New Iron & Oak Splitter......so far not impressed

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Just an update on the my new splitter.........Got about 4 hours total use time on it. So far so good. It appears I have a very small hydro leak that seeps out from the valve lever. It is so minute I'm not going to worry about it. It comes from the little cylinder that is attached to the handle. That cylinder enters and exits the control valve as you operate the splitting cylinder.

Other than that, the subaru engine is smooth as butter and it has split some pretty big knotty, stringy hickory rounds without stopping.
 
My local saw shop sells I&O splitters, and quoted me on two 22-ton units. One was $1300, the other about $2200. They were quick to point out that I&O makes two product lines, one being well suited for rental shops or commercial volume work, the other being the same homeowner-grade hardware we buy from Huskee and others. The pricey one had a 6-second cycle time, the cheaper one maybe 12 seconds. Which did you buy?
 
Joful said:
My local saw shop sells I&O splitters, and quoted me on two 22-ton units. One was $1300, the other about $2200. They were quick to point out that I&O makes two product lines, one being well suited for rental shops or commercial volume work, the other being the same homeowner-grade hardware we buy from Huskee and others. The pricey one had a 6-second cycle time, the cheaper one maybe 12 seconds. Which did you buy?
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Well, as I understood it, "Brave" made by I&O is the homeowner grade and the models are orange in color, at least at my local shop. They ran about $1300 and had a Briggs motor. The Blue colored models, simply named "Iron & Oak" were the commercial grade and came with a variety of engines and pump sizes. I got to my understanding a commercial grade unit, however the cycle time is about 12 seconds I believe.
 
Interesting. I'll call my saw shop, to get clarification on what they're talking about...
 
Joful - on the 20 ton model they did have two versions. One was a typical 12 second cycle and the other was advertised as "super fast" or some such thing with a 6 sec cycle. Other than pump/motor, I believe the rest of the components were the same.
 
Jags, you're jogging my memory, here. I do recall there being two pump options on the more expensive model. Specifically, I do remember the $1300 model had a Briggs motor, and the $2200 model had a Subaru/Robin or Honda motor. I remember the cycle time on the more expensive one they sold was 6 seconds, but I also remember them saying it was a "suped up version" of the standard product. I remember the cycle time on the less expensive model was about double that.

What I came away with, since I knew I wasn't going to spend $2200 for a person splitter on which I only process ~10 cords per year, was that the $1300 model was basically all the same hardware as the $900 Huskee from TSC. So, I went to TSC and spent $900 on the Huskee.
 
Aside from the fluid power issues...I want to hear about this Subaru engine.
 
Kool_hand_Looke said:
Aside from the fluid power issues...I want to hear about this Subaru engine.
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I'm not having any power issues. The Subaru runs fantastic. Purrs right along and is very smooth. From what I'm reading and hearing, the Subaru motors rate right up there with Honda.
 
trailrated said:
I'm not having any power issues. The Subaru runs fantastic. Purrs right along and is very smooth. From what I'm reading and hearing, the Subaru motors rate right up there with Honda.
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Is it worth the extra money? My wife's car is Subaru. That's one well built machine. I'd hope its actually Subaru building it and not B&S just slapping a Subaru tag on it. That's not the case here is it?
 
Made by Fuji Heavy Industries. Same people that build the cars.
 
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They're made at the Robin factory, USA. Those Subaru engines are about the best money can buy, in a small OPE engine today, on par with Honda.
 
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+1

Those Subaru engines have a great heritage. See also: Robin, Wisconsin Robin

Up until very recently, the Subaru-Robin engine was offered as an upgrade option over the entry level Briggs & Stratton for Iron & Oak splitters.
 
Kool_hand_Looke said:
Is it worth the extra money? My wife's car is Subaru. That's one well built machine. I'd hope its actually Subaru building it and not B&S just slapping a Subaru tag on it. That's not the case here is it?
Click to expand...

I think its worth it. This is my first Subaru engine. You can definitely tell its no re-badged B&S. This is where the upgraded cost came from my machine. The machine has a standard 12 second cycle time, nothing else really fancy but the Subaru engine.
 
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