DR Rapidfire Log Splitter

[Pa Pa Jack]

I bought a DR Rapidfire almost on1 year ago. I have been very satisfied with it and have posted that info elsewhere on this forum. That was until I had an issue with it.

Due to an injury, hospitalization and rehab, I have not been able to use the splitter for about 4 months. It was put in the shed and covered. The fuel was ethanol free and I added a stabilizer because I knew it would sit for a while.

Well, I pulled it out last week. Checked it out and tried to start it. NO GO. I had drained and replaced the fuel as a safeguard. I tried everything I could think of but no start. I had fire. If I put gas in the cylinder, it would fire for a few seconds then die. I pulled the carb off and cleaned it but cannot get fuel through it. I took the carb to a local Subaru authorized repair shop and they did a sonic cleaning of it. Still no good. They tried to order a rebuild kit and this is where it got difficult. Robins/Subaru does not offer rebuild kits for any of their small engines or parts. That is according to their southeastern parts distributor. They had a very hard time trying to figure out which parts go to this engine. It's an SP170. Now I have to order a new carb for about $130. OH, the carb is not covered under warranty and DR wants $189 for the same carb. I have until the 31st of this month to ship the whole thing back. That is part of their 1 year free trial. It would cost about $225 to ship it back. Meanwhile I'm still without a splitter. I might end up shipping it back even though I have been very happy with it until now.

Just thought I'd bring, those of you interested, up to speed. I've sung it's praises but I think it's only fair to point out it's faults also.

 

[Midniteoyl]

You can buy a whole engine off ebay for about that much.. Robin Subaru Horizontal Engine 6 HP SP170 OHC 3 4" x 2 5 16" EX170DT0012 | eBay

Heres subaru carbs.. robins subaru carb in Home & Garden | eBay


But, heres carb parts.. Subaru / Robin SP170 Parts List and Diagram : eReplacementParts.com

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

Thanks, I already ordered a carb through my local Subaru service center. It just seems stupid that it should gum up this bad in less than one year of use. If I had not stored it correctly I could understand. It is good to know that the engines are that cheap. Might order one just as a spare or to use on a project I am planning.

 

[Scooby074]

What stabilizer did you use? I run Stabil in my fuel and have had gas in my Subaru motor (on a splitter as well) for 6mths at a time without issue.

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

I use Stabil also.

 

[murphy1244]

I use SeaFoam and mine sits for 9 months at a time. A B&S 16.5 Hp.

 

[Bluegill2]

You can't really blame a carb problem on DR, but they have had some major problems with this splitter. They have a "new and improved" model out now.

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

You can't really blame a carb problem on DR, but they have had some major problems with this splitter. They have a "new and improved" model out now.

In all honesty, I have been extremely pleased with this splitter. It has been better than I expected. It's fast, efficient, easy to move around and has no signs of wear on it anywhere. Until this happened, I would highly recommend it. The newest model does address a couple things I would have improved, but all they really did was lower the engine so it's out of the way and lowers the center of gravity. The engines they are using are, according to the regional parts rep, made in China. that explains a lot.

 

[mikehaugen]

Most small engines now are made in china. Looked at a kohler command 8hp the other day... guess where it was made.

 

[crazyal]

I always drain carbs of gas if I'm not going to use an engine. People say that gaskets will dry out but I've never seen it in modern engines. I usually shut the fuel off and start the engine and let it run itself dry. Before that I was always replacing carbs on all sorts of small engines, from lawn mowers to snow blowers. With the increased use of ethanol carbs getting plugged started getting much worse. Since I switched to storing them without fuel I've never had an issue.

Personally if I would replace the Subaru engine with either a Briggs or a Honda GX. I have a Harbor Freight motor but if it needs parts I know it'll be a pain where as I know I can get any Honda or Briggs part locally.