The holy grail of CL....my first splitter!

[kbrown]

Wife and I have been watching Craigslist for splitters over the past few months. We were close to getting the 22 ton Huskee from TSC, but we began to see quite a few splitters for sale on CL and thought it would be worth it if it ment saving almost half the cost of a new one. Anyhow, we soon found out that these items just don't last more than the same day they are posted. But then came Labor Day and found a 20 ton MTD being offered for $700. Didn't think much as I had saw the post late that night and figured it was long gone. The next morning the post was still there and while sitting at work, I gave a call and was floored to find out it was still available and after some questions I was impressed that it was still up for the offer and said I would be there later that afternoon....although I was tempted to jump in the car that second! I quickly made a call to my financial advisor...as I am sure most of us have one we also call the wife! She was great! Not only did she agree we should jump at this, she said that she would pack up the kids in the truck and head out that second! About 2 hours later we were the proud owners of a 20 ton MTD YardMaster splitter. Very well taken care of, starts on first pull each time and just a thrill to use. :cheese:

Wondering if there are any problems I need to watch for and just how much power this unit has to split the crotch and real knotty pieces of most wood types. I see there are some of you that own this same model and would like to hear back your experiences.

 

[savageactor7]

Hey great story heatit those 10-15 yo MTD's were very good machines and will likely last a life time with routine maint. Take some pics to post once your set up and operating.

 

[smokinj]

Sweet deal!

Wondering if there are any problems I need to watch for and just how much power this unit has to split the crotch and real knotty pieces of most wood types. I see there are some of you that own this same model and would like to hear back your experiences.

crotchs I try to split around it if possable. knotty pieces would be more in the limbs no problem there

 

[blel]

Similar story. I found a 22 ton Huskee on CL. Asking price was 800. I offered 700, expecting to pay maybe 750 but he said ok to 700. Machine was only used 1 season. So far no problems at all.

 

[savageactor7]

As far as splitting crotches and anything elm goes I try to be careful. It wont break the splitter but there have been many times years past when I'd have to take a sledge to a round and bash it off the wedge...I hate it when that happens. Pretty sure I only have only 10 tons to work with ...but I do split a lot of elm. That has to one of the 3 toughest woods in America to split.

With elm don't try and center split or you'll end up with something that looks like pulled pork. Yikes, hard to describe but trust me when it happens to you you'll be scratching you head saying WTF happened here and what am I going to do with this mess I spent so much time with?

With elm you're better off shaving it off the sides kind of like how you would hand split it.

 

[Corey]

Congrats on the purchase! CL is a funny place - when I was looking for a table saw, seemed like they were running 400-500+ for a basic 'big box store' model. Found a guy who was selling a full blown Delta with extension table, vacuum dust collection for $200. The post was old and I figured it was long gone, but went ahead and called. Surprisingly he still had it - so I ask when was the earliest we could meet to pick it up.

As for splitting, sometimes it's not so much about power as orientation. If you go to split a crotch, try putting the two branches against your baseplate and the single branch at the wedge. Align the two branches parallel to the wedge and split right down the center - you can usually blow through some pretty big stuff. As for splitting cross branches - that comes down to having a narrow, sharp wedge - I mean actually 'cutting' sharp. This way the wedge will actually cut through the cross branch. If it's too wide or dull, it will probably stall out. It also helps if you know the orientation of the branch and can put it in the splitter with the "V" pointing toward the wedge.

 

[LLigetfa]

Crotch pieces I will sometimes attack from the edge, slabbing off pieces from both sides. My MTD has a very thick dull wedge so going for the centre is not always the best way.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

That is the same splitter we have and have had for many, many moons now and no problems. In all that time I have had exactly one piece that it did not want to split. Perhaps I could have done it but it wasn't worth the effort and I threw it on the brush pile. I don't remember how many cords of wood I've split with it but it is a lot! One year it split 30 cords!

You should have no problems with it. Enjoy but don't expect to work up much of a sweat splitting wood now.

 

[kbrown]

Well, it sounds like with normal care and maintenance, I should be very pleased with this. Every once in a while I had wondered if I should have held out for more tonnage, but after reading other threads on here, I don't think that make much difference for someone in my position. Can't wait to get this out for a day splitting; maybe tomorrow if things go well. Will post some pics.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It does seem that most people have fallen for the bigger is better thing even with log splitters. You should find that splitter will do everything you need to have done and will do it quite fast too, but the speed thing is something you will have to learn as you go. Once you get the hang of it, the thing can split wood really fast. It is also great for making kindling.

Years ago when we bought ours I too was concerned about tonnage. How big to go? The guy at Quality Farm & Fleet recommended this size so I asked what would happen if I took it home and it wouldn't do the job. He told me to then just bring it back for a full refund. I bought and all has been very good.

 

[Gooserider]

That is the model I use when helping my friend with his wood business - nice simple and reliable for the most part. One problem I encountered, and he said he had the same thing happen w/ the other splitters he had as well is that I managed to break the welds holding the baseplate onto the beam - this was after HUNDREDS of cords, if not more, and looked like the weld had been pretty bad from the start. He took it to a local welding shop, and they were able to put it back together without any big problems.

I'd say you got a good deal...

Gooserider