New DR Splitter coming

[Mike Wilson]

So I already have a 25 ton Honda splitter, who needs two of them? I don't know, call it midnight internet impulse shopping.

The large splitter is, well, large. In fact, its huge. When I had 5 large black locust come down a few years ago, it was perfect for splitting that wood. But lately, I have taken down a few smaller locust, a bartlett pear tree, some cedrus deodora, and some russian olive. The rounds are probably 12 inches, a few are 14-15 maybe. The idea of spinning up the Honda to split these little things made me scratch my head, and I've always been interested in an electric splitter. Oh, and I wanted a new toy... the wife says its important for me to admit that. So, I read the posts here, and people seemed to like the little electric 4 ton Ryobi splitter available at Home Despot. So I called them (they're 30 miles away...) and asked if one was in stock, No. Can you get me one, Maybe. If maybe, when, well we're sold out of them in the region, its a little late in the season to be ordering more, I can't confirm if more were ordered, so Maybe sir, if we Maybe get one, it Might be available in 3-4 weeks. Screw that, I'm not waiting. Went online to DR... they are having a sale, 50 bucks off the 5 ton splitter, so its 499. That's nice. Oh, and no shipping on this 120lb. splitter... that's nicer. Order Up. Supposedly it will be here in about 3 days, I'll report accordingly. In the meantime, does anyone own one of these? Opinions?

-- Mike

 

[wahoowad]

That pear will be a good test.

 

[carpniels]

Hi Mike,

No Ryobis in the entire Upstate Area? Weird? I will check with my local HD in ROme (l have to go there and get some things anyway). and I will let you know.

Not that that helps you much. Or, you could return the DR and save some money and get the Ryobi.

Anyway, keep us informed.

carpniels

 

[carbon neutral]

Its an expensive new toy but then again I have friends who will drop $300 on a golf club so they can fly to myrtle beach and play golf at $1,000/day in greens fees and lap dances. The electric splitter should do a better job of splitting wood than the golf club.

 

[jqgs214]

me wanna borrow one if I had any wood to split that is.

 

[velvetfoot]

I've put a couple cords of hemlock (easy) through this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93815

I'll probably use it tonight to split some of the big pieces from my former wood dude.

 

[carbon neutral]

I don't know about Riverhead but in Huntington the pennysaver has adds from tree service companies all the time saying free wood chips and fire wood. May be worth a few calls. I am sure they will be giving you the knotiest biggest rounds you ever did see but hey what better challenge for a wood splitter.

 

[jqgs214]

I'll have to check that out. Maybe they even deliver. That is if Mike is willing to share. Man I'm so cheap I dont even wanna buy a splitter !

 

[Hogwildz]

Mike, not insinuating anything, just guessing the price is not a big deal for ya.
The Ryobi I bought last year was $299.00 for 4 ton. Basically your getting 1 ton more for additional $200.00
So basically the shipping is stuffed into the sales price and they are not so generously offering its "free" shipping that has already been included in the price..
Let us know how it works. I seen a few other commercials for their equipment and am thinking of their brush hog for the back of my lawn tractor.

 

[Mike Wilson]

me wanna borrow one if I had any wood to split that is.

Hey, stop on by anytime... its yours for the taking.

-- Mike

 

[Mike Wilson]

Mike, not insinuating anything, just guessing the price is not a big deal for ya.
The Ryobi I bought last year was $299.00 for 4 ton. Basically your getting 1 ton more for additional $200.00
So basically the shipping is stuffed into the sales price and they are not so generously offering its "free" shipping that has already been included in the price..
Let us know how it works. I seen a few other commercials for their equipment and am thinking of their brush hog for the back of my lawn tractor.

No, its not a big deal, if by big deal you mean whether or not I can afford to buy it. That's not an issue. The issue is value for the price. I like the value of the Ryobi, for 300 bucks (plus 25 in tax) its a nice little machine... but its not available here right now, so it's out of contention. I also like the value of the DR. For 500 bucks (plus no tax) its a nice machine. 1800 watt motor vs. 1300 for the Ryobi, 120lbs. vs 99lbs, and 5 ton vs. 4 ton. So its a bit heavier, has a ton more of power, and I could probably drop the DR onto the Ryobi an crush it like a grape! :coolgrin: Basically, its a little better machine for a little more money.

-- Mike

 

[carpniels]

Hi Mike,

I checked my local HD last night and they had 5 Ryobi's in stock. All for $299. 3 in a box, one new one to show and 1 that had been sitting outside in the sun and was faded and had rusty bolts. I asked for a discount on that last one but NO, the guy said he can only offer a discount if it is the last one they have. Does that make any sense? You got 4 perfectly good ones, and an obviously old and used and faded one with rusty bolts does not get a discount. Why would anyone buy that one at full price? AND if only that one is left, why would you offer a discount at all? The last one is in high demand so that would let you get away with full price for a less than perfect machine, because there are not other ones.

I don't understand that approach. Oh well ,I guess I will wait.

Carpniels

 

[carbon neutral]

Going middle of the road I just got a Northern tool catalog today. They are advertising a 5 ton, 1500 watt splitter that can take a 16" stick for $279 on sale (P/N 11891). I don't know how much shipping would be as it will vary with location.

 

[DiscoInferno]

Going middle of the road I just got a Northern tool catalog today. They are advertising a 5 ton, 1500 watt splitter that can take a 16" stick for $279 on sale (P/N 11891). I don't know how much shipping would be as it will vary with location.

It shows up for $249 online, and it says it can split up to 20" long. Shipping to my area was around $65. Still, I'm going to stick with the maul for now.

 

[Nebrsmithers]

Have you considered the Mantis? It has the same spec's as the DR, but its a little bulkier. That is only a problem if storage is an issue. I saw the Mantis on ebay tonight for $200. Supposedly brand-new with the full 2 year warranty. Seller is a dealer clearing out overstock. At least that is what he told me, so how can you go wrong? Anyway, I am curious to hear what you think about the DR if you do get one. It looks like a pretty sweet little splitter!

 

[Mike Wilson]

Well, according to the UPS tracking site, with luck, I will be in possession of a new splitter today... It says delivery on the 19th, tomorrow, but it just left the local UPS sorting facility in Farmingville, which is about 60 miles from here, and it "Out For Delivery."

-- Mike


Type: Package
Status: In Transit - On Time
Scheduled Delivery: 10/19/2007
Shipped To: ORIENT POINT, NY, US
Shipped/Billed On: 10/17/2007
Service: GROUND
Weight: 142.00 Lbs

FARMINGVILLE, NY, 10/18/2007 7:28 A.M. OUT FOR DELIVERY
FARMINGVILLE, NY, 10/18/2007 6:30 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
STRATFORD, CT, 10/18/2007 4:51 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
STRATFORD, CT, 10/18/2007 1:58 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
CHELMSFORD, MA, 10/17/2007 10:38 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
CHELMSFORD, MA, 10/17/2007 10:21 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
CHELMSFORD, MA, 10/17/2007 9:13 P.M. FORWARDED TO THE FACILITY IN THE DESTINATION CITY
US 10/17/2007 4:15 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

 

[Mike Wilson]

Houston, Tranquility Base here... The DR Splitter has landed.

-- Mike

 

[Nebrsmithers]

Come on, don't leave us hanging! What was your first impression?

 

[Mike Wilson]

Okay... and just because its dark out by the wood pile and I'm not splitting until daylight...

Packed very well, no damage due to shipping. It was 142lbs. on the UPS scale, came on its own half pallet. I unboxed it, left it on the pallet, and had to install 2 wheels, which took one minute. It is heavy, that's for sure. Build quality appears good, appears to be built around a central beam, with folded sheet steel around it adding rigidity on the sides. Rolled it off the pallet and into the garage, inspected it, not a scratch on it, which I like. Plugged it in and cycled it a few times. It worked. Tomorrow morning, we'll put a few rounds in and see what happens.

Oh, and Neb... War Eagle!

-- Mike

 

[Mike Wilson]

It stopped raining here for an hour or so, and I rolled the splitter out to the woodpile... I tried it on several rounds to get a feel for it, going from easy stuff, to harder stuff. It went right through the 8" white birch rounds, then the 15" cedrus deodara rounds(soft cedar like wood), so then I stepped it up a little. I fed it some bartlett pear, a few 10-14 inch rounds... no problem. So... what's next... the dreaded Black Locust! First an easy one, about 8"... no problem. Then a 12" round... bingo, right down the middle. Then, it started raining again, so I ran it inside.

Observations:

1- When its on, and not operating (moving the ram), it whines... at a good volume. Its annoying, but not as loud as a 4 stroke gasoline motor. Sounds almost like a table saw cutting wood. Once its under load, no more whine. Do all electrics do this?

2- Its easy to move, easy to operate, and much less work than dragging the 25 ton Honda splitter out of the garage, humping it into place, fueling it up, etc. Plus, most of my rounds are 12-16" maximum anyways... so, as I thought, the Honda was overkill. For sale? We'll see. It would certainly clear up space in the storage garage.

3- They advise that you loosen the hydraulic bleed screw before use, and tighten it up after use. Okay, I'll do it.

4- It stores vertically, on end. So you can roll it up against all your other household toys (generator, snowblower, etc.), and it doesn't take up much floor space.

5- Did I mention it's convenient? It's convenient.

More to follow... once the rains end. I have about a cord and a half in the pile to split.

-- Mike

 

[velvetfoot]

My HF 4 ton makes a whiney noise too.
I forgot to unscrew the air vent screw the other day and it worked just fine, not that I'm going to continue to do that.
It'd be interesting to measure the force of the different splitters-how would that be done anyway? I'm talking actual tonnage.

 

[carbon neutral]

Put a pressure Gauge on the hp line to figure out pressure while actually splitting, multiply by surface area of piston, divide by 2,000. Example: 2,115 psi reading on hp line (maximum reading) while splitting a log * 4" cylinder (12.56 sq in)= 26,564 pound force/2,000 #/ton= 13.28

To get rid of that whine I would rig a switch(es) so that when the splitter is sitting idle it would turn off the splitter. I am not sure exactly how to operate your splitter so I don't know how the switches would need to be arranged but you could probably put a normally closed pushbutton switch on the body such that when the splitting wedge contacted it it would turn off the motor. On the directional valve you could put a normally open switch that would make contact when you move the lever in the splitting direction. These switches would need to be in parrallel. Are these small units spring return or hydraulic?

 

[fire_N_ice]

A friend of mine has a DR and is very pleased with its performance. What sold him was this:

Enjoy the peace of mind of our Risk-Free Trial

Any product purchased directly from DR® Power Equipment may be returned within six months of its ship date (30 days commercial use). If you are not fully satisfied, simply send it back for an exchange or for a full refund of the product's original price (less shipping and handling). For the DR® TRIMMER/MOWER™, FIELD and BRUSH MOWER, POWERWAGON™, ROTO-HOG™ POWER TILLER, CHIPPER, POWER GRADER, CHIPPER / SHREDDER, Stump Grinder, Electric/Hydraulic WOOD SPLITTER, and LEAF and LAWN VACUUM, and VERSA-PRO™ Z-MOWER, DR® Power Equipment will also refund your original shipping charge and arrange and pay for return shipping (contiguous 48 United States and Canada only). This policy also applies to Attachments and Accessories for the above mentioned DR® products, ordered and returned at the same time as the machine.


I almost bought a mantis splitter. At the time I went to order it(2-3 years ago), they said it was selling better then they expected and it would be at least 8 weeks till they MAY get them in to sell. So I bought the Ryobi. 55 hours later still running strong.

 

[wahoowad]

Mike,

Your new splitter sounds great!

I have the Ryobi. My electric motor is only engaged when I push down on the momentary-on switch. I then have to push down on a handle to engage the hydraulics. Your motor apparently just stays on, which may be a little handier to you in the long run. I initially considered rewiring mine to achieve this same mode of operation but haven't felt then need to do it yet after 3 or 4 cords. I can work both the handle and the button with one hand if I need to so I can use my other hand if needed.

 

[eernest4]

I can only tell you of my experience with my 2 hp 4 ton electric LIMB SPLITTER.
They, the retailers, call it a log splitter but it cant even split big quarters. I will be very suprised if you dont
end up shaving 2 inch slices off, sliced from the outside in , until you get the diameter down to 6 inches , so that the machine can actually split whats left after 20 minutes of shaving down the log.

Yea,it gets the job done, in 4 to 7 times the time and with 4 to 7 times the effort, of a 20 ton.

And your not even saving any money on gasoline because the electric costs more when you have 2 opperate 7 times longer because of being forced to slice off little 2in slivers because the machine jams when you try to split thru the middle.

The motor just hums and the ram dont move. With 6 inch or smaller, it runs right through the limb.

Nearly Easier than splitting with a sledge hammer and maul, almost.

Maybe I just got a bumb machine, but I don't think its defective. I did manage to split 3 cords with it in nearly 2 years, but I have 4 cords laying around and starting to rot that are too
big for it to even shave on.

LIKE I SAID___ a GOOD LIMB SPLITTER.

WISH IT WAS NOT SO WIMPY.

the 97 pound weakling of log splitters.

good to make kindling from 1/8ths.

I should mention that mine is a 2005 Quality Craft LTD, van couver bc imported from china
from 1 year before any of the ones you speak of were first offered for sale in the us.

So maybe there has been so improvement in power over mine.
I paid 475.00 and 90.oo ship=565.oo
I feel like I been violated or something.