Has anyone used this brand Wood splitter

[Freedom6178]

I've been looking around the net for a wood splitter. Has any one had any experience with the 'Champion Power Equipment No.92221 Gas Powered Log Splitter, 22-Ton'. It looks like a good unit from what I see. I'm not looking to heat a house. Just looking to make a lot of firewood for the pit during the summer nights at the property. thanks for any info.. ;)  Here is a pic.

[Peter Drouin]

I see them backward splitters all the time. I know you can stand them up and split so you don't have to lift the wood, But if you leave the thing  up and lift a big piece of wood the splitter will tip over. get one with the wedge on the end .

[thecfarm]

Peter,I don't really understand that comment.
I think mine looks kinda like that. I just tilt it up to split the big pieces. I don't like to be bent over,so I split into pieces that I can pick up. The wedge moves with the ram. Mine puts out 27 ton. I have split some nasty one pine and it does fine.

[GAB]

Ray:
Peter's comment is correct.
When the wedge is connected to the ram then a lot of the energy of the splitter goes for trying to shear the bolts and the piece of wood going over the slides that control the ram as it slides on the I-Beam of the splitter.  It is a poor design.  I know as I have one.  It is the price you have to pay to have both a vertical and horizontal splitter.  So when it says 22 tons the actual force after overcoming the poor design features may be considerably less depending on what and the quality or hardness of what you are splitting.
Gerald

[Weekend_Sawyer]

My brother and I have a Huskee 35 ton that is set up like that. I like it. We split around 15 cords a year with it and we get some big logs, 24" - 30" so we use it in the vertical position a lot.  Never had a problem.

Jon

[thecfarm]

I knew Peter was right,I just did not understand. Now I do.
I had a mountain  :D of big wood. Some 2 feet across.At the time I brought my splitter I was just doing mostly pieces that could be picked up. I never dreamt or knew that I would be needing to split in a vertical position as much as I have.

Here's one picture of the mountain.  ;D



 

And one for size. That is a yard stick.



 

Took me 2 winters to get The Mountain through my OWB. That was all just about white pine,with a little bit of hemlock.
A member on here,forgot who that was,suggested I add about 4 inches on to the wedge and the stop plate. That made it split the big ones ALOT easier. Some of them was flared out one end. Makes it's easier to get the wedge into the chunk of wood.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

A member on here,forgot who that was,suggested I add about 4 inches on to the wedge and the stop plate. That made it split the big ones ALOT easier. Some of them was flared out one end. Makes it's easier to get the wedge into the chunk of wood.

Do you mean you added to the ibeam so it would take longer wood?

[thecfarm]

Not to the I beam,just the top of the wedge and the top of the end support,stop for no better word. I wanted to split bigger wood without the bother of it just missing the wood,because of it flaring out. The 3 inch add on has worked just about every time. The wedge was only about 7 inches, I just went out and measured it,I added 3 inches to the wedge. Probably what I had laying around here. Than sometimes when it was tipped up,the flared out pieces would miss the end support,so what I had laying around again,I added a piece of 2X4 tubing to the top. Another member said I should of set that 3 inch piece back off the 7 inch piece. So only 7 inches would be doing the work,the other 3 would come in behind it. Which does makes sense,but it's all welded now.

[Chefferies]

Do Not Buy The Champion Wood Splitter.  I owned one, the plate on the end of the splitter broke (bad weld).  I waited 8 months to get a replacement Part (entire I beam section)  Broke again while splitting Poplar, after 4 logs.
We took it back to TSC and they gave us the Speeco 22 ton, brigs motor, straight up.  No problems in close to 2 years.
Spend a few extra bucks and get a better splitter.

[Freedom6178]

Thank you for the reply's.. I think I'll look around some more. This was pretty cheap at $1050 with free shipping..

[cutter88]

alright for a home owner just cutting wood for personal use but far far from a production machine.... would suggest wallenstien or split fire

[Sheepkeeper]

I have a previous version of the Champion 22 ton splitter. It has a tie rod cylinder that is bolted through a braced cross plate on the beam so all the force is directed straight down the beam. Mine also has a foot that you put down when splitting horizontally to keep it from tipping. Had it for 5 years now and works well for me. Would have liked to get a Split-Fire but couldn't swing the $3000 price difference. So far I've only had one chunk that it couldn't split-a 16" long 10" diameter piece of elm where the grain went almost 360 degrees around in both directions. Usually it just hunkers down and powers through.