Splitter review - Oregon 28 ton

DeerMeadowFarm · February 14, 2012, 01:46:28 PM

I've been using my father's 20 ton splitter now since the 70's and after several rebuilds I was thinking of upgrading. My nephew (who has been using it as well) mentioned to me that he'd like to invest in a new one as well so we decided to go in on one together. We picked an Oregon 28 Ton splitter. It is made by SpeeCo. We picked the Honda for the motor. We got the 4-way wedge with it and the log catcher (which was backordered and being shipped to us). The site is here:http://www.oregonchain.com/pro/products/logsplitters/28TonLogSplitter.htm if you want to check it out.

I used it this weekend to split about a cord of mixed hard wood; white and red oak, cherry, ash, and some maple that was harvested at my buddy's house in Brimfield after the June 2011 tornado came through. I brought it home in log length and I cut a gas tank's worth of wood into lenght, split it all and stack it and then start cutting again.

Here is my review:
Pros:
1. Wicked powerful: I didn't stall it once on any piece I put on there; even with the 4-way!
2. Working height: I think this is the first time I have ever run a splitter without back pain. I was a little sore in the morning, but it was from lifting logs more than operational stance.
3. Log "strippers" work good for removing stuck pieces off the wedge. Slight improvements could be made (see improvements below)
4. 4-way wedge works good. It will need some mods (see improvements below)

Cons:
1. Engine started horribly. I bet I pulled the starter cord 100 times if I pulled it once. The only time it would pop at all was with the choke off.
2. Engine "surging" at full throttle/no load. Definately worsens after it warms up.
Note: This is not me experience with Honda engines at all so I assume there is something wrong/not set properly.

Improvements:
1. Shelf is a definite "must have item" IMHO. I may want to build in an additional guard on the motor side of the shelf to protect logs from hitting engine when being "stripped".
2. Locking pin/restraining system for 4-way needs improvement or I just need to remove it for transportation; it worked fine without the restraint in operation which was good because I broke the pin supplied with it on my 2nd chunk.
3. Could possibly use a guard on the operator side of the machine as well for the hydraulic fluid filter/lines.
4. Strippers work good except when the chunk is stuck to the wedge but during the splitting process may have tilted upward so that the end of the log rides over the stripper which causes the following problems:
a. On engine side: if it misses the stripper it may allow the chunk to come back and then fall on the engine (shelf may help this)
b. On operator side: If log misses the stripper it may allow the chunk to come back and hit the control lever (this happened to me once during my useage) which could bend the lever.
c. Problem: Strippers are too short (I prefer tall strippers ;) ) but if I extended them, the 4-way wouldn't work....I need to work on this I think....

Any thoughts about the engine surging? ???

jamesconley1962 · February 14, 2012, 06:41:16 PM

Good job on the review. Thanks

Al_Smith · February 14, 2012, 10:02:35 PM

That surging could be the high speed carb jet is set a tad too lean or its sucking air some place .I assume it's got an adjustable high speed jet but you never know these days .

I'd think with a new engine none of the afore mentioned should not be but Honda or no they all let a few slip through the cracks so to speak .Stranger things have happened .

sawguy21 · February 14, 2012, 10:29:19 PM

Thanks for the review, we sell them with the Briggs motor but I have never tried one. Honda will have a fixed jet, sounds like it has been sitting for some time with old fuel. Remove the bowl drain then open the fuel shutoff, drain the gas into a can then shut off and replace the drain. If this doesn't solve it the jet and nozzle will need to come out for thorough cleaning.

bandmiller2 · February 15, 2012, 07:28:56 AM

The real killer with a hyd. splitter is lifting the chunks up to it.If you have the option to have a lift by all means get it.If no lift build a deck the same hight as the splitter so you can roll the big chunks on,loading them with whatever machine you have or a ramp. Frank C.

thecfarm · February 15, 2012, 09:22:48 AM

I have a hard time starting my Briggs when it's cold,60° or above just a slow pull will get it going. I put a magnetic heater on mine the night before I want to use it. I put a piece of old carpet on top of the motor too. Just to keep it warmer,heat rises. This is a unit 2x3 with a handle on it. Not one of those thin ones. I would have to pull hard like 40 times to get it going. With the heater a few slow pulls and it is up and splitting. I know what you mean about the strippers. I had one piece of wood stick on me. I have just a normal hyd splitter,comes back all by itself when you push the lever all the way back.The piece somehow got around the stripper and was going to hit the lever. I did not dare to stick my hand in there when I saw what was going to happen. I started towards it but stopped myself. So than I had to run all the way around the other side to shut it off. It bent the controls a little and cause a pin hole leak. >:( I welded it up and have been good sense. I no longer let any logs come back and hit the stripper. This only happens once every 2-3 months though.
Mine is a 27 ton,that tips up for those big ones. I did built a small table on the far side of mine. Does not look like much,but it works.Keeps the wood there so I don't have to walk around it and pick it up.

DeerMeadowFarm · February 15, 2012, 02:36:56 PM

Quote from: bandmiller2 on February 15, 2012, 07:28:56 AM
The real killer with a hyd. splitter is lifting the chunks up to it.If you have the option to have a lift by all means get it.If no lift build a deck the same hight as the splitter so you can roll the big chunks on,loading them with whatever machine you have or a ramp. Frank C.

This splitter will swing up to the vertical position for the real big stuff, so any excessive lifting is purely my fault. I sometimes work like I'm in my late 20's again. ;)

Al_Smith · February 15, 2012, 09:55:44 PM

:D What til you get another 20 ice cream seasons behind you and see how it goes .I'll tell it doesn't get better .

DeerMeadowFarm · February 16, 2012, 04:35:47 PM

Quote from: Al_Smith on February 15, 2012, 09:55:44 PM
:D What til you get another 20 ice cream seasons behind you and see how it goes .I'll tell it doesn't get better .

Yah, getting old sucks Al, but it still beats the alternative! ;) :D

snowstorm · February 16, 2012, 06:24:08 PM

Quote from: bandmiller2 on February 15, 2012, 07:28:56 AM
The real killer with a hyd. splitter is lifting the chunks up to it.If you have the option to have a lift by all means get it.If no lift build a deck the same hight as the splitter so you can roll the big chunks on,loading them with whatever machine you have or a ramp. Frank C.

i made a crane for a splitter once. some heavy pipe came up and out a ways mounted in another pipe so it could turn some cable and pulleys like a block an tackel you could run out 10' of cable lift the wood onto the splitter. the ram going out lifted the wood so you need something for the wood to set on while you retract the ram

DeerMeadowFarm · February 17, 2012, 11:32:12 AM

Here's an update:

We called the dealer and explained the surging problem. He first asked how old the initial fuel was. I explained 2 months and he immediately said that's the issue. I also explained that we drained it and filled it with fresh gas. He still says it is a fuel issue and recommends using a high octane, premium fuel and mixing it with a product called "Startron". I asked him if this was per Honda specs and he said this is what you should do for all small engines. I proceeded to explain I own two generators with Honda engines and I have never had an issue. I leave my big generator chock full of fuel that may be as old as 2 years and it runs great.

I asked him where to bring this for service and he said that we needed to try the fuel first and he would look into how to handle the service.

I checked Honda's website and all they recommend is 86 octane or higher. I don't like the idea of putting in a higher octane fuel or this additive, if it does work, I think it would only mask a problem.

Thoughts?

snowstorm · February 17, 2012, 11:42:58 AM

he is right startron

thecfarm · February 18, 2012, 07:18:59 AM

I only use the high octane in all my small motors.I just feel it helps them run better. I have no proof that it helps. Just an idea in my head that it helps. I kinda doubt your problem will go away,but the way the newer engines are made now,it just might work. Good luck. Get that splitter running right.

bandmiller2 · February 18, 2012, 07:35:59 AM

I would at least try what the dealer reccomends.All my small engine and tractor fuel gets marine stabil,seafoam additive and a small jigger of synthetic 2 cyc. oil.All air cooled engines run hot and dry in the head a little synthetic oil is like ice cream to them. Frank C.

DeerMeadowFarm · February 21, 2012, 07:57:16 AM

Well, we drained the fuel, spayed the carb clean, mixed up some high octane with the startron stuff per the dealer's suggestion and ran the engine in the barn Friday noight until it got to operating temperature. We cycled the cylinder a dozen times and things seemed better the big test would be actually splitting wood.

Saturday I cut up a HUGE ash that fell on my property from a recent wind storm. Crushed one of my apple trees and also smashed my 10' wide lime spreader. Pictures of the tree to follow in a different thread.

My wife and I took the new splitter, turned it vertical and split one of the huge rounds into manageable chunks. Returned it to horizontal and finished that piece up. Then we went vertical again and tried round number two. This one split a few times and then got hung up on the wedge. What followed was what I initially described in 4b above.

The cylinder retracted pulling the chunk up with it. The wood jumped over the stripper and before we could react, the wood jammed itself against the handle/valve. This forces the lever to remain in the retracted position. The cylinder continued to pull the chunk back up and self destruction was immenent. The nipple between the valve and the cylinder bent as did the hard line to the cylinder's rear port, something gave way and hydrualic fluid spewed everywhere. I shut the engine off but obviously too late.

pith-poor design in my opinion. My father's 40 year old splitter (which I used the remainder of the weekend, my back can vouch for that!) has the valve mounted directly to the cylider as well, however on his the cylinder pushes the wood into the wedge; if it gets stuck, the cylinder pulls away from the wood and you beat it off the wedge with your maul; this happens often.

I think the new splitter works much better. I'm not sure if it's because it is stronger of if pushing the wedge is a better use of the power altogether. However, in that design, the valve should not be mounted anywhere near where a chunk of stuck wood, riding the wedge back, could come in contact with it. A new valve mount will be designed and mounted; pictures to follow.

On the plus side, the engine ran.......better. It still seemed to hunt a little, but it would settle out not like before. This whole "it's the gas " thing just doesn't set right with me though. I have two 1970's cub cadets; one I mow the lawn with and the other I use to mow around our Christmas trees. I put them away at the end of the season with whatever gas is left in the tank. Come spring, I will most likely need to charge the batteries, but for fuel, I'll just top off the tank and they'll run fine. I have a generator that I fire up once a year to make sure it'll start. It does and it runs great with whatever gas is left in it from the previous time.

thecfarm · February 21, 2012, 08:11:12 AM

I had the same thing happened to me with the wood getting stuck on the wedge.But I had mine for probably 5-6 years before it happened to me. I just posted about that on here. But had it only happened like 2-3 times since. I've had the splitter for 12 years now. I saw it do the same thing. Mine has the auto return when I push the lever back. I was going to stick my hand between the wood and the lever.

I stopped myself and ran to the other side to shut it off. But it bent the nipple on the ram before I got to the switch. Bent the line some too. I was able to weld the small leak. Was just a pin hole. I was some lucky. Yes,it is a bad design.

beenthere · February 21, 2012, 10:10:33 AM

Don't these models have the "scraper" that blocks the wood from returning with the wedge?
The advertising brochures show it, but maybe it isn't adjusted right.

DeerMeadowFarm · February 21, 2012, 10:32:52 AM

Yes. Oregon calls these "strippers" and there is one on eother side of the wedge. Problem is they are only a few inches high (which allows a 4-way wedge to be used) and the wood chunk "jumped" over it. Another part of the problem is the stripper is a "U" shaped bent peice of steel with the bottom of the "U" facing towards the wood. Being rounded, I think, makes it easier for the wood to skip over the stripper. If the open ends of the "U" were facing forward, maybe the wood would dig in?

Al_Smith · February 21, 2012, 11:43:51 AM

There's pros' and cons' to log lifters just like multiple 4 and 6 way wedges .
I suppose for some they're the cats meow .However in my case on occasion it's 3. 5 -4 foot oak rounds .Now how pray tell does one load something like that excepting a skid loader or something?

For me the tip up works best because you can roll such a round where for one person it's impossible to other wise lift or fiddle around with a log loader for ten minutes then roll half of it off on your foot which would ruin your day .Like every thing else though different strokes for different folks .

thecfarm · February 22, 2012, 07:43:17 AM

Beenthere,next time you go where they sell these homeowners splitters take your tape measure and measure the distance from the stripper to the handle. Lets say the wedge gets gets stuck into the log at 18 inches. When it comes back and hits the stripper the stripper is only 8 inches long and the handle is about 4 inches behind that. That is only 12 inches and still need 6 more to go. That's why it hits the handle. If I did not take mine off, I would take a picture. took it right off as soon as I bent by handle. I naively thought it was a good idea. :

Supposedly the wood should open up but it just stayed together and the stripper just guided it right towards the handle.

beenthere · February 22, 2012, 10:35:19 AM

Well, bottom line is I wouldn't ~~want~~ have a splitter that the wedge moves.

If I had one, then I'd do something to avoid the problem of wiping out the controls with a returning block of stuck wood. ;)

John Mc · February 22, 2012, 10:06:55 PM

Quote from: beenthere on February 22, 2012, 10:35:19 AM
Well, bottom line is I wouldn't ~~want~~ have a splitter that the wedge moves.

Every splitter I've seen that does horizontal and vertical splitting has a moving wedge. If it had a fixed wedge, you'd be trying to push the split pieces into the ground when splitting vertically.

beenthere · February 22, 2012, 10:25:50 PM

I agree John

John Mc · February 22, 2012, 10:37:53 PM

Mine is horiz/Vert and has a moving wedge. I bought it because the horizontal-only model (with a fixed wedge) sat way too low to the ground for my taste. The height of the H/V model works out perfectly for me -- though I do wish the wedge was on the fixed end

thecfarm · February 23, 2012, 07:03:44 AM

Bottom line is how does a person get a piece of wood up onto a splitter that is 3 feet across? Yes I have a loader,but i would not want to be next to it when it splits in half. Now if I had enough power for a 4 or 6 way splitter that would be different. Some of us split some big wood. I just hate to see that big stuff go to waste. I've burned dead wood all winter,did it just about all last winter too.Many ways of getting the job done. We all can't,don't have the same tools for the same job,but the job still gets done. I know of the ways to put a lift table on the side and so on.