What requires more than 20 tons of splitting force?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.

Hass

Minister of Fire
Mar 20, 2011
528
Alabama, NY
I'm debating what splitter to get.
I believe I'm going to get the Huskee 22 ton from TSC.

But I may move up to the 35 ton, I'm not sure.
I've made bad mistakes in the past, by being cheap and not going big enough from the start.

What requires more power than this splitter can provide? I can't say for certain what I'll be splitting, because I really don't know.
Right now I have some 3' willow, some 2' oak, and a bunch of 1-2' pine and catalpa to split. (maybe 4-5 cords total)
I'm fairly certain the splitter can handle that easily. But I scrounge whatever I can, and if I scrounge something fairly large... I don't want to run in to problems of not being able to get it split.

Or if I end up just buying log loads of wood, may come with some larger/knotty stuff.

So what are the limits of a 22 ton splitter?

Also, a bit off topic but what are the things to check when purchasing a 22 ton Huskee from TSC?
I remember a few problems about bolts not being tightened, fluids not topped off... But aside from that I heard they're great machines.
 
I've got the 22 ton Huskee from TSC, it's done everything I've put into it except for some sweetgum, and most of that is still doable except you have to peel it from the outside in......I've only had a couple of sweetgum crotches that were too much trouble to mess with. I saw a post here not too long ago where a guy or his brother had a 35 ton splitter (if I am remembering correctly) and while it did everything they wanted it to do it was heavy and a pain to move and he was wishing for a 22 ton that was more mobile but still was enough to do pretty much anything you were likely to run into.........so I think you would do well with the 22 tone Huskee.
 
Also have the TSC 22ton Husky splitter. Has split everything I've thrown at it. If it's knarly and twisted it will either split it or cut right through it.
Go get one, start splitting, enjoy.
 
As I have posted before, I own an "IRON-n-OAK" splitter rated at 34 tons. I will say it is difficult for one person to move on most any surface except concrete or asphalt. It has a Honda engine which I really enjoy and I believe is probably non negotiable. I am almost a professional user as it is a part of my tree service, but not something I use all the time. So with all these considerations I would say all but the most dedicated home users could get by with the 25 - 27 ton rated splitters. The only thing that would make me say a bigger one is required would be you running into nasty, big rounds all the time.
 
RNLA said:
I own an "IRON-n-OAK" splitter rated at 34 tons. I will say it is difficult for one person to move on most any surface except concrete or asphalt.
I got a 22-ton from Rural King and it's not too hard to move around. I'm glad I didn't get anything bigger. It's managed to split about anything I've run across. If I came up with anything it couldn't handle, I'd just saw that piece in half again.
 
the wedge on the huskee/speeco 22 ton splitter is more of a knife. really makes the most of the splitting force. as mentioned above, if it wont "split" it, it just cuts right through it. does require more penetration to "pop" the rounds apart than a wedge with a wider/faster profile.
 
If you go the log load route, I think you'll find the 22 ton more than enough. If you intend to go and pick through the larger diameter cast offs at the landings, I would buy something bigger. My 16 ton splitter is fine for straight grained stuff up to 3' in diameter. However, it struggles, flexes, and it matters where I place the wedge as soon as it isn't straight. The 27 ton doesn't have that issue and has a fat quick popping wedge as opposed to the knife on the 16.

Almost all of what I scrounge is large diameter cast-offs that no one else will take. If I had continued what I was doing with the small splitter, it would have eventually failed.
 
Hass said:
I'm debating what splitter to get.
I believe I'm going to get the Huskee 22 ton from TSC.

But I may move up to the 35 ton, I'm not sure.
I've made bad mistakes in the past, by being cheap and not going big enough from the start.

What requires more power than this splitter can provide? I can't say for certain what I'll be splitting, because I really don't know.
Right now I have some 3' willow, some 2' oak, and a bunch of 1-2' pine and catalpa to split. (maybe 4-5 cords total)
I'm fairly certain the splitter can handle that easily. But I scrounge whatever I can, and if I scrounge something fairly large... I don't want to run in to problems of not being able to get it split.

Or if I end up just buying log loads of wood, may come with some larger/knotty stuff.

So what are the limits of a 22 ton splitter?

Also, a bit off topic but what are the things to check when purchasing a 22 ton Huskee from TSC?
I remember a few problems about bolts not being tightened, fluids not topped off... But aside from that I heard they're great machines.


Hass, you remind me of myself! Over 20 years ago we were in the same boat. Due to an injury we had to get a splitter if we were going to continue burning wood. I was really at a loss and oh how I wished we'd had hearth.com then. But we didn't. Please allow me to tell the story of how we got ours.

One evening we were in the Quality Farm and Fleet store (much like TSC and was bought out by TSC). They had several splitters set up right (vertically) and we were looking at them. As we (wife and I) stood there discussing them the manager walked up and started talking. He guided us towards the 20 ton unit. Eventually I made the statement that, "One fear I have is that we'll get this thing home and then find that it won't do the job we needed done." His reply was, "Buy it, take it home and if it does not meet your expectations, bring it back for a full refund." Well, that about sold me so I told him if he'd knock a few more dollars off that I'd buy it right on the spot. He did and I did but I had to put the thing together which was pretty simple.

So we brought it home and put it together the next day. Then I moved the tiller to the wood pile and started splitting wood. It took me 2 or 3 logs to decide that we made the right decision. I was amazed at how easy and how fast this splitting went. Later I learned that I could make things even easier and faster, all while sitting down to do the splitting. Naturally the book says you are supposed to put the log on the butt plate and then move around behind the control before lowering the wedge. That would be foolish but is printed only to cover their self against any law suits.

So after I split some cherry, maple and ash I decided to cut some elm to really give it a workout. To my astonishment this thing made it look like child's play for most of it. Yet, there were a few pieces where it did fully use the 2-stage pump, but it did split the wood. We were sold. Since that time we have split over 200 cord of wood for ourselves and others and in that time I have had one piece that, rather than splitting I threw it on the brush pile. That one was really knotty and twisted. I tried and the ram stalled. I flipped it upside down and it did the same.

Perhaps if I'd have toyed with it the thing may have split but that one ugly thing was not worth it to me so I just threw it away. I would not say that is too bad with over 200 cord split. Perhaps it would have split had I bought a bigger splitter but it might not have too. I do know that with a larger splitter I would have burned a lot more wood and used more oil and with the price of gas now I do not want to run too many large engines or drive too much.

The point is, the 20 ton had done all we needed done and could do even more. The splitter has been trouble free up until last week when I made the first repair on it. I had to fix the rope for starting. I did not replace the rope but just shortened it. Easy fix; cost zero.

Good luck and I hope you get a really nice splitter that will hold up and do a good job for you. Just don't let the bigger is better idea get to you. Remember that you are not going to do this commercially.....I think. If you want to do it commercially, then indeed go big.
 
Kind of hard to follow a post from Dennis, but I'll throw it out there; I am a scrounger. I seldom fell trees, but will if someone asks. Being a good scrounger, I take the good with the bad. The bad is often a pile of elm that no one else wanted, twisted knotty cherry or white oak forks and crotches. My thirty ton unit will cut it sideways if need be.
 
Hass said:
I'm debating what splitter to get.
I believe I'm going to get the Huskee 22 ton from TSC.

But I may move up to the 35 ton, I'm not sure.
I've made bad mistakes in the past, by being cheap and not going big enough from the start.

What requires more power than this splitter can provide? I can't say for certain what I'll be splitting, because I really don't know.
Right now I have some 3' willow, some 2' oak, and a bunch of 1-2' pine and catalpa to split. (maybe 4-5 cords total)
I'm fairly certain the splitter can handle that easily. But I scrounge whatever I can, and if I scrounge something fairly large... I don't want to run in to problems of not being able to get it split.

Or if I end up just buying log loads of wood, may come with some larger/knotty stuff.

So what are the limits of a 22 ton splitter?

Also, a bit off topic but what are the things to check when purchasing a 22 ton Huskee from TSC?
I remember a few problems about bolts not being tightened, fluids not topped off... But aside from that I heard they're great machines.

Full Disclosure: I know nothing about hydraulic splitters. I do not own one. I've never used one. And I get annoyed as f**k that 3 out of 4 threads in the GEAR forum are about spliiters. However. . .

. . . I've been reading threads and running my neck on this site for almost three years and I can't remember any titled "22 ton splitter is completely inadequate" or the like.
 
Full Disclosure: I know nothing about hydraulic splitters. I do not own one. I’ve never used one. And I get annoyed as f**k that 3 out of 4 threads in the GEAR forum are about spliiters. However. . .

. . . I’ve been reading threads and running my neck on this site for almost three years and I can’t remember any titled “22 ton splitter is completely inadequate†or the like.
Even I have mentioned the best splitter value for a store bought splitter is the 22ton Speeco/Huskee/what they want to call it this week splitter. It will do 99% of what anyone has to do. Only complaint for the 35ton is I believe they only run a 16gpm pump and they are painfully slow. Not worth the occasional toughy.
 
wkpoor said:
Full Disclosure: I know nothing about hydraulic splitters. I do not own one. I’ve never used one. And I get annoyed as f**k that 3 out of 4 threads in the GEAR forum are about spliiters. However. . .

. . . I’ve been reading threads and running my neck on this site for almost three years and I can’t remember any titled “22 ton splitter is completely inadequate†or the like.
Even I have mentioned the best splitter value for a store bought splitter is the 22ton Speeco/Huskee/what they want to call it this week splitter. It will do 99% of what anyone has to do. Only complaint for the 35ton is I believe they only run a 16gpm pump and they are painfully slow. Not worth the occasional toughy.

+1 You learn a lot with running two sizes of splitters. 22 is much quicker in ths smaller would. Big splitter means you need big saws. If your running 60cc or under for sure the 22 ton is the way to go!
 
I don't own a splitter but one time I rented a well used 13 ton splitter and it had no problem splitting,
everything I had.
 
Hi -

I have a 27 ton. I think 20 would be ideal. Teh 27 ton is heavy enough that it is a bit of a chore to drag around by hand.
 
22 will do pretty much anything you can load onto the plate. Have a friend with an old homemade, said he did the calculations and it worked out to being 13 tons...he had to borrow a 22 ton Huskee to do some base rounds from some 48" maples he took down in his front yard. Had to move them with his loader, but the Huskee popped it apart right away.
 
I'm guessing . . . not much . . . I have had some crotches from elm and a few other species that have given my 27-ton splitter a bit of a challenge, but I would guess most of the time the wood I have could have been easily split with a 20-22 ton splitter.
 
I've only had a few that my 22 ton wouldn't split, but they were pretty ugly crotches from some 4'+ red oaks. You won't be sorry with a 22 ton Speeco/Huskee. More than enough for the average homeowner.
 
Thanks a bunch guys! I went and bought the 22 ton from TSC on sunday, after brunch with the mom and grandma :]

I'm busy as all heck, so I don't often have time to pop on here to post but I read everything from my phone.
After reading the responses from everyone, I definitely thought the 22 ton was the best bet.
It's fairly tricky moving around the 22 ton, so I can imagine the 35 would be much more difficult! lol.

It split everything I had planned in short order... Some pieces did require the 2 stage pump to run the whole length,
 
Hass, I hope this does all you need it to do and I have no doubt about it. You might want to think about one of those jacks with wheels they like to put on boat trailers. Just attach it to your trailer tongue and it might become a bit easier to move around. I did this but now wish I had gone for the one with two wheels. Still, it is a big help.
 
"What requires more than 20 tons of splitting force?"

My ex-sister in law's meatloaf.
 
wkpoor said:
Full Disclosure: I know nothing about hydraulic splitters. I do not own one. I’ve never used one. And I get annoyed as f**k that 3 out of 4 threads in the GEAR forum are about spliiters. However. . .

. . . I’ve been reading threads and running my neck on this site for almost three years and I can’t remember any titled “22 ton splitter is completely inadequate†or the like.
Even I have mentioned the best splitter value for a store bought splitter is the 22ton Speeco/Huskee/what they want to call it this week splitter. It will do 99% of what anyone has to do. Only complaint for the 35ton is I believe they only run a 16gpm pump and they are painfully slow. Not worth the occasional toughy.

Yes the 35 ton splitter is slow but unstoppable. A friend who does hydrolic work said there is a couple holes that can be drilled out to make it faster. I think the 22 ton would work for more than 99% of what I split.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.