Early XMas Present

[mayhem]

My wife has finally had enough of me borrowing log splitters, so she picked up a Speeco 5 ton electric log splitter for an early Christmas present for me. Its no 22 tom Huskee, which is what I've been using thus far, but I'm anxious to see tonight just what this little thing can do. Most of the stuff I split is 16-20" long and between 8-20" in diameter...species varies...ash, maple, beech, white and yellow birch, red oak...I have low expectations so if I can do a good chunk of what I have each year it'll be great.

Read alot of reviews and watched some youtube videos, mixed reviews all around, but it seems in general that this little thing will do alot bigger diameter logs than the mfr rated 9" max...I suspet that alot of the people who have been disappointed by this may not have purged all the air from the hydraulics or are misusing it in another way.

Can't wait to get home and try it out. I'll take some pictures of what i spit (or try to split) with measurements and see how it does. I've got some stuff thats arrow straight and ought to be real easy...I could do them with my chopping axe and some other stuff that will be a very good test. Like frozen solid, unseasoned red oak rounds about 16" in diameter...took about 5-6 whacks with the maul just to get a chunk to split off the edge.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Mayhem, I hope you give a good review after using it for a while. It will be interesting because you can compare it to the 22 ton you've borrowed.

I'll also appreciate some pictures of you spitting!

 

[thinkxingu]

Mayhem,
I wouldn't have such low expectations--I used the Ryobi for two years and really liked it. In fact, there are some things I miss about it: size, noise, size, height, etc. I think you'll really like it. Of course, without pics it didn't happen!

Good luck and enjoy,

S

 

[mayhem]

The way I see it, if I have low expectations I can only be happy. It'll either do exactly what the manual says and no more or it'll work great...either way I'm ahead if the game.

I plan on taking some good photos of what I'm working on and I'll be able to compare it to the 22 ton unit I used just yesterday.

thinkxingu, why did you get rid of the Ryobi and go to the gas splitter?

I’ll also appreciate some pictures of you spitting!

Sorry, but I'm just not a big spitter anymore. But I'll be happy to take photos using the new splitter!

 

[thinkxingu]

Mayhem,
The only reason I went to gas, the ONLY reason, is that the Yard Machines 25-ton was being sold at HD for $429, $1000 off. I really like it, but, as mentioned, I appreciate the electric, too (I'm keeping it).

S

 

[mayhem]

Had very little time to play last night unfortunately.

Got it unpacked, checked it over. Zero assembly required and i was pleased to find it came with the tank full of hydraulic fluid, so it was literally plug and play and I can return that gallon of fluid I bought at the same time.

Put a bit of box elder in it, about 7" across and fairly dry...predicatbly it split it without effort. Stepped up to a 14" long x 10" wide piece of gnarly, but two year dry hard maple...again, it popped it without effort.

Last piece before I ran out of time was a 3 month cut, frozen solid 10" diameter by 18" long round of red oak. I wailed on it with my 8lb maul the prior day and 5 solid hits took off a piece about an inch inside the bark ring...to my mind this is a very solid peice of wood as dry and warm it would only take 1-2 hits to split it right down the center. Put it on the splitter and the sucker didn't even bog or anything, just ripped it in half.

So thus far with limited testing I'm very happy. I've managed to split a couple of peices of wood that represent about 60-70% of what I have to deal with every year. I dug a nice heavy round of rock maple out of the pile and will hopefully get to test it out tongiht. I'll be able to do photos of that one.

I also need to figure out how to make using this thign comfortable. Its too low to use with any degree of comfort for a significant length of time, so it needs to go onto a solid table or sawhorses or something. Suggestions?

 

[Danno77]

I split horizontally while seated, lol. Seriously. Have as many rounds as possible tossed within reach and don't leave your seat. If you raise the splitter then you'll be moving all over the place bend over, lift up, bend over, repeat...

YMMV...

 

[thinkxingu]

Danno, I did the same with mine--but usually using two people: one to load and stack, one to push the buttons (my wife!).
Mayhem, a lot of people have found this useful: http://www.lowes.com/pd_146404-287-...Ntt=work+platform&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151

Ultimately, since I scrounge, I would put the splitter on the tailgate and take right from the truck--I liked this method a lot.

S

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I also need to figure out how to make using this thign comfortable. Its too low to use with any degree of comfort for a significant length of time, so it needs to go onto a solid table or sawhorses or something. Suggestions?

Looks like a pretty good splitter.
For a saw horse/table, do you think you will be using it inside? or outside? If inside, like a basement or garage...you could probably fabricate something fairly inexpensive and perhaps put casters on it to roll around when not in use. (Also, you might want to try a few heights to see if you want to be standing or sitting when using it)
Look forward to hearing more reviews.