which log splitter should I get?

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I was contemplating the huskee 35, I wanted to explore all options, it was $900 more that the 22, after using the 22 on all my varieties ( pine, red oak, honey locust, beech and maple) there is nothing that it won't split. So in hind sight, I am glad I did not spend that extra money. If your doing it for home use, save the money, those other units are around $1600, the Huskee 22 you can get for $999 and it will be all you will need.... Gl
 
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I have a 15 ton speeco that is seldom stopped. Very easy to maneuver around the yard by hand and fits in a smaller space in the garage.

If I have a gnarly crotch that it won't split, it's noodle time!
 
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:ZZZThanks you for the replies! It seem the 34 ton is too much power. I would like a splitter that would split through the knots. Would a 27 ton do the job? I am trying to have a couple of tree companies drop off some logs for me. I have a suv that only holds just shy of a 1/4 of a cord ofsplit wood.
 
:ZZZThanks you for the replies! It seem the 34 ton is too much power. I would like a splitter that would split through the knots. Would a 27 ton do the job? I am trying to have a couple of tree companies drop off some logs for me. I have a suv that only holds just shy of a 1/4 of a cord ofsplit wood.


I've been running the Ariens 27 ton for several years now...worth every penny. Just to be clear as there has been some mis information posted here, Ariens is NOT built by MTD. Apples vs oranges especially when you compare build quality and design.
 
My own opinion . . . after having gone through this decision making process myself a few years back . . . just about any hydraulic splitter will make you happy and is better than doing it with a maul or other hand tool. If you treat the splitter with care it should last you for many years regardless of what make and model you get providing you don't buy some off brand model.

Tractor Supply's Huskee and its sister clone the Speeco have a lot of fans here . . . 22 tons seems to be just about right for most anything you can throw at it and the price is right.

Arien, MTD, Cub Cadet, etc. seem to all be owned by MTD. Again, 22 tons seems to be the sweet spot for capability and price.

Timberwolfs and Iron/Oak splitters are very well regarded . . . but a bit more in cost.

Like anything mechanical, splitters can and will break or have problems. I know some folks were reporting a few years back about a batch of MTDs and their clones having an issue . . . and a few months back it seemed as though there were some Huskee owners with a problem. It happens. But generally, most folks owning either of these types (not to mention the few with Timberwolfs or Iron and Oaks) seem quite happy with their splitters and report few to any problems.

Engine: Oftentimes folks seem to get hung up on the power plant. I know I was determined to get one with a Honda engine. Ended up with a Briggs engine. Honestly, it has done quite well and I cannot complain. Starts as easily as my Honda engines.

Cycle Time: Folks often get driven up about how fast the splitter can cycle. I find my splitter (27 tons) to be a bit slower, but it doesn't slow me down that much as I often only do a partial cycle while splitting and the way I work it usually is a pretty good rate.

Ability to go vertical . . . or have a log lifter: This, to me, is a must-have feature. Sure, most of the time the wood you cut or scrounge may be easily lift-able, but many folks have found that splitting wood vertical is easier on their bodies and they prefer it . . . and even if you're like me and prefer horizontal splitting it is still nice to be able to go vertical when you're dealing with that monster round versus wrestling and popping out a spinal disc or rupturing your hernia while attempting to wrestle that round three feet in the air to the splitting beam.

Fenders, log catchers, turn signals, etc: To me, most of these doo-dads and add-ons are not really all that useful or needed . . . it seems almost as if they were added to try to sell the model and make it more attractive to the buyer who thinks having turn signals on his splitter may be desirable and more useful. The exception -- a log catcher or cradle is nice to hold the larger split so it doesn't always drop to the ground.


Jake nailed it :)
Should be a "sticky" for log splitters ;)

He only made a mistake on one part:
The splitting "horizontal" & log catcher part,
"Nobody" splits horizontal anymore, (that's old school)
Splitters are only in the horizontal position for transporting here & there. ;lol
 
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:ZZZThanks you for the replies! It seem the 34 ton is too much power. I would like a splitter that would split through the knots. Would a 27 ton do the job? I am trying to have a couple of tree companies drop off some logs for me. I have a suv that only holds just shy of a 1/4 of a cord ofsplit wood.

My 20 ton will do that job very nicely.
 
Jake nailed it :)
Should be a "sticky" for log splitters ;)

He only made a mistake on one part:
The splitting "horizontal" & log catcher part,
"Nobody" splits horizontal anymore, (that's old school)
Splitters are only in the horizontal position for transporting here & there. ;lol

Geez . . . I guess I am now Nobody. :)
 
I'm also in the market for a splitter - just moved to the country and have an abundance of forest - I'm just outside of Ottawa, Ontario - the two splitters I'm looking at are;
1. Canadian Tire - Champion 20T - 1299.00 - vertical & horizontal
2. Costco - Surge Master, also 20T - 1699.00 - horizontal and vertical
As hard as I've tried I cannot find reviews re these two - can anyone shed some light?
Thanks!
 
Don't have those around this area robear, but welcome to the forum.

I would suggest you start a new thread asking about those splitters.
 
I own the Husky 28 ton and it works well and has been solid but if I was buying today I would be at least looking at the Ariens 22 ton because of the cycle time. I don't let my Husky fully retract and feel I am pretty efficient with it but it is slower then I would like and has more power then I think I need, If I could switch some of that power for speed I would do so in a second.
 
Lots of experience here, and some great advice. I agree with many posters about the value of the Huskee 22 ton. If I were looking to spend near $1000 it's the clear choice. I was just looking it over on Friday at Tractor Supply.

I have owned 2 Harbor Freight splitters - rated at 22 and 24 ton. I bought both as refurbished models and paid under $800 for each (delivered). I can't complain. I sold the first one after I found my current one for sale. It has a slightly larger engine (cheap Chinese Honda-clone). It has been fine but the quality of some of the parts is not very high. My valve detent has begun to stick so I've ordered a new Energy valve for it. The engine on this one is quieter and more powerful than the Briggs Intek on my first one.

I move my splitter around my yard by hand. Tonque weight is very high, so a trailer dolly does not help. I could hitch it to my truck but then you can't see it at all for backing. A garden tractor or ATV is ideal for short-range transport and you should consider how you will move it.

I decided a couple weeks ago to upgrade. I ended up ordering a Speeco Powerpro 28 ton from a place online. This looks to be a relatively new line from Speeco (who makes the Huskees and probably other brands). The Powerpro line is supposedly made for the rental market, so it comes with 12" wheels and some suspension system to aid in towing. I hope this makes things easier for me as I wheel it around manually on my property. It will also allow me to tow it offsite without worry (If you've ever towed a typical splitter with those small wheels and axle welded to the hydrualic tank you know what bouncy trailering is). The splitter has the Briggs Vanguard 10 hp engine which carries a 3 year warranty, I believe. Vanguard is their commercial line, and I don't want to enter in a debate comparing it to the Honda GX series, but this engine should be great for my use and last a long time. 16gpm pump and 4 1/2" cylinder should give decent cycle times and the power is definitely all I would ever need. I've only seen 1 or 2 pieces that my HF splitters wouldn't split.

I didn't want to go to a 35 ton (like the big Huskee) due to the weight (again, I move my splitter mostly by hand) and the unnecessary extra power. Still, for $2000 the big Huskee looks like a very good machine. The Gravely and Ariens look to be quality machines, and I see them offered with the excellent Subaru engine, but I really like the idea of the full-length beam under the cylinder.

American CLS and Iron & Oak are top products as is the Timberwolf and if you decide to spend that kind of money I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Another brand you might want to search for is Wallenstein. They have a dealer network. Their machines appear to be also of very high quality. A vertical/horizontal machine in the same league we are talking about is a bit over $2000, but again they don't have a full beam for the cylinder (although their mounting system appears to be pretty beefy).

My splitter arrives freight this week and then I will need to assemble it.

Good luck with your choice and be sure to let us all know what you got (with pics - who doesn't like splitter porn)?!
 
I'm also in the market for a splitter - just moved to the country and have an abundance of forest - I'm just outside of Ottawa, Ontario - the two splitters I'm looking at are;
1. Canadian Tire - Champion 20T - 1299.00 - vertical & horizontal
2. Costco - Surge Master, also 20T - 1699.00 - horizontal and vertical
As hard as I've tried I cannot find reviews re these two - can anyone shed some light?
Thanks!

You might want to check out the 22 ton horizontal vertical Champion splitter that TSC Store has on sale for $989 right now. depending on where near Ottawa you are, there is a TSC Store in Kemptville (South), Rockland (East) or Arnprior (West).

No I do not work for them.
 
You might want to check out the 22 ton horizontal vertical Champion splitter that TSC Store has on sale for $989 right now. depending on where near Ottawa you are, there is a TSC Store in Kemptville (South), Rockland (East) or Arnprior (West).

No I do not work for them.

Also look into Brave's line of splitters. I recently bought a 20 ton for $899 and have been very pleased with it. I posted a review last week on it here:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/splitter-review-brave-xr1220-1222.113686/
 
He only made a mistake on one part:
The splitting "horizontal" & log catcher part,
"Nobody" splits horizontal anymore, (that's old school)
Splitters are only in the horizontal position for transporting here & there. ;lol
:mad:
 
Jake nailed it :)
Should be a "sticky" for log splitters ;)

He only made a mistake on one part:
The splitting "horizontal" & log catcher part,
"Nobody" splits horizontal anymore, (that's old school)
Splitters are only in the horizontal position for transporting here & there. ;lol

Not true, a lot of people use the horizontal position on their splitter and prefer it. If you have a splitter table or cradle attached it makes splitting much faster and you don't have to bend over.
 
I prefer splitting horizontal as well, the only time I won't is when I can't pick it up, if the 2 big halves can be picked up, it goes right back to the horizontal position, I'm a worker, I don't like fooling around.....ha
 
Are all you vertical splitters like 5'6" and skinny? I couldn't sit on a milk crate comfortably if all I was doing was drinking beer.;lol
 
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ya gotta let us know what kind of wood you have access to and how much you are willing to "invest" in this process.
there are only a few Hydrolic splitters I would consider, most start at over 6k...
I own a Kinetic style Super Split and will happily cut circles around any 35 ton splitter mentioned above that's not a TW-5 or better...
costing 2x to 3x as much. 3g's gets you American built quality, electric option(ever split in the rain or snow---in your barn or garage ?) and unbelievable split times.
 
All I can say is once you go vertical, you will never go horizontal again. If your wedge is on the piston, you can slice a round like a pumpkin pie without ever bending over. Take a seat, no lifting, no bending. Been doing it since 1990.
 
Nope, I don't agree.... Sorry...
 
ya gotta let us know what kind of wood you have access to and how much you are willing to "invest" in this process.
there are only a few Hydrolic splitters I would consider, most start at over 6k...
I own a Kinetic style Super Split and will happily cut circles around any 35 ton splitter mentioned above that's not a TW-5 or better...
costing 2x to 3x as much. 3g's gets you American built quality, electric option(ever split in the rain or snow---in your barn or garage ?) and unbelievable split times.

3 Grand is a lot for single task piece of equipment though. I had the money saved for a super split but I can think of a lot of things I'd rather have for the extra $2100 I would have had to spend.

I'm not dissing the Super Split, it's a fantastic piece of equipment, but unless you process 20+ cord a year I would say a smaller hydraulic unit would work just as well for most folks. I short cycle my splitter all the time and the overall cycle time is only ~1.5 to 2 seconds to split a piece of wood.
 
All I can say is once you go vertical, you will never go horizontal again. If your wedge is on the piston, you can slice a round like a pumpkin pie without ever bending over. Take a seat, no lifting, no bending. Been doing it since 1990.

Not for me . . . tried it . . . didn't like it . . . but the truth is whatever works best for a person whether it be splitting vertical, horizontal or diagonal . . . go with what makes sense and feels good.
 
I'm also in the market for a splitter - just moved to the country and have an abundance of forest - I'm just outside of Ottawa, Ontario - the two splitters I'm looking at are;
1. Canadian Tire - Champion 20T - 1299.00 - vertical & horizontal
2. Costco - Surge Master, also 20T - 1699.00 - horizontal and vertical
As hard as I've tried I cannot find reviews re these two - can anyone shed some light?
Thanks!

Yes, things are different north of the border.

I went through this earlier this year. CT has, or had, the Champion on sale from time to time for $999. I considered it, but ruled it out after giving it a once over in the store, seeing its origin, and reading some bad online reviews of Champion splitters.

Home Depot also sells the Surge Masters. These are actually re-badged Wallensteins, and made right here in Canada. Wallensteins are quality splitters, as are the Surge Masters. I ended up finding a used one (Surge Master) with a Honda engine here on Kijiji that I ended up getting, and have been very happy with it. So if you're checking these out, try searching Wallenstein - they're the same thing.

From what I have seen & read about since, I would also consider Ariens (they have a 22 ton with Subaru engine retailing at $1427), or a Husky/Speeco from TSC or Princess Auto. I also looked at King splitters - I'd likely consider them about the same category as Champion, but King is also a Canadian company - so might consider one of those too. My local Home Hardware Building Centre has those, along with Kent if you have Kent in Ottawa.
 
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