Thoughts on engine make and size for log splitter

I have not heard of any quality issues with Kohler engines. Is that Kohler made in China?
There are several other brands, like Champion, that supplies a cast iron sleeved engine with their splitter.

What would you consider 'last long' to mean?

I have a GC160 on my Surge Master (Wallenstein). I got the splitter used so no idea how many hours are actually on it, but by the looks of the machine, it is somewhere around a lot. Still ticks without missing a beat, aside from a spark plug issue that was a pretty simple fix once I found what it was.

IMO in this day & age, the bottom line with this stuff long haul is parts availability. There are a crap ton of GC160's out there, and will never be a shortage of easy to get parts, the way I see it. Kohler parts would be a bit of a hard find, around here anyway.

I'm not a fan at all of the newer Kohler's. My experience with working on them and using them hasn't been very positive.

IMO, QC from China seems to be hit and miss, but there is a lot of fine products exported from China- sadly, that is way more than from the USA.

I can say that the DHT with the kohler motor is good and has held up well. I have the 22 and 27 ton
You'll be good with the 22ton. Its splits everything i put in it. As far a durability and longevity go. If you maintenance is good youll be fine. If you think about it your not going to put that many hours per year on it anyway. Just say it takes you 4 hours to split a cord. You do 5 cords per year which is 20 hours splitting per year.. in 10 years you have about 200 hours on it.. and thats not alot. The kohler will do you fine..

donmac said:

Have tried to get myself up to speed thinking I was going to purchase a 22-28 ton splitter. Considering Countyline or DirtyHands makes. Speeco is another brand that seems to be respected. I've looked at the Speeco 22tn with a Honda GC engine.(Speeco site quotes it is GCX but pics show a GC) and I do not think is is robust enough to last long, Honda engine site refers to it for residential use, no cast iron cylinder sleeve and lighter duty parts. Trying not to exceed $1300 -1400.

So I now lean towards the 28 tn Dirty Hands model with a Kohler 9.5 hp engine with a cast cylinder sleeve (Command Pro CH395).

I would appreciate input and specific reviews from users about the Kohler engine.

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County Line 22 ton is made by Speeco. My favorite.

My TSC 28 ton with 3 hp Honda and two stage pump has done well for me. Nothing it hasn't been able to split thus far. Had reservations about just a 3 hp but hasn't been a problem with power.

I have a 8hp Briggs IC on my splitter, 20 years old. Likely get hit with a ethanol problem just because to date it has not had that happen, the 25 year old snow blower carb bit the dust last fall on my Simplicity along with the twin cylinder mill on the lawn tractor .

I won’t pretend the Speeco 22 ton is commercial quality, but there are literally dozens of long-time members of this forum, splitting up to ten cords per year on them, year after year after year... over more than a decade now.

If I were buying a new splitter today, I’d buy the lightest and least expensive thing with a 300+cc engine and 16 GPM pump, which is going to put you in the 28 ton machines, with most brands. Then I’d “downgrade” the cylinder from 5” to 4” to have a fast 22 ton machine. This will give you an acceptable 8-second cycle time.

I went the other way, upgrading the engine, pump, and lines on a 22 ton machine from 11 gpm to 16 gpm. The result was the same, 22 tons @ 8 seconds, but more costly.

Most of us who have run multiple machines of various sizes have determined 22 tons (3500 PSI @ 4” cylinder) is roughly the threshold for splitting 99% of firewood. The 3.5” machines (eg. Iron and Oak “fast cycle”) seem to stall in the knots and crotches, and the 5” machines are slow overkill. So then it just comes down to how much hydraulic oil you can push thru the 1/2” ports you’ll find on any off-the-shelf 4” cylinder with acceptable pressure drop, and that happens to be roughly 16 GPM. Voila... 8 seconds at 22 tons.

You’ll need roughly 300cc (8 hp) to push hydro fluid thru this rig at 16 GPM. I ended up with a somewhat-overkill 10.5 hp engine, because it’s what fit on the chassis (vertical shaft) of my splitter, without major mod’s. The only advantage of backing into the design the way I did, is that I was able to add electric start with the engine swap, which is a lifesaver when trying to pull over a 16 gpm pump full of cold hydro oil in January.

Kohler command and command pro are good engines. The Kohler courage, not so much.

Ashful said:

16 GPM. Voila... 8 seconds at 22 tons

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To be fair, any talk about cycle times, tonnage and HP would need to include the switchover pressure on the two stage pump, and also cycle time on the high pressure side? The results could vary across the board by altering these. What are both cycle times, what are both tonnages, and what does it take to optimize all.

The rated numbers I have currently:
11sec, 25t, 6.5hp, however, the reality is:

Low pressure side - 11sec, 5t, <5hp
High pressure side - 25sec, 25t, 6.5hp
Also, if I ran the engine at 3/4 throttle, it could not switch, and would stall the engine before reaching second stage. Lowering the second stage switch pressure would change everything. Raising the throttle back to high, again would change everything.

It's a crapshoot. Take care of the engine, change the oil, and it will take care of you. People have preferences, experiences, biases, etc. but all of the engines are very good.

I work the heck out of a huskee/speeco 22 with a vertical shaft 5 hp BS flathead engine. I change the oil. It has never missed a beat. Less than 1000$. My only regret is that it is not a horizontal shaft engine which would make the eventual replacement easier. Not a deal breaker though.

Sawset said:

To be fair, any talk about cycle times, tonnage and HP would need to include the switchover pressure on the two stage pump, and also cycle time on the high pressure side? The results could vary across the board by altering these. What are both cycle times, what are both tonnages, and what does it take to optimize all.

The rated numbers I have currently:
11sec, 25t, 6.5hp, however, the reality is:

Low pressure side - 11sec, 5t, <5hp
High pressure side - 25sec, 25t, 6.5hp
Also, if I ran the engine at 3/4 throttle, it could not switch, and would stall the engine before reaching second stage. Lowering the second stage switch pressure would change everything. Raising the throttle back to high, again would change everything.

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Mine will shift down and keep going no problem even at half throttle. No idea what pressures it does what at, I just know I am completely happy with how it works, at all times. Once I got that new spark plug in it....

Why is everyone fixated on speed. Hell I'm out to split the wood, no rush. My Speeco 28 ton does all that. See my post about sitting for 3 years.

paulnlee said:

Why is everyone fixated on speed. Hell I'm out to split the wood, no rush. My Speeco 28 ton does all that. See my post about sitting for 3 years.

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Because we don't want to spend three years splitting. We need to get the job done. Many of us split and burn a lot of wood each year and if I can save a day by cheaply speeding up the stroke then that's great.

That said, I've never thought of my huskee/speeco 22 as slow. It's fine. Also think about safety if it gets really fast.

Sawset said:

To be fair, any talk about cycle times, tonnage and HP would need to include the switchover pressure on the two stage pump, and also cycle time on the high pressure side?

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If you want to be academic about it, yes... but we don't need that for practical purposes. Typically, the machine will only bypass to low pressure for a second, maybe even only a fraction of a second, during the full cycle it takes to split even the worst wood. Most of the time is spent running that ram at low pressure / high gear.

paulnlee said:

Why is everyone fixated on speed. Hell I'm out to split the wood, no rush. My Speeco 28 ton does all that. See my post about sitting for 3 years.

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To each his own. I'm trying to split 10 - 15 cords per year, and spend but a few days per year to do it all, so speed is everything for me. If I were retired, or even not in a dual-career family with busy kids, I might be more willing to slow the pace. Personally, I would never be satisfied with a 28-ton Speeco, but good for you if you are!

Fast cars, fast boats... and fast splitters. Then there are those happy to drive vehicles akin to a living room on wheels, which is totally cool, if that's what you want. Just don't get upset when I pass you on a curvy road.

Ashful said:

If you want to be academic about it, yes... but we don't need that for practical purposes. Typically, the machine will only bypass to low pressure for a second, maybe even only a fraction of a second, during the full cycle it takes to split even the worst wood. Most of the time is spent running that ram at low pressure / high gear.


To each his own. I'm trying to split 10 - 15 cords per year, and spend but a few days per year to do it all, so speed is everything for me. If I were retired, or even not in a dual-career family with busy kids, I might be more willing to slow the pace. Personally, I would never be satisfied with a 28-ton Speeco, but good for you if you are!

Fast cars, fast boats... and fast splitters. Then there are those happy to drive vehicles akin to a living room on wheels. Just don't get upset when I pass you on a curvy road.

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Good answer Ash

blades said:

I have a 8hp Briggs IC on my splitter, 20 years old. Likely get hit with a ethanol problem just because to date it has not had that happen, the 25 year old snow blower carb bit the dust last fall on my Simplicity along with the twin cylinder mill on the lawn tractor .

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I've been using no ethanol premium gas in all my small engines, weed eaters, log splitter snow blower chainsaws and boats and have zero fuel problems even if they sit for a year or two.

I recently went thru the splitter shopping experience, I had some very specific wants, like a flow thru design (fixed wedge), log lift and 4 and 6 way wedges and American made. These wants pushed me more toward the commercial splitters and a higher price then you want to pay, but I learned a few things while looking.

I do like Honda engines but it sounds like not too many problems with engines. Make sure the engine is mounted aft of the splitting area so logs don't fall on it. Make sure the engine exhaust is mounted so it is not blowing on the operator.

Speed is important, its not hard to see that an 8 second cycle vs 16 will really cut your splitting time down, a 4 way wedge makes it even faster. I have an 8 second cycle and I don't feel it is dangerously fast. Some are 16 or more, not the most important factor but something to be aware of.

Ergonomics are important, make sure controls are sturdy and easy to reach, nice to be able to operate it from either side if needed. Splitter height, I didn't give it much thought but after using mine it sits kind of high which is nice. You can stand up straight and use it no bending over and sore back. Stand at the splitter and make sure it seems like a comfortable work area. Out feed tables to catch the splits are a real saver, don't want to bend over and pick every piece off the ground. I prefer a flat splitter beam, some have like channels that the wedge rides in, see lots of complaints about havening to keep cleaning the wood out of it. Make sure it has a large enough hydraulic reservoir, some skimp on the quantity and leads to overheating in warmer weather.

Have fun shopping

Ashful said:

yes... but we don't need that for practical purposes.

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Ok, then I won't worry quite so much about it.

Kevin Weis said:

My TSC 28 ton with 3 hp Honda

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Sometimes a little more detail would be helpful.

Sawset said:

Sometimes a little more detail would be helpful.

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Good eye, Sawset. It’s unlikely any 28 ton machine is running of a 3 hp engine, as these machines are usually 11 - 16 GPM. Figure on at least 200 cc displacement (~ 6 hp) territory, to run that size pump.

I'm sure it's 3 hp but I'll give it another look. The running speed is factory set on high, nothing in between.