Ariens 22 ton splitter?

[Machria]

Anyone have the Ariens 22 ton splitter available at Home Depot for 1199?

It looks to be a decent unit, 12 second cycle time isn't bad. What I like about it and why I want it, is because it seems to be the smallest footprint 20-25 ton splitter. It's only 38" wide, where all of the others are 48" wide. I have a very tight storage space, so the size is a huge issue for me.

Any pro's cons' on this splitter?

 

[MasterMech]

Same as the Gravely unit, just different colors. For the money, and availability to your location, I think this might be your splitter Machria.

I have no exp with that particular Subaru engine but every last one of them I have come across (I own two) has been excellent.

 

[mikey517]

Same as the Gravely unit, just different colors. For the money, and availability to your location, I think this might be your splitter Machria.

I have no exp with that particular Subaru engine but every last one of them I have come across (I own two) has been excellent.

I have the 27 ton... real happy with it. And the Subaru engine is excellent1

 

[Machria]

Got it today. Killer deal on it at Home Depot of all places. I handed them a 25% off coupon from harbor freight, they didn't blink an eye. $300 came off tab, manager came over typed in an approval code and off I went. So it was 899 + tax, came to 946, cradles included, full of Hydro oil, and even engine oil. Just had to uncrate it and fasten a few bolts so I could tow it away, took about 1/2 hour to un-crate and put together in Home Depot.

Tried it out, works nicely, faster than I expected. Wish I had bought it last year after Sandy hit. Anyway, a few nice features they don't really advertise but should. The beam is offset a bit to one side, making the work area opposite the motor wide open, no tire or axel to fight with, no motor, hoses or controls in way. The motor is way forward, will be real hard to hit it with a split... The one thing I was worried about was the lack of a full beam, and how the cylinder was attached to beam. Well, it isn't. That is, there are no bolts or brackets attaching the cyl to the beam. There is just a massive plate welded to both sides of the beam going up to the sides of the cyl. There are cut outs in the plates, where the cylinder has "wings" that just slip into the cut outs. So the pressure of the cyl just pushes itself against the cut outs. It's never going anywhere, unless it rips the beam apart. If that happens, there would be bigger problems. The orange thing with 3 bolts in it is just the striped plate and does not hold the cyl or anything. Pretty smart design. The unit is only 374 lbs, and is really compact, perfect for my limited space. I can pick it up with one hand and roll it around easily, it's balanced nicely on the axel, which is also narrow, 38" compared to 48" for all the rest of the 20-30 ton units. Centrally located control let's you work from either side.



Cranked it up and split a few test rounds. Then split a 20" crotch that's been laying in my yard for 2 years, my 5 ton couldn't split it, tried about 20 times in every direction possible. This thing split it without even going into the 2nd stage or anything.

 

[firecracker_77]

Nice...Under $1,000

I like that compact design. The Huskee is more of a chore to wheel through grass by hand.

 

[mikey517]

I got my 27 ton Ariens one year ago today at Home Depot. At that time, I don't believe Ariens offered a 22 ton, or I would have picked that one to save some $$$.

You did real good, bud... now enjoy it!

 

[Machria]

"Enjoy it"! That's what we call this? (Off to pop a few Aleves)

Processed a cord and a half today. Took about 2 hours with the splitter, then a few hour moving wood around and stacking, cleaning up. Shoulda bought the splitter long ago.....

If any of you are on the fence for a splitter, go buy it. Your welcome.

 

[xman23]

Ounce you have a splitter your never going back to a maul again

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I need to use the axe, it keeps the weight off...

 

[MasterMech]

I need to use the axe, it keeps the weight off...

Don't fool yourself into thinking the splitter isn't work. It is, you're just getting a lot more done. Come split with me for a day. You'll burn calories for sure!

 

[MarkinNC]

"Enjoy it"! That's what we call this? (Off to pop a few Aleves)

Processed a cord and a half today. Took about 2 hours with the splitter, then a few hour moving wood around and stacking, cleaning up. Shoulda bought the splitter long ago.....

If any of you are on the fence for a splitter, go buy it. Your welcome.

Thanks for your report. I have been looking at that one myself. I am using a borrowed 27 ton Troy Built at the moment and it works well. It is a heavy sucker to move around though. The fast cycle time of that unit is attractive to me. Now how to work that coupon? Where did you get it, online?

I won't need to buy for some time after using this borrowed unit. If you have any problems I would love to see an update. I won't buy the Huskee because I won't buy tool without a Honda or Subie engine (unless you go farther up the foodchain like Onan etc).

 

[Machria]

Don't fool yourself into thinking the splitter isn't work. It is, you're just getting a lot more done. Come split with me for a day. You'll burn calories for sure!

Well said MM. After splitting just a cord and 1/2 yesterday, I can tell you my body feels it. You have to set up (get out tools, splitter, fuel...), then you have to carry the wood to splitter, split it, throw the splits, then stack the splits, then clean up the leftover chunks/bits, then clean up the work area (bark, trimings, mess), then put away the tools. Just caus you have a splitter does not mean your not getting exercise. But it does mean you get alot more wood processed in the same amount of time.

Thanks for your report. I have been looking at that one myself. I am using a borrowed 27 ton Troy Built at the moment and it works well. It is a heavy sucker to move around though. The fast cycle time of that unit is attractive to me. Now how to work that coupon? Where did you get it, online?

I won't need to buy for some time after using this borrowed unit. If you have any problems I would love to see an update. I won't buy the Huskee because I won't buy tool without a Honda or Subie engine (unless you go farther up the foodchain like Onan etc).

Get the coupon in the local papers. HF has their own circular / flyer stuck in the papers, I don't even get a newpaper but the flyer is stuck in my mailbox every week with a stack of other "crap". If your not getting one to your house, go buy a Sunday paper at your local mart with all the circulars in there, it will be there.

I also looked at the Troy built 27. They have some similarities, but as you noted, the Ariens has a much faster cycle time (which means better pump since they both have a 4" cylandar). The Ariens 22 is 374lbs VS the Troy 27 at 580lbs. That is a 200 lb difference, BIG difference in moving it around. I can pick up the Ariens with one hand and wheel it anywhere I want it. It's balanced perfect on the axel, and since it's compact (only 38" wide) and light, it's easy to get around and in storage takes up little space. They both have an offset beam, but the Ariens has more work space behind and on the sides of the wheels/axels because the axel is not as wide. After using it yesterday, I can tell you having the offset beam and lots of space in the "work area" with no motor, wheel, axel, hydro crap in the way is REALLY nice. I'm really suprised that is not a feature discussed more when selecting splitters. Some of the splitters looked at (in person) seemed terrible in this respect, you would have to stand sidways to the wheel/axel in order to load the splitter cause the wheels are directly in the middle of the load area. That looked like a PITA to me. The Ariens also has the motor very far forward out of the way, and another nice thing is the control handle centrally located. I used it from both sides yesterday several times. Inevidably you will wind up on both sides of the splitter to move wood, pick up splits... so it's nice to just throw a round up there and grab the handle from whichever side your standing on. The wedge is super beefy, starts out sharp, and after abour 3" gets really wide which separates the splits nicely.

A few pics of the offset beam, work area from above (they should advertise this!), the wedge and the motor mounted way forward:

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Don't fool yourself into thinking the splitter isn't work. It is, you're just getting a lot more done. Come split with me for a day. You'll burn calories for sure!

Yeah, actually I'm alittle sore today,and also it was humid last night and I did break a sweat... So I agree with you

 

[MarkinNC]

Well said MM. After splitting just a cord and 1/2 yesterday, I can tell you my body feels it. You have to set up (get out tools, splitter, fuel...), then you have to carry the wood to splitter, split it, throw the splits, then stack the splits, then clean up the leftover chunks/bits, then clean up the work area (bark, trimings, mess), then put away the tools. Just caus you have a splitter does not mean your not getting exercise. But it does mean you get alot more wood processed in the same amount of time.



Get teh coupon in the local papers. HF has their own circular / flyer stuck in the papers, I don't even get a newpaper but the flyer is stuck in my mailbox every week with a stack of other "crap". If your not getting one to your house, go buy a Sunday paper at your local mart with all the circulars in there, it will be there.

I also looked at the Troy built 27. They have some similarities, but as you noted, the Ariens has a much faster cycle time (which means better pump since they both have a 4" cylandar). The Ariens 22 is 374lbs VS the Troy 27 at 580lbs. That is a 200 lb difference, BIG difference in moving it around. I can pick up the Ariens with one hand and wheel it anywhere I want it. It's balanced perfect on the axel, and since it's compace (only 38" wide) and light, it's easy to get around and in storage takes up little space. They both have an offset beam, but the Ariens has more work space behind and on the sides of the wheels/axels because the axel is not as wide. After using it yesterday, I can tell you having the offset beam and lots of space in the "work area" with no motor, wheel, axel, hydro crap in the way is REALLY nice. I'm really suprised that is not a feature discussed more when selecting splitters. Some of the splitters looked at (in person) seemed terrible in this respect, you would have to stand sidways to the wheel/axel in order to load the splitter cause the wheels are directly in the middle of the load area. That looked like a PITA to me. The Ariens also has the motor very far forward out of the way, and another nice thing is the control handle centrally located. I used it from both sides yesterday several times. Inevidably you will wind up on both sides of the splitter to move wood, pick up splits... so it's nice to just throw a round up there and grab the handle from whichever side your standing on. The wedge is super beefy, starts out sharp, and after abour 3" gets really wide which separates the splits nicely.

Thanks for the detaild response. i did not appreciate the offset beam design. I dropped at least one split on the engine of the splitter I am using (no damage). I have also hit my head on various things on the splitter when bending over to work. I see a higher level of engineering from the Ariens unit. The tires look very robust in your pictures as well.

 

[Machria]

I just went to a local HF store , they have their flyers (with the 25% discount off any 1 item coupon) all over the store and counters. So if you can't find a coupon in papers, just go to a HF store and get one.

 

[MarkinNC]

I just went to a local HF store , they have their flyers (with the 25% discount off any 1 item coupon) all over the store and counters. So if you can't find a coupon in papers, just go to a HF store and get one.

Well that was definitely beyond the call of duty! You should get some wood burning forum medal for that one. I just got back from Home Depot and looked at the unit as well as verified the coupon issue. I liked the way the Subbie engine is mounted with the wxhaust facing away from the operator area and the gas tank on the side the way it is. I am not certain I like how you lock it into place when in the vertical position with that long pin. And there is another long pin behind it that I an not sure of the function of either? It was incredibly well balanced to move around, I agree.

Thanks again!

 

[MasterMech]

I just went to a local HF store , they have their flyers (with the 25% discount off any 1 item coupon) all over the store and counters. So if you can't find a coupon in papers, just go to a HF store and get one.

Sign up for their email list and they will stuff 'em down your throat. I get one about every week or two it seems.

 

[Machria]

There is a "rear stabilizer" on the arse end of the splitter. When in horizontal mode, your supposed to put it down, I guess to stabilize the unit. I'm guessing that is the 2nd pin you saw. Anyway, I tried it(the "stabilizer"), didn't really notice it doing anything. Did my work without putting it down, didn't notice any issues.

As for locking it into Vert, that pin just slides right in, I didn't have a problem with it at all. But I can tell you, I don't think you need it anyway. When you flip it up, the back of the foot hits the ground, and you have to give it a little push to get it completely verticle, it actually lifts the rest of the splitter an inch or 2. In other words, the foot kinda jams into the ground pretty good and is not going anywhere until you pull the other end back down. So I'm not sure you need to put that pin in. There is no force in that direction against the pin.

 

[Machria]

Sign up for their email list and they will stuff 'em down your throat. I get one about every week or two it seems.

LOL! I hear ya.

 

[MasterMech]

There is a "rear stabilizer" on the arse end of the splitter. When in horizontal mode, your supposed to put it down, I guess to stabilize the unit. I'm guessing that is the 2nd pin you saw. Anyway, I tried it(the "stabilizer"), didn't really notice it doing anything. Did my work without putting it down, didn't notice any issues.

Put a heavy enough round on there and you will get a surprise when the ram extends. That's why it is there. But anything that heavy you would be splitting vertical anyways right?

 

[teutonicking]

Got it today. Killer deal on it at Home Depot of all places. I handed them a 25% off coupon from harbor freight, they didn't blink an eye. $300 came off tab, manager came over typed in an approval code and off I went. So it was 899 + tax, came to 946, cradles included, full of Hydro oil, and even engine oil. Just had to uncrate it and fasten a few bolts so I could tow it away, took about 1/2 hour to un-crate and put together in Home Depot.

Tried it out, works nicely, faster than I expected. Wish I had bought it last year after Sandy hit. Anyway, a few nice features they don't really advertise but should. The beam is offset a bit to one side, making the work area opposite the motor wide open, no tire or axel to fight with, no motor, hoses or controls in way. The motor is way forward, will be real hard to hit it with a split... The one thing I was worried about was the lack of a full beam, and how the cylinder was attached to beam. Well, it isn't. That is, there are no bolts or brackets attaching the cyl to the beam. There is just a massive plate welded to both sides of the beam going up to the sides of the cyl. There are cut outs in the plates, where the cylinder has "wings" that just slip into the cut outs. So the pressure of the cyl just pushes itself against the cut outs. It's never going anywhere, unless it rips the beam apart. If that happens, there would be bigger problems. The orange thing with 3 bolts in it is just the striped plate and does not hold the cyl or anything. Pretty smart design. The unit is only 374 lbs, and is really compact, perfect for my limited space. I can pick it up with one hand and roll it around easily, it's balanced nicely on the axel, which is also narrow, 38" compared to 48" for all the rest of the 20-30 ton units. Centrally located control let's you work from either side.



Cranked it up and split a few test rounds. Then split a 20" crotch that's been laying in my yard for 2 years, my 5 ton couldn't split it, tried about 20 times in every direction possible. This thing split it without even going into the 2nd stage or anything.

View attachment 109917

View attachment 109919

Nice unit. I got a Huskee, but I considered that one too.

 

[Machria]

Put a heavy enough round on there and you will get a surprise when the ram extends. That's why it is there. But anything that heavy you would be splitting vertical anyways right?

ohhhh! Silly me, never thought of it that way. I was thinking along the lines of stabilizing it from rolling backward, or shaking or something.... Your dead on. Because the work area of the beam sticks out so far (which gives you all the space I talked about), it makes it a bit out of balance if you put on too heavy of a round. Got it, thanks!

But yes, it will be vert. with anything heavy, so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[xman23]

Machria, Nice review of the splitter. I to have said many times, a comment you made. That is the engine and axel / oil tank needs to be forward of the horizontal splitting work area. My MTD is like that as well. I don't have the cradle on the side of the beam so the splits fall straight down, hitting nothing. I see most of the splitters with the engine to the rear. I can't see how that works. Maybe some here with one of those can comment.

One thing I see, from your pictures is a thick foot base plate at the end of the beam. It's hard to see it's construction, but it needs to be one of the strongest things on the splitter. On my MTD is about a 6" x 12" x 1" plate welded to the end of the beam. My question, when you swing the beam vertical isn't the floor of the plate 3 or 4 inches off the ground? If so it seams like it will be difficult getting big rounds to sit level. When mine is not dug into the ground I fill in around it with mulch to make it level.

 

[MasterMech]

If so it seams like it will be difficult getting big rounds to sit level. When mine is not dug into the ground I fill in around it with mulch to make it level.

Split smaller rounds for a bit and there will be plenty of splitter trash to make things level around the plate.

 

[xman23]

Split smaller rounds for a bit and there will be plenty of splitter trash to make things level around the plate.

LOL, That's what I was thinking of "splitter trash" just couldn't think what you call it.