I had a 10% off coupon so I went and picked up a new CL 40 ton splitter which they left in the crate for me. I peaked inside the plastic wrap before they loaded it on my trailer and it's not a good sign when you see a bunch of oil dry soaked with hydraulic fluid along with oil soaked towels/rags thrown in on the bottom of the crate. 
I took it home anyway hoping it was something simple. It appears it was, as I tightened up the filter collar at the bottom where the intake hose clamps onto and also replaced the hose clamp (which was not very tight) with a better one. This seemed to have stopped all the leaking. I honestly think it was simply leaking at the hose clamp and running down. Not a big deal.
So, then yesterday morning, I was walking into the garage from the outside and I noticed how the beam was sitting at a slight tilt. I found out why. Looks like the crate may have been dropped from a short distance at one point during it's trip from good 'ole China to WI. I emailed these photos to TSC and talked to the manager. They are giving me the splitter for half price!! So after my 10% coupon I'll be paying $900 for a $2,000 splitter which has a slight lean to 'er. They gave me the option of returning it and getting another one, but I'll gladly keep this perfectly functional one for half price! The tilt will help drain the water off the beam surface better AND will help compensate for the grade of the ground in which I use the splitter on. No joke, as where I split is on a slight hill, which places the tank vent on the low side.
I actually have my 10 year old 28 ton Speeco sold for $1,000....so I'll be making a few bucks on the deal. 
![[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/266/266888-4138f16dbbb7e14869ccc9f9f55d5348.jpg?hash=3U8mAgYM59 "[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter")
![[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/266/266889-25843579bca8cdd9e3022185f4ec55be.jpg?hash=5QPOiYYa9f "[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter")
![[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/266/266890-3f6dccf6dfcae2ccdba13e31424a27eb.jpg?hash=ZvIVgOL5t_ "[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter")
The 9.5sec cycle time they tout is the real deal. I get about 9.1 - 9.25 seconds when I time with my stopwatch. This is the main reason I wanted to upgrade.
I'm not too keen on how manufactured the beam is. Although, compared to my Speeco one (which is also somewhat manufactured), the CL one actually has a much thicker main vertical steel plate running the whole length of the beam. There are other areas which have thicker steel plate and/or more bracing but not in other areas. One of the areas which it does not is the lower part where it got tweaked. The Speeco beam steel in this spot is a bit thicker. The welds on the CL look to be great in crucial spots and not-so-great in other spots not as crucial. The gross weight listed on the crate of the CL was 955lbs.
When I was at HD to pick up some AW32, I stopped and looked at the Champion splitters and their beams. Those beams look to be lighter duty all together. The whole splitter, regardless of tonnage rating, is just short/small in comparison to both my Speeco and CL.
I took it home anyway hoping it was something simple. It appears it was, as I tightened up the filter collar at the bottom where the intake hose clamps onto and also replaced the hose clamp (which was not very tight) with a better one. This seemed to have stopped all the leaking. I honestly think it was simply leaking at the hose clamp and running down. Not a big deal.So, then yesterday morning, I was walking into the garage from the outside and I noticed how the beam was sitting at a slight tilt. I found out why. Looks like the crate may have been dropped from a short distance at one point during it's trip from good 'ole China to WI. I emailed these photos to TSC and talked to the manager. They are giving me the splitter for half price!! So after my 10% coupon I'll be paying $900 for a $2,000 splitter which has a slight lean to 'er. They gave me the option of returning it and getting another one, but I'll gladly keep this perfectly functional one for half price! The tilt will help drain the water off the beam surface better AND will help compensate for the grade of the ground in which I use the splitter on. No joke, as where I split is on a slight hill, which places the tank vent on the low side.
I actually have my 10 year old 28 ton Speeco sold for $1,000....so I'll be making a few bucks on the deal. The 9.5sec cycle time they tout is the real deal. I get about 9.1 - 9.25 seconds when I time with my stopwatch. This is the main reason I wanted to upgrade.
I'm not too keen on how manufactured the beam is. Although, compared to my Speeco one (which is also somewhat manufactured), the CL one actually has a much thicker main vertical steel plate running the whole length of the beam. There are other areas which have thicker steel plate and/or more bracing but not in other areas. One of the areas which it does not is the lower part where it got tweaked. The Speeco beam steel in this spot is a bit thicker. The welds on the CL look to be great in crucial spots and not-so-great in other spots not as crucial. The gross weight listed on the crate of the CL was 955lbs.
When I was at HD to pick up some AW32, I stopped and looked at the Champion splitters and their beams. Those beams look to be lighter duty all together. The whole splitter, regardless of tonnage rating, is just short/small in comparison to both my Speeco and CL.
Last edited:
. You got a good deal. How‘s your Scott Kunz ported saw doing? What was it again, a 390XP or a 562 Maybe? I used my Kunz ported 390 last summer some and its got crazy power And I also have the 562 ported by him. Oh no- I remember now you have the 50cc Husqvarna saw.
![[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/267/267200-c119915db7f56f17410d5c0a65fffa42.jpg?hash=rjuGmbMCZz "[Hearth.com] Ended up getting a killer deal on a new CountyLine 40 ton wood splitter")
