which log splitter should I get?

TMonter said:

3 Grand is a lot for single task piece of equipment though. I had the money saved for a super split but I can think of a lot of things I'd rather have for the extra $2100 I would have had to spend.

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Agree $3000 for home owner use is too much. I went shopping for American and timberwolf with 1500 in my pocket. I wanted timberwolf because I know who builds them. American was not too far from me either. try to keep money local if I can. new prices did not work for me. I scored an American with a kohler and 4' capacity installed a timberwolf four way(got as father's day present)
Works awesome! I rented to my neighbor with my son as operator. Now I still have 1200 in my pocket! cost avoidance. I figured buying a used splitter for short money was a better return on investment. the resale of the splitter even in ten years will give me a break even or possibly a plus$

I hear everyone say 22 ton splitter is all u need,I wouldn't buy a 22 ton!several times I've ran into giant rounds of sugar maple that have stopped 22 ton splitters and even caused damage...maybe its rare occasion but my buddies 35 ton huskee has never stopped on these rounds.my father in law bought a 22 ton and he bent it badly with knarly sugar maple...just my 2 cents

MI wood guy said:

I hear everyone say 22 ton splitter is all u need,I wouldn't buy a 22 ton!several times I've ran into giant rounds of sugar maple that have stopped 22 ton splitters and even caused damage...maybe its rare occasion but my buddies 35 ton huskee has never stopped on these rounds.my father in law bought a 22 ton and he bent it badly with knarly sugar maple...just my 2 cents

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It all depends on the type of wood you are gathering. The hardest wood I get around here is the occasional bit of Black Locust which splits easy enough with a 20 ton. It also has a lot to do with choosing where to start splitting rounds.

MI wood guy said:

I hear everyone say 22 ton splitter is all u need,I wouldn't buy a 22 ton!several times I've ran into giant rounds of sugar maple that have stopped 22 ton splitters and even caused damage...maybe its rare occasion but my buddies 35 ton huskee has never stopped on these rounds.my father in law bought a 22 ton and he bent it badly with knarly sugar maple...just my 2 cents

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By all means, the 22 is not for everyone, but as far as I'm concerned, it has split everything I have given it, so why would I want to spend double to get bigger? If I ever come across a piece I can't get through, all i will have to do is break out the wedges and maul. But I don't seem to have to worry about that and that is with having 6 cords on my property, I can also be more selective of what I bring home now.... So the 22 is just fine for me, along with its nice price tag.....

I have come across exactly 2 pieces of wood that my Huskee 22 couldn't handle. They were some pretty healthy (25"+) rounds of hedge with some very wavy grain. The other 15+ cord of wood split without issue.

Best thing I can say about vertical is the machine takes up less storage space when not in use. If ya can't pick a round up then its going to be just as tough manhandling it under the unit when vertical. Be sides if ya noodle a big round down to lifting size ya get all that nice fire stater material, splitter will provide the kindling after that. If ya got somebody handling Speeco units in your area, they are very responsive to customers after the warranty.
Box stores well ya pick your poison.

I think of a h/v spliiter the same as I do a 4x4 truck.

99% of the time you only use 2 wheel drive, but that 1% you use the 4x4 is priceless.

blades said:

Best thing I can say about vertical is the machine takes up less storage space when not in use. If ya can't pick a round up then its going to be just as tough manhandling it under the unit when vertical. Be sides if ya noodle a big round down to lifting size ya get all that nice fire stater material, splitter will provide the kindling after that. If ya got somebody handling Speeco units in your area, they are very responsive to customers after the warranty.
Box stores well ya pick your poison.

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I'd rather roll a very heavy round of wood unto my vertically setup splitter then hurt myself trying to lift it. It is unquestionably easier to move the round by rolling it, so not as tough or difficult as lifting its full weight.
I split mostly horizontally but use the vertical capability for big heavy rounds.
How does the splitter take up less space if stored in the vertical position? I think it would take up more space at least in my shed with low ceilings.

Just get the Huskee 22 you won't be disappointed.... ;-)
If you need bigger, get the 35

TMonter said:

3 Grand is a lot for single task piece of equipment though. I had the money saved for a super split but I can think of a lot of things I'd rather have for the extra $2100 I would have had to spend.

I'm not dissing the Super Split, it's a fantastic piece of equipment, but unless you process 20+ cord a year I would say a smaller hydraulic unit would work just as well for most folks. I short cycle my splitter all the time and the overall cycle time is only ~1.5 to 2 seconds to split a piece of wood.

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ya do realize ya got darn near 3Gs worth of saws in your sig line don't cha ???

a decent MS 290 wooda got 'er dun fer ya !

Angelo C said:

ya do realize ya got darn near 3Gs worth of saws in your sig line don't cha ???

a decent MS 290 wooda got 'er dun fer ya !

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They may be worth 3G's but I certainly didn't pay that much. In fact I've bought and sold enough saws of craigslist to pay for all of them. It's all about timing.

Also a 290 wouldn't really be enough saw for some of the big wood I get into.

BIGDADDY said:

I'd rather roll a very heavy round of wood unto my vertically setup splitter then hurt myself trying to lift it. It is unquestionably easier to move the round by rolling it, so not as tough or difficult as lifting its full weight.
I split mostly horizontally but use the vertical capability for big heavy rounds.
How does the splitter take up less space if stored in the vertical position? I think it would take up more space at least in my shed with low ceilings.

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Them there dang biguns around here just aint that cooperative, Always seem to have a exceedingly large flat side they don't want to get off of.

blades said:

Them there dang biguns around here just aint that cooperative, Always seem to have a exceedingly large flat side they don't want to get off of.

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If you can't topple it you can't lift it.
If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball.

TMonter said:

They may be worth 3G's but I certainly didn't pay that much. In fact I've bought and sold enough saws of craigslist to pay for all of them. It's all about timing.

Also a 290 wouldn't really be enough saw for some of the big wood I get into.

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Awesome, now take that skill you have for hustling saws and convert the money into "time saved" by splitting for 1/2 the time it takes with a hydro. the SS is so fast it makes the amazingly boring task of splitting fun again.
Remember, long after you forget the purchase price you will still see the value in a well designed tool.

Angelo C said:

Awesome, now take that skill you have for hustling saws and convert the money into "time saved" by splitting for 1/2 the time it takes with a hydro. the SS is so fast it makes the amazingly boring task of splitting fun again.
Remember, long after you forget the purchase price you will still see the value in a well designed tool.

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A super split wouldn't halve the time it takes for me to split wood. After using my new splitter for a few cords a super split might save a few minutes a cord since I don't use near the whole cycle time. When you split 99% straight grain fir like I do the hydro takes 1-2 seconds to cycle and split.

I'll say it again, I can find a lot of things I'd rather have for the extra $2100.

No hydro comes anywhere close to a Supersplit. The ram can be brought back same as the hydro, cept no waiting for it to come back. The s.s. ram comes back immediately.
Unless your splitting lots of wood, more like a firewood seller, or find a s.s. cheap, the cost might not justify the amount your processing.

As far as a 22ton not handling what it is tasked to, that is bullshit.
I split 3' pine and 3' maple on my Ryobi electric 4 ton.
It was harder getting them on the thing than splitting them.
It is all in how you attempt to split it. I your buds are breaking a 22 ton trying to split maple, they need to learn how to split wood other than ramming the thing down the center.
Sure there will always be a gnarly pc here and there that is so twisted and wrapped inside, but that is the exception to most.

If I am doing small to medium wood I go with the super split. My worker and I can catch a rhythm and really knock out the work. However, if the logs are big and heavy then that hoisting can be a lot of work or impossible. Also, what stones the SS is the severely knotted oak that is wet. Probably 80% of what I split I use with the SS. If not the SS I go over to the Iron and Oak 26ton vert/horz unit. That is much slower and has only been stoned once or twice on a giant post oak tree trunk. At that point, I move on to another log. I do like the Subaru Robin on both machines.

Splitter speed numbers are way down on my list of considerations. I take the time it takes for the ram to go back to get my splits where I want them (on a pile or on a trailer), and get the next round off the ground. I don't move that fast.

maple1 said:

Splitter speed numbers are way down on my list of considerations. I take the time it takes for the ram to go back to get my splits where I want them (on a pile or on a trailer), and get the next round off the ground. I don't move that fast.

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I think a lot of people with super splits forget that most of us do not process firewood as a business nor use more than a few cord a year. I myself burn between 3 and 4 cords a year depending on the winter which means I'm splitting about 4-5 cord a year typically.

If money were no object the Super-Split would be my first choice in a splitter but since it is a consideration, there are other choices that are a better fit. $2100 is a nice advance on a bigger boat.

TMonter said:

I think a lot of people with super splits forget that most of us do not process firewood as a business nor use more than a few cord a year. I myself burn between 3 and 4 cords a year depending on the winter which means I'm splitting about 4-5 cord a year typically.

If money were no object the Super-Split would be my first choice in a splitter but since it is a consideration, there are other choices that are a better fit. $2100 is a nice advance on a bigger boat.

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So you can afford to purchase a boat yet are not willing to purchase a tool that will allow you more time IN that boat ?
interesting argument. at some point you may realize the one commodity you have only a limited access you is time, everything else can be "purchased"

not sure if the OP wants to know any of this so ill back out from here.

Angelo C said:

So you can afford to purchase a boat yet are not willing to purchase a tool that will allow you more time IN that boat ?
interesting argument. at some point you may realize the one commodity you have only a limited access you is time, everything else can be "purchased"

not sure if the OP wants to know any of this so ill back out from here.

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I'll say it again, a super split would save me maybe an hour or two a year, and given the type of wood I split and the quantity it's not inherently faster than a hydro if I short cycle the unit like I usually do.

mikeb3383 said:

I am in the market for a log splitter. Which one shoukd I get? Home depot has a ariens 34 ton log splitter and lowes has a 33 ton log splitter.

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I have a SpeeCo 34 ton splitter. The only issue I had is transporting it. The first time I pulled it down the road for about 25 miles the welds broke on the hydraulic fluid tank at the beam pivot point. SpeeCo said they will not cover it. I'll NEVER buy another of their products. Junk crap!

I have a 20 ton powerhorse, bi-directional splitter. Sold by northern tool. I bought from a northern retail store for $925. It has the same size pump and cylinder specs as the TSC 22 ton huskee. I have split some knotty Elm, and it hasn't failed yet. I haven't found anything it wouldn't split, plus you get the benefit of two direction splitting! The engine is very fuel efficient and easy starting.