Wood splitter

[jargo432]

I stopped by a Stihl dealer today to drool over the saw I'm saving for.  We got to talking and I said I wanted a D R Rapid Fire wood splitter and he said "no you don't"  He told me they weren't good for splitting oak, that it breaks the gear.  Does anyone here have any experience with the D R Rapid fire?  I'm just wondering if he knows what he's talking about.

Thanks
Kevin

[BBTom]

I don't know about the DR, but I bought a Kinetic Energy splitter from a small amish machine shop and I am very impressed with it.  If I ever get a chance to make a movie of it, I will.   Has a 2-1/2 to 3 second cycle time. and a good sized tray beside  the  wedge.  Splits most anything I put on it with one blow, but the real knotty stuff might take two or three hits which is still faster than a 15 second cycle of a hydraulic splitter.  The great part is that it does all this with a little 4hp honda engine throttled back to 2800 rpm. 

[LAZERDAN]

That's the first negitive thing i have ever heard adout D. R equipment, usually top notch stuff.                    Lazerdan 

[Holmes]

 They are all knock offs of the super splitter.  Tractor supply brought one to market a few years ago, chinese made, the gears would shatter, break- strip. T S does not sell it any more . Hopefully D R is not buying those chinese parts.

[Alcranb]

Ironically I did the same as you Jargo. My saw shop is a half mile up the road and I'm in and out of there a lot as they also sell feed. A friend has one and I've seen it work a couple of times and was impressed on how fast it is. Yesterday I broke down and bought it. Unbelievably fast!!!! Much faster than my hydraulic splitter. I did three cord without so much as a burp. Yes, sometimes you have to cycle it twice to get through a real knotty piece but so far, so good. I would strongly suggest if you buy one get the optional  : tray. I can't imagine working without it.
I have a DR chipper and have not had a lick of trouble with that. I like to think DR is like what TroyBuilt once was. My 2 cents for whatever that's worth  ;)

[LAZERDAN]

If I can ask  How Much $  roughly ?    I see super split has different sizes and the price is spency. Do you need to run the motor wide open or will it split half throttle ?   thanks    Lazerdan

[sandhills]

A few years ago someone here (I think) built a hydraulic splitter that had the cylinder underneath the frame and split traveling both directions, I can't find it anymore but would like too.  If memory serves correct it ran off a tractor and the cylinder cycled automatically while they were loading each end and picking up wood, I may have seen it on youtube though but it did look pretty efficient.  Can't say much about the D R but never have heard anything bad about their products.

[LAZERDAN]

I see D R also makes that one you speak of.  3 point 2 way but your tractor needs hydraulics         Lazerdan

[Alcranb]

I have the pro-xl and it list for $2,200 on the DR website and the table is another $200. Buying from a dealer I skipped the shipping and I paid cash and I do a LOT of business with them so......  8)

I run just slightly over idle and it seems to work just fine. Still have a hundred plus cord to do so stay tuned. We'll see if I'm still singing the same tune  ;D

[DeepCreek]

A few years ago someone here (I think) built a hydraulic splitter that had the cylinder underneath the frame and split traveling both directions, I can't find it anymore but would like too.  If memory serves correct it ran off a tractor and the cylinder cycled automatically while they were loading each end and picking up wood, I may have seen it on youtube though but it did look pretty efficient.  Can't say much about the D R but never have heard anything bad about their products.

Northern Supply (aka northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company) was selling bi directional splitters. Maybe they still are. Their main model was engine powered, but they may also have a 3PH model. I looked at them when I was in the market, but they looked like toys compared to the big Northern Stars that were next to them. I passed.

There is also the SplitFire, which is expensive and can be found on the web.

Videos are out there for both brands.