electric splitters? slower than gas?

[par0thead151]

what can you tell me about electric log splitters?
i would like to have one in my garage as i do my cutting and splitting at my buddies property(farmland) whereas i live in suburbia.
the one i am looking at accepts 20" longs(perfect for me, my stove likes 19") and it is a 4.5 ton unit.
will this be a slow process compared to a gas splitter?
what should i know before i spend 160$ on this unit?
thanks.

 

[hareball]

The one I use is quite productive. Nothing has stopped it yet and I have no complaints at all. I really enjoy swinging the maul so I only use mine for the really hard stuff and kindling.

What model are you looking at? That price is low.

 

[par0thead151]

The one I use is quite productive. Nothing has stopped it yet and I have no complaints at all. I really enjoy swinging the maul so I only use mine for the really hard stuff and kindling.

What model are you looking at? That price is low.

its the yellow one from menards.
it is lightly used by the owner, he says he used it twice. owner is moving, wants to sell it.

retails for 280$ at the store
how much slower is a electric splitter?
i would use this to make kindling and split smaller to stuff my 2.5 cubic foot firebox. i always run into the problem of not having small enough pieces.

 

[charly]

SuperSplit offers an electric motor option. You can always switch back to a gas motor, if ever the need be. Spilts up to a 24 inch piece. Fast units. No hydraulics either.

 

[fossil]

If you think the price is right, buy the thing...sounds like it would suit your needs just fine. Rick

 

[hareball]

Thats a hell of a deal so long as thats a good solid unit.
I've never run a gas splitter so can't compare. A buddy came by when I was splitting a tough cord of cherry with it and he was borrowing a friends gas splitter and the first thing he said was "Wow-That is pretty quick"!

 

[Gooserider]

SuperSplit offers an electric motor option. You can always switch back to a gas motor, if ever the need be. Spilts up to a 24 inch piece. Fast units. No hydraulics either.

True, but looking at more like $1600 for an SS instead of $160... Also much bigger, etc., nice machines, but an entirely different game between a serious professional production machine and a homeowner grade small scale unit...

In terms of the unit shown, reports on the electric units vary, generally they seem to be pretty capable of dealing with reasonably sized, fairly straight rounds. Bigger stuff, crotches, etc. may be handled if one takes small chunks off the sides rather than trying to go straight down the middle. Some say they are on the slow side, others don think it's a problem. Some also have an annoying switch setup that requires both hands to operate the controls, which is good from a safety standpoint, but makes it harder to do the occasionally needed "hold in place" while the split gets started.

I wouldn't want to do my entire multi-cord year's supply with one, but as a secondary unit for splitting down already split stuff, making kindling, etc. they seem to be pretty good...

Gooserider

 

[thinkxingu]

The topic of electric splitters comes up every two months, and the answers are all the same: They'll split anything you've got, if you're willing to move the round a bit to 'chip off the edges.' I've been using one for two years (Ryobi), and there's been nothing I couldn't split except some gnarly crotches, which I wouldn't be able to fit in my stove nicely anyhow.

If it's the right money, buy it.

S

 

[BucksCoBernie]

+1 thinkxingu

I picked one up a few months ago and its been great. with the larger rounds you need to chip off the edges as thinkxingu mentioned. The one negative is you need 2 hands to operate the task force splitter i own....you need to push and hold a button to get the engine going then use your other hand to push the lever for the ram. so you cant keep 1 hand on the split like you can with a gas splitter. But for the price the OP stated you cant go wrong.

 

[jmhpsu93]

I'm very happy with my Ryobi 4-ton electric splitter. It's not for professional, splitting-50-cords-of-wood use, but for customizing the size of splits it's perfect.

 

[John the Painter]

I bought a 4 ton Yardworks about a month ago and have it in my basement with all my wood.At $160 I say buy it and enjoy.Should do just about anything you'll need.

 

[millerhill]

That's a good deal. You should buy it. And as far as brand goes, it really doesn't matter. They all come from China and they're all made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same...

I've had an electric splitter for a couple of years and used it for re-splitting and creating kindling for Fall and Spring fires when we don't keep the woodstove going 24/7, and it's perfect for that. It just died after I pushed about 6 cords of wood through it. Fortunately DR just handed me a new one no questions asked, but I don't expect it to last...

Splitting speed depends much more on the wood itself rather than the stroke of the machine. Good clean straight grained wood splits almost as soon as it hits the wedge. Gnarly stuff, or logs with knots will be a slower go (or not want to go at all).

But to answer your question, generally electric splitters are a lot slower if you're talking about a complete forward and backward cycle of the cylinder.

Steve