience. They make a gas one too I think I saw on the site.

 

I like your table set up

 

A pallet 2 old porch posts and some nails, all I spent on it was a couple dollars for the box of nails.

 

I figured it was repurposed materials I have mine up on a heavy duty platform I got free

 

That little puppy better damm well be nice for that much money

 

It's a '90's model, set up for mulching -- steel deck, nothing fancy but much lighter than the 4-stroke, electric-start bagging model it's replacing. I have steep hills to mow and a staircase between the front and back yards, so the (actually newer) old mower was no fun.

What do you think of the magnesium deck models? They seem to command a premium, but I'm not sure why. Are they that much lighter, or is it corrosion resistance that people care about?

 

I'm not sure I pay that sort of attention to cut quality when it comes to mowers. I've cut the lawn 2 or 3 times since I got it, and I really like the fact that it will go up the hills in the back yard, and can be backed up the stairs fairly easily. This is my first mulching mower, and not having to repeatedly empty the bag is also a big plus. It doesn't run quite as smoothly as the 4-stroke, but I haven't gotten ambitious enough to dig into why that might be.

A few days ago someone not far from me listed a brand-new-in-the-box 2006 2-cycle Lawn Boy on CL. The ad doesn't mention a price; he's taking offers. I wonder what that's worth.

 

I didnt realize that lawn boy was still made and sold..let alone in two stroke!!! Wonder if its a northern/regional thing?

I run premix in some 4 stroke but try not too. The oil adds to the cost of that fuel even more!!

 

Did you see where the NIB one I mentioned is from 2006?