New splitter, and victory is mine!!!!!!!!!

[jeffman3]

I bought a Swisher 28 ton splitter, with a 10 1/2 HP B&S;engine, yesterday!

After a painful injury to my back swinging the 12 pound steel handled monstrosity, (my chiropractor said I gave myself whiplash, it's not the weight, or motion, but the sudden stop when it hits and doesn't split did me in. :grrr: ) my wife said enough..... go buy a splitter. I love this thing! The first thing I split was the piece that I injured myself trying to split! :lol: Victory is Mine That felt good.

I will post a review after I have used it a while.

One question, Is this machine made in the US? I thought it was, but after looking through the manuals, and their web sight, I can't find it written down anywhere. I know it uses Parker hoses that I believe are made in Alliance NE.

 

[bill*67]

congrats on your victory as well as your purchase!! i'm not sure where your splitter is made but im sure it will fill your needs.hope your injury feels better soon!

 

[savageactor7]

Well it sounds like the worm has turned for jeffman3 ...congrats on your new splitter.

 

[jeffman3]

I had quite a time with splitting mauls and handles, and now I believe we will be very happy with the power splitter. Time will tell. I know it will pay for itself by savings on chiropractor bills! 8-/ I have only used it to split a couple of pieces, and it didn't even slow down much. The wood just shifted a bit as the pressure built on it. We cut some of the largest elm we have cut yet, 20" across. Almost buried the bar on the saw! The bar almost didn't reach through the log! I am looking forward to splitting the rest of it. We only split one piece last night. My wife was worried about the noise, and the neighbors, last evening. I guess I will use it late morning and early afternoon for now. I am trying to decide what to do about the noise. We are going to take it with us to the wood lot, next time, and split there. The splitter is only rated for 45 MPH, but the manager at the farm store, where we bought it, said it will take allot more. I just don't know how it will hold up over time if I pull it faster then it recommends. It seemed to bounce a bit when I pulled it home at 45 MPH. I am thinking about a utility trailer now. They had one for about $550. We could bring back more wood per trip that way too. Split wood stacks tighter then large rounds. (less space between the pieces?)

 

[Highbeam]

"We could bring back more wood per trip that way too. Split wood stacks tighter then large rounds. (less space between the pieces?) " It's the other way around. The wood expands as it is split. You're better off hauling rounds or straight logs than split wood if volume is your issue.

 

[jeffman3]

Thanks Highbeam,

I was splitting and stacking today and came to that conclusion too. I have access to some really large stuff, (any bigger and the bar won't reach through the log) and it didn't take all that many rounds to fill the bed of the truck, but we are getting on average about 12 splits per round by the time we get it small enough to fit in the stove. My wife is concerned about the noise here at the house. I don't think it's all that bad, but she is concerned about disturbing the neighbors.

 

[Jags]

Heck, it shouldn't be any louder than a lawnmower. I assume that you guys do have lawnmowers there? Mention that to the wife and I bet she will come around. And as a side note, it is not required to run that splitter at wide open throttle. Throttle it down a little and see if that changes the "tone".

 

[jeffman3]

Truly, I ran it turned way down yesterday and it wasn't to bad at all. (I still used ear protection, but I use ear protection when I mow too ;-) )My wife hasn't heard the motor run when turned down yet. I found that the wedge moved a bit slower, but had plenty of power to do what we need to do. I did some looking and found that it has a low tone muffler already, so replacing the "standard" muffler with a low tone muffler isn't an option. It will be fine, as the 10 1/2 HP engine really does sound about like a riding mower, and my neighbor uses one every weekend during the summer. I will just be careful about when I fire it up. (No 7:00 AM splitting, or after 8:00 PM and I think it will be fine.)

 

[Highbeam]

I am a pretty noisy guy. Welding and grinding, tractors, etc. I have found that a little courtesy goes a long ways with neighbors. Simple things like starting up in the morning when you know that they are awake, stopping work if you see their friends and family coming over for a BBQ, etc. My neighbors seem to prefer me working all day one day to working from 4pm until 8pm all week. You are allowed to make some noise.

 

[jeffman3]

congrats on your victory as well as your purchase!! I'm not sure where your splitter is made but I'm sure it will fill your needs.hope your injury feels better soon!

The injury is getting better everyday, and I have found that the splitter is indeed made in the USA! I am glad of that. I like to buy American when I can, I have found that most of the time, I will happier with a product that is built to be a quality tool, not just to catch the consumer, and make a sale. I have found that products made in the USA, generally (IMHO), are well made, and will last longer then many imports. So far I am totally satisfied with the Swisher.

 

[granpajohn]

Heck, it shouldn't be any louder than a lawnmower.

Jeffman; perhaps this is oversimplification, but have you actually listened to the sound from a distance? Specifically, the fence/property line. Sound drops off quickly with distance, (y'know; inverse of the square, and all that). For some years I thought my old (1975) LawnBoy was loud because I'm always standing right behind it. Didn't realize how wrong I was until a neighbor once asked if it was electric. (True story). Also, merely parking the splitter behind the shed makes a big difference for me. Mine is smaller, but still....

 

[Jags]

Heck, it shouldn't be any louder than a lawnmower.

Jeffman; perhaps this is oversimplification, but have you actually listened to the sound from a distance? Specifically, the fence/property line. Sound drops off quickly with distance, (y'know; inverse of the square, and all that). For some years I thought my old (1975) LawnBoy was loud because I'm always standing right behind it. Didn't realize how wrong I was until a neighbor once asked if it was electric. (True story). Also, merely parking the splitter behind the shed makes a big difference for me. Mine is smaller, but still....

Hey - I've been known to oversimplify MOST things. :red:

 

[jeffman3]

The biggest problem we have is the location of the wood racks in relation to the drive way. The wood racks are on the south side of the house, and the drive way is on the north. We decided not to dig up and move a bunch of sprinkler heads so we could stack the wood out back, so we have the wood racks up next to the house on the south side. (Not ideal, I know, but it was a lesser of two evils so to speak.)

We set the splitter up in front of the house, and move the wood from the truck to the splitter, and then to the racks on the other side of the house with the wheel barrow. It works pretty good, but the noise is right out front. I think it will be OK if we are careful about when we split. I work swing shift,(I don't see 9:00 AM most days.) so I know what it's like to have the neighbor mowing first thing on Sat. morning, when I'm trying to sleep! I try to be as courteous as is reasonable, and expect the same.

 

[jeffman3]

We have split a couple of truckloads, and I absolutely love this thing. I am able to run the engine at just over idol and it splits anything I throw at it! The noise level is more than acceptable and even my wife said it isn't near as loud as she first thought. I asked the neighbors if it was a problem,and I have yet to be told it's too loud. Both I talked to said it isn't a problem at all! My wife commented that it really is easy to operate and is OMG faster then swinging the maul! She likes it. :cheese:

I had one neighbor come over to "check it out" and to see if he was interested in buying one. I told him he was interested! I have made the call not to loan it out. Same as I would not loan out a new car or truck. I might be willing to go with and run it to help out with some splitting, but I don't want it to go off with out me there. Am I being over the top with that? Does anyone here loan out their splitter?

 

[granpajohn]

Does anyone here loan out their splitter?

Only times I've done it, I took wood home as a thank you. A pretty good strategy, now that I think of it. All depends if you have a large woodlot, or are constantly scrounging.
I'm sure a lawyer will be happy to warn us that it is a dangerous machine and thus a liability. (But I don't usually think that way.)

 

[Gooserider]

We have split a couple of truckloads, and I absolutely love this thing. I am able to run the engine at just over idol and it splits anything I throw at it! The noise level is more than acceptable and even my wife said it isn't near as loud as she first thought. I asked the neighbors if it was a problem,and I have yet to be told it's too loud. Both I talked to said it isn't a problem at all! My wife commented that it really is easy to operate and is OMG faster then swinging the maul! She likes it. :cheese:

I had one neighbor come over to "check it out" and to see if he was interested in buying one. I told him he was interested! I have made the call not to loan it out. Same as I would not loan out a new car or truck. I might be willing to go with and run it to help out with some splitting, but I don't want it to go off with out me there. Am I being over the top with that? Does anyone here loan out their splitter?

I basically don't loan tools PERIOD... I used to work part time at several bike shops, and it was very consistent - every time we would have a bike come in with other than "routine maintainance" type damage we would ask what happened - partly curiosity, partly as a diagnostic, and it was probably in excess of 90% that the story would start "I loaned it to my ___________ [friend | relative | other] and he _____________ it..... The only exception is test drives if I'm thinking of selling an item to someone, or if I am there to watch.

Think of every peice of rental equipment you've every had - Did you treat it like it was yours? Did you beat the c#$P out of it? Why? because it wasn't yours... A tool loaned to a friend is the same deal, he may start with the best of intentions, but the end...

(However I also tend to be "borrowable" with attached tools, for fairly easy terms)

So no, I don't think you are at all unreasonable to say no to loaning out a splitter or any other tool you own...

Gooserider