My new splitter showed up last week, and I've had time to put about a cord through it.
Can't get the grin off my face, so I thought I'd share some pics and impressions.
I've got a bad back, but I love to burn wood, and I know I'm saving a ton of money on natural gas, so it wasn't too hard to justify buying a good splitter. I expect this one will outlast me.
It's a 25HH model by American CLS. 8hp, 16gpm horizontal. I upgraded to the honda engine, and also went with the split pans, 4 way wedge and the log lift.
After using it, I'm even more impressed than I thought it'd be. the ergonomics are just outstanding. because of the bigger tires on the HH model, the beam is at perfect working height - no bending to run the splitter or handle the splits. The split pans are big enough to catch big chunks or even halves coming off of 20"+ rounds, and they're just low enough so that splits fall away from the beam so you can split a few pieces before clearing the pans.
The log lift effortly positions the next round into place, and is a fantastic worktable for the pieces you need to re-split. With big enough rounds, even a 4-way wedge leaves pieces that need to be re-split. But with the lift, you just toss those onto the table, and pull the lever to bring them back to you when you're ready for them.
With my back, I couldn't run a vertical splitter for more than a few minutes at a time, so the lift was a must-have for me. After using it, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
enough of the sales pitch.. time for pics
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Splitter and two wood carts, one for kindling, one for splits
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Rounds lined up and ready to go
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Lifting the next round into place. WD40 can just for scale
Can't get the grin off my face, so I thought I'd share some pics and impressions.
I've got a bad back, but I love to burn wood, and I know I'm saving a ton of money on natural gas, so it wasn't too hard to justify buying a good splitter. I expect this one will outlast me.
It's a 25HH model by American CLS. 8hp, 16gpm horizontal. I upgraded to the honda engine, and also went with the split pans, 4 way wedge and the log lift.
After using it, I'm even more impressed than I thought it'd be. the ergonomics are just outstanding. because of the bigger tires on the HH model, the beam is at perfect working height - no bending to run the splitter or handle the splits. The split pans are big enough to catch big chunks or even halves coming off of 20"+ rounds, and they're just low enough so that splits fall away from the beam so you can split a few pieces before clearing the pans.
The log lift effortly positions the next round into place, and is a fantastic worktable for the pieces you need to re-split. With big enough rounds, even a 4-way wedge leaves pieces that need to be re-split. But with the lift, you just toss those onto the table, and pull the lever to bring them back to you when you're ready for them.
With my back, I couldn't run a vertical splitter for more than a few minutes at a time, so the lift was a must-have for me. After using it, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
enough of the sales pitch.. time for pics
.
.
.
Splitter and two wood carts, one for kindling, one for splits
.
.
.
Rounds lined up and ready to go
.
.
.
.
Lifting the next round into place. WD40 can just for scale

Nice splitter. Before purchasing one from Lowe's I checked online and a company had some like the one you bought. I would have had to drive quite a ways to see one and didn't feel the difference would be worthwell. Also more money........but in your case it was well worth it. The lift really looks nice especially with larger rounds. Thanks for sharing your purchase.