Thinking about buying a new wood splitter. I have been doing 50 or 60 full cords a year with a tractor supply "huskee" brand splitter or a few years now. The splitter has held up well and still works great but dosen't have the speedy cycle time of some of the other brands. I was leaning toward a timberwolf TW-5 but they are pretty pricey. I also found some info on the american CLS splitters (either the 25HH or the 25S). The americans are cheaper and have a quick cycle time. The timberwolfs seem to be built a little stronger. Just wondering if anyone has had experience with them and what they recommend. Thanks!
I've got an American CLS 25hh. I got it with the log lift ,splitting table (log pans ) ,4 way wedge ,etc .
I've only had it for about a year , but it sure has been very nice to own .
I looked at TW splitters , and they are indeed very nice . I just couldn't justify the extra expense .
About the only criticism I have of My splitter is that the oil tank is a bit on the small size . It gets fairly warm in a short period of time .
Have you checked out Split-fire? I was really interested in them and still am but can't justify it (yet) for the 5 or 6 cords I cut a year. They split on both the out and back stroke so it effectively doubles production. The cycle times are fairly quick. If you interested shoot me a PM and I will email you some correspondence (with prices) I had with a dealer in NY, you may not be too far from them. I believe they were about 15 miles west of Syracuse. I haven't actually used one so I can't comment on how good they work...but I posted something on here about them and a couple people had rave reviews of them. Just an idea....
The "momentum" splitters like the Supersplit brand are REALLY fast and NICE. I have seen several like that Supersplit that are improved and cheaper (slightly), the cycle time is FAST.
Also, for those interested Grizzly has a benchtop 5 ton splittter that has a spring return (the hydraulics shut off after the cycle forward) it splits all but the nastiest knottiest stuff, and I am VERY impressed for $300. Small but tough and great for 20" cordwood style wood.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Hydraulic-Electric-Log-Splitter/H8171
Ironwood
I have the American AM-25HH with the Honda engine and am very happy with it. I looked at the Timberwolf also and I couldn't justify the price. When I was researching splitters I found a number of people who had owned the Americans for years. One guy I talked to said his father gave him his and he estimated it was 30 years old and never had a problem with it. Americans are built in NY and you can but direct from the factory if you don't have a dealer near by. Let us know what you buy.
Checked out an american 25HH @ a local dealer today....Overall it looks like a good splitter for the right price. The only thing that seems to worry me is the hydraulic tank capacity. It only holds 5.25 gallons. It has a 16gpm pump on it. The huskee I currently have has a 16gpm pump and has an 8 gallon reservior. The timberwolf tw5 has a 22gpm pump with around an 18 gallon capacity. Just wondering if this would wear the valve and pump out quicker if it can't disipate the heat as quick as it should. Sometimes I split on hot days for 5 straight hours @ a rip (without shutting the macine down). Thanks for the feedback so far! Piston...I would be intrested in prices for those split-fires....if ya get a chance email them to dirtmod454@yahoo.com Thanks!
You should check out split-fire splitters. I have rented the small 15-20 ton models and found them quick and efficient. large models have four and six way axes and split both ways. I still dream of having a chomper firewood processor some day :)
Quote from: dirtmod454 on July 14, 2010, 11:08:15 PM
Checked out an american 25HH @ a local dealer today....Overall it looks like a good splitter for the right price. The only thing that seems to worry me is the hydraulic tank capacity. It only holds 5.25 gallons. It has a 16gpm pump on it. The huskee I currently have has a 16gpm pump and has an 8 gallon reservior. The timberwolf tw5 has a 22gpm pump with around an 18 gallon capacity. Just wondering if this would wear the valve and pump out quicker if it can't disipate the heat as quick as it should. Sometimes I split on hot days for 5 straight hours @ a rip (without shutting the macine down). Thanks for the feedback so far! Piston...I would be intrested in prices for those split-fires....if ya get a chance email them to dirtmod454@yahoo.com Thanks!
I share Your concerns about the tank capacity . But , to be honest , I can still put My hand on it without being burned after a couple of hours of operation . I'm not saying that it's comfortable ,or that I can leave it there all day :) But, it is nowhere near the temp of the Honda engines oil sump .
At the sawmill shootout last year supersplit kicked butt. No one else came close ;D
Sorry I missed this post, I hope I'm not too late. Here is the info I was quoted back in November for the Split-fire. Did you end up buying a splitter yet?
Matt: Thanks for e-mailing again. Tudor & Jones is located in Central New York -- about 25 miles west of Syracuse on Thruway Exit #40.
List price on 3203 $1215.00 - FOB Weedsport, NY
3403 1760.00 - FOB Weedsport, NY
3403 4-way splitter is a heavier frame than the 3403
3203 weighs 290#
3403 weighs 350#
Also note that the prices are a bit higher from them because of shipping from Ontario.
Here was some more prices, these are right from the distributor, so you can see the difference in price between markup and shipping to NY, obviously the dealer has to make some money too. I am still really interested in these but haven't pulled the trigger yet. At first I wanted the 3pt hitch model, but now I think I want the self contained. Either way it will be a while before I buy one. Good Luck ;D
Hi Matt;
The 3203 is $986.00 and the 3403 is $1390.00 the latter unit is good for up to 13in. dia. stuff with the 4-way knife.
The cycle time on both these units is about 8 seconds at 8gpm.
On the self contained units there is the 5 second 2260 for $2272.00 and the 11 second 3255 - $2801.00 and 3465 - 3315.00. If you want these sped up you can go to the 9hp power system and then the unit would be called a 3490 - $3915.00 having a cycle time of about 6-7 seconds with lots of power.
Shipping to you would cost $270.00 USD all the above is also USD.
I will also give your info to a distributor in NY who is supposed to cover you area. It will be interesting what the outcome is.
Thanks and regards,
I am also looking for a good log splitter. I decided against the brand American Log Splitter partly because of the concern over them wanting to sell their Domain Name and Website. http://americanlogsplitters.com
If they plan on being in business for the long haul, why would they be selling a domain name matching their company name?
Even if there is a good explanation, I am going with the Timberwolf TW-HV2. This splitter should more than meet our needs.
Quote from: Dean186 on August 17, 2010, 10:55:19 AM
I decided against the brand American Log Splitter partly because of the concern over them wanting to sell their Domain Name and Website. http://americanlogsplitters.com
If they plan on being in business for the long haul, why would they be selling a domain name matching their company name?
Is it possibly because they now are using this website ?
http://www.americanmsr.com/home.htm
Thanks for the link to the American CLS website. I was confused on the brand name. It appears that it is a "American CLS" brand splitter and not a "American Log Splitter" brand splitter. When I searched "American Log Splitter" the search took me to the site that is for sale. That site list the "American CLS" log splitters by model number, but I could not find were they referred to it as a "American CLS" brand log splitter. Doesn't matter I suppose, I now know to call it the American CLS splitter as posted above.
Looks like a very good splitter.
I have a Super Split. A couple of weeks ago I started cleaning up a landing a friend of mine logged. He left about 4 full cords of log length firewood on the landing. I chunked about 3 cord and stacked in a single row about 4 1/2 feet high 65 feet long.
I started splitting one evening about 4:30 and was done with the whole pile at 7:40.
30% of the chunks only needed to be split in half. Of the remaining 70%, half of that was quarted and the rest was split into 8's. I was working all alone and could keep moving the splitter back I went along the row so I didn't have to move any split wood out of the way.
Randy