# Huskee 22 ton from TSC or Troy-Bilt 27 Ton from Lowes



## bill9009 (Jan 11, 2010)

First post here, I have been lurking for a long time and have gotten alot of good information. Here is my dilemma. I am looking to purchase a splitter. I have heard good things about both these splitters.
First is the Huskee 22 ton from TSC you all seem very familiar with. The other is the Troy-Bilt 27 Ton from Lowes. I can get the Huskee for $1099, which is retail price. Now I can get the Troy bilt for $1049-10% coupon, so the troy bilt ends up being $944.10. 

The differences I can see besides the ratings 22-27 ton, Is the huskee has a briggs (190cc) and the TB has a honda(160cc), but its only the GC not the gx series honda. 
The huskee has a 14 second cycle time and the troy bilt a 19 sec. 

Anyone know why the difference in ton rating, or any other differences. Also which one would you all recommend. Obviously the TB from lowes is cheaper which is why I am leaning towards that one. 

So my question is which one would you choose?

Thanks for the help and all the good info!


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## thinkxingu (Jan 11, 2010)

Bill, is that the Huskee splitter they've been running for $999 the last two months?  If so, see if they'll honor the price--seems like the cycle time and engine might be better.

S


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## bill9009 (Jan 11, 2010)

thinkxingu said:
			
		

> Bill, is that the Huskee splitter they've been running for $999 the last two months?  If so, see if they'll honor the price--seems like the cycle time and engine might be better.
> 
> S



Yes the same one, but it is 1099 now, if it was 999 I would probably jump on it. I found one at a TSC near me and they would not budge on the price, even though it was obvous that it had been sitting outside for a while. There was some surface rust as well as some paint peeling. The manager said sorry its brand new and its 1099. I said thank you very much and left. How can they sell something as brand new if its rusting.


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## bill9009 (Jan 11, 2010)

This is the stove the wood is for ,Appalachian 4n1-xl


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## Gooserider (Jan 11, 2010)

Do the search for past discussions about the relationship between cycle time and pump size, and the horsepower requirements for a given pump...

In short, the Troy-built (really an MTD) has a higher ton rating because it has a larger bore cylinder than the Huskee.  It has a slower cycle time because they used the same size pump and matching engine as the Huskee...

Either would probably do about as well in splitting, as you won't find much that a 20 won't split, especially if you give it a couple of hits...  IMHO slow cycle times are seriously frustrating, and I would seriously downrate the MTD splitter for that reason - however either will do a reasonable job for you, and both machines have pretty good reputations, with maybe the Huskee having a slight edge...

Gooserider


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## savageactor7 (Jan 11, 2010)

It's almost a toss up bill...so around here I'd do business with TSC. Mostly because they're more wiling to work with you after the sale. Lowes will refer you to a 3rd party...but your TSC may be different.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 11, 2010)

I think both are decent deals and would serve you well . . . and either one is better than splitting by hand.

The Troy-bilt/MTD may be a bit slower than the Huskee . . . which may or may not be a big deal. My MTD was notably slower than the older MTD I had borrowed from my Uncle and it took a bit to get used to this fact . . . but it was not a deal breaker for me . . . plus I rarely split all the way through.

There really doesn't seem to be a large differnce in the tonnage . . . I would suspect that most anything you would need to split could be done with either the Huskee or MTD. There may be a few pieces from time to time that the smaller tonnage may not handle, but I would guess this would be a rare event.

As for the engine . . . originally I was leaning towards a Honda engine . . . but in the end I went with the B & S engine which has actually run well . . . plus parts are easy and cheap to replace . . . heck, for not a lot of money I can just plunk a whole new engine on it if need be . . . that said . . . I still like Honda engines.

In the interest of being as open as possible . . . I do have a 27-ton MTD splitter . . . bought it since it was a lot closer than the two TSC stores in the area (10 minute drive vs. 45 minute drive), I opted for the larger tonnage as I have a lot of elm and it was a decent deal.


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## Kong (Jan 11, 2010)

I tend to agree with the post above but with some qualifications.  First I'd really like to know just what it is you intend to split.  I say that because I do happen to believe that a 20-ton splitter (4" diameter cylinder) can be a little light for some people's use whereas 27 tons (4.5" cylinder) will plow through all but the toughest crotches of wood.  If you have to bang away at your larger pieces a couple of times it can make up a a long cycle time on another splitter that could do the work in one wack.  I'd go for the larger diameter cylinder and not worry too much about the engine other than to note a well maintained (fill in the blank) that is kept dry should outlast a (fill in the blank)  that is left out in the weather.


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## smokinj (Jan 11, 2010)

both that close in price I would buy the troy built the honda are great and the extra tonage is a +, you will very rarely do a full cycle.


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## peterc38 (Jan 11, 2010)

Just my two cents but I don't think the Honda GC series engines are all that great. I have one on a pressure washer and don't like it. I'd rather have the  Briggs.

Honda GX series is a whole other ballgame obviously.


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## smokinj (Jan 11, 2010)

peterc38 said:
			
		

> Just my two cents but I don't think the Honda GC series engines are all that great. I have one on a pressure washer and don't like it. I'd rather have the Briggs.
> 
> Honda GX series is a whole other ballgame obviously.



I have 2 of them and one is on a pressure washer I have done over 100 cords with the splitter never a issue.Power washed the whole house and 1200 sq ft of deck and the drive 60x20 the garage 24x24 total around 4000 sq ft of surface + cars and equipment never one issue both start in one pull every-time... What issue do you have?


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## zzr7ky (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi 

I shopped both and got the 27 Ton Troy Bilt / Honda unit at Lowes over the 22 Ton.   I never know what type of wood I'm going to split next.   Elm from along a fence row or in a church yard may have ridiculus knots, near petrified crotch collection from a nieghbor...   I find the 27 Ton vertical feature I use once in a while but appreciate it on the scrounged rounds that others pass on.   I can pull the splitter up, lever the round in and load smaller/safer chunks in the truck.   

On nice clear logs in the woods the cycle time is not so important as the splits 'pop' right open and rarely does the ram move more thatn 6 or 8".  

I will say if I had to burn much Elm I would want a faster cycle time, but I avoid Elm and that seems to be working well.

ATB, 
Mike


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## smokinj (Jan 11, 2010)

zzr7ky said:
			
		

> Hi
> 
> I shopped both and got the 27 Ton Troy Bilt / Honda unit at Lowes over the 22 Ton.   I never know what type of wood I'm going to split next.   Elm from along a fence row or in a church yard may have rediculus knots, near petrified crotch collection from a nieghbor...   I find the 27 Ton vertical feature I use once in a while but appreciate it on the scrounged rounds that others pass on.   I can pull the splitter up, lever the round in and load smaller/safer chunks in the truck.
> 
> ...



I paid 1399.00 for the same unit 1-1/2 ago and at the price you paid great deal...on a great splitter


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## argus66 (Jan 11, 2010)

i had a tough time with warranty issues with mtd they paid up finally but it took some time and they would not give me full amount with splitter fully under warranty.. i bought a new spitter and went with the husky 22 ton  ( 36 month warranty) mostly from people on here and the good folks at tractor supply hooking me with a good deal.


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## fire_man (Jan 12, 2010)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> zzr7ky said:
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I also paid $1399 at a local independent about 2 months ago. I could have gotten it at Lowes for $1250 but I like supporting the little guys. The dealer also had free pickup/delivery for 3 years and they handle all warranty work for me. (already used it for bent cradle).


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## bill9009 (Jan 12, 2010)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> zzr7ky said:
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Yeah my local lowes can special order it for me for 1349 which i believe is retail now, but the lowes about 2 hours away has them for 1049, and has them in stock(I bet they had a few too many in stock and are trying to get rid of them). I believe I will not be disappointed with the cycle time since it is only a difference between 14 and 19 secs, and I wont be doing full cycles anyways. I really will only be using the splitter for what I cannot split by hand with the fiskars. So it will be wood on the tougher side with knots and whatever else. 

Also I was not to pleased with the TSC personell when I was there last. The manager was not very friendly when I asked for a discount on the rusted up splitter they had outside on display.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jan 12, 2010)

So you're going to spend $1K on a splitter that you will only use on a couple pieces a year?    Why don't you just cookie them with the chainsaw and then burn the cookies in the shoulder season?

Matt


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## bill9009 (Jan 12, 2010)

EatenByLimestone said:
			
		

> So you're going to spend $1K on a splitter that you will only use on a couple pieces a year?    Why don't you just cookie them with the chainsaw and then burn the cookies in the shoulder season?
> 
> Matt



I have alot of pieces that cant be split manually, cutting them with a chainsaw would take a while. I am leaning towards the TB, since it would only be used for these larger pieces.


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## zzr7ky (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi - 

I don't think he's suggesting you cut them lengthwise, but instead you just cut the crotch or knarly pieces into slices that are say say 5-7" thick and be done with them.  They dry quickly this way weather split or not.  I did it this way for years.  

ATB, 
Mike P


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 12, 2010)

I have the TB 33 ton.  Cycle time is slow, but I split alone (yaaa- with nobody else.  You know when I split alone- I prefer to be by myself)- so that slow return represents me picking up a new log and loading it.  If I'm resplitting a half on there already, then I don't let it return all the way.  

I wouldn't mind it a bit faster, but in addition to my working alone, a little slower is a reasonable safety feature to get your $#!t straight.  A little haste with one of these suckers will cost you a hand.  Well- would cost me a hand, because I start getting stupid after wood processing for 8 hrs.

Oh- and the Honda engine on mine rocks.  First pull every damn time.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 12, 2010)

bill9009 said:
			
		

> smokinjay said:
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I might suggest that if you do buy the splitter you may want to put up the vaunted Fiskars and just bring it out from time to time to remind you why splitting with a hydraulic splitter is so much easier on the body . . . and of course keep it around to split down those splits that you will find from time to time in your woodpile that are a bit too large for your tastes. 

Generally when a person buys a splitter they tend to use it a lot more than they do their ax, splitting maul, etc. and not just keep it in reserve for those difficult to split pieces . . . I mean to say, if I attempted to justify the purchase of a splitter just for those challenging pieces I don't think I could really do so . . . which is why the splitter is used pretty much all the time . . . although once in a while I dig out the ax and split some rounds for "fun."


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 12, 2010)

I get ahead with the splitter, then I switch to the maul.  Of course- I go through 16 cord a year, so getting ahead is tough to do


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## peterc38 (Jan 12, 2010)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> I have the TB 33 ton.  Cycle time is slow, but I split alone (yaaa- with nobody else.  You know when I split alone- I prefer to be by myself)- so that slow return represents me picking up a new log and loading it.  If I'm resplitting a half on there already, then I don't let it return all the way.
> 
> I wouldn't mind it a bit faster, but in addition to my working alone, a little slower is a reasonable safety feature to get your $#!t straight.  A little haste with one of these suckers will cost you a hand.  Well- would cost me a hand, because I start getting stupid after wood processing for 8 hrs.
> 
> Oh- and the Honda engine on mine rocks.  First pull every damn time.



I work alone too so I like a slower cycle time for all the reasons that you mentioned.

The 33 ton troybilt has the GX series Honda correct?


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 12, 2010)

I don't remember- Honda OHV is what I know


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## boisblancboy (Jan 12, 2010)

I didnt read through all the posts, but I have a 27ton Troy built with a Honda engine, cant remember off the top of my head how many horse it is.  Anyway, I do like this splitter alot, its light weight and not hard to move around, but plenty of power to split just about anything you can get over to it.  The cycle speed is a little slower than what I am used to, but its not bad.  My buddy who I cut and sell firewood with has a 35 ton Huskey.  Here are the reasons I dont like it.  Its heavy as all get out and takes two people to move it around unless you are on nice smooth even ground.  Its really loud, dont remember what engine is on it.    Also the cycle speed is really slow when its cold and it does take some time for it to warm up to get the speed going.  Because of the power, 35tons and its steel wedge, I welded extra "ears" on up on it about 4 inches for the cutting edge which really speeds up splitting since it spreads the wood apart faster.  It made a huge difference!

Hope this helps.


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## Gooserider (Jan 12, 2010)

I actually don't see a slow cycle time as a safety feature - if anything I think it's a RISK factor...  

I help a friend with his wood business, and do a lot of splitting, some using a 20-ton MTD  with a ~15 second cycle time, and some using a Super-Split flywheel inertial splitter with a 2-3 second cycle time...  My personal 30-ton HF unit also has about a 15 second cycle.  

When I'm on the slow machine (and it's still slow, even when short cycling, which I do most of the time) I have plenty of time to zone out and start thinking about other things, and not pay all that much attention to what I'm doing - and sometimes try doing last second position shifts on the wood, since I have plenty of time to work in while waiting for the wedge....

OTOH, the Super-Split is scary-fast, and you are pretty much forced to stay focused on the task at hand, as you don't have TIME to start thinking about other stuff before the cycle is finished and you have to start setting up for the next split...

I suspect if I had a 20-second cycle machine, I'd be falling asleep at the lever waiting for it...

Another item for consideration, and it's a mod that I've occasionally considered trying - All the TSC / Huskee machines I've seen have had "clevis mount" cylinders - where you had a full length beam with the cylinder attaching by a clevis mount at the the cylinder end, and by the moving wedge / pusher mount at the piston end...  At least some of the MTD machines I've seen use a "trunnion mount" cylnder where the cylinder attaches by some "ears" that are welded to the base of the cylinder next to the rod, and the beam is that much shorter...  The clevis mount is very much an "industry standard" and if you should ever develop a problem with the cylinder, it is something that just about any supplier can sell you a replacement instantly, and in easily interchangeable larger and smaller sizes.  OTOH, the trunnion mounts are specialty items - you can only get them from the equipment maker, and probably will be limited to just the size that came on the machine...

Since I have a 30 ton, with an appropriately matched cylinder and pump - it means I still get the 15 second cycle time, because I have a 16gpm pump...  I have found that the 30 ton capacity is not really all that useful - my pressure gage says I almost never even go over 2,000psi working pressure when splitting - and am sure I could do just fine with a 20-ton capacity...  For a couple hundred dollars, and a few hours work, It would not be hard for me to replace my clevis mount 5" cylinder with a 4" one - this would drop my capacity to 20 tons, but probably also get me down into the 8-10 second cycle time...  The idea is tempting....

Gooserider


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## fire_man (Jan 12, 2010)

Adios Pantalones said:
			
		

> I have the TB 33 ton.  Cycle time is slow, but I split alone (yaaa- with nobody else.  You know when I split alone- I prefer to be by myself)- so that slow return represents me picking up a new log and loading it.  If I'm resplitting a half on there already, then I don't let it return all the way.
> 
> *I wouldn't mind it a bit faster, but in addition to my working alone, a little slower is a reasonable safety feature to get your $#!t straight.  A little haste with one of these suckers will cost you a hand.  Well- would cost me a hand, because I start getting stupid after wood processing for 8 hrs.*
> 
> Oh- and the Honda engine on mine rocks.  First pull every damn time.



A hand surgeon just told me he often deals with log splitter injuries. He said the most common reason for the injuries is two people operating the splitter - one loading it and the other operating the control valve. The two get out of sync and that's when fingers and hands  get amputated :exclaim: . He said its not as bad when the injury is from the wedge side, fingers can be re-attached. Its the side that supports the log that causes the worst injuries because the amputations are crushed.


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## Kong (Jan 12, 2010)

Well, all this cycle time discussion would be great, but its not based on the numbers.

Fact is the 35 Ton splitter that Tractor Supply is selling has a cycle time of 14 seconds, the 28 ton is 18 seconds.  So the big splitter is actually faster than the smaller splitter even though the 35 ton has a 5" cylinder compared to a 4.5" cylinder on the 28 ton.  The difference of course is the pump, which is 16GPM for the 35 ton but only 11GPM for the 28 and the 20 ton.  By the way, the 20 ton has a cycle time only 1 second faster than the 35 ton, so that's not much of a discussion either.


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## CK-1 (Jan 13, 2010)

I own a 22-Ton Huskee from TSC.    I couldn't care less about cycle times long as the wood is being split with no problems.   This splitter has split everything I have thrown at it.    I purchased it using a coupon at $999.   It was laying outside covered in plastic.   I would recommend calling another TSC in your area and see if they have it in stock..  Getting a coupon wouldn't hurt either..


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## bill9009 (Jan 13, 2010)

CK-1 said:
			
		

> I own a 22-Ton Huskee from TSC.    I couldn't care less about cycle times long as the wood is being split with no problems.   This splitter has split everything I have thrown at it.    I purchased it using a coupon at $999.   It was laying outside covered in plastic.   I would recommend calling another TSC in your area and see if they have it in stock..  Getting a coupon wouldn't hurt either..



what coupon did you have?
The problem is there are not many tsc in my area. The one that had the splitter is already 2 hours away. Plus I already have a coupon for lowes for 10% off but it expires on the 15 th I believe. I guess I better make a decision quick. 
Thanks for all the help so far. It looks like I can't go wrong with either splitter which is good to hear.


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## CK-1 (Jan 13, 2010)

You drove 2 hours away and received attitude from the manager.  Your a better man than me.   I got the coupon from signing up on the emailing list.


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## bill9009 (Jan 14, 2010)

CK-1 said:
			
		

> You drove 2 hours away and received attitude from the manager.  Your a better man than me.   I got the coupon from signing up on the emailing list.



I didn't drive the two hours for the splitter, I was visiting in-laws and figured I would check out the TSC,  while there and they had the splitter on the lot. I would have bought it had the manager not been an ass. Yeah I just signed  up for the mailing and got a $5 off instore or 10% or online purchase, which doesnt help me out much.


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## argus66 (Jan 14, 2010)

u can but it online and use the 10% and have it delivered free to the nearest store.


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## bill9009 (Jan 14, 2010)

argus66 said:
			
		

> u can but it online and use the 10% and have it delivered free to the nearest store.



how?  When I click on the splitter online the only option it shows is to check my local store for availability. There is no option to purchase that I can see.


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## squib (Jan 17, 2010)

I looked at several splitters, this is the one i bought, can`t beat the price & it works great.

herman


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