I own only one Honda motor. It's on a very expensive rotary mower, and it's been a PITA since I"ve owned it. Not to be overly argumentative, but the briggs engine on my Huskee splitter does a remarkable job at half throttle on normal wood. And for splitting four or five cords a year, it should be adequate for a good many years. Also cheap to replace and easier to get parts than Honda. If I were splitting 20 or more cords a year, I would be looking for something heavier duty than the vertical briggs, but for comparsion, I have an approximately 13 years old DR powerwagon with (of all things) a Techumseh engine and it's as good as new (has the original plug in it too.)
A friend has co-owned a Huskee with the vertical Briggs for several years now, and recommended it to me, and I have not been disappointed in its performance. There was an issue with leaking gas, but it was just a matter or taking off the float bowl and resetting the gasket. The red Hondas are great engines, I'm sure, but for four or five cords a year, my whole splitter costs not much more than a good sized Honda engine. Unless there are big surprises (bad ones) in the future with the machine, I'd say it's the right machine for the home user who heats with wood. The extra $500 can buy a pretty nice chainsaw or a very big truckload of log length wood to split..
