I have been contemplating buying a splitter for quite a while. My main motivation lately has been due to the very old (and large) oak tree that fell in my yard earlier this year. My parents are also getting up in age and they burn wood for heat as well. They live a couple of hours away, but I figured I could transport the splitter on my trailer to them and split their wood or leave it there for them to use.
Everyone on the forum, for the most part, has spoken well of the Huskee 22 ton, so I have had my eye on that model. I saw in the Tractor Supply sale paper last week that the price had been reduced from $1099.99 to $999.99. I procrastinated and decided to hold off. Well, after using up five tanks of gas in my chainsaw yesterday on the downed oak tree without putting much of a dent in it, I figured the splitter may be a good decision. However, I knew the sale ended on the splitter last week, but I also knew their web site still lists it as $999.99 So, I called the Tractor Supply store to see if they were open on Sunday and also check if they still had the splitters. The lady said they did and I stupidly asked her what the price was. After putting me on hold, she told me $1099.99. She seemed a little grumpy from the beginning, and I should have stopped there. But, I told her the web site lists it for $999.99 and asked if they would they honor that. She said she did not run the web site. (I could see where this was going) I then replied that the price says $999.99 and it's representative of the store prices, plus I cannot order it from the web site, it just lists the price. She finally said if I really wanted one they would. I don't know why things have to be so difficult.
The phone call made me a little mad and I convinced myself again that I did not need it. But I remembered mentioning buying one to my dad on the phone and he seemed very interested. So, I printed out the splitter description/price on the web site and drove over to the store. I was prepared to argue over the 999 price, but when I walked in the door, they had left a $999.99 price sign still on one of the display splitters by mistake. So, I knew I had them. When I went to pay for it, they realized their mistake, but the clerk said that was the price I was getting since the sign was up. I don't think she was the person I talked to on the phone and I never said I had called about it.
Anyway, once I got it home, I put some gas in it, pushed the priming bulb a few times and the Briggs and Stratton engine started on the second pull. I was expecting this to be a noisy machine, but I was amazed at how quiet it ran. I was prepared to use some ear plugs on the test run, but realized they would not be necessary for the short duration. I know several people on the forum do not speak highly of Briggs and Stratton, but I have never had never had problems with them and this engine really ran great. My first impression of the splitter is all positive. I have several pieces of what turned out to be elm I picked up by the road a few months back, and that's what I tried first on the splitter. They were so tough, I could not even dent them with a wedge last month. The only thing the splitter did was pause for a second and then the splitter would power the wedge right on through. Overall, I'm quite happy with the purchase, and only time will tell how well the splitter holds up, but it seems well made. I don't think I will be able to do much damage to it. I throttled the engine up and down, let it idle, turned it off, and cranked it a few times.... no issues. For the price, I think it was a good buy. I have seen splitters on Craigslist and it seems everyone wants at least 900 dollars for a used one. Some guy even had a year old Huskee 22 ton listed for $1200.00. Plus, the warranty seems pretty good as well-3 year on workmanship, 2 year on engine, and 1 year on hydraulics. Plus it came with oil and fluid already in it.
All the wood I will be splitting for my stove will probably never be over 15 inches long. I don't know how well it would perform on a 24 inch piece of elm. It would not surprise me if it stalled out on something like that. But, for anyone looking for a splitter in this price range, I think it's a good deal. If you consistently have to split longer tougher type wood like elm all the time, then the 22 ton might not cut it.
I was even able to use my $5.00 coupon from their website.
Everyone on the forum, for the most part, has spoken well of the Huskee 22 ton, so I have had my eye on that model. I saw in the Tractor Supply sale paper last week that the price had been reduced from $1099.99 to $999.99. I procrastinated and decided to hold off. Well, after using up five tanks of gas in my chainsaw yesterday on the downed oak tree without putting much of a dent in it, I figured the splitter may be a good decision. However, I knew the sale ended on the splitter last week, but I also knew their web site still lists it as $999.99 So, I called the Tractor Supply store to see if they were open on Sunday and also check if they still had the splitters. The lady said they did and I stupidly asked her what the price was. After putting me on hold, she told me $1099.99. She seemed a little grumpy from the beginning, and I should have stopped there. But, I told her the web site lists it for $999.99 and asked if they would they honor that. She said she did not run the web site. (I could see where this was going) I then replied that the price says $999.99 and it's representative of the store prices, plus I cannot order it from the web site, it just lists the price. She finally said if I really wanted one they would. I don't know why things have to be so difficult.
The phone call made me a little mad and I convinced myself again that I did not need it. But I remembered mentioning buying one to my dad on the phone and he seemed very interested. So, I printed out the splitter description/price on the web site and drove over to the store. I was prepared to argue over the 999 price, but when I walked in the door, they had left a $999.99 price sign still on one of the display splitters by mistake. So, I knew I had them. When I went to pay for it, they realized their mistake, but the clerk said that was the price I was getting since the sign was up. I don't think she was the person I talked to on the phone and I never said I had called about it.
Anyway, once I got it home, I put some gas in it, pushed the priming bulb a few times and the Briggs and Stratton engine started on the second pull. I was expecting this to be a noisy machine, but I was amazed at how quiet it ran. I was prepared to use some ear plugs on the test run, but realized they would not be necessary for the short duration. I know several people on the forum do not speak highly of Briggs and Stratton, but I have never had never had problems with them and this engine really ran great. My first impression of the splitter is all positive. I have several pieces of what turned out to be elm I picked up by the road a few months back, and that's what I tried first on the splitter. They were so tough, I could not even dent them with a wedge last month. The only thing the splitter did was pause for a second and then the splitter would power the wedge right on through. Overall, I'm quite happy with the purchase, and only time will tell how well the splitter holds up, but it seems well made. I don't think I will be able to do much damage to it. I throttled the engine up and down, let it idle, turned it off, and cranked it a few times.... no issues. For the price, I think it was a good buy. I have seen splitters on Craigslist and it seems everyone wants at least 900 dollars for a used one. Some guy even had a year old Huskee 22 ton listed for $1200.00. Plus, the warranty seems pretty good as well-3 year on workmanship, 2 year on engine, and 1 year on hydraulics. Plus it came with oil and fluid already in it.
All the wood I will be splitting for my stove will probably never be over 15 inches long. I don't know how well it would perform on a 24 inch piece of elm. It would not surprise me if it stalled out on something like that. But, for anyone looking for a splitter in this price range, I think it's a good deal. If you consistently have to split longer tougher type wood like elm all the time, then the 22 ton might not cut it.
I was even able to use my $5.00 coupon from their website.
