Must-have features in a wood splitter

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neverbilly

Burning Hunk
Dec 27, 2015
177
Arkansas, USA
I have been searching for a used wood splitter. Found a 27-ton Troy-bilt, 6 yrs old, used 3 seasons, has Honda 160cc engine, appears to be in great shape. I can buy it for about half off the new price. Not bad.

Some concerns of mine...

- this splitter appears to have small wheels. The tire spec says 16" x 5", whatever that means. They look small. Will this thing tow behind a truck and not fall apart?

- I watched a video of a guy using the 2017 version of this splitter and the cycle time seemed painfully slow. I wonder if I would get bored, lol.

- This splitter does not have a table. I wonder if one is available for it. Do I need a table? You can also use this splitter vertically, so, I guess that is a good thing.

I have been splitting by hand but the old back isn't what it used to be. Wondering what you guys think is a must-have feature when you finally decide to buy one. I prefer to buy used since it seems I could get a better bang for the buck.
 
neverbilly said:
Wondering what you guys think is a must-have feature when you finally decide to buy one.
Click to expand...
My only must have was that it splits wood. I have one that sounds very similar to the one you describe and it works just fine for me. I do wish mine had the honda motor though.
 
Machine must be at a good elevation to avoid feeling like you are working on your knees. It must have a table. A slow cycle time would drive me out of my mind.
 
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Although the small tires aren't the best for towing...as you stand at the machine or flip it vertical , you will appreciate the small tires.
 
'Must haves' usually come down to personal preferences, and one persons must have isn't the same as the next persons.

For me, it's being able to stand on either side & work the controls equally well, the ability to go vertical, a decent work height when horizontal (not too low), & the engine safely out of the way of falling splits. Mine doesn't have a table, per se, but it does have supports to hold the round in place on the beam. I cabbaged/bubble gummed up an extension I can hang off those supports on either side, that I con roll what needs re-split onto.

Also appreciate compactness & relatively easy to move around by hand so it can be repositioned while splitting without having to hook it up to something to do it - I usually tow it right to the tree/windfall with an ATV & toss splits right off the splitter into my ATV trailer. So it goes into some pretty rough & tight spots sometimes - so also the filter & hoses shouldn't hang down too low.

Oh yeah - I think I would actually like bigger wheels on mine so it would travel the rough stuff better. And it is usually recommended to not exceed 45mph when towing it - I would check the manual for that. Any longish highway trips, I would load it on a trailer.
 
cycle time is definitely important. if i remember correctly, Those splitters have a long cycle time. When I was researching splitters, cycle time was a factor. my ariens is 11 or 12 sec cycle time, i think the troy is 19. it makes a big difference when you are standing there waiting. My neighbor has a splitter with a long cycle time and its painful watching him wait. I actually wish that mine was two or three seconds quicker.
 
"Must haves" are really dependent on the person . . . for me a fast cycle time is not so important as I can plug away at splitting. Don't get me wrong, sometimes -- especially when I first start working -- I find myself waiting . . . but not usually. It's rare that I have to extend the wedge all the way to the base plate and it's pretty rare that by the time I toss the splits, grab another round and then put it on the beam that the wedge isn't back far enough so I have to wait before putting the round on the beam.

Tires were not an issue for me. The only towing I do is around the house when I move the splitter from the shed to the wood pile. Splitters are not really made for a whole lot of over the road towing. In fact the only time I've towed it was when I bought it from the local hardware store and hauled it a few miles home . . . very slowly.

Mine came with a cradle with honestly I like . . . a table or cradle is pretty darned handy . . . especially if you process decent sized wood.

For me the one "must have" was the ability to go vertical . . . while I almost always split horizontally I wanted the ability to split vertically if I had big wood so I would not get a hernia or blow out my intestines while futilely attempting to lift such a large round in place. While 95% of the wood I split I do so in the horizontal fashion . . . every year at least a few times I end up going vertically to whack some of the larger stuff down to size and each and every time I really appreciate that feature.

Engine: I'm an unabashed Honda lover. I have a Honda ATV. Honda lawn mower. Had a Honda Accord. If I had a choice I would have a splitter powered by a Honda . . . but that said . . . the Briggs and Stratton on my splitter (and the one on my generator for that matter) have been quite reliable with zero issues. I wouldn't get too hung up on the engine.
 
I'm with jake on pretty well all his points.

Cycle time isn't big to me - when the ram is returning, I'm tossing splits in the trailer, or staging wood, or something. Like maybe catching my breath. Keeping up to a fast cycle would just end my day sooner. Or make the next day more painful.

(Cycle time of a typical small electric splitter would be another story though - those are painfully slow).

Mine does have a Honda on it though, but it's a GC. I know GX's are 'more better', but the GC on mine purrs like a kitty...
 
The table is a must for me. I added one I found on ebay that can be easily removed. IIRC it was around $85 for the table/rack. That made the splitter much easier to use. Mine has a honda engine - always starts 1st or 2nd pull. I believe the 27 ton splitters do have a slower cycle time due to the larger hydro cylinder. Note: if you have been looking you probably noticed that a decent splitter at a good price is a little hard to find.
 
maple1 said:
I'm with jake on pretty well all his points.

Cycle time isn't big to me - when the ram is returning, I'm tossing splits in the trailer, or staging wood, or something. Like maybe catching my breath. Keeping up to a fast cycle would just end my day sooner. Or make the next day more painful.

(Cycle time of a typical small electric splitter would be another story though - those are painfully slow).

Mine does have a Honda on it though, but it's a GC. I know GX's are 'more better', but the GC on mine purrs like a kitty...
Click to expand...
firefighterjake said:
"Must haves" are really dependent on the person . . . for me a fast cycle time is not so important as I can plug away at splitting. Don't get me wrong, sometimes -- especially when I first start working -- I find myself waiting . . . but not usually. It's rare that I have to extend the wedge all the way to the base plate and it's pretty rare that by the time I toss the splits, grab another round and then put it on the beam that the wedge isn't back far enough so I have to wait before putting the round on the beam.

Tires were not an issue for me. The only towing I do is around the house when I move the splitter from the shed to the wood pile. Splitters are not really made for a whole lot of over the road towing. In fact the only time I've towed it was when I bought it from the local hardware store and hauled it a few miles home . . . very slowly.

Mine came with a cradle with honestly I like . . . a table or cradle is pretty darned handy . . . especially if you process decent sized wood.

For me the one "must have" was the ability to go vertical . . . while I almost always split horizontally I wanted the ability to split vertically if I had big wood so I would not get a hernia or blow out my intestines while futilely attempting to lift such a large round in place. While 95% of the wood I split I do so in the horizontal fashion . . . every year at least a few times I end up going vertically to whack some of the larger stuff down to size and each and every time I really appreciate that feature.

Engine: I'm an unabashed Honda lover. I have a Honda ATV. Honda lawn mower. Had a Honda Accord. If I had a choice I would have a splitter powered by a Honda . . . but that said . . . the Briggs and Stratton on my splitter (and the one on my generator for that matter) have been quite reliable with zero issues. I wouldn't get too hung up on the engine.
Click to expand...

I am curious if you guys know what your cycle time is? If you are close to me then you may be happy with it but you may not be with a 19/20 sec cycle time.
 
maple1 said:
Not sure - never timed it. Maybe 15?
Click to expand...

Ditto . . . it's a MTD Gold 27-ton which I believe has a slower cycle time than the 22 ton . . . but the price was right.
 
pyroheater said:
I was considering buying a log splitter since I have about 2 cords I need to split, but the local rental supply joint rents them so I think I will just rent one for now
Click to expand...
Renting different units is a good way to figure out what you like and don't like about them....kinda like women. ;)
 
IMHO, cycle time won't matter. On my 22 ton Speeco, the only time the ram will have to travel from fully retracted to fully extended is possibly on the very first split. Most all the wood I process is oak, hickory, or hedge. More often than not, the oak and hickory round will split before the ram has gone 1/2 way on it's travel. Then I reverse the ram, chuck the split in the trailer and clean off the base or move the round in a better position for the next split. The hedge round will take more ram travel before it splits. The crotch or gnarly pieces of oak and hickory will, too. I've split elm, mulberry, and hackberry, and they all required more ram travel. Especially that stringy elm. I'm working on a deadfall white oak that is 20" from the base up to about 15'. The rounds split in the first 6" of travel. It takes longer to move and position the rounds than it does to split them.

The splitter has never failed to split anything I've tried. Plenty of power for what I need. The only complaint I have is with the motor. It has the primer carb, no choke. It's a little finicky to start when the air temp is below freezing. The direct drive hydro pump slows it down pretty good. Got half a mind to retro-ing a 14HP electric start on it.
 
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