Husky 22 ton splitter at TSC

[LD1]

i have a friend that uses a huskee 22 ton splitter for his fire wood business and he told me once that you don't need anything bigger then 22 ton.

It depends on where you live and what type of wood you cut.

Out west, splitting softwoods, thats fine.

Here, we have stalled our 27T (4.5" cylinder) splitter more than once on peices of elm, or even some twisted up peices of maple.

But then again, if you are in the firewood business, you probabally only keep nice straight peices, and leave the crotch/knotty peices behind in the woods.

 

[namesray]

we are in the north east. red oak, white oak, hard maple, cherry, birch, beech. don't sell soft wood for fire wood in this area. i am sure more tons would be better if you are going to split the knotty and gnarly stuff, but that stuff is usually a pain to work with. between the two of us we do over 600 face cord a year. that would be 200 regular cord.

 

[arrow]

Home owner types rarely need more than 20 ton. I've been using a 16 ton Northern since 98 and that's with a 4 way splitting mostly oak producing 6 cord per year. My bil has a 35 ton that I can't stand to use as the cycles are so long, trees have enough time to regrow.

I do not know how Northern rates this splitter as 16 ton as it has the same 4" cylinder, 5hp motor and 11 gal pump as those that are rated at 20 ton.

 

[Big Wave D]

Another satisfied owner here as well.

I to bought when the sale price included the couple extras. They also were running a deal where if you got and used their store card, there was no interest for 6 months, I think. I recently saw that they were doing 12 months on anything over $400, so this certainly qualifies.

I have yet to have had a piece that it couldn't make it through. Came pretty close a time or two just a couple of weeks ago. The splitter still managed to prevail.

I didn't buy the matching table, but I could see where it would be very handy. I usually have my tractor bucket right beside, so it acts as my table/catch.

I have a question for those knowledgeable about hydraulics though.

I have been told that when using something like a Bobcat skid-steer, you want to run the engine wide open, no matter what you are doing, taxing or not on the equipment. To NOT run the engine will in some way damage the hydraulics or the hyd. motors. Is this true or have any merit?
The reason I ask, is because I don't run my splitter wide open while using it. Am I damaging the pump or valves or something else in any way?

For personal use wood production, I have been quite pleased with the machines performance, and I think it is solidly built for a commercially made unit. The ability to swing the splitter from horizontal to vertical is very nice and quite the back saver.

One change I'd like to do is increase the size of the foot, but welding on it at this point will void the warranty on the frame. It has a 1 - 2 - 3 year warranty. Motor, hydraulics, and frame, if I remember right.

Happy splitting, I think you will like what you find when you hit the woods.

 

[LD1]

I have a question for those knowledgeable about hydraulics though.

I have been told that when using something like a Bobcat skid-steer, you want to run the engine wide open, no matter what you are doing, taxing or not on the equipment. To NOT run the engine will in some way damage the hydraulics or the hyd. motors. Is this true or have any merit?
The reason I ask, is because I don't run my splitter wide open while using it. Am I damaging the pump or valves or something else in any way?

Run it wide open.

Not doing so, and you are not making the rated GPM, and therefore going to be slower. You are also not making the rated power, and could possibly stall out the engine in a tough peice, which is also not good on it.

Plus, running it wide-open, isnt really wide open in the since that most people think. The motor is governed at a reasonable speed.

 

[Big Wave D]

LD1,
I certainly realize that I won't be making the stated GPM's without running motor wide open, but I am not really concerned about the cycling speed. It cycles fast enough for my needs. Also, about the stalling, I do match engine speed to work at hand, resistance of wood.

Does running the splitter at less than wide open, do any harm to the hydraulic system, that is my question?

 

[LD1]

LD1,
I certainly realize that I won't be making the stated GPM's without running motor wide open, but I am not really concerned about the cycling speed. It cycles fast enough for my needs. Also, about the stalling, I do match engine speed to work at hand, resistance of wood.

Does running the splitter at less than wide open, do any harm to the hydraulic system, that is my question?

No. Not to the hydraulic system.

 

[jejeosborne]

LD1,
I certainly realize that I won't be making the stated GPM's without running motor wide open, but I am not really concerned about the cycling speed. It cycles fast enough for my needs. Also, about the stalling, I do match engine speed to work at hand, resistance of wood.

Does running the splitter at less than wide open, do any harm to the hydraulic system, that is my question?

I vote no as long as you are not lugging or stalling the engine. This is how I operate my tractor. While spitting, I operate full throttle to improve cycle times and because it is a $200 7HP engine.

 

[paul dyar]

Had mine 3 years. Does better than I expected
Paul

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I"ve had my 22 ton husky for a little over a year now. Had some minor issues with the B&S engine, someone along the line had fooled with it or wasn't put together quite right- carb float bowl leaked and the gasket wasn't on properly, but otherwise, has been very good.

I split a lot of green hemlock when trees come down in the woods, and that is about as nasty as it gets and I've never had any problems. I'm only using it for my own heat, so it's strictly homeowner use here.

If I were buying my logs or splitting commercially, and didn't have the occasional very big logs that need the vertical option, I would consider an inertial type splitter, but to justify almost 3x the expense, I'd have to be splitting a lot more wood than I do. Other than that, or for a really heavy commercial operation, It would seem that the little Husky is as good as it gets for the price. Briggs engines are relatively easy to repair and/or replace if necessary.

One thing I like a lot is the design of the wedge. It has a "double angle" design. Don't know how many splitters have one like this, but the narrow entry and wider back splits almost everything well before the cycle is complete, so the "cycle time" is really not an issue except for particularly gnarly pieces. Working by yourself, you'll have a tough time keeping the thing fed, which is a good thing. The downside to this wedge design is it likely makes putting a "slip on" 4-way splitter or such difficult or impossible, but that's something I don't need.

To throw my two cents in on the "wide open" question, I run mine just a small amount backed off from "wide open," and it has never had any problems. It's a little quieter, uses a little less fuel and has plenty of power that way. May not make much difference, but I think they pretty much max them out with their governors, and it might add a little longer life to the engine.