I have not used, but Home Depot had one on display here. (I was pirating ideas.)
This is what I recall:
-almost the full cost of a big one
-3 inch cylinder. (Brave is at least honest in the 10 ton rating. That is rare among advertisements.)
-If I recall, it had a vertical shaft engine, and timing belt drive sideways to a small 2 or 3 gpm single stage pump
-Single angle fixed wedge, not very high.
-Push plate on cylinder looked rounded and a bit light
-Cylinder lifts out of the trunnions, retracts to shorter position for storage, and storage was MUCH less than a big machine.
-Tiny, light, portable, can be lifted into a pickup or back of a Suburban or van even.
-Don't need to tow it long distances, can mount on a receiver hitch plug in (although it seemed a bit flexible)
-Very low to ground. In theory, large rounds could be rolled onto the beam. In reality, this won’t handle large rounds anyway. I would use the receiver hitch mount, or build some sort of sawhorses as the splitter by it self would be a back breaker bending over to operate. Then again, this is not a machine that will likely be used for 10 hour days.
-Beam is a 2x4 rectangular tube (with reinforcing on top) that serves as the hydraulic tank. Tiny, but for this flow, and intermittent use, it should be great.
-Well thought out structurally and simple to build and keep costs down.
Brave makes no bones about the target market and IMO I think it is great for that market: not for people with big stoves or OWB who need a big machine for high volume, but people who want more than an electric machine. Splitting scrounged wood, small trees, small qty at a time. Mount on the hitch and take it to the cabin. Split some wood with one vehicle, throw the split wood in the back of a pickup.
By going with vertical engine (cheaper and more common), small pump, small cylinder, shorter wedge, less forces, means lighter beam, all these decisions hurt performance, but ripple effect to keep weight and size and price down.
If you need a bigger machine, and need to get lots of wood at once, I think this is not the choice.
If your focus is on scrounging wood, smaller diameter trees, or have limited storage space in the garage, want the portability, or have only one vehicle, looks like a good machine to me IF you are very clear about your needs and what it does well or poorly.
I would run it and see how it performs. If too slow, then do the math and probably put the Prince regen extend valve on it to get more speed in the cycle.
I have a 5 hp 4 inch trailer splitter, and am designing two others: one using the 18 hp flat Onan with 28 gpm two stage pump, and another 3 inch (similar to the Brave) for small, fast, and portable use. During storm weather here, there is a lot of free wood 16 inches or under. Anything bigger, rip it with the bigger saws.
My scenario is to mount to a receiver pocket on the back of my heavier trailer, (but same as mounting on a pickup) because I have SUV and trailers. I don’t have a pickup. I can pull the larger splitter behind the trailer, but too clumsy for scrounging trips. I can’t back the combo up in tight neighborhoods or unfamiliar spaces.
I have 5+ hp engine, 3 x 20 cylinder with face plate mount so it can stow in like the Brave, valve, 11 gpm two stage pump (removed form a larger splitter when it was upgraded) for 3 second extend and faster retract. 10 tons will handle most of the storm wood around here. I can hear already: tank is too small for 11 gpm flow. Yes, by rules of thumb it is. I design hydr systems for a job, and it takes some creative baffling to make it work, but I am confident in the design.
So, long story, but IF you define your needs very carefully and the Brave fits those needs, it looks like a good little machine, especially with some upgrading of the valve. If your needs don’t match, you may hate it.
kcj
![[Hearth.com] 8 Ton Brave Mini Gas Log Splitter](https://www.hearth.com/econtent/images/member_photos/photo_11456.jpg "[Hearth.com] 8 Ton Brave Mini Gas Log Splitter")
