My new Earthquake 5 ton splitter.

[WriteNoob]

Saw this at Menards for $275. Seems to be very little info. specific to this little guy. Bought it yesterday, and assembled it after work, today. Many of the reviews I could find were years old, so I thought I'd post my experience, so far, and update over time, as I get more use out of it.

Some of the things I've found that are contrary (in my specific case) to some reviews I've read in multiple places. This may be a matter of change over time, or I may just be lucky.

1. The unit came full of fluid. Not shipped with minimal fluid. (Many older reviews stated this.)
2. Came with metal rimmed, rubber tires, not the cheap plastic ones in older pics of the unit.
3. All fasteners and fittings fit, and were in the proper place. Again, older complaints.
4. The welds ain't pretty, but seem solid. What you'd expect from cheap Chinese products.
5. Wedge came very dull, but to be fair, the $1400 DHT is equally so.

I split a few small pine and elm rounds, just to be sure it works, out of the box. Then I sharpened the wedge. The next few rounds split very smoothly, without really bogging the unit, noticeably. I wonder if this will help with the bigger stuff. Just can't stand dull edged tools.

Plan to run a cord or so of knotty red and white pine through it, tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

 

[WriteNoob]

Day two, and the little Earthquake does split wood, albeit slowly. Went through some pine, elm, and box alder, and it didn't bog or hesitate with any of it. The problem is, it ran slowly enough that I found myself getting bored. Also, as some here have stated, the splitter splits are much shaggier than those split by hand. Definitely going to have to bypass that two hands to operate thing, too. Very aggravating.

Tomorrow I'll be back to splitting by hand, with the Fiskars. I'll use the little 5 ton on knotty/gnarly stuff, and make time with the X27.

I ran the unit on a quality 12 gauge, 100 foot cord, and it ran well for me. I think that with a few mods, it could do better. Thinks like a stop to keep the ram from retracting fully, and one handed operation, would go a long way towards speeding things up.

I do like the unit, but still prefer to split by hand. It'll be nice to have for the stuff that isn't as fun to do with the axe, though.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

It's tough with some of the electric units , it's like watching the paint dry.

 

[velvetfoot]

I never use mine anymore. Maybe once in a blue moon in the middle of winter in the garage. You got a good price though.

Not to digress excessively, but My Oslo heats my home: You like the 22 ton Ariens? A friend of mine just got one and it seems like a nice machine.

 

[Soundchasm]

I'm a huge fan of my electric. Finally figured out a system where the round comes out of the back of the truck onto the splitter, splits get pitched into the wheelbarrow, and that goes a few feet to the stacks.

That full return plagued me like a curse. Somehow, a combination of dirt and a heavy crescent wrench (a handle "extension") was sufficient for the handle to remain either up or down (wherever I left it). For instance, press-button-handle-down make a split. Button-up-handle-up let the pusher thing return to my 16" mark, push the handle down - it stops. Put in the next victim, hit the button and the thing picks up moving towards the wedge. It saves enough time I don't nap splitting anymore.