With the cash from decking several honda cylinder heads last week, I decided my back has had enough splitting wood for a lifetime and spent those dollars on an electric Harbor Freight log splitter. It was on sale for $250.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93815

I drove to the HF store in Saddle Brook NJ, son napping in the back and I showed the cashier the printed internet page, he run me up with the sale price, hollared on the PA to the back room guys to meet me at the side door. Very painless transaction.

I load my son back into his car seat, snoring away, and went around back and two teenagers with HF t-shirts loaded the "small" box into the back of my truck and I headed home.

I cut the box up in the truck bed to make it easier to remove the item and not litter the driveway with styrofoam. I wheeled the unit around to the back, looked at the manual and confirmed it's "plug and play" not requiring me to do anything but provide power. The advertisement says it requires a 20A outlet but the instructions say to wire it up with 14ga ???

I have a plug-in peak-and-hold ammeter so I dug that out and plugged the splitter into that, and the ammeter into the outlet out back, and turned it on. When I first turn it on it draws 21 amps then immediately drops to 13-14A. Works for me.

I balance a 24" diameter, 17" long log chunk on the splitter, push and hold the momentary "on" button, and actuate the hydraulic lever with me knee. I needed my other hand to hold the log chunk in place.

The pusher thing clamped the log chunk between itself and the wedge, the machine squeeked a little, and CRACK - right through.

And here I expected to return it to HF with this massive log chunk stuck in it

So after spending 2/3 of the day splitting wood, I discovered that it splits just about anything (maple, oak, hickory, certainly pine) if the wood is dry and one sprays the wedge with "pam" cooking spray occasionally.

If the hardwood is wet or green, it may struggle to split but all one has to do is find a crack and align that crack with the wedge and it generally will then split it no problem.

Nifty little thing.

All it needs now is "real" wheels and a hitch for my riding mower and I won't have to painfully drag it across uneven bricks, slate, and large roots

 

nice report, I have personaly had good luck with "most" of harbor freight's products.

 

I bought a similar model this year from Home Depot. It is a Ryobi and I have split about 1/2 a cord of oak and was equally impressed. I had a $50.00 off with purchase of $200 coupon so the price was $250. The HF looks to have a 2hp instead of 1 1/2 hp on the Ryobi. My dad is wanting one after checking mine out. I told him to save his cash and I'll come over and split some logs for him.

Link to product.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...9&ddkey=Search

 

Weadjust - I looked at the HD and Lowes equivs online however from their miniscule descriptions and pictures it appeared to be the same unit more or less, so without HD or Lowes gift cards or coupons or whatever, the HF unit being on sale just made financial sense. This is the second "big" item I've gotten from HF and was equally impressed with the milling machine for the $$$. I won't say either the milling machine or the log splitter are what I would consider "ideal" or "the best choice" but if I measure my satisfaction against the dollars I spent, the ratio is fairly high - meaning I felt as though I got my money's worth.

But this log splitter does need real wheels and hitch to be truly useful. I'll be adding that this week more than likely. To drag it on the wheels, I have to walk hunched over - not good!

 

In California we need to crush our used oil filters befor returning them for disposal. I wonder how this machine would do on crushing oil filters?

Seems like everything I bur at harbor freight ends up being crap. My latest POS is their bead blast cabinet. I spend more time fixing it that using it. The latest prob. is the gloves keep coming unattached from the cabinet. Frustrating!!!!!!!!

 

I cut an oil filter just for you Fixnair. I put the base against the ram and the crowned top against the cutter, and it crushed it more than it sliced it.

Got a little overconfident today... tossed on a huge piece of maple, probably 2-1/2' diameter, and got the wedge completely stuck, and the ram didn't push any further.

Required extensive air chiseling!

 

Our oil filters have to be shipped in an approved 55 gallon drum. I pay $50 a drum and the more filters I can get into a drum the cheaper it is for me. A log splitter with the appropriate tool on the end of the ram sounds like the ticket. Right now I can only get about 150 filters (whole size ) in the drum. If I crushed them first I'll bet I could get at least three times that.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Thanks for the idea Fred!

By the way I understand the used filters go to L.A. to be turned into Rebar.

 

When I was in tech school we crushed the filters with a electric/hydraulic shop press with a special setup to reclaim the oil, a drain plate at the bottom with a hole in it, and a flat plate on the top under the ram to crush the filter. I still laugh at the time another guy that I really did not get along with put a filter in upside down. The filter sealed to the top plate, and when it let go it blew oil all over the him and the little room the unit was mounted in.
I don't think I have ever seen that many people laughing at one oil soaked person in my life.

 

OK, FINE!! go on a road trip and don't ask if i want to go??
what?? i got stinky feet or something??

i will remember this the next time you want something.

 

Jeez Tom!

I had my son with me and a very small window between "sleepy kid" and "wide awake and don't want to be in the truck kid" so I just bolted north to Saddle Brook to be done with it.

Has nothing to do with your feet, just timing.

 

How come we never hear from Torque1st. Is he alright? Does anybody have any info on him?
Hope he is OK.

 

yea, rite.

remember, i have been in the truck with mini monkey boy.

 

i am glad to hear of other folks splitting and stackin firewood. It seems like most people do not bother with wood heating anymore. Anyhow back to the splitter. I am glad you like your splitter. I burn a lot of wood each year. I didnt go with electric b/c i am usually miles back in the woods where i cut. I got a Huskee brand from tractor supply. 6hp Briggs motor. I love it. It is amazing i can split 2 cords of wood over a weedend and still go to work on monday. It makes life and the pusiut of firewood so much easier. Gotta love modern technology combined with age old know how.

 

Yes Tom I know, except this was a "my back can't take this axe any longer" decision and my son started to fall asleep so I took advantage of the situation.

Desert - I am pleased with it, but I would rather have purchased a tow-behind gas powered unit because then at least I could hitch it, and drive to various places I've seen wood stacked at the curb, split it right there, and fit it better into the bed of the truck. Right now I collect long, large diameter branches that stick out somewhat, haul them home, then cut/split then go do another run. I could easily triple the volume of split wood if I could put the wood into the truck cut and split already.

I have no problem putting out a traffic cone while doing this either

Of course I can't get my McCollugh gas chainsaw started either, but that's another story.

 

yea, yea yea.

on a side note, thanks to you, the rattletrap now for the first time in 19 1/2 years has a working volt meter in the dash.

so i can park it.