At this time, lol, I have narrowed my choices down to a Tractor Supply 25 ton County Line splitter, or a Rugged Made 37 ton splitter. The latter, I have only recently heard about, I think someone on this forum mentioned it. The latter will cost probably $1800 - $1900 delivered, and that does not include assembly (heavy!). Some comments. CL means County Line, RM means Rugged Made.
- RM 37 tons versus CL 25 tons, bigger is better?
- RM appears to be very heavy duty construction. Shipping weight is 700 lbs! Requires assembly, ugh.
- RM has good reviews but I've never seen it mentioned on forums. CL has good reviews.
- RM boasts a taller working height, which really attracts me. I am 6' 2" tall with some back problems. (But I am very active.)
- RM has the splitting wedge welded to the end of the cylinder rod. Other splitters have it the other way around? (The RM wedge moves with the rod; other splitters have the rod case pushing against a stationary wedge. I don't know what the difference is.)
- RM includes a 4-way wedge that you can attach. I think on this model, it does not slip on and off. I think you bolt it on, so, it's not as simple as lifting it off, as it is on other RM splitters.
- There is another RM 37 ton splitter that is almost double the cost and it includes a log lift. I don't know if you can retrofit this 37 ton "tip up" vertical or horizontal splitter. They might be totally different models. The log lift would be great, but I'm not ready to spend $3500.
- The CL uses a Kohler motor and the RM uses Lifan. The salesman at RM had a real good sales pitch for the Lifan, saying that it is a great motor with a bazillion sales. I think he said it used to be what was rebranded as Honda but they changed, and he thinks this Lifan is superior to the current Honda. He said pretty much all motors these days are made in Asia.
- The RM includes a "knock off" plate and it, alone weighs 60 lbs. When the cylinder rod is retracted and pulls sticky splits back, that plate knocks the split off. And, supposedly, protects the motor.
- The RM includes auto return; not sure about the CL.
- CL is on sale tomorrow for $899 plus about $100 tax, so, $1,000. Includes hydraulic oil and assembly. Just haul it off the lot, that's nice. The RM will probably require me having a helper for an entire afternoon. I will need to watch the assembly video to get a feel for how one can assemble such a heavy splitter. The main beam is 6" x 6" steel, I think. It appears to be a very heavy splitter. Which I guess is good once it's assembled.
- The RM company appears to have good customer support, meaning product knowledge.
- The RM offers electric start option for only $99 (plus about $60 for a battery), far less than competitors.
So, my buying a splitter is long overdue. This will (hopefully) be a lifetime purchase, so, $1,000 versus $2,000 does not matter as much as my normal caution of trying to hold down spending as much as I can. The RM has the taller working height, that could be a biggie for me on a lifetime purchase. And I guess the much larger motor and heavier build could be worth it? I certainly would rather spend $1,000 instead of $2,000 if it won't make that much difference to me but... What do you guys think?
- RM 37 tons versus CL 25 tons, bigger is better?
- RM appears to be very heavy duty construction. Shipping weight is 700 lbs! Requires assembly, ugh.
- RM has good reviews but I've never seen it mentioned on forums. CL has good reviews.
- RM boasts a taller working height, which really attracts me. I am 6' 2" tall with some back problems. (But I am very active.)
- RM has the splitting wedge welded to the end of the cylinder rod. Other splitters have it the other way around? (The RM wedge moves with the rod; other splitters have the rod case pushing against a stationary wedge. I don't know what the difference is.)
- RM includes a 4-way wedge that you can attach. I think on this model, it does not slip on and off. I think you bolt it on, so, it's not as simple as lifting it off, as it is on other RM splitters.
- There is another RM 37 ton splitter that is almost double the cost and it includes a log lift. I don't know if you can retrofit this 37 ton "tip up" vertical or horizontal splitter. They might be totally different models. The log lift would be great, but I'm not ready to spend $3500.
- The CL uses a Kohler motor and the RM uses Lifan. The salesman at RM had a real good sales pitch for the Lifan, saying that it is a great motor with a bazillion sales. I think he said it used to be what was rebranded as Honda but they changed, and he thinks this Lifan is superior to the current Honda. He said pretty much all motors these days are made in Asia.
- The RM includes a "knock off" plate and it, alone weighs 60 lbs. When the cylinder rod is retracted and pulls sticky splits back, that plate knocks the split off. And, supposedly, protects the motor.
- The RM includes auto return; not sure about the CL.
- CL is on sale tomorrow for $899 plus about $100 tax, so, $1,000. Includes hydraulic oil and assembly. Just haul it off the lot, that's nice. The RM will probably require me having a helper for an entire afternoon. I will need to watch the assembly video to get a feel for how one can assemble such a heavy splitter. The main beam is 6" x 6" steel, I think. It appears to be a very heavy splitter. Which I guess is good once it's assembled.
- The RM company appears to have good customer support, meaning product knowledge.
- The RM offers electric start option for only $99 (plus about $60 for a battery), far less than competitors.
So, my buying a splitter is long overdue. This will (hopefully) be a lifetime purchase, so, $1,000 versus $2,000 does not matter as much as my normal caution of trying to hold down spending as much as I can. The RM has the taller working height, that could be a biggie for me on a lifetime purchase. And I guess the much larger motor and heavier build could be worth it? I certainly would rather spend $1,000 instead of $2,000 if it won't make that much difference to me but... What do you guys think?
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