Speeco 5 ton electric splitter

[TheBean]

Hello All! I am an avid reader, but this is my first post. I had the opportunity to try out a Speeco 5 ton electric splitter yesterday. Thought I would share. The splitter was on sale at TSC for $249. A little research revealed this to be a good price (as much as $409 elsewhere). The splitter is actually for my father who wanted something small for turning yard clean up into campfire wood. The local TSC is 30 miles from me but I figured I'd do the old man a favor and pick it up for him. Got it home and looked over at my last cord of wood that needed some re-splitting. Might as well test drive it for dad right? Pulled it out of the box, brought it over to the pile, and plugged it in. It was good to go right out of the wrapper. At about 90 pounds it seemed solid and well put together. The test drive turned into a Sunday cruise as I proceeded to split all the wood. Only twice did it bog down, and I grabbed a few uglies to run through it. I was impressed with this little machine. Granted I was re-splitting 16" wood that is pretty dry- so not the toughest test on the planet, but I was still very happy with the results. This seems like a great option for lazy wood burners like me that order firewood csd but need smaller splits. It was a great time saver ( I had already used my little Fiskars on the first 3 cords) and very easy to use. Would it handle 20" rounds? I doubt it, but not all of us need that. I think this is a viable tool for the right job. Speeco seems to have pretty favorable reviews so I hope it will stand the test of time. Just thought I'd share.

 

[wood spliter]

Its always nice to have a good experience with a new tool. Especially if its not yours and you will be able to use it. ;-)

 

[peterc38]

Thanks for the detailed review and welcome to the forum.

 

[IPLUMB]

any new news on this? Looking at one for garage use. Thanks

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Ive always used larger hydro's (borrowed FILs 27 ton, bought my own 22 ton), but I have tried the small electric at a friends house). Most of the wood I get( scrounger) varies in size from tiny to HUGE. I couldnt see a use for it, for me. Any splits I find that needs a shrinkin' b/f burnin - I pull out the Fiskars.

 

[spur0701]

I bought one on Wed from my local TSC (on sale for $279). It split some knotty pine and oak fine, struggled with some hickory, and wouldn't make a dent in sweet gum......so mine is going back today, I'll save and get a gas one at the end of the season.

 

[fjord]

If you know what the little beast can do, your dad will be fine with it.
Out of the yearly wood harvest, 6-8 cords each year get processed by our tiny 5 ton electric hydraulic splitter.
I'll never go back to the noisy, smelly, high maintenance, 22 ton gasers we had.

Just know what it won't do and how to use it to do the big butts 16" and over. With the larger butts that are not straight-grained to split easily, the but gets splits tangentially, from the rings in, rather than from the center. With tough pieces and crotches that the 5 ton can't do, they go to the maul and wedge pile for the Fiskars Super Splitter or the sledge and metal wedge jobs ( only 5% -10% of the yearly firewood).

We use the electric splitter for many reasons:
Quiet.
Split anytime--plug and play.
Split anywhere, inside on the dining room table (if you can get away with it ).
No/low maintenance: no oil (some hydraulic), no carb, no plugs, no starting.
It's small enough for easy moving without a rig.
Split when YOU want: 5 minutes or an hour, inbetween.
Cheap.

It is slow. So ?
Low torque. So ?

Good choice.