speeco vs. harbor frieght 5 ton electric splitters. Which one?

[Cobra427]

I am looking for a 5 ton electric splitter. I believe I have narrowed it down to the speeco (sold by tractor supply) and the harbor freight version.

I believe both of the above allow one hand one the wood and one hand on the control.

Which one would you go with and why.

 

[BrotherBart]

The only reason I wouldn't buy the HF one is that the one sitting on my breezeway is doing a great job.

 

[Cobra427]

Thanks Brother Bart.

 

[velvetfoot]

I have an HF and never use it. Maybe once in a while during the winter to re-split a couple in the garage. If you can, I'd put that money towards a gas splitter.

 

[blades]

asto the unit likely the same, better support from Speeco though. Have an early hf unit here about 8 years old still working although I seldom use it as it is only 14" max. it was fine when I had a small stove ( 14" was it max log size)

 

[Ashful]

I'll second the acknowledgement of Speeco's support folks. I had to contact them with an issue on my Huskee 22-ton, and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of service, for a homeowner-grade machine.

 

[Cobra427]

Well I compared the two some more. The Speeco has a good history when it comes to wood splitters and I took into consideration when you guys said positive words about Speeco's customer service. The Speeco also has slightly larger wheels going for it.

However, I went with the HF for a few reasons. HF was 279 but also had a 25% off sale which is nearly $70 off for a total of $209. Shipping added $7 back so $216. The Speedo was $299 with no discount. That is a $83 difference in favor of HF

I watched videos of the two in action. The HF looks like it has a slightly larger area for the wood to fall onto after it is split.
I think the weight of the HF is 10 to 15 pounds more. To me the extra weight could possibly mean a slightly stronger machine.
I looked at pictures of the two online and they are very similar. They sounded similar, cycled similar, looked similar. The price point was a major factor and what appears to be a larger surface area helped the HF.

 

[blades]

Bunch of these on market, all sourced from same supplier ( chi-com) various cosmetic differences.