# Old speeco Splitter



## mellow (Jul 15, 2012)

Tried finding some info on this old speeco splitter but I am coming up with nothing. Interested in finding out how many tons this thing is, I am guessing 10 tons? Couldn't find any numbers on it while searching it but I didn't look very hard either in the hot sun. Hoping someone can fill in some info on it.


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## Fifelaker (Jul 15, 2012)

Surplus Center has a calculator on their site that will give you your tonnage. My guess is around 17 tons.


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## triptester (Jul 15, 2012)

It says Speeco on the side but everthing but the cylinder says it is a Didier.
For tonnage measure the outside diameter of the cylinder and subtract 1/2", this will give you the bore size.

3" bore@3000 psi =10.6 tons
3.5" bore@3000 psi = 14.4 yons
4" bore @3000 psi = 18.8 tons
3000 psi is considered the normal max. pressure  for commonly used. splitter pumps


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## nate379 (Jul 15, 2012)

That is similar to mine which is 7 tons.  Mine isn't 10" off the ground though.  Who the hell will use that, a midget?


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## bogydave (Jul 15, 2012)

Not far to lift the rounds. 
Is it yours or are you shopping?
 If it splits & you like it, use knee pads & "get-r-done "


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## MasterMech (Jul 16, 2012)

nate379 said:


> That is similar to mine which is 7 tons. Mine isn't 10" off the ground though. Who the hell will use that, a midget?


 
Pretty common for old horizontal only splitters to be designed to sit low like that.  Makes rolling the big 'uns on it much easier.  Hard on the back tho as you can imagine.


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## mellow (Jul 16, 2012)

Looking at buying it,  figure if I can pick it up for 200-300 it is not a bad deal.  It has been taken care of all its life so the age doesn't bother me,  it fired up on 1st pull and cycled with no issues.    The owner still burns in an old smoke dragon and I was surprised this thing would split some of the pieces he showed me which really had me wondering about its tonnage,  being able to split large oak rounds is no small feat.

Being low to the ground is a good thing,  he will include a ramp for rolling large pieces up on the beam.   Trust me if I had the money I would be buying a vertical.


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## tomc585 (Jul 16, 2012)

The bore looks pretty small (3") so I'm guessing your looking at around 10 tons which would do fine for most rounds but may not be so rewarding when trying crotch wood.


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## nate379 (Jul 16, 2012)

I think I'd rather lift the couple big ones then be bent over all day to split  the other 99% of the wood!


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## mellow (Jul 17, 2012)

This will be my first horizontal only splitter,  all the other years I have begged/borrowed/rented a splitter they were all horizontal/vertical  and 99% of the time I was splitting in vertical,   just something about sitting on a 5 gal bucket with rounds all around you splitting away.   I will miss that I am sure.


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## MasterMech (Jul 18, 2012)

mellow said:


> This will be my first horizontal only splitter, all the other years I have begged/borrowed/rented a splitter they were all horizontal/vertical and 99% of the time I was splitting in vertical, just something about sitting on a 5 gal bucket with rounds all around you splitting away. I will miss that I am sure.


 Most likely won't be much different.  The bucket will still be of use and wood will still be on the ground.  May be reaching a bit more for the splits.


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## onetracker (Jul 21, 2012)

hey that's a cool little splitter. i would surely have bought something like that in the past if i only had a few bucks to spend. if height was the issue i'd just modify it. roll it up on truck ramps and chock it good. weld a foot on it. whatever it takes to get'r'done. use it for a few years while saving up for a bigger splitter and sell it for what you purchased it for.


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## mellow (Jul 31, 2012)

Bought the splitter last night for $200.  Didn't have time to test it out last night,  hoping to give it a test on some good ol gum wood tonight and see how it does.


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## weatherguy (Aug 1, 2012)

mellow said:


> Bought the splitter last night for $200. Didn't have time to test it out last night, hoping to give it a test on some good ol gum wood tonight and see how it does.


 Good deal, Ive seen a couple of those around here going for $400-500, cant wait to see it split. My 12 ton handles everything I throw at it so that should do just as well.


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## tomc585 (Aug 1, 2012)

Good deal even if it needs work. Whats the stroke on that thing? From the pictures it looks short (which cuts down on unattended cycle times)


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## Jags (Aug 1, 2012)

I am with triptester - You may have some speeco brand components, but I think the splitter itself was a Didier built unit. Pretty tried and true units.

For the mother load of Didier info go here:
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/111496.htm


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## mellow (Aug 1, 2012)

Splitter worked great even on knotty pieces.  Question about the ram,  it has black spots on it,  looks like the silver coating is coming off,  looks like spider webs.  I can't post the pic of it from my phone but when I get to a computer later I will.


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## Jags (Aug 1, 2012)

That is probably from the shaft coating cracking (I believe that it is often a chrome based coating) . The black that you see is actually corrosion. As long as it don't leak, don't sweat it. Long term it could become a problem, or at least eat up shaft seals at a greater than normal rate. Probably only last another 20 years. Always keep the ram in the retracted position for storage.


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## mellow (Aug 1, 2012)

Picture attached of ram arm.


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## bioman (Aug 1, 2012)

fer 200 beans i'd runit till i thought it needs fixin. good buy very clean looking splitter!


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## Jags (Aug 2, 2012)

Yep, that is what I am talking about.  That is rust.  Run it till she pukes. There ain't no fix except for replacement.


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## mellow (Aug 2, 2012)

Ok,  didn't know if there was someway to strip off the old coating and redo it,  I will have gotten my $200 worth out of it by the end of this weekend so everything past that is gravy.

Starts on first pull and all the fluids are super clean.  It has been sitting for the past 8 years in a guys garage that got a bigger splitter.  Surprised the carbs are not clogged but then I thought about it,  no ethanol in gas 8 years ago.


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## Jags (Aug 2, 2012)

Like I said - it will probably only last another 20 yrs or so.


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## blades (Aug 2, 2012)

Can that be fixed? yes, but the cost would exceed the price of a replacement.


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## tomc585 (Aug 2, 2012)

mellow said:


> Picture attached of ram arm.


Looks like the chrome finished tarnished which you could remove with a tarnish remover or polish. If its rough and has a texture feel it might be corrosion from neglect which will cause some wear on the seals and wipers and someday begin to leak.


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## Jags (Aug 2, 2012)

tomc585 said:


> Looks like the chrome finished tarnished which you could remove with a tarnish remover or polish.


Expand the pic.  It is beyond tarnished and into the "pitting" stage.  No reasonable fix only replacement.  Run it till it don't run no more.


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## mellow (Aug 2, 2012)

Thanks for the links to the Didier thread over at arbor, after reading all 18 pages I am now even more confused about what this is,  the engine setup is different than ones posted in that thread, let alone the ram.   On the beam it has a speeco label on it,  so far the only ID tag I have found.


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## Jags (Aug 2, 2012)

Well - if its marked on the beam - who the heck knows, might be an early speeco design.  In the 70's and even today, there is so much rebranding of stuff it can be hard to follow.  It sure does look of the Didier design, but they had several versions of splitters.


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## triptester (Aug 3, 2012)

It could be a Speeco. The original manufacturer of Didier splitters went out of business about the same time as Speeco started. They my have bought the patents or the complete business.


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## Jags (Aug 3, 2012)

Good points, Triptester.


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## mellow (Aug 3, 2012)

Interesting bit of info.  After many many hours of searching I still have yet to find a picture of another speeco splitter that looks like this,  wonder how rare these things are?


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## mellow (Aug 3, 2012)

I had to convert the file to greyscale to try and get the writing to pop out but this is a picture of the tag on the beam,  clearly a speeco product.   I can't find any other tags by the engine or the oil tank.


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## MasterMech (Aug 3, 2012)

Is it just me or does that tag read "Special Products Co, 482321, Golden Co" ?


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## mellow (Aug 3, 2012)

MasterMech said:


> Is it just me or does that tag read "Special Products Co, 482321, Golden Co" ?


 
Correct.
_Special Products Co, Speeco, Incorporated _
15000 W 44th Avenue # C
Golden, CO 80403-7258


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## mellow (Aug 6, 2012)

Gave myself and the splitter a workout in the heat over the weekend,  this older B&S engine does not like the heat,  had to keep a fan on it and shut it down every 30-45 minutes to let it cool,  which is OK as I was overheating as well.   Found out the ram does leak a little bit when it is cycling back,  nothing huge will just have to keep an eye on it.  Overall it did the job, short of having to use an axe to finish off the split due to it being gum wood and being stringy all went well.

Picture of what I was splitting,  some good size nasty gum wood:


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## razzorm (Aug 6, 2012)

I am quite sure your splitter was made by Brave Industries. I have one very similar and they were sold locally by a store called Central Tractor back in the late 1980's maybe to the early 1990's in western Mass. They went out of business years ago..
Brave splitters are still made but by a new company who took over the Brave name, unfortunately they do not have parts for the old Brave splitters.
I have had my splitter raised because it was a back breaker using it the way it was.
Just today put a trailer ball on the front of my DR Power Wagon to move the splitter around, works great (will post a picture).
Should have done this a long time ago!!
I'm not sure what I did to get my name tagged to the above posting.


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## mellow (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks for the reply razzorm,  but I have a Speeco splitter.   I just got word back from Speeco about it,  they gave me the manuals for it,  even now knowing the model # LS400404 and that it is a Speeco 9 ton log splitter I still can't find any more info on it.   I did find an old ad about it from 1984.

I have also attached the operating manual in case anyone else runs across this thread.


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## mellow (Sep 11, 2012)

Been busy giving the splitter a work out,   so far it has not met a piece it could not split,  not bad for only 9 tons.

Shot of it working on some nasty gum wood over the weekend:


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## tomc585 (Sep 13, 2012)

I too was surprised that my 27ton never needed to push more than 10tons (i had a gauge ion it) to split some troublesome crotch wood.


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