RE: MTD/Clones vs. Huskee splitter choice

[firefighterjake]

I've pretty much narrowed down my choice of splitters to the MTD/Clones or a Huskee. At this point I honestly think I only need the 21 or 22 ton versions (although I haven't ruled out the 27-28 ton versions). I do have two questions for those folks who own either one of these two types.

1) Why did you opt to go with that brand?

2) Have you had any issues with the splitter?

 

[Nixon]

I opted for the MTD26 ton about 7years ago . the reason was the price . I got it for $900 out the door on sale at Lowes . So far ,it's never let Me down .

 

[fossil]

I have an MTD 27-ton with a Briggs & Stratton engine. More splitter than I need, but I bought it because it was at the store (Home Depot) when I wanted it ("off-season"). Came full of hydraulic fluid & purged, ready to rock & roll. Filled the gas tank, couple of pulls & I was splitting. Into its second season now, no issues with it at all so far. Rick

 

[Shipper50]

Since you asked, I have the 22 ton Huskkeeee, and I have found the following with mine.

Bolts come out if one is not watching them. Oil is a pain to change, gas tank is small compared to others I have used. I might be able to split for an hour or so with a full tank compared to all day with others.

I have found some metal on my engine has broken away from the bolts holding it on. I can take pictures if needed. I am really surprised at how my Huskkeeee is not going to last 10 years in my opinion. I had a old speedco that I paid $200 for it and never changed oil, blew out the bottom end after 8-10 years of use and sold it for$ 200.

So I guess I would look into other brands if I was going to buy again, but the price was right for me at the time.

Shipper

 

[JoeyD]

I have the Huskee 28 ton mostly because the day I went to buy I was undecided and they didn't’t have a 22 ton one on hand. That and I really wanted a Honda engine and the bigger gas tank then the 22 ton had. My only regret was the slower cycle time on the 28 ton. But working by myself it isn't’t a problem. Tractor supply had a twenty something (7 or 8 ) ton Cub Cadet which is similar to the MTD/Troybilt and the Huskee just looked beefier. The stops were welded to the frame on the Huskee but on the Cub they were bolted to the assembly that held that “floating cylinder” (which I did not like). To me that just looked like a weak spot.

Let me add I could not be happier with the splitter I got.

 

[Gooserider]

I use a friend's older MTD / Yardman quite a bit helping him with his wood business, works good, but I did once break the baseplate off trying to split a gnarly chunk... Judging by the failure, it had been very badly welded from the factory, and after a few hundred cords, the 1/2" or so of good weld finally let go... (He took it to the local shop and they welded it back on properly....)

Gooserider

 

[savageactor7]

^lately I'm seeing a lot of broken baseplates...but imo they all seem too oversized to begin with.

On our old American splitter the base plate in only 4"x4"...and that's enough to push the larges possible round you can load up.

The newer ones I see breaking are way bigger than they should be. Saw a TroyBuit last week and the broken base plate had that 'sandy cast' look when I said it was cast another said it was Chinese steel. Well isn't steel rolled and pounded? Can anyone here verify that broken Chinese steel has that sandy cast look to it. Thanks.

 

[Jay H]

I have a troy bilt that only has seen 2 "years" of service, meaning I only generally split in the spring but I've had it for 2 years. I am no welding expert so I wouldn't know what to look for, but I also split on a concrete driveway in the vertical position, not sure if that helps the strength, probably doesn't.

I have to do an oil change on it before next year so I'll try to remember to take a look at mine.

Jay

 

[Gooserider]

^lately I'm seeing a lot of broken baseplates...but imo they all seem too oversized to begin with.

On our old American splitter the base plate in only 4"x4"...and that's enough to push the larges possible round you can load up.

Depends on the splitter design and how you use it. I run vertical, with a fixed base and moving wedge, and frequently do a "spin split" where I will go once or twice in one direction, then hold those peices together while I turn them 90* and split again going the other way - sort of a multi-way wedge emulation, but IMHO better since you can adjust to deal with different sizes of rounds easier. Problem is if the outside peice isn't on the baseplate, it doesn't split, and picks up the splitter when you try... Thus IMHO the baseplate should be at least as wide as the wedge, if not a bit wider. I also find a larger baseplate is useful when trying to work up rounds that weren't cut quite square, or with bends in the middle, etc...

The newer ones I see breaking are way bigger than they should be. Saw a TroyBuit last week and the broken base plate had that 'sandy cast' look when I said it was cast another said it was Chinese steel. Well isn't steel rolled and pounded? Can anyone here verify that broken Chinese steel has that sandy cast look to it. Thanks.

Depends on how the steel is made, steel is an alloy of iron and other materials, so it's the material that makes it, not the manufacturing process. It can be cast, or rolled and pounded to varying degrees. I think some of the baseplates I've seen looked like they were cast, as they had a hollow underside.

However on my friends MTD clone, the base is definitely steel plate, when it failed the problem was not the plate or the beam, but a bad job of welding them together. There were only a couple places where there was really good weld penetration between the beam and the plate, either the surfaces weren't prepped well, or the welder put too much heat into the base and not enough in the beam, so it had rust along the weld about 90% of the way accross, (sign of a long existing failure) and the inch or so of good weld finally broke.

Gooserider

 

[LLigetfa]

The sandy cast look is probably crystallization from inadequate preheating.

 

[Bigcube]

I just brought home a Huskee 22 ton today. I'll play with it some tomorrow and let you know how I like it.

 

[DBoon]

My father-in-law has a 21 or 22-ton MTD (can't remember which size it is, but it is low twenties). It splits everything pretty well. We've gone through some 18-24" elm rounds with it with minimal problems. Sometimes it will seem like it is going to not have enough for a tough elm piece, but it pushes through, and I don't worry about it anymore for that. It also handles oak, hickory, hard maple, you name it - all the tough stuff. Even when there is a crotch or something tough we want to split, it goes through it. Sometimes, on a really tough piece, a little hydraulic oil will bleed out to relieve pressure, and then you know it's being pushed too hard, so you back of just a bit.

The only probably he's ever had with it was last year when we were splitting some freshly felled Colorado Blue Spruce. It was very wet, and this was a nasty wood to get through. A cast iron part that connects the hydraulic ram to the splitting wedge fractured (no flying parts, just fractured). It was ~10 years old, and he was able to get a replacement part through a dealer for ~$7, and he installed it himself.

So from a power perspective, it seems to be all we need. From a reliability perspective, it seems to be very reliable (hard to complain about one problem in 10 years). From a parts/support perspective, it exceeded my expectations.