Look at this splitter

See what you guys think:



I made a comment about the tonnage claim but why on earth do these companies mount the valve like that? Not normally a safety nazi but that looks like a REAL bad idea. I guess they don't think things vibrate and get flexed from back and forth pulling. They need to go back to engineering school in my opinion.

It's a 6 inch bore with a 22GPM pump so they have to be pumping 4250 PSI to get that. Don't think that valve is rated for that.

 

One slip with a log and the only thing holding the valve will be hoses. Hard to say what the valve is capable of but I'm going to say it's a stretch. It would be cheaper to up the cylinder size rather than the added cost of higher pressure rated components. Probably the same engineer who came up with older Sears horsepower ratings. Remember the 5 hp 110volt air compressors.

 

Is it just me, or is the cycle time pretty slow?

 

That's the drawback of a 6 inch bore. They advertise a 22GPM pump so that is what you get. I was going to use a 6 inch cylinder on mine but when I figured the cycle time and decided against it and I'm using a 28 GPM pump. The other issue is heat and restrictions. All those hard 90's and small fluid tank is another minus. If they have used a double wall pipe for strength on the valve mount nipple that ID would be extremely small. It would be interesting to see the temps this splitter develops after a 1/2 hour of constant use.

 

Pretty slow? It's a damm snail!
Also, can't stand how he splits the pieces that need to be resplit. Notice the first one, he lays it down so you get 2 large pieces on the bottom and 2 tiny pieces on top. If he took the log and stood it up, he could get 4 equal size pieces.
One more thing, I can't stand running a splitter where the ram is the wedge. Way more work in my opinion on pieces that are stubborn and need that final inch or two of push.

 

The best splitter I have seen so far is the power split, it's expensive but that thing is a beast and it comes with a log lifter

 

That is a trade off. If you have a conveyor out the back then your point has more validity. I made the wedge on the ram on my because when doing the big stuff you have to pull all those big pieces back for resplits, get one side out of the way or let it hit the ground if no table is there. They advantage with my set up is I also have a 3rd "storage with it hanging and can swing out of the way. If I'd have it opposite it would swing back on me as it pushes the round away.

 

That cycle time is enough to put me to sleep watching it.
I get the four way wedge, but really would want to be able to remove it quickly for resplits.
Got to love the inexperienced operator carefully setting the rounds against the foot, the ram will do that for you just fine.

The valve in the middle is nice for left handed operators, especially when run vertically. I don't get the tall stand pipe it's mounted on though.

Fixed wedges are more work for the big stuff, forcing you to wrestle the resplits back around the wedge for another pass.
They make for a longer machine to have a table to catch the splits past the wedge.

 

the wedge on the ram is the only way you can use it vertical.

 

Having never seen wood fly anyway but sideways, I'm having a hard time imagining that

 

I will agree on you with the big logs that can be an advantage but who splits nothing but big pieces? Also, once you break them down into manageable pieces, they aren't big anymore.

 

Oh I know. I have done plenty of shopping around for splitters through the years and that's why I never bought one that goes vertical.

 

Agreed for almost all of them. Check out Eastonmade splitters though for a real life test. Those are some nice machines!

 

I guess me. I normally get calls from people who can't handle them and I bust stuff up to a size I can carry. everyone has there own way of doing things so it's all good. We split where it lays by backing down the log length. If we throw to both sides, we back the truck down the same path and load from both sides with basically no steps. If a conveyor or straight to a truck, it's off to the side if room allows.