owners of huskee 22 ton log spliters, please rate your splitter, how well does it work.

[eernest4]

If you own a huskee 22 ton log splitter, I am about 2 buy one, mainly because:

1.It comes fully assembled and full of hydralic fluid and engine oil and ready 2 tow or pamr up onto a trailer.
2. price very reasonable
3. they have it in stock , so I dont get banged with a $485 shipping charge, like home depot.com hoped that they were going to get to stick me with. They lost the sale ,instead.

I am building a 8ft x8ft shed to keep the log spliter in.....I have 3 walls and the roof plywood up
so i have to sheet metal the roff and build framing & a door for the front, with lots of locks.
So,as soon as this is ready, I am off to buy the log splitter.
Probably be done by sunday nite, so looking at monday to buy splitter.


******* amusement ****better him than me **rant,** dont read if you are in a hurry******


unfortunatly. too many thieves where i live for anything, like a brand new shiny log splitter, or even a rusty old lawn mower, to be put in the back yard and still be there the next day, unelse it locked up in a building. cops like to arrest homeowners, not thieves,
because they can find us and cant find the thieves.this a fact of life.cops pissed off because they get a complaint and have to do paperwork and not catch anyone.So we learn to accept the loss, not call the cops and do what it takes to lock things up better.

sorry , i rambeled off subject, think of it as free amusement. some of you lucky to have back yards not roamed by thieves. or cops that actually arrest the thieves insead of the homeowners.

SO ,PLEASE POST YOUR EXPERIENCES OF THE HUSKEE 22 TON LOG SPLITER ON THIS THREAD.

 

[Scrounger]

I bought one from Tractor Supply this summer and returned it a few days later. I parked it in the barn with a dirt floor and the next day I noticed a wet spot in the dirt. Looked closer and the hydraulic fluid resevoir was leaking where the wheel axle was welded to it. Never even started it up, just got my money back. Looked at one on the floor for display a month or so later and noticed that it was leaking hydraulic fluid from one of the hose fitting connections. I'm still using my splitting maul.

Luke

 

[eernest4]

Thanks for the negative reply. luke. I will keep a sharp eye out for leaks.

This sounds not unsimilar from the problem someone else was having with 2 new northstar splitters. first one he got had newspaper in the hydralic tank & he returned it for another new one that had a defective hydralic controller, which he returned & finally got a good one.

While a machine may be assembled in america,
the parts were probably built in china
& they say proudly built in the USA
(and leave out) with chineese parts.

Thats why its got metric bolts on it!

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 edit post

I reread your post again, and it got me to thinking that you said it was leaking at the weld of the axil to the resivior tank. Did you tow the log splitter home. It was probably a bad weld or a marginal weld and if you towed the splitter home and maybe hit a hard bump, the splitter has no springs or suspension, a bad bump might be enough to break the weld. Not doubt about poor
design of axil, actually spindle ,i think.

Imagine welding the axil to a fluid tank. That trouble waiting on a bump in the road as is the
bottom mounted hydralic pump. but once i get the splitter home , it will never move again,
unelse i sell it.

This unit should not be towed if it can possibly be avoided.

ITs 30 or 40 miles to tsc from my place, so i had better ramp the splitter up on to my 4 x 8 trailer, with suspension springs, instead of trying to tow the splitter and maybe I can avoid a leaky weld.

Thanks again, excelent info

 

[woodconvert]

"If you own a huskee 22 ton log splitter, I am about 2 buy one, mainly because:

1.It comes fully assembled and full of hydralic fluid"

I've got the 35 ton (the thing rules!). When I bought it from TSC it came with "some" hydraulic fluid in it. I had to buy 3 or 5 more gallons at $13ish/gallon. Make sure that it's got the required amount of fluid in it...don't take their word for it.

 

[eernest4]

I found out that hydralic fluid is meerly straight sae 10 motor oil, non detegent.
You should be able to buy it at auto zone or advanced auto parts for 2.oo a quart =$ 8,oo a gallon or less.

But yes, good point!
i check the dip stick, if it have one. I bring flashlight 2 look in resivior.

 

[Scrounger]

The TSC store is less than 10 miles away from me. Wife picked it up and towed it home. Told her to go slow. She said she kept it under 45. I told her that I thought that was too fast. The way she drives I have a hard time believing she even made it up to 40. I'm thinking of buying another Huskee because I like the design of the full i-beam. I can always make my own log cradles.

Luke

 

[eernest4]

the huskee 22 might have an issue with towing if they are welding the axil spindle directly on to the hydralic tank. If you go over a bump at speed , it could be enough to rip open or crack the weld and cause a leaky hydralic tank, something no log splitter wants.

So, in light of this ,if it is true,as i am not sure not having personally inspected the construction, i would have to say avoid towing this splitter if at all avoidable.

If you must tow 2omph- 25 mph, tops,no superhighway because the splitter has no suspension
a bump will transmit the full shock right to the hydralic tank weld & now you throwing the dice.
what stronger, the weld or the bump.

I have chosen to trailer the splitter home on my utility trailer since i already have lawn tractor ramps.

huskee still split great ,just dont tow above 25 mph.
I never move it once i get it home. put logs in trailer and bring to splitter,instead.

 

[reaperman]

I'm the dude who recently purchased the northstar splitter with troubles. I must admit after a rocky start, the splitter I now have is doing what it's suppose to be doing. In fact I will be splitting again tomorrow on my day off. I'm finishing the splitting I never did last fall. I got into some elm I cut last winter, some rounds about 18". No troubles in getting this elm pryed apart. I think I made the right decision in the splitter I chose.

The paper in the hydro tank on my first splitter ended up being some, long ass, Chinese lable which is suppose to be attached to the tank during the shipping process, according to the mechanic at NT. The reason I choose this particular splitter from NT, is that the frame is the identical one used on their two larger tonnage splitters (30 & 37 ton models). The cycle time is rated 3 seconds faster than their 30 ton model. Cycle time isnt as critical to me, because most of the time my rounds arent a full 25" so a full stroke isnt needed anyway. And most wood splits before the ram is full extended anyway. So wood can be split much faster than rated cycle time. NT, did have two other splitters for $999, which come assembled and with fluid. I believe the fluid volumn, is approx. 4 gals, compared to approx. 8 gals on my 22 tonner, and no hydro filter. One had the vertical option, and one was strictly horizontal.

I will be trying out my 4-way wedge's tomorrow for the first time.

Good luck in your purchase.

You may want to find out if NT is still offering a free Husky, chainsaw with splitter purchase, if you havent made your mind up completely. Its a great little saw.

 

[struggle]

ooh ooh I got one!!

Mine is the model that is rated at 20 ton. I think two years later they went to 22 ton. Here are the things that went wrong with mine. The toung lever broke off for hitching so TSC replaced that no problem. Then one day after many hours that I used it I found I was having a leak from the tank housing and the tank had a small crack in it where the engine plate was welded to the tank/frame. Called speedco since I was well under the two year warranty and they sent out a new tank direct to my house and the new tank was gussted where the engine plate is welded to the tank which the old one was not.

I have split countless hours with this rig and speedco was great on gettting the tank resolved. I would buy another one. The design is simple and works for me.

As for towing it I tow mine at 55mph all the time and have not seen any issues and my truck is a HD dodge diesel so it is not the most forgiving suspension. I have started to drop my speed a little bit out oconcern for reading about not towing so fast. Also I do not overfill the tires as they provide some give.

For the price they are hard to beat. A friend has the big gun one with the 30+ ton ram and while it looks very nice I bet it is harder to move around in a grove if not attached to some type of a vehicle.

I would buy the huskie all over again in spite of some of the problems I have had. I have the briggs 5.5 hp I think and it started on the first pull yesterday after sitting for a year.

My splitter is going on 5-6 years old now.

 

[eernest4]

thanks for the reply struggle. it is nice to hear from you and with very interesting information too. I feel a little better to know that you tow yours a lot and have not had a problem with the spindle where it susposedly is welded to the hydralic tank.

When i get to tractor supply store, i will crawl under the splitter with a flashlite and study the weld real hard and hopefully put this suspected defect to rest.

the other huskee 22 owner,luke, may just have been unlucky enough to get a splitter with a defective weld. defective welds do happen, I should know because when i used to weld, i made my more that fair share of them, but usually on not important stuff like metal sillouette targets to shoot at the firing range.

I'd hit one and it would kick back 20 feet and the metal base would be left still standing up, or at least in the same location on the ground and my friend would say " nice slag weld you made there ,larry" and I d say," hell there aint nothing wrong with that weld, its just that my revolver is too powerfull for the target." at which point he would be rof-Lhao and gasping" its the weld not the gun."
we both knew i did a quicky slag weld and that the gun would never be able to break a solid weld, but we were both enjoying our sense of humor. It got to be a running gag for quite some time.
those were the good old days, for sure.

 

[eernest4]

" Dont fear the Reaper-Man!"
from: the song.

" You may be a prince or a lowly street sweeper, but sooner or later, you dance with the Reaper! " from: Bill & Ted's Bogus Adventure

good to hear back from you, reaper!

I was following your adventures with nt and since I live almost 1/2 a contenent away from
northerntools, I am only going to buy the 2 wing 5 bolt kit from them and install it on a new huskee 22 ton $1060.oo out the door, with engine oil and hydralic fluid installed and i check both dip sticks with a flashlite to make sure they didnt just pour only a little in.

The splitter come fully assembled and some one was telling me his northstar was shipped to him in sub assemblies, packed into a wooden crate.

He needed 4 guys to get the 350 lb beam mounted on the wheel kit frame and then had 2 mount the engine and hook up the hoses and buy his own hydrofluid.

So I figure since i have bad trouble with lifting 40 lbs in these , my "golden years" ,
(BS) no fun getting old, I could save myself not only 200.oo shipping but all the trouble of
breaking a splitter out of a wooden shipping crate and assembling it.

Plus tractor supply is only 40 miles down the road in case of a return & exchange like you experienced.

So, sorry not 2 be buying a northstar but i did learn from your bad luck and am taking steps to insure it dont happen to me, not with 200.oo each way shipping. 40 miles each way sounds a lot better 2 me that 200.oo each way.

may be a moot point, but if I have bad luck , could save my wallet, if not my butt.

Anyways, glad to here you have your northstar sorted out. I hear northern tool stuff is high
quality and capable of years of good service, once you get past the 6.oo/hr employee carelessness.

I intend to do some surface grinding on my wedge to match it to the bottom of the nt 2 wing 5 bolt 4 way wedge kit and spend most of a day drilling 5 mounting holes through my wedge.

If you have ever drilled thru thick metals , start with 1/8th bit and jar of grease and 550 rpm variable speed reversing 1/2 in chuck drill and just go slow and lubricate often. then next bigger size drill & et cetra.
not 2 make a pun but "you know the drill."

When i get 1 hole done, I bolt the whole thing together, align carefully and tighten up bolt and use wings themselves to locate starter holes for other 4 bolts.

"sounds like a plan to me" -------from Tremors"grabizoids" giant worm movies.

 

[rmcfall]

I've been looking at these splitters as well, since I have a TCS store literally within a 5 minute drive. Can you say more about these modifications you are considering? Why are these needed/recommended?

"

I was following your adventures with nt and since I live almost 1/2 a contenent away from
northerntools, I am only going to buy the 2 wing 5 bolt kit from them and install it on a new huskee 22 ton $1060.oo out the door, with engine oil and hydralic fluid installed and i check both dip sticks with a flashlite to make sure they didnt just pour only a little in.

I intend to do some surface grinding on my wedge to match it to the bottom of the nt 2 wing 5 bolt 4 way wedge kit and spend most of a day drilling 5 mounting holes through my wedge.

If you have ever drilled thru thick metals , start with 1/8th bit and jar of grease and 550 rpm variable speed reversing 1/2 in chuck drill and just go slow and lubricate often. then next bigger size drill & et cetra.
not 2 make a pun but "you know the drill."

When i get 1 hole done, I bolt the whole thing together, align carefully and tighten up bolt and use wings themselves to locate starter holes for other 4 bolts.

"sounds like a plan to me" -------from Tremors"grabizoids" giant worm movies.

 

[rmcfall]

Also, these splitters come with either a Briggs and Stratton or Honda engine. I think 6.5hp for the Briggs and 5.5 for the Honda. Pros/Cons of either?