Very Nice!!! . Every owners manual say something a little different but if you want that baby to give you years of service, "oil change, oil change, oil change"! It's cheap insurance and because those little motors run hard, I change mine about every 50 hours. "If I were you", I would put 5 hours on the oil for break in then change it to the recommended oil. I'm no super mechanic but I've done this in everything I own and never had an engine come apart. Just my opinion here, I run 10W40 Lucas ATV 4 stroke, semi synthetic motor oil in "all" my 4 stroke stuff and not once had any issues. Summit racing sells it and I also think you can buy it through NAPA auto.
I love this thing, subaru engine starts up easy even in the coldest temps after sitting. Splits big tough rounds nice. Highly recommend, iv used alot of splitters and I really like this.
That can be changed out once every other year, but it's not like engine oil. make sure you get a new filter every change, TSC and some auto parts have them. Hydraulic oil will get hot but won't break down like engine oil. Just make sure it's topped off to the manuals specs before each use, if it's low you can risk damage to the pump.
Funny, I was just gonna ask the same thing. We've got 3 or 4 yrs of use with ours, and I've picked up a new filter and hyd fluid already, but was wondering if anyone changes theirs frequently.
I haven't owned a splitter for very long, just a couple years now myself. But I've use my friends prior and a couple rentals. I have a buddy has a tree service and they change the Hydraulic fluid every two years and filters every year. Yeah, after I hit in my 50's I realized there was this "Wonderful" thing called Hydraulics and I just couldn't do it any more with the beating of a hand splitter. I almost bought a new one years back but some unexpected bills hit us and, well you know...
So very true. Unless you want to go shopping again, Keep the maintenance up. Stay ahead of it even! Enjoy the splitter of your choice for years to come.
Didn't take me long at all to know I wanted a splitter. First year preparing to use our old stove, I was cutting tops on the hill, so a lot didn't need split. So I'm splitting what needs it over the summer, when one day my buddy brings over his FIL's splitter. We got done in 2 hrs as much as I had whacked at with the axe & maul. It was a beautifully planned event, because after we got done, he pitched the idea of splitting the cost of a new one. Well, we're far from rich, but Chazsbetterhalf was saying YES even faster than I could. So, next tax return was partially invested in a time share splitter. On the bright side of hand splitting, we had plenty of kindling from off-center hits.
My friend brought over the splitter yesterday afternoon, and we discussed maintenance issues. He didn't get a chance to change the engine oil yet, so I'll take care of that this week. He mentioned that he was planning to pick up a new hyd filter (he forgot I picked one up last fall). He mentioned that it had some back pressure in the hyd reservoir, causing some weeping at the cap vent, but that the fluid is still clear as can be. So we decided to just change the filter and top off the res as needed for this year, and go from there. Even though it is used between 2 households, the hyd fluid should be good. Anyone know of an easy viscosity test I can do at home between the fresh hyd fluid and the used?
