RedNeckGeek
Super Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 8,753
- Location
- Butte County & Orcutt, California
- Tractor
- Kubota M62, Kubota L3240D HST (SOLD!), Kubota RTV900
Thanks to the positive reviews here and on other sites, I zeroed in on an Ariens 22 ton log splitter over the last few weeks. My trees are small, less than 18" in diameter, almost all oak, and have been on the ground for at least a year. Most were knocked down with a dozer when the ground was being cleared a couple of years ago, and I've been pulling the trees out of the piles with the tractor and chunking them up into 4' - 6' lengths for stacking. There's probably 10 cords worth of wood like that, and twice as much more still in piles, so most of the "fun" is still ahead of me. I liked the idea of a small splitter that I could store in my box trailer (a shop is still a little way off in the plan) and move around either by hand or behind the 4x4 Kubota side-by-side. The cost was about the same as the Husky from TSC, but the Subaru engine on the Ariens got much better reviews than either the Briggs & Stratton or Kohler on the Husky. Besides, the local TSC only had splitters with the B&S engine when I looked, and overall construction of the Husky wasn't as substantial as the Ariens.
The closest Ariens dealer is about 75 miles south, but the local Home Depot carried the 27 ton version. Unfortunately they weren't able to order the smaller version, but pointed me to the HD web site where I was able to place the order. I got a call from the store two weeks later that the splitter had arrived, and next time I was in town with the truck dropped by to pick it up.
It came shipped on a pallet with a light wood frame around it, strapped down with the ram in the upright position. That wasn't going to fit under the cap on my truck, so the HD guys and I spent a few minutes knocking down the wood and flipping the ram horizontal. At that point we used a fork lift and easily rolled it onto the 8' bed of the truck. I could have towed it, but attaching the tow arm is part of the "user assembled" package, and I didn't want to fool with it there in the parking lot. As it was, Ariens had delivered only three of the four needed 1/2" nuts to hold it on anyway, and the thing had a sticker on it that said to keep speeds below 45 mph when towing. I live 35 miles out of town and didn't want to take the back roads all the way home, so into the truck it went.
At home I put an old pallet on the forks of my tractor and ran that up to the tailgate to roll the splitter off. Strapped it down for the ride to the garage, where I started in on the assembly. The instructions that came from Ariens were complete and pretty easy to follow. First thing was to dig around in my parts bins for a 1/2x13 nut to replace the missing one, then properly secure the tow arm to the frame of the splitter.
Next the stripper arms are removed so that the ram can be moved up the beam. The pin holding the splitter head to the ram comes out, then the ram gets put into the yokes. One stripper arm goes on at that point, a bit of a trick with just one person. Then the pin goes back in to hold the splitter head to the ram, then the other stripper arm is mounted.
Then the linkage for the control arm gets hooked up, a simple matter of removing a cotter pin, repositioning a clevis pin, and reinstalling the cotter pin. Next up was securing a hydraulic hose to the tow arm with a P-clamp. Next the instructions say to add ISO 32 hydraulic fluid to the reservoir. But the reviews here had led me to believe that the splitter would come filled, so now I'm waiting for the next trip into town to buy fluid. The engine came with oil, but not the hydraulics. To their credit, HD would have shipped to the Ariens dealer for "white glove treatment" had I lived close to one. That would have meant that the splitter would be assembled, filled with fluids, and test run before I picked it up. But as it was I saved a couple hundred bux buying at HD but will need to spend $50 - $75 to fill the hydraulic tank.
That was all I could do at that point, all of which took maybe an hour. So I rolled the splitter out of the garage using the conviently placed handle on the tow arm and parked it where I could back up the little Kubota to it. The hitch was a little stiff dropping onto the ball, but latched down easily. The ground between the garage and box trailer is pretty steep and uneven, and I was a little worried that the splitter might tip over on some of the side hill parts, but didn't have any problems at all. As would be expected with a short "trailer" like the splitter, it responds quickly to even small steering inputs, so I had to pay extra attention when backing it up the ramp into the trailer. At 300+ pounds, I didn't even try to push it up the ramp by hand. But up the ramp it went, and it unlocked and unhitched easily. The swing down leg on the tow arm is a great feature, too, as it unlocks from either up or down by just sliding it out of a slot against light spring tension. That's an easy, one handed operation, and the tongue weight is light enough that I could easily support the splitter while doing so.
I didn't get very far in this review, but what I've seen so far has been good. Assembly (aside from the missing nut and hydro oil) was easy and fast, the splitter is easy to move around by hand, it tows well, and is pretty stable on rough ground. My one pull on the Subaru engine starter confirmed that would be an easy start as well, at least it will when there's gas in the tank. Speaking of which, I better fill the can next time I'm in town.
More later!
The closest Ariens dealer is about 75 miles south, but the local Home Depot carried the 27 ton version. Unfortunately they weren't able to order the smaller version, but pointed me to the HD web site where I was able to place the order. I got a call from the store two weeks later that the splitter had arrived, and next time I was in town with the truck dropped by to pick it up.
It came shipped on a pallet with a light wood frame around it, strapped down with the ram in the upright position. That wasn't going to fit under the cap on my truck, so the HD guys and I spent a few minutes knocking down the wood and flipping the ram horizontal. At that point we used a fork lift and easily rolled it onto the 8' bed of the truck. I could have towed it, but attaching the tow arm is part of the "user assembled" package, and I didn't want to fool with it there in the parking lot. As it was, Ariens had delivered only three of the four needed 1/2" nuts to hold it on anyway, and the thing had a sticker on it that said to keep speeds below 45 mph when towing. I live 35 miles out of town and didn't want to take the back roads all the way home, so into the truck it went.
At home I put an old pallet on the forks of my tractor and ran that up to the tailgate to roll the splitter off. Strapped it down for the ride to the garage, where I started in on the assembly. The instructions that came from Ariens were complete and pretty easy to follow. First thing was to dig around in my parts bins for a 1/2x13 nut to replace the missing one, then properly secure the tow arm to the frame of the splitter.
Next the stripper arms are removed so that the ram can be moved up the beam. The pin holding the splitter head to the ram comes out, then the ram gets put into the yokes. One stripper arm goes on at that point, a bit of a trick with just one person. Then the pin goes back in to hold the splitter head to the ram, then the other stripper arm is mounted.
Then the linkage for the control arm gets hooked up, a simple matter of removing a cotter pin, repositioning a clevis pin, and reinstalling the cotter pin. Next up was securing a hydraulic hose to the tow arm with a P-clamp. Next the instructions say to add ISO 32 hydraulic fluid to the reservoir. But the reviews here had led me to believe that the splitter would come filled, so now I'm waiting for the next trip into town to buy fluid. The engine came with oil, but not the hydraulics. To their credit, HD would have shipped to the Ariens dealer for "white glove treatment" had I lived close to one. That would have meant that the splitter would be assembled, filled with fluids, and test run before I picked it up. But as it was I saved a couple hundred bux buying at HD but will need to spend $50 - $75 to fill the hydraulic tank.
That was all I could do at that point, all of which took maybe an hour. So I rolled the splitter out of the garage using the conviently placed handle on the tow arm and parked it where I could back up the little Kubota to it. The hitch was a little stiff dropping onto the ball, but latched down easily. The ground between the garage and box trailer is pretty steep and uneven, and I was a little worried that the splitter might tip over on some of the side hill parts, but didn't have any problems at all. As would be expected with a short "trailer" like the splitter, it responds quickly to even small steering inputs, so I had to pay extra attention when backing it up the ramp into the trailer. At 300+ pounds, I didn't even try to push it up the ramp by hand. But up the ramp it went, and it unlocked and unhitched easily. The swing down leg on the tow arm is a great feature, too, as it unlocks from either up or down by just sliding it out of a slot against light spring tension. That's an easy, one handed operation, and the tongue weight is light enough that I could easily support the splitter while doing so.
I didn't get very far in this review, but what I've seen so far has been good. Assembly (aside from the missing nut and hydro oil) was easy and fast, the splitter is easy to move around by hand, it tows well, and is pretty stable on rough ground. My one pull on the Subaru engine starter confirmed that would be an easy start as well, at least it will when there's gas in the tank. Speaking of which, I better fill the can next time I'm in town.
More later!
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