trying out the ariens splitter from home depot

[R.J. Frost builder]

im not usually one to purchase a large piece of equipment from home depot, but i came onto a deal that let me pick up one of their ariens splitters for practically nothing so i figured i didnt have much to loose.

its the 27ton version with a 6hp subaru motor. it was ready to use after adding some gas. the layout of the unit is nice, with the motor out of harms way and the controls easy to reach from the work area. the work height is good and the vertical feature is nice to. it also has a foot that kicks down under the work table for stability.

i split a bunch of seasoned oak with it last night when i got it home and it had to problems.

quality seems good and nothing was loose when it was put together. it came full of oil/hydraulic fluid and only needed some gas to fire up. we'll probably be sending about 10 cords through it this season so ill post up updates to help out others with what may be a hopefully good unit.

pics to come.

 

[bsa0021]

How much is "practically nothing"?

 

[R.J. Frost builder]

practically nothing is i traded a chipper that i already had for it.

well the first splitting event didnt go so smooth. my dad towed it down to his house and for whatever reason had problems with the float sticking and leaking fuel. then it was having trouble with the engine smoking some and shutting off.

he left it alone for a while.

i went down to his place, cleaned the plug off, changed the oil and split for about half an hour with it with no problems. the engine started on the first pull and ran perfectly.

my guess was that he wasnt running the motor at full throttle, so maybe he was "overloading" it trying to run the pump.

another thought is that it didnt like the ride down the road (about 3 miles).

regardless we used it a bunch this afternoon and it worked perfectly.

we'll see.

 

[LLigetfa]

If it has a shut-off valve in the gas line, it is a good idea to close it before moving it. Mine never leaves my property so I've never run into that problem but have heard of others having that problem.

 

[FORCE FAB]

practically nothing is i traded a chipper that i already had for it.

well the first splitting event didnt go so smooth. my dad towed it down to his house and for whatever reason had problems with the float sticking and leaking fuel. then it was having trouble with the engine smoking some and shutting off.

he left it alone for a while.

i went down to his place, cleaned the plug off, changed the oil and split for about half an hour with it with no problems. the engine started on the first pull and ran perfectly.

my guess was that he wasnt running the motor at full throttle, so maybe he was "overloading" it trying to run the pump.

another thought is that it didnt like the ride down the road (about 3 miles).

regardless we used it a bunch this afternoon and it worked perfectly.

we'll see.

turn the fuel off when youre transporting...it was prolly smoking cause it being flooded soo bad put fuel in the oil

 

[chelmbold]

I have the 30T Centeral freight splitter with the 9hp subaru motor and have never had any issues. Mine starts right up within three pulls no matter what time of year and splits anything I throw at it with ease. I do shut off the gas whenever I am finished splitting or transporting.

 

[R.J. Frost builder]

there was gas in the oil so it makes sense.

live and learn.

never had a problem with my splitting maul though, always worked first pull, never smoked, but ran out of gas at the end of the day......

 

[mayhem]

Isn't it unusual that Home Depot would take a used chipper in trade for a new splitter? Good deal, didn't evne know Ariens made splitters.

 

[R.J. Frost builder]

i traded the chipper to a guy who had recently purchased the splitter.

 

[Dill]

I've know Frosty for years. And I've come to conclusion that some people, namely him can just find deals that the rest of us mortals cannot. Like picking up a 064 Sthil for 300 bucks.

 

[R.J. Frost builder]

066 actually.

nice saw, im gonna miss it.

 

[R.J. Frost builder]

so i asked the old man how the splitter was working. he started cussing and swearing and said that he cranked on the thing 15 times and it wouldnt start, pulled and cleaned the plug, and cranked another 10-15 times and the engine wouldnt fire so he gave up and went inside. this after using it with me 2 days prior, and once on his own the day before.

i went down figuring he had the kill switch in the wrong position or something. nothing out of the ordinary. i put it on full choke, full throttle, gas on, and gave her a pull.............it started before i was even done with the first pull.

i told the old man it started on the first crank and he threw his arms up. couldnt figure out why i could always start it and he couldnt.

turns out he has been trying to start it on 1/2 or less throttle.

hopefully that will be the end of the "issues".

 

[R.J. Frost builder]

i dragged the splitter home and fed it some large 24" oak rounds that i left in the woods last year. i used the vertical position to split these monsters up, then switched to the horozonal position when the pieces were manageable. the machine had no problems with the bigger oak.

i really like this splitter.

 

[Gooserider]

Definitely, when transporting any OPE, with a gravity feed fuel system (tank higher than carb) if it has a fuel shutoff, make sure it's off. (If it doesn't have a shutoff, it's a good idea to add one) If you don't the vibration and bouncing of the machine going down the road will bounce the float in the carb enough to let in more fuel than it should and flood the engine... In some cases the extra gas can get into the crankcase and cause even more problems when it dilutes the oil...

Fuel pump engines like the old B&S Magnetronics don't have as much of an issue as there is nothing to move fuel into the engine when it isn't running.

Gooserider