Log Splitters: Huskee vs Troy Built, + Cycle Times

[blackfoot griz]

Well, it's 22 degrees here. I walked outside, knocked the snow off the honda and this 50+ year old got it started on the 3rd pull....must have been the old gas in the tank! ;)

[Al_Smith]

Those Briggs engine are no different than chainsaws .Some start easy and some not so .The condition of the valves and the carb tune has a lot to do with it .

The newer Briggs also often use diaphragm type fuel pumps and just like chainsaws the ethanol in the gas affects them .The good news is the diaphragm and check valves are only 5-6 bucks to replace them .I order them 4 sets at a time .

[Al_Smith]

Couple more things on those Briggs engine .If it's a flat head model you can lap the valves with removing them .Remove the head and apply just a tiny amount of light lapping compound on the valve face and roll it over till it just touches the seat and lap away .Make darned certain you take a Q-tip or something and get all the compound off after you're done .

In Maine or any other place it gets colder than a well diggers butt you'd probabley do better with synthetic oil .Now mind you it can get cold in Ohio just not like some of the more northerly states .

[thecfarm]

It was like that since day one,start great when it's warm,but cold forget it.  I split most of my wood when it's cold out. I might try that sythetic oil. time to change it anyways. I will still use the heater too. I like things kinda warm when I start them up in the cold.
Here's the pictures of the so called table. Nothing fancy,just plain and simple.You can see where the bottom of the splitter hit the table when I had it tipped down. I split alot of dead stuff and the bark really piles up in front of it. I tipped it down without cleaning out in front of it and the table is not tight,I just left it loose. And to tell you the truth I have no idea why I left it loose. some great idea I had.  : Now I clean out in front of the splitter before I tip it down.


 

Just another view and this shows the wedge.



 

You can see the 2 clamps that is use to keep the wood from falling off. I really should weld a couple bolts about 2-3 inches high. I don't think a piece of metal all the way would work unless I made sure it was on the inside of the lip each time instead of on top of it. The whole thing is about 14 inches. seems to work or I would of added on to it by now.

[Al_Smith]

That formed steel  wedge is a little different than my buddys' 28 ton rated I just replaced the engine on .His is a knife edge leading with a set of solid steel wings .The cylinder pin is the same though .

The Briggs 8 HP I replaced was a 1992 model so I assume that's the age of the splitter .That machine probabley does 40-50  cords a year .

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

I personally have the 35 ton huskee splitter and my best bud has the 22 ton huskee. They are both excellent machines. He has probably gone through 100 cords with his and i would estimate that i have put 70 cords through mine with no problems with either machine. A 4 way splitting wedge is available for the 35 ton unit as well.

I have also had the chance to use the troy built 22 ton unit and it too is a fine machine, but if i had to pick one over the other I would go with the speeco/husky splitters as just a person preference

[clww]

I haven't paid much attention to the newer TSC/Huskey splitters but the older ones had weak link .

The type cylinder they used attached to the wedge with a 5/8" through bolt and a nylon lock nut .It was constantly shearing off .It didn't make much difference if you used a grade 5 or a grade 8 bolt it would still shear .

I think it might have been a special bolt also because if you used a reguler threaded bolt it put the threads right in the shear plane which is not good .The remedy is getting slightly longer bolts and cut some of the threads off the end to put the unthreaded portion in the shear plane yet not having enough stuck out the end to snag on the wood being split .

I'll agree with that. The original bolt on my Huskee I broke. After that, I swapped to longer Grade 8 bolts. So far, I've snapped two of these in four years. The one installed now is probably going to go before spring arrives. All of mine have broken off at the threads on the nut side. Prior to breaking completely, these have bent from the force of the hydraulics.

[Al_Smith]

Yeah I took heed of that problem before I made my home built .The cylinder on it has a yoke and a 1" pin made from a three point tractor hitch pin .Also on the knife type wedge I welded a boss on either side so the total width at that point is 1 1/4" .There's just barely enough room the wings cover it so it doesn't get hung up on the wood .