Ariens 27 ton or Huskee 28 ton

Hi all, I'm looking for a new splitter and was considering the 27 Ton Ariens with a Suburu Robins 169cc engine for $1599 at home depot and a 3 year warranty or the 28 Ton Huskee with a Honda GC 190cc engine and 3 year warranty.

The Ariens has a bit of a smaller foot print in that it is about 10-12 inches narrower saving a foot of garage space. It also has several attachments that can be purchased for it like a light kit. I also noticed that the oil reservoir is mounted parallel to the cylinder whereas on the Huskee, the reservoir is perpendicular to the cylinder and acts as the axle for the unit. It would seem to me that the Ariens design would put less stress on the reservoir. Although I think that the best solution would be to have a reservoir that was not integrated into the axle at all; even in the ariens, the back portion of the reservoir is part of the axle. However, I have not found many splitters that have a separate axle where the reservoir is mounted independent of the axle (sort of the like the engine is mounted on one side independent of the axle) in this price range at at this tonnage.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. If you have a better recommendation, let me know.

Here is a link to both splitters:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.tractorsupply.com/huskee-reg-28-ton-log-splitter-2152374

Thanks

I have never heard of the reservoir/axle being an issue. I'd save some money and get the Huskee 22 ton. The Briggs engine is fine. Plus, I don't like the way the front of the cylinder on the Ariens is unsupported.

The huskee 22 ton certainly is cheaper. They currently have it for $999 however, I just got off the phone with tractor supply and they don't take competitors coupons so I can't use my 20% off coupon to harbor freight for one item. However, I can use it at Home Depot. So got to think on it a bit.

I would stay away from the Ariens. The cylinder mount is questionable. Huskee/Speeco is an excellent brand for the money and their customer service has been proven. The design and finish on their machines is evidence of it. Are you dead set on the higher tonnage machine or just the motor?

Looking for a good alternate to the hondas. They seem to take the price up a bit and I've heard a lot of good things about the suburus.

The cylinder was not that much of a concern to me in that cylinders are unsupported all the time. I.E. backhoes. Even the speeco cylinder floats an inch or so off the I beam and only connects at one spot on the back. As long as the Ariens side front mounts are well done, this should not be an issue. I'll stop by and look at them today.

Did you have another thought on the suburus?

Home Depot will allow that? That's great news. I have about half a dozen of those coupons lying around.

You actually are speaking about the Troy splitter. The Ariens is built up much more than that in the cylinder mount and there have been photos posted here about the beefed up cylinder reinforcements on the Ariens.
I compared and went with the Ariens. It is a great machine. The Public Works head mechanic told me the Robins motor is a super machine and he would go with that or a Honda commercial motor.
I also got 10% off for opeining up a HD credit card.

Be aware the GC190 isn't one of the commercial engines. I know it's better than the 160 series but some of Hondas consumer engines haven't been all that great. The subaru engine has gotten fantastic reviews.

aeriens 27 is a great splitter used one alot Id love to buy one if I got up some $$$$

i so far love my 27t Ariens. no issues at all. starts easy, usually 1 pull. has split everything i put on it. i would like to get the log cradle for it

Of the two, I'd buy the Huskee because of the trunion vs. end mount system. No complaints ever on the latter, but plenty on the former.
But I'd also buy the 22 ton, because unless you're splitting gnarly wood you wouldn't notice much, if any, difference.

But I'd REALLY look into something else than any of the above for a reason that doesn't get enough talk: both of those units have the tires right where your feet would go on both sides--and they get in the way. That's my biggest pet peeve with most of these splitters, including my Yard Machines.

S

What other machines would you consider?

I'm not too sure of the brands I've seen, but there are some that have been posted around here that don't have the issues I've found with mine and the ones you're looking at. I'll post what I find if others don't.

S

I think I've discovered a couple things: for the tires to be out of the way, it needs to be a horizontal unit only, and they can be 2-way or push-through-the wedge style. Examples: http://www.logsplittersdirect.com/Blue-Max-6212-Log-Splitter/p7350.html, http://www.logsplittersdirect.com/Iron-&-Oak-BHPCLS15-Log-Splitter/p5027.html, or http://www.logsplittersdirect.com/Ramsplitter-H20-1-Log-Splitter/p3489.html. Don't know much about the former, but the latter two get good reviews. And all have the better cylinder mount.

Looks like this was the only one I cold find with horizontal/vertical options and no tire interference: http://www.logsplittersdirect.com/Blue-Max-6212-Log-Splitter/p7350.html.

Again, not sure on the brand. I would think there must be other options out there, but then again the tire placement might be a function of the balance needed for horizontal/vertical operation. Though I split almost everything horizontally, I'm a scrounger and there have been some crazy large pieces I've needed to use vertical.

I know some might not care about the tire location, but I find myself kicking them often and cursing the design.

Let us know what you find and decide.

S

Random thoughts . . .

You don't hear of too many people that buy a hydraulic splitter and regret their purchase . . . regardless of brand, engine or tonnage.

Anything designed and/or made by a person can and will eventually break down or fail . . . most folks have not had a lot of problems with any particular splitter. One thing about the internet is when you read about a product failing and then read a couple more folks who report something similar, suddenly it seems like the problem may be widespread . . . when many more folks who have had the same product for years may have had no problem. Just saying that there can be problems, but sometimes we tend to overthink things.

Engine . . . I started out wanting a Honda engine . . . I love Hondas. I have a Honda Accord, Honda Foreman ATV and a Honda motor. I ended up getting a better deal on a splitter powered by a Briggs. Honestly, unless you go with a remanufactured engine put together by a high school student failing shop class you should be good for many years.

Light kits and accessories . . . just bling in my opinion. Fenders, lights, fuzzy dice and the Hula girl figurine are just extras . . . and aren't all that necessary. I do like my splitting cradle though.

Reservoir axle . . . I haven't heard of any failures of this component . . . maybe if you tried driving the splitter over a rock pile . . . that might be bad.

Tires . . . gotta agree with Thinking . . . it's the one thing I don't like about most splitters . . . especially coming from a tractor mounted splitter . . . most models have the tires in the way . . . but you adapt . . . the alternative is to go with expensive models, make your own or go back to using the splitting maul.

Trunion issue . . . as mentioned this may be a problem . . . a few members had issues . . . many more members have not had issues. Me . . . after over three years of use and many cords of wood at this point I don't worry too much about my splitter design. That said . . . I also take care not to stress it either . . . if the round doesn't split immediately and there is some strain I stop immediately and re-adjust . . . after all . . . no sense in tempting fate.

Its a great splitter - I've owned mine for over a year and sent many cord through it.

Suby Robin engine is top notch - equal to the Honda GX series. http://robinamerica.com/pfeatures.aspx?pid=161 <--- check out this link

As for the cylinder mount, its not the same setup as MTD and the like...it is beefed up around the mount - should not cause any issues.

If you have any specific questions, let me know. This is a well made and well designed splitter.

Lookin' at mofo's pics, it looks like the wheels on the Ariens are more out of the way than the others. That's what I would do if I wanted to buy local.

S

Yep, and the engine is clear of your splitting area - very little risk of wood hitting the engine when horizontal. The valve to operate the splitter is also located in the center (rather than left or right side), so you can operate it from either side. The small footprint is pretty nice when your going into a tight area to split....

It costs a little more than the other local options, but you can clearly see they spent some extra time/$$$ with the planning and material used to build it.

Generally speaking Ariens equipment is pretty well built, even the pro-sumer stuff you see at Home Depot. In fact they don't sell separate lines of equipment for snow blowers and splitters for the big box stores like some manufacturers do.

I like the look of the
Arien . . . tires seem better placed, engine located further back . . . even the fenders which are usually useless flimsy plastic affairs look to be metal.

I'm pretty much convinced to go with the Ariens whether I get the discount or not. There is a lawn power equipment store a couple hours south of me that is running a special on the the same splitter with the Bravely name (owned by Ariens). They are asking a little over $1400 for it with the added table and the log cradle included so that's not too bad of a deal. So Ill either go with the Ariens from HD or the bravely from this other company. I'll let you know what I get in the next few days when I hear back from HD. Thanks for all the responses.

Its called Gravely...a company that Ariens bought awhile back.

Sounds like one heck of a deal! Good luck with it and be sure to post up some pictures.

LOL; I knew that, I guess it's just been a long day

Holy crap man where have you been. Speeco had quite an issue with that. Basically its don't road them or else. Yes they break all the time if roaded. No springs so just think what a few pot holes can do.

I have 14 months and 5 cords on my ariens. Even at 1599 I think it is well made and worth it.