Hi, We are about to buy a hydraulic log splitter with a lift, and your knowledge and advice will be appreciated! I have read innumerable posts on this forum and others to research splitters with lifts. The budget is $4,000‐$4,500. Simultaneously, a backpack blower is needed, so closer to four thousand bucks is better. The contenders are the Ramsplitter Heavy Duty Fast Cycle for $4,100, the DYNA LS24-18 for $4,500, and maybe a Split-Fire which would blow the budget to smithereens! I've rented a Split-Fire and really appreciate how quick they are. I don't know which model, but it ripped through the knotty, nasty pieces. Rugged Made splitters are not really in the hunt; they appear to ship a pallet of parts. The YouTube's that I've seen on getting a bunch of parts with no instructions have eliminated them. I look forward to learning from the collective wisdom of the Firewood Hoarders Club. Thank you!
Despite the “some assembly required” the rugged made will be the splitter I get if/ when I upgrade. I need to get my G660 running and then I’ll be setting up a table and splitting area to convert me country pro into a fixed position vertical splitter.
Yeah I think I'd go Ruggedmade too...seems like nice machines for the money...I used their 4" x 2.25" cylinder on my splitter build last year, works great! As far as assembly goes, they have a video on doing it, and documents online. I would actually enjoy building my own machine...premium quality control and machine familiarity that way! Free shipping and a 5% off coupon would seal the deal for me, (I'd use that to buy the oil package, battery, log turner, etc, while it qualifies for the 5% off and free shipping...then you still have the $ for a blower too) if I were buying a new hydro splitter and the budget was under 4k...but myself, I'm budget minded and would probably just lay in wait for a good deal on a used Super-Split...my brother scored on a used one a couple years ago...that's a slick machine!
I have the Ruggedmade 37 ton w/ lift. Couldn't be happier with it. This is however not a Made in USA unit , but it is very well done. Yes, some assy. required and it ships dry so no oil and/or battery included. For my needs it is a great machine. Took a little getting used to after splitting vertical for years but after the learning curve it is a back and time saver.
Anything free! In the pipeline are two 30"+ Ash, a couple of 15" +/- cherries, some elm, red oak various sizes, good sized black birch (which made me realize a lift is a necessity) and a bunch of random 20"+ stuff laying around my suppliers place. Generally I take everything 3" & up. We'll go through 8 cords this winter & I don't have a lot for '25-'26 laid in yet, maybe 2 cords. Plus I help a couple of friends do another 5-6 cords.
I agree a log lift is a must. I think you could get into one of the lower end split fires for your intended budget. They do have a new vertical unit that is a pretty sharp deal but not sure it’s what you’re looking for. I’ve use a 3455 equivalent machine from a rental places around here and they are capable of splitting everything you listed. However, you cannot go wrong with the Dyna LS 24-18. It’s a quality unit made just up the road from me here in Michigan. They are a well respected company in the firewood processor industry. I nearly pulled the trigger on one, but I don’t like a push through layout splitter.
Why don't you like push-through splitters? With the exception of Split-Fire splitters all that I have seen with log lifts are push-through.
Pulling the splits back over the wedge/knife is a big inefficiency depending on the way the splitter is set up. If the splitter has a 4,6,8, etc. way wedge and you can control the height to get “perfect” splits in one go maybe less so. But resplitting has ever been the Achilles heal of that type of design. Just the opinion of a happy super split owner with some larger wolf ridge push through experience sprinkled in.
It took 3 months to get the $ together, but we have a Split-Fire 3265 with the log lift. I picked it up in December but hadn't used it much due to the holidays. Now that things are quieter I have time to play with it. The Split-Fire 3265 is quick. I believe the cycle time is 10 seconds +/-, out & back. This means 5 seconds per split since it is a two-way splitter. By myself, I can't keep up with it. I imagine that it would keep three people hopping; loading, splitting, & stacking. I haven't had anything to really test it's splitting ability so far. The log lift is worth the investment! With a hookaroon & not much effort, it's easy to get logs to the splitting deck. I'll write a better review before too long. Rich
