# Ryobi splitters



## rdrcr56 (Jun 20, 2007)

So I was wondering, last fall it seems a lot of people bought Ryobi 4 ton splitters. How much have you split and did anyone have any problems? I've split about 4 1/2 cords with no problems, mostly elm, cottonwood and russian olive. I've also gone through a couple cans of pam on the wedge, which helps al ot on the bigger stubborn pieces.


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Jun 20, 2007)

I had just purchased the Northern Tool 5.5 ton electric splitter to get me going.  Since I don't know how much wood we will be burning, I wanted to see how much we would consume and then match the demand with the compatible splitter.

I have heard nothing but excellent reviews in the past on the little Ryobi 4 ton splitter.  While 4 tons sounds very tiny, remember that 8k lbs of force!. It seems that if your not in a super hurry, the 4 tons is plenty of power to split just about anything as long as you work within the machines limits.  I believe its good up to 18 or 20 inch long logs and about 10 or 12 inches wide.

While there are some huge diameter trees out there, they are not the norm. Most of the soft pine trees which we have around here are no more than 10 to 12 inches diam.  The Northern Tool 5.5 ton electric splitter is on sale now for $239.00 so I could'nt resist the temptation; I should receive it in the next few days.  It seems that many people have started out with these little splitters and planned to upgrade to a bigger splitter later however they never did as they liked the performance and abilities of these little guys.

I am looking forward to see how mine works; I'll let you all know.


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## Hogwildz (Jun 20, 2007)

My Ryobi held up pretty well. The electric cord casing broke where it goes into the unit. No biggie., when its cold out, say below freezing, the unit runs much slower and the piston wouldn't come out all the way unless perfectly level. It did the expected job, no more, no less. Works for me. I had realistic expectations, and it did just as I needed.


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## n1st (Jun 20, 2007)

Good thread, I'm looking forward to following it.  I purchased mine a few weeks ago, so haven't used it much yet, but sure do like it so far.


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## Stevebass4 (Jun 21, 2007)

bought one a few weeks ago and it's done pretty well - the posts are 10 feet high and i need to learn how to stack a little better BUT it can and will go though some big stuff if you don't try to go right down the middle


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Jun 21, 2007)

Holy crap Steve!, did you get through those big rounds with that little splitter?, if so, thats gonna silence a lot of people!!.  BTW, how long did it take you to amass that pile?


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## Stevebass4 (Jun 21, 2007)

i did - i've been working on this pile for about 4 weekends now - BUT i must say that i cut the rounds small (no bigger than 14 inches) because my insert is small and its best not to try to go right down the middle  of the bigger ones but rather take a split off the sides so they are easier to split


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## rdrcr56 (Jun 21, 2007)

Steve, what kind of wood have you been splitting and what would you say cord wise you have there. Also have you tried cooking spray on the wedge yet, it helps on the big tough pieces.


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## Stevebass4 (Jun 21, 2007)

I’ve been bucking mostly red oak, white oak,  ash and hickory..  

I’d guess I have around 2.5 cords give or take  

haven’t tried the pam trick yet – but again, I haven’t have any problems with the splitter.

the only time it won’t go through the big rounds is if I try to go right down the center of a BIG round.  BUT if I start taking splits off the sides


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## johnsopi (Jun 22, 2007)

I split @ 3 cords of sweet gum 6-8" dia. anything over it would not touch. It start leaking fuild so I took it back
to H-D and they replaced it. Now I rent a gas spiltter now when I get a lot of wood and I'll use the Ryoi to split the pieces smaller in the fall/winter.
I over all agree with Hogwildz about the spiltter. It is not going to replace a 20 ton gas splitter and thats ok.


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## BrotherBart (Jun 22, 2007)

johnsopi said:
			
		

> I split @ 3 cords of sweet gum 6-8" dia. anything over it would not touch. It start leaking fuild so I took it back
> to H-D and they replaced it. Now I rent a gas spiltter now when I get a lot of wood and I'll use the Ryoi to split the pieces smaller in the fall/winter.
> I over all agree with Hogwildz about the spiltter. It is not going to replace a 20 ton gas splitter and thats ok.



Three cords of sweet gum!! That would kill anything under a twenty+ ton splitter. You now have the knarliest woodpile on hearth.com. I guarantee it.

I have some sweet gums on the place and they are rubber trees with a maximum twist.


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## johnsopi (Jun 23, 2007)

The sweet gum is not as bad as Black gum, that stuff is bad. With the sweetgum I used a hand ax to help the the spiltter along. I think that did I tare it up more then I should have. But I wanted to see how it would work while it was under the return policy. It did good.


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Jun 24, 2007)

Well, I had *finally* received my Northern tool 5.5 ton log splitter today (after having to track it down since UPS delivered it to the wrong address), and just when I thought I would finally get to split my first piece, we had noticed that the shipping box that UPS delivered was a hair shy of demolished!.

Upon opening up the box, it was evident that the new splitter was ruined in transit.  The motor was smashed, the legs bent and one of the wheel hub caps was torn off.

I have had issues with UPS before, but this was ridiculous.  Now I have to wait until monday morning to file a damage claim, and thats after waiting an additional 4 days to find the package to begin with.  Fortunately the people who had received my package were nice enough to look up my phone number and inform me that they had it.

I've heard other horror stories dealing with people receiving busted up packages from UPS but this was incredible.

Well, sorry folks, I can't review my new little splitter as it arrived smashed. Hopefully it won't take to long to get a replacement.


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## wahoowad (Jun 24, 2007)

I love my Ryobi. Perfect size to sit it on my truck tailgate and split wood I bring home.


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## begreen (Jun 25, 2007)

I've always vertically split. Mostly because 18" long, 20" rounds can be damn heavy. What systems have you worked out to feed the rounds in the horizontal position? Brute force? Ramp?


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## velvetfoot (Jun 25, 2007)

I've had a big problem with UPS too.  It's like it was shook up in a giant bingo cage thing.


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## MrGriz (Jun 25, 2007)

I get a lot of things shipped in by UPS for my business.  They are usually very good and I've had very few damage problems.  I do notice that the heavier the box is, the more it seems to get mysteriously beat up in shipping.


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Jul 3, 2007)

Well, here it is, almost 2 weeks later and I just received my second log splitter from Northern tool. Yes, you guessed it, it's smashed too.

The rear axle is bent at a 45* angle, the carry handle is broken off, the log tray has been speared, and the cooling fins on the motor are bent.  This little log splitter seems to be very nice, if it would just arrive in one (unbroken) piece!.

Northern Tool is being very cooperative about the whole thing and I am positive the damage is caused during shipping by UPS..  The problem is that they are shipping a 100+ lb machine in just a cardboard box and the weight of the machine absolutely destroys the box during shipping.

Northern Tool is going to send yet another (3rd one) log splitter to me but this time they suggested to have it shipped via a trucking line.  It will take another 1.5-2 weeks to arrive, but if it's in one piece, it will be worth it.

FYI; shipping anything very heavy via a cardboard box is asking for trouble. Anything over 50lbs or so should probably be crated in wood and packed in thick styrofoam to offset the rough handling.

To be cont!


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## BrotherBart (Jul 4, 2007)

Just wait until you see how freight companies handle wood stoves. Mine came in with the box looking like they rolled the trailer and it had smashed through the pallet.

That is why I drove down to the factory to pick up the replacement after I discovered the door defect.

One freight company has a warehouse down in Richmond. Completely filled with damaged crap and they hold two auctions a month moving the stuff out and the place is still always full.


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## Gooserider (Jul 6, 2007)

A place I worked at a few years ago did a lot of computer refurbs, and had a big department for monitor repairs.  The monitor repair guys kept saying that alot of the damage they were seeing on warrantee jobs looked to them like UPS shipping damage - PC boards broken loose, cracked frames, etc. but no damage on the outside of the case and the box was beat up.  Couldn't prove it enough to really nail UPS though, at least not until the day we caught, both by eye witness and on the security camera tapes, a UPS driver LOBBING a monitor (prominently marked "fragile" and "this side up" on all six sides of the box....) out of his truck and across our loading dock...  I beleive it was a "carreer altering moment" for the driver, but it definitely changed our relationship w/ UPS - for some reason they'd pay off on damage claims everytime we played the tape for them...  :red: 

That said, I think I've had as much problem with truck damaged items as I have with UPS damaged on a percentage basis.

Gooserider


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Jul 12, 2007)

FYI:

I had just received my new stove from Tom the chimney sweep and it was delivered by truck (NOT UPS), and it arrived in perfect looking cond. Even the shrink wrap was perfectly in tact.  I have not uncrated the stove yet, and may not for a month or so, but everything looks great so far.

I am waiting now on my 3rd log splitter from Northern tool as this time they are shipping it via a trucking co. We have lost toal confidense in UPS and what they are willing to deliver is laughable.

The last two boxes from them were absolutely destroyed. The contents inside were even worse, including bent 1/4'' thick metal. Somehow, they translated "fragile" into bending 1/4'' thick metal!!.  Unbelievable!


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## BrotherBart (Jul 12, 2007)

Mr_Super-Hunky said:
			
		

> FYI:
> 
> I had just received my new stove from Tom the chimney sweep and it was delivered by truck (NOT UPS), and it arrived in perfect looking cond. Even the shrink wrap was perfectly in tact.  I have not uncrated the stove yet, and may not for a month or so, but everything looks great so far.
> 
> ...



The aren't call United Package Smashers for nothing.


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## 11 Bravo (Jul 12, 2007)

Mr S-H..........Did ya happen to take any pics of the smashed UPS stuff to post here ?         Based on all the great stuff I have read about the Ryobi splitter, friend and I are talking bout going 50/50 on one...........


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Jul 24, 2007)

I had just yesterday received my third Splitter from Northern Tool. Since the last two times they had sent it UPS the box had gotten demolished, they agreed to this time ship it via truck.

When the truck arrived with the splitter, I knew something was wrong from the start. Once again, the box was all beat up and the innevitable lie inside!  Yup, you guessed it, another smashed splitter. This is now the third splitter that arrived smashed.

Since this one did'nt seem to have actual motor damage, I may just take it and possibly get a reduction in price.

The saga continues...


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## Gooserider (Jul 24, 2007)

Mr_Super-Hunky said:
			
		

> I had just yesterday received my third Splitter from Northern Tool. Since the last two times they had sent it UPS the box had gotten demolished, they agreed to this time ship it via truck.
> 
> When the truck arrived with the splitter, I knew something was wrong from the start. Once again, the box was all beat up and the innevitable lie inside!  Yup, you guessed it, another smashed splitter. This is now the third splitter that arrived smashed.
> 
> ...



Are you sure that Northern isn't sending them out "Pre-smashed"  :question: 

Gooserider


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## Mr_Super-Hunky (Aug 13, 2007)

Okay, yet another update:

I am now on my 3rd 5.5 ton log splitter from Northern tool and it does not work!.  I did split a few pieces of soft pine which it seemed to split easily, then the machine just stopped working!.

This has been going on now for several months...(i.e damaged splitters, waiting for shipping, more damaged splitters, waiting again, more damaged splitters etc!.

I have decided to return this 3rd splitter and just go another route as Northern Tool just does not seem to be able to send me this splitter without being damaged.

I assumed that the damage was in transit (UPS), however, the last splitter arrived via a separate trucking Company and it too was smashed!.

I'm sorry Northern Tool but that's strike three!, your out!.

Now to look for a good log splitter once again.....


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## n1st (Aug 13, 2007)

You have lots of patience, I'd  a been down at Home Depot picking up a Ryobi after the first damaged one.


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## rdrcr56 (Aug 25, 2007)

Well after 6 cords the ryobi quit. The ram would'nt return without tapping on the control lever after every split, so I called ryobi and found there's a repair center in Boulder. I guess the two year warranty is going to come in handy.


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## n1st (Aug 25, 2007)

Interesting.  Anyone know what makes the ram return?  What would make the ram fail to return?


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## karl (Aug 25, 2007)

I have the Northern 5 ton splitter.  I bought it at the Northern retail store on my way home from a trip, so no shipping problems here.  It works well but you do have to whittle at big rounds with it.  I keep a maul next to it and if I get a tough log, I whack it a few times and then it splits fine.  The ram return is handled by a spring and yes I have problems with mine returning.  It returns every time but not all the way.  I'm splitting 16" lengths so it's not a problem.  The jam nuts on the two sides rods may have loosened up on you and then something gets cock eyed and it won't return right.  Make sure they aren't binding and tighten them down again.  I'm thinking of puting a bungee cord on my to help it return all the way.  It really doesn't take much force by hand to get it to return but it can be a pain if you have to do it alot.


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## rdrcr56 (Aug 26, 2007)

On the ryobi it seems like its a problem with the control valve sticking, everything is straight, no binding, just tap on the end at the control valve and it retracts.


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## fire_N_ice (Aug 27, 2007)

@ 35 hours on my Ryobi  and I had the same problem. Check your pushdown handle(rear). I was storing mine verticaly instead of horizontally and over time the handle just bent enough where it would not allow that button to retract .. Took 2-5 minutes for the piston to retract.  Once handle straightened, ran another 5 hours and no problems. Did split 20" seasoned red oak but log length was no longer then 12". I do use a pry bar at times as well as 4"X6"X8" "helper wood" to help not maximize the stroke with the shorter logs.


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## rdrcr56 (Aug 27, 2007)

Got the ryobi back today, it was a torn o-ring on the control valve, no charge and it works great. I'm still lusting after MSG's 28 ton speeco though.


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## pistonslap (Aug 28, 2007)

I just bought a 5 ton electric splitter from Lowe's. The brand name on it is Task Force. I split some 10 inch birch with it with no problems. I tried a few bigger pieces  with it, no good , but I was trying to split them down the middle. Tommorow I'll try off center.


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## 11 Bravo (Aug 28, 2007)

....was waiting for someone to buy and review that Task Force splitter............


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## elkimmeg (Aug 28, 2007)

Just like any tool one has to learn its capacities and work with in them. If you are going to do multi slplits, than why not make the easiest one first?

Another hint Spray Pam on the splitting wedge or any other lubricant. It dose make a difference. One has to work the tools to achieve the greatest sucess if you don't need to do a center split first then reduce the area around the permineter first


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## kwburn (Aug 28, 2007)

pistonslap,
can you start a new thread for your Task Force splitter after you use it a bit and give your impressions?  i think a lot of people will want to at least consider that model so starting its own thread will probably be easier to find than burying it 3 pages down a Ryobi thread.  pictures (or even videos) are always appreciated as well especially considering there are none currently on the web.


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## fire_N_ice (Aug 29, 2007)

Who makes "Task Force"? Is it a name brand?


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## pistonslap (Aug 29, 2007)

I did a  short review on a new thread called Task Force 5 ton slitter from Lowes.


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## kwburn (Aug 29, 2007)

fire_N_ice said:
			
		

> Who makes "Task Force"? Is it a name brand?



i 'think' its Lowes generic brand for stuff but i could be wrong.  they carry lots of other tools and stuff with the same brand name.


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## 11 Bravo (Sep 6, 2007)

Gonna have to pull up this thread to give a thumbs up to the $300 Ryobi splitter. Buddy took pity on my rotator cuff surgery and let me borrow his since I can't swing the maul. Went through everything but the biggest maple and oak, and it went through that once I adjusted and didn't try to split it down the middle. Well worth the 300 bucks.


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## Stevebass4 (Sep 8, 2007)

rdrcr56 said:
			
		

> Well after 6 cords the ryobi quit. The ram would'nt return without tapping on the control lever after every split, so I called ryobi and found there's a repair center in Boulder. I guess the two year warranty is going to come in handy.



i lent my splitter to a buddy and got the call..  " any idea why the ram wont return"...  i was just over the 90 day home depot return policy (purchased may 21st) anyway after getting shot down by the return clerk and the assistant mgr for a replacement (they wanted to send it out for repairs)  i spoke with the store mgr.  explained that i've ony used it a few time and they let me get a new one 

hope this one lasts a little longer


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