Need recomendation for gas woodsplitter

Hi all, it's been a while since I posted here. I've been burning wood for a few years now and have my system down pretty well. I find however that splitting wood by hand is getting a little difficult as I am not getting any younger. I would like to purchase a wood splitter and would like to know what you folks would recomend.
My property is has a river valley running through it and there is an abundance of ash growing through it, some of it very large I plan to pull the splitter down to the wood with my 4 wheeler and block and split it on site, then haul it back to the house in a trailer behind the 4 wheeler. I have been doing this already just without the splitter and is has been working well.
I will probably end up going to a city to pick up a splitter unless I can arrange to have one delivered. There is a limited choice here, Home Hardware sells Echo brand and there is a Menards store across the border from the town I work in that sell an MTD brand splitter. The MTD has a cast iron wedge which I am unsure about.
I know there is a lot to consider like cycle time and tons of force and such but I don't have any experience at all with them. Some of the ash especially the larger diameter stuff near the butt of the tree is a real "bear" to split, as hard as I can swing my maul it will just bounce off!!
Any advice would be appreciated.

Syd, I'm going to be the first and hopefully not the last one here to reccomend the Iron & Oak line to you. You can get them delivered from www.buyacehardware.com for near dealer cost prices. I have a 26 ton horizontal/vertical (BHVH2609) with the Robin engine. Love that engine, fires on the first pull and runs quiet/strong all day.

Other's including a good friend of mine have had good experiences with the Tractor Supply Huskee 22-ton splitter, made by SpeeCo. For $1000 or less it is a great value for the money and probably the most popular splitter amongst members here.

Other quality brands to consider are Timberwolf (arguably the best units out there but big $$) and American. While I personally do not care for their wedge design, Northern Hydraulics sells some good units too.

Do NOT get hung up on ton ratings. 20-22 ton or better should be plenty unless you are looking at multi-wedges (4-ways or bigger).

DO look for pump capacity vs. cylinder size and cycle time. Some companies will put an 11 gpm pump on a 5" cylinder and sell it as a 30+ ton machine but fail to mention that it has a 20+ second cycle time. Painfully slow.

12-14 seconds is reasonable for cycle time IMO.

Unless you plan on buying a model with a log-lift (or adding one yourself) DO get a horizontal/verticle machine. Regardless of which way you prefer splitting (a matter of great debate around here), you will appreciate verticle capability for large rounds.

Happy hunting and don't forget to check back in with any updates on your search, questions, and most importantly, PICTURES of your new splitter!

FWIW: I can't believe this post went over 4 hours without a response on this forum!

"FWIW: I can't believe this post went over 4 hours without a response on this forum!"
We've been out working on wood ,

Iron & Oak, top of the line splitter, a great choice.

I went mid-range in price & got a 22 ton Speeco from the choices I had here. Shipping $$ killed any on-line deals for me.
(sold at Tractor supply as Huskee I think).
I liked the cradle beam, rounds don't fall off & they self center. Also a good wedge design, has split some gnarly stuff just fine.
Well built, nice design & has worked well for me.
Several members here have them , Tractor supply seems to be the place to get them (Huskee) at a good price. (No TS in Alaska)

http://www.speeco.com/products.php?id=95&prod=351

Store locator on their web site.

Tractor supply web site:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/huskee-reg-22-ton-log-splitter-1032822

Iron and Oak #1,also Brave made by Iron and Oak,these machines will last a lifetime if properly maintained.

Don't worry a bit about cycle time. If you're splitting ash it should pop fast. You won't run the ram out very far.

I went with a 30 ton from Northern tool. 4 way wedge, Honda commercial motor. Probably overkill.. but should last a lifetime.

JP

I opted for a MTD splitter . . . mostly because it was close and meant very little towing . . . well that and the price was fair (not a steal, but it was a fair price.)

I wouldn't get too hung up on the numbers. 22-ton seems to be the consensus for size . . . I went with 27-ton, but honestly 95% of the stuff I split could be split with the smaller sized splitter. As for cycle time and all that . . . I don't get too worked up on how fast things are going as it is rare that I am waiting for the splitter, usually it's the other way around. That said, the 27-ton is slower.

Engine type . . . I ended up with a Briggs engine. I would have preferred a Honda engine. That said, the Briggs has been doing a fine job . . . plus I figure parts are cheap and readily available . . . heck, if need be I can just yank the engine off and get a new engine when the time rolls around.

Durability . . . there were some posts awhile back about the welds in some MTDs failing . . . so far in my case, I've had no issues with reliability. Going on 4 or 5 years now with 4-6 cords a year . . . not counting how many cords my two neighbors split up or my friend who has borrowed it in the past.

As mentioned . . . if you don't have a log lifter, being able to go vertical is pretty darn nice. Backwoods Savage and I kid each other about the "best way" to split wood and while I prefer splitting horizontally, at times when I have a monster piece of wood I'll go vertical . . . it's a very useful feature.

"at times when I have a monster piece of wood I'll go vertical"
Waaiiiit a minute, did you really type that out loud? You're done for, now.
Nice to have known ya, but you're toast when Dennis sees this.
Where's the popcorn smiley when you need it?

Oh Dennis knows this . . . or at least I think he knows this . . . now if only I could convince him to at times try splitting wood horizontally.

http://www.timberwolfcorp.com/
stunningly well designed and made and an absolute pleasure to use. Had a Troy Bilt (same as MTD) and it was a pale shadow of even the small TW that my Dad and I now use- and I am talking in terms of speed, ease, and lack of strain in using, not just the oooh factor of a well designed and made machine. The TW rarely even kicks into the second stage of the pump, and its wedge design (narrow and sharp followed by a wide triangle) works really, really well.

Hey, it's about time you got back on the forum! I hope all has been well with you.

As you no doubt have learned by now, I think vertical splitting is a must. The reason is that it saves a lot of work; lots! When anyone has a body that is as beat up as mine, making things easy is a must.

We have an MTD splitter. No doubt it is a bit different as it is 20+ years old now and it is a 20 ton. Yet, it splits all we need splitting and that includes plenty of elm. In the 20+ years we've had this splitter it has been trouble free. However, it is now getting so that it does use oil a lot, but oil is still cheaper than metal.

You are correct about the cycle time being a non-issue. You will probably get so that you don't even let the wedge go all the way back up and as someone else stated, many times you only go an inch or so into the wood before it is split so the cycle is only a few inches. Also, that ash should split super easy with a hydraulic splitter.

So the two things you mention; cycle time and tons are sort of non-issues. Most folks tend to think bigger is better but that is not so in splitters.

Good luck.

If splitting by your self cycle time is not a big deal. Tonnage, well most of the h/v units are designed pretty close to one another and anything over 20T is overkill ( plus it will just allow you to destroy the unit on some big nasty crotch piece) Now wedge design is something to look at. Stringy wood like Elm, Hickory a thin deep wedge works best. Oak, Ash, Maple will just pop apart with a wide short wedge. Is it going to live at home most of the time or are you going to be dragging it hither and yon, so look at the way it is set up for transport. most of the units get real squirrley above 35 mph. Go rent a couple different models if possible that will give you a better idea than anything else.

No matter which one you get, you'll love it.

Truer words have never been spoken . . .

I have an older 21 ton yard machines with a tecumseh motor. It goes vertical and my 400 ATV pulls it like its not even there. The splitter is pretty gas efficient and I have been very happy with it. Split about 6-8 cords per year with it and no problems.

Plus splitters arent as hard on rotator cuffs as mauls

Thanks for all the replies gents. I am thinking since I have half of my wood cut and split this year already (actually I am a year ahead so the stuff I'm processing now is for the winter after next) that maybe I will wait for the MTD at Menards to come on sale and buy it. It sounds like for the most part they all get the job done and its the closest to home so no shipping or extra travel costs. It is a 25 ton splitter with a Briggs and Straton engine for $1249.00. They will probably put it on sale and knock $100 bucks of if I wait so that will get it in my yard for under $1500.00 after I pay duty. The only thing that makes me wonder is the wedge which is made of cast iron.

I pulled the trigger on a North-star 37 ton with the honda 270cc idle down feature. Put it together myself and saved the assembly charge. So far, so good. I have been using it a lot this past month, and the only thing that I've got to say about it was the same thing "master mechanic" said about them...Don't care for the design of the wedge. It does split, but with a rating of 37-ton, I think it should have a larger wedge.

That's a beast! Should split anything.
Nice addition to your wood processing.
Picture in the position it should mostly be used in

21 ton MTD Gold here. Like Firefirejake and Backwoods I have had zero problems with mine. The cycle time isnt the best in the industry, but it gets it done much faster than I can. Split some Elm last year, that would make a Maul cringe.... Busted right through that stringy mess.... Twisted and gnarly crotches.... Still goes through. 20-22 tons is enough for about anything.

Woukd I love to have a 30-40 ton monster splitter? Absolutely. But what I have knocks it out...

Congrats Dave!

Did you get the wing wedges (4-ways)? I like the idle down feature on those.

Yes, I did get the 4-way. I have yet to use them, as the wood I am processing now will be used in an OWB; hence, no need for the smaller stuff.
Thanks again for the helpful info used to select a splitter. It was this one or the same as yours (Iron and oak 26-ton H/V) but the prices had risen before I bought one....