Guide-Master 12-ton Log Splitter, good price?

[AKSHADOW]

Ive always split wood by hand but now am heating 50% with wood so I need a splitter to keep up with the work.
I am not impressed with the high prices here in Alaska for wood splitters and the best thing Ive found is a 12-ton
"guide-master" built by JiangDong for Global Manufacturing Supply. Did some research on JiangDong and it looks
like they make a lot of 2-stroke mini-bike engines. It has a 6.5 horsepower engine on it. I don't have any experience
with splitters so just wondering if I should beware or what to look for on this one...they want $700 for it. Heres the
online link to the splitter:

http://store.aihalaska.com/index.ph...fo&cPath=73241_72680_72509&products_id=410274

 

[mayhem]

The prices on that website looked on the high side of normal to me...similar to what we see in the New England. My chief concern with that splitter is spending all that money only to find out it doesn't split everything you have. If your rounds tend towards smaller diameter...say 12-14" and you don't have much stringy wood, this splitter will probably work fine for you.

Not sure what specifically to look for issues thouigh. Weld seams seem to be an issue for some guys here on the more inexpensive splitters (aka, the kind I would buy myself if I had $1100 to spend on it).

 

[twitch]

That looks almost identical to the splitter I bought from HD a couple years ago, except mine has an 8.5 hp briggs&stratton; engine. It has worked pretty well and has split all but one piece of wood for me (crotch piece). I must say that the wood I'm splitting is oak, maple, beech, and ash that are quite tall with not many branches. The only problem I've had with it is that the silver cover on the back of the valve started leaking. Not too bad, just a little annoying.

EARTHQUAKE QUICKSPLIT 12 TON LOGSPLITTER

 

[bogydave]

Ive always split wood by hand but now am heating 50% with wood so I need a splitter to keep up with the work.
I am not impressed with the high prices here in Alaska for wood splitters and the best thing Ive found is a 12-ton
"guide-master" built by JiangDong for Global Manufacturing Supply. Did some research on JiangDong and it looks
like they make a lot of 2-stroke mini-bike engines. It has a 6.5 horsepower engine on it. I don't have any experience
with splitters so just wondering if I should beware or what to look for on this one...they want $700 for it. Heres the
online link to the splitter:

http://store.aihalaska.com/index.ph...fo&cPath=73241_72680_72509&products_id=410274

I was at the Wasilla AIH & looked them over yesterday.
I got the Speeco 22 last year with a Honda at AIH. (Reconditioned $1400, looked like someone tried to run it on diesel or kerosene gas mix, been working great so far)


Up sides:
for the wood we have here the 12 ton is the perfect size.
if they'd had it last year, I'd have given it serious thought .
It is not near as heavy duty but 1/2 the price $$ of the Speeco I got.
I think for the money here in Alaska, an OK deal. (Shipping is our killer for online deals)

Down sides : it's probably made in Cnina,
not Horiz/Vert modes, (I do like the vertical feature, saves the back with bigger green rounds)
not hwy towable, (but no big deal)
spring return ram which I don't know anything about,
BIG one to me was it had no hydraulic tank (oil may get hot during long run times) but you could add one easy enough.

What kind of warranty?
You'd have more than that $$ into it if you built your own. If anything breaks, plenty of welders around to fix it & beef it up.

If you can work with these limitations, the size seems perfect for our birch & spruce.

 

[twitch]

With mine, and I believe this one as well, the tank is in the beam. The connections are at the back of the beam.

 

[bogydave]

Got ya.
I see it now. Under the ram.
Know the volume of it?
Thanks.

 

[Danno77]

what is a spring return ram? I didn't catch that when I looked at it. I wonder if that's what my electric splitter has. If so, then it's no big deal, you let off the hydro pump and the ram just slowly retracts on it's own, pushing (I imagine) the hydrolic fluid back out of the cylinder.

 

[twitch]

Got ya.
I see it now. Under the ram.
Know the volume of it?
Thanks.

The manual says 6 quarts, not sure if that's on the low side or not. I don't recall my beam or hoses getting that hot though.

 

[AKSHADOW]

Thanks for all the replys everyone, its my first time on this forum and am glad to say I think ill be stalking around here for some time now!

Bogydave- the warranty is for a year, AIH for 30 days return. I also thought that the 12 ton would be perfect size. My thought was if it craps out
in a year I can always throw another motor, pump, cylinder, whatever on it if need be. Ive also got various means of welding so if something
on the frame cracks I can always reinforce it with some flat stock...But yes it is made in China but hell, isn't almost everything? I'm being
facetious but it's almost the truth! Heck, Milwaukee tools are made in china and every Milwaukee tool I have is near bullet-proof!

I am going to purchase this splitter today and see how it works out

 

[bogydave]

Thanks for all the replys everyone, its my first time on this forum and am glad to say I think ill be stalking around here for some time now!

Bogydave- the warranty is for a year, AIH for 30 days return. I also thought that the 12 ton would be perfect size. My thought was if it craps out
in a year I can always throw another motor, pump, cylinder, whatever on it if need be. Ive also got various means of welding so if something
on the frame cracks I can always reinforce it with some flat stock...But yes it is made in China but hell, isn't almost everything? I'm being
facetious but it's almost the truth! Heck, Milwaukee tools are made in china and every Milwaukee tool I have is near bullet-proof!

I am going to purchase this splitter today and see how it works out

Good deal.
You can give us an un-biased review in a few months.

PS, Remember if you run it in severe cold, (which we know Fairbanks might get ) you may need to change the Hyd. oil to a thin synthetic.
same for the engine oil.
But you probably already know that.

 

[AKSHADOW]

Yeah I figured I would do the synthetic switch over here in a month or so after the engine has a chance to break in. Although - I'm pretty sure we are going to
stay in the low 40's this winter

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum AKSHADOW.

We wait until the weather has moderated a bit before starting the splitter (dang that rope pulls hard when it is cold!). I just stack it in rows while cutting during the winter months. Usually split in April but sometimes in March. Stack right after splitting is finished.

 

[bogydave]

Yeah I figured I would do the synthetic switch over here in a month or so after the engine has a chance to break in. Although - I'm pretty sure we are going to
stay in the low 40's this winter

HA HA
HA HA
HA HA
put a big (neg) or minus - in front of that 40 & I might agree. LOL
That would be some serious global warming
Good to think positive anyway.

 

[AKSHADOW]

Welcome to the forum AKSHADOW.

We wait until the weather has moderated a bit before starting the splitter (dang that rope pulls hard when it is cold!). I just stack it in rows while cutting during the winter months. Usually split in April but sometimes in March. Stack right after splitting is finished.

Thanks for the welcoming! Unfortunately I did not get to splitting early enough this year, I bought a home in May and there was just far too much to do! So what I am going to do is freeze-dry my green wood in holz-hausens and see what happens! I run off Toyos otherwise so I'm not totally screwed

 

[AKSHADOW]

Yeah I figured I would do the synthetic switch over here in a month or so after the engine has a chance to break in. Although - I'm pretty sure we are going to
stay in the low 40's this winter

HA HA
HA HA
HA HA
put a big (neg) or minus - in front of that 40 & I might agree. LOL
That would be some serious global warming
Good to think positive anyway.

shoot...we're still pushing high 40s around here Just getting back to our tropical roots!

 

[nate379]

That is the splitter I have and it works great. I did upgrade the wedge and pusher to bigger ones. Going to redo the hydraulics with a bigger 2 stage pump, tank and a filter, as well as shitcanning the cheap leaking china "rubber" hoses for some decent quality ones. It sips the gas. I split 10 cords of wood on 2 tanks of fuel. The tank holds maybe .75 gals I would guess.

For ~$625 it wasn't a bad deal IMO.

 

[weatherguy]

My 12 ton has split everything Ive fed it, 12 ton will probably do 95% of any splitting a homeowner needs, maybe 99%, mines only vertical though, somedays I wish it was horizontal.
You got ot cheaper than the OP had listed.

 

[Jags]

Hmmm...yet once again I am going to go against the flow. Nate sounds like he likes his - but is looking to change every major component of the machine. Them extra bucks could have been thrown at a different machine with no need to modify for about a wash in total cost. Not slamming anybody - just say'in.

I would agree that a well built 12 ton unit is probably up to the task of the majority of anything most people split (especially in the land of small trees ). I don't see this machine as "well built". It is built as cheaply as one could get away with.
No name motor
Spring return ram control?? The control is the valve, so is that a spring return valve? Dunno - confusing.
The beam is not even a beam (appears to be a welded T)
What is the pump specs?
The rod diameter of the cylinder appears to be tiny.
This thing just appears to be "flimsy" from what little I can see.

Personally, I would keep looking.

My last 12 ton that I built: *yeah I know the beam is overkill*

 

[AKSHADOW]

That is the splitter I have and it works great. I did upgrade the wedge and pusher to bigger ones. Going to redo the hydraulics with a bigger 2 stage pump, tank and a filter, as well as shitcanning the cheap leaking china "rubber" hoses for some decent quality ones. It sips the gas. I split 10 cords of wood on 2 tanks of fuel. The tank holds maybe .75 gals I would guess.

For ~$625 it wasn't a bad deal IMO.

Mine went good for about 5 cords, then the control valve came apart when I turned the wrong bolt thinking it was the pressure adjustment. Since I've put a Prince valve and all new rubber on it. Like Nate I want to put a 2 stage pump on it sometime in the future. I had seriously considered putting a taller wedge on it, as well as some decent tables.

All in all, I like the portability - I can push it around my scrubland yard with ease ( I go over holes, roots, you name it). Also like Nate, the engine is very fuel efficient. Apparently these Jiangdong engines are popular for minibikes. The fact of the matter is, best splitter for the money in AK (figuring in outrageous shipping charges). But, it's still not a great splitter, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone who can't weld or fix things.

 

[fox9988]

My last 12 ton that I built: *yeah I know the beam is overkill*
View attachment 72122[/quote]
Scotty Approved!

 

[weatherguy]

Hmmm...yet once again I am going to go against the flow. Nate sounds like he likes his - but is looking to change every major component of the machine. Them extra bucks could have been thrown at a different machine with no need to modify for about a wash in total cost. Not slamming anybody - just say'in.

I would agree that a well built 12 ton unit is probably up to the task of the majority of anything most people split (especially in the land of small trees ). I don't see this machine as "well built". It is built as cheaply as one could get away with.
No name motor
Spring return ram control?? The control is the valve, so is that a spring return valve? Dunno - confusing.
The beam is not even a beam (appears to be a welded T)
What is the pump specs?
The rod diameter of the cylinder appears to be tiny.
This thing just appears to be "flimsy" from what little I can see.

Personally, I would keep looking.

My last 12 ton that I built: *yeah I know the beam is overkill*
View attachment 72122

I think we have to look at their situation different as they're in Alaska, we have it made down here with TSC's all over the place where you can get a good splitter for under 1k, or go to a Lowes or HD and get a decent one on sale fairly cheap.

 

[ScotO]

My last 12 ton that I built: *yeah I know the beam is overkill*
View attachment 72122Scotty Approved!

YOU GOT THAT CHIT RIGHT! "stamped" approved!

 

[Jags]

I think we have to look at their situation different as they're in Alaska, we have it made down here with TSC's all over the place where you can get a good splitter for under 1k, or go to a Lowes or HD and get a decent one on sale fairly cheap.

Truth to that. I understand that they don't have the supply lines that we do in the lower 48. And in NO way am I saying that this thing won't work or is a piece of junk or anything like that. I am sure it will split wood. To my eyes it is a pretty lightly built machine. I foresee potential problems for longevity.

Wanna see an example of ridiculous "over build" for a 12 ton machine:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/jags-splitter-build-pic-heavy-update-its-alive.83540/

 

[ScotO]

Truth to that. I understand that they don't have the supply lines that we do in the lower 48. And in NO way am I saying that this thing won't work or is a piece of junk or anything like that. I am sure it will split wood. To my eyes it is a pretty lightly built machine. I foresee potential problems for longevity.

Wanna see an example of ridiculous "over build" for a 12 ton machine:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/jags-splitter-build-pic-heavy-update-its-alive.83540/

"stamped" approved. Dammit Jags, I'm running out of ink for my stamp pad.... I am thinking we're related somehow.....you build chit just like I do!!

 

[nate379]

Hmmm...yet once again I am going to go against the flow. Nate sounds like he likes his - but is looking to change every major component of the machine. Them extra bucks could have been thrown at a different machine with no need to modify for about a wash in total cost. Not slamming anybody - just say'in.

I would agree that a well built 12 ton unit is probably up to the task of the majority of anything most people split (especially in the land of small trees ). I don't see this machine as "well built". It is built as cheaply as one could get away with.
No name motor
Spring return ram control?? The control is the valve, so is that a spring return valve? Dunno - confusing.
The beam is not even a beam (appears to be a welded T)
What is the pump specs?
The rod diameter of the cylinder appears to be tiny.
This thing just appears to be "flimsy" from what little I can see.

Personally, I would keep looking.

My last 12 ton that I built: *yeah I know the beam is overkill*
View attachment 72122

I bought it knowing I would change some things. 625$ out the door. I have about 200$ into a 5 gal tank, 16 gpm 2 stage pump, 8" wedge and a filter assembly. Will need maybe 100$ in hoses/fittings. So 925$ in total.

It has a normal spring loaded valve, locks in reverse till the cylinder is all the way in.

The beam is 1/4" wall box tube. Cylinder is 1.5" ram I think.

No it's not built like a chit brick house, but for the price and portibilty it works great. I've run about 10 cords though it, had maybe 3 pieces I had trouble to split.

I thought about building one but between a 50hr/week job and processing firewood another 30-40hrs/week it's not like I have a whole lot of spare time. Was easier for me to buy a low cost unit and upgrade a few things.