Performance Built 27 Ton Splitter from Lowes

[Outlander0311]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Performance Built log splitters being sold by Lowes, for the price its on par with the county line from Tractor supply. I get a military discount with Lowes and a current sale would make it almost 300 dollars cheaper. any feedback would be appreciated since I wanna buy one splitter and not have a splitting headache from trying to keep it running.... If anyone has a better recommendation I am all ears since hand splitting 5-6 cords a year is taking away from the fishing time haha.

 

[andym]

hand splitting 5-6 cords a year is taking away from the fishing time haha.

Right on! The best thing you can do is drive to all local stores that have splitters and look them over in person. I was going to buy one at Menards until I did that very thing. I ended up with a Countyline. Pay close attention to pump size/cylinder size/cycle times. A few seconds quicker is well worth 300 to me, but not to all.
That said I think I could have been happy with any of the splitters I looked at.

 

[Country Living in VA]

I had just recently posted in another thread about my recent purchase of a log splitter which was from TSC. Although I cannot tell you whether the Performance Built or the Countyline brand better, I would offer the following: My Countyline came with a Kohler engine which is a premium. I have split about 5-6 cords with my 25 ton splitter and so far, I absolutely love it. The only thing I would like to be different is the size of the bottom platform (in vertical position) that the wood sits on is too small. I do not know whether other brands have larger platforms, but mine is small enough where it can be difficult to maneuver logs and wood into place and the wood wants to move out of position unless you really get in tight and hold it in place. In regards to your $300 discount-that is significant and a good incentive, but as I said in my other post, if you ask for a manager at TSC and tell him that you are considering purchasing the one from Lowe's at a cheaper price with the military discount, I would bet you could get the same discount at TSC.

 

[blades]

Try digging your foot plate into the ground a bit so everything is level- stops that walking away deal. personally I do not like the vertical and messing around all bent over . now if it was vertical say about 30 inches up off ground that wood be ok. There some units made that way. I have all seen one that operates at apx 35deg incline.

 

[Montanalocal]

I put some 2 X lumber out to the sides of the footer so the really big rounds stay level.

 

[DodgyNomad]

I do something similar when vertical, have a quarter sheet of thick plywood I slide under the foot. Makes it easier to slide the huge rounds on and off the splitter, and keeps the foot up high, out of the dirt. Real time and energy saver, rounds don't slip out, and can be slid easily on the board.

 

[Country Living in VA]

Those are some good ideas, thanks for the advice. My outdoor furnace is located behind my house on a hillside. Its location does well in keeping the smoke from coming close to the house. The unfortunate part is that I need to get as much wood up next to the stove as possible for storage-storing on a hillside is difficult. Once it gets snowy, I have no way to get the wood up there (no tractor for me yet). You cannot stack as they will eventually fall over. So, in order not to have to load, unload, then load again-unload, I haul as much as I can up the hill to start with and end up having to split it in as level of a spot as I can find. Fortunately, I have enough wood up there to get me through several months right now. I just got a load of logs which is in a field next to my house and it is level. It is a mix of green and dead, but not dry wood, so it will be stacked in the field and used next year.

Like you guys, I try to split as much as possible with the horizontal setting. It seems like a lot of what I have been scrounging lately have been 24" and up-mostly green and heavy. All of the easy stuff had already been taken when I get there. I can't complain though as long as I am getting free wood or wood on the cheap!

 

[DickRussell]

... Pay close attention to pump size/cylinder size/cycle times. A few seconds quicker is well worth 300 to me, but not to all.
...

I wonder if most folks pay too much attention to cycle time. The need for shorter times often depends on the nature of the wood being split. Tough wood may require a long wedge drive through the round, while straight-grain rounds of wood like oak and ash need just a few inches into the round to pop the thing apart. With a lot of the rounds all cut about the same length, and certainly when making second and more splits off the same round, wedge travel can be just a few inches in either direction.

 

[Country Living in VA]

I wonder if most folks pay too much attention to cycle time. The need for shorter times often depends on the nature of the wood being split. Tough wood may require a long wedge drive through the round, while straight-grain rounds of wood like oak and ash need just a few inches into the round to pop the thing apart. With a lot of the rounds all cut about the same length, and certainly when making second and more splits off the same round, wedge travel can be just a few inches in either direction.

When I purchased my splitter, cycle time was not in the equation of my decision. It does vary quite a bit depending on the wood type and the piece of wood itself whether there are knots or limb cuttings in the log. I never try to cut or split wood if time is a constraint, typically leads to mishaps.

 

[blades]

big rounds- saw them in half ( what we call noodling) or 1/4's, when no mechanical help is available. Course when they get into the 4ft dia range it takes a bit longer

 

[andym]

I wonder if most folks pay too much attention to cycle time. The need for shorter times often depends on the nature of the wood being split....

This is true but faster is faster. My splitter is rated 10.5 seconds. A similar splitter I considered was cheaper, but 2.5 seconds slower. Doesn't sound like much but it figures out to 19.2% faster. Every hour you save 15 minutes in theory. I really enjoy splitting wood, but like to get things done quickly (and safely).

 

[triptester]

Cycle times are about as good as tonnage ratings for most manufacturer advertising. all splitters with a 4" bore and 11 gpm 2-stage pump and 24" stroke will cycle within 1 second of each other. The only way to shorten cycle times are to increase pump size, decrease bore size, shorten stroke, or a regenerative system that will not be found on a consumer machine.

 

[blades]

also internal size of fittings, hoses, hardlines and ports on cylinder. It's all about how fast you can fill & empty the cylinder.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I was a fan of the Dirty Hands splitters at Lowes up until today.
I stopped by TSC and gazed upon the 40T FAST. She's pretty.

 

[JimBear]

I was a fan of the Dirty Hands splitters at Lowes up until today.
I stopped by TSC and gazed upon the 40T FAST. She's pretty.

I am guessing you are talking about the 40ton DK2 Kinetic splitter? They look pretty wicked.

 

[blades]

at that price why not talk to the guys in Ohio- Super Split and get the original.

 

[Highbeam]

This is true but faster is faster. My splitter is rated 10.5 seconds. A similar splitter I considered was cheaper, but 2.5 seconds slower. Doesn't sound like much but it figures out to 19.2% faster. Every hour you save 15 minutes in theory. I really enjoy splitting wood, but like to get things done quickly (and safely).

Whoa now, this just isn't true. Most of the time, you don't run the wedge very far into the round before the split occurs. Then you reverse the wedge while you grab another round or reposition the split. Realistically, the speed of the wedge is only slightly relevant and the full cycle time is essentially worthless. Think about how much time in every hour are you actually waiting for the wedge to fall. Would you be waiting less if the dang thing hadn't retracted so fast?

All mainstream, modern splitters are plenty fast for regular people. Don't worry so much about cycle time.

I also recommend you don't worry about the brand of engine. It's just not that important anymore, they're all very good if you take care of them. Look for standard designs, good welds, good paint, a well known brand, and good price.

 

[andym]

Whoa now, this just isn't true. Most of the time, you don't run the wedge very far into the round before the split occurs. Then you reverse the wedge while you grab another round or reposition the split. Realistically, the speed of the wedge is only slightly relevant and the full cycle time is essentially worthless...

I did say "in theory". I've put about two hours on the splitter now and 95% of the time required the full cycle to separate the elm strands. I split my stuff on the small side so indeed I do stand there and watch the wedge return so i can reposition the chunk. However the 19.2% is the same whether moving the wedge 3 inches or 24. I also mentioned that not everyone will value the slight gain in speed.

 

[johneh]

I don't care what your cycle time is Elm is time-consuming
to split. It is the biggest reason I bought a splitter

 

[blades]

on the other side of the coin is the round or split that just keeps absorbing the building pressure- when/if you wake up wondering what just happened.

 

[DodgyNomad]

on the other side of the coin is the round or split that just keeps absorbing the building pressure- when/if you wake up wondering what just happened.

Never seen anything like that when splitting typical wood. What circumstances would create that scenario, and what have you seen happen?

 

[kevin j]

I did mostly elm here and it has to cycle ALL the way to the last fibers. Also multiple cycles per round. Even the oak which. is rare for me has to do full stroke. Cycle speed drives me crazy waiting. I have a 4 inch with log lift but don’t use it much anymore. I built a 3 inch x 20 inch with Honda 160 and 13/3 gpm Haldex pump. Love it. Calculated 3 seconds extend, 2.8 seconds retract, and it runs very close to that. Takes about 1.5 hr/cord for me working alone off a trailer, but with one person keeping the table full and one person taking it away, I’ve gotten a full cord in less than one hour.
This pic was yesterday. I was working alone, throwing into the trailer. Output table is much smaller, on far side by trailerdoesn’t show.
Anything bigger than about 16 inches gets noodled into smaller chunks as I can’t wrestle big pieces. This was about a 36 inch oak tree, beautiful but died.

With tough elm, ,any splitter no matter how slow, is better than a maul. But I really like the speed !

 

[brenndatomu]

Never seen anything like that when splitting typical wood. What circumstances would create that scenario, and what have you seen happen?

You've never had a piece that made the splitter shift to low, and then it suddenly explodes apart landing 10' away?
Ruin a perfectly good set of drawers it will...

 

[DodgyNomad]

You've never had a piece that made the splitter shift to low, and then it suddenly explodes apart landing 10' away?
Ruin a perfectly good set of drawers it will...

Have not seen that. I'm lucky that I mostly have split maple, ash, and oak. I've seen some bends and twisty splits start to load up, but nothing ever exploded out of the splitter, thankfully. We don't have much elm around here. Most of my stuff splits fully within the first 5 inches of the wedge cycle.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Maybe two or three sessions ago I had a 18" +- round pop just that way. One half went away from me and the other end flew somewhere and bounced off of something in the blink of my eye. I experienced somewhat violent splits before but this was almost like an explosion. I was somewhat startled.
I am glad my hand wasnt resting on the round and I'm glad I finally had my log stop installed.