Anyone tried to split this wood? Think it broke my Countyline splitter

[J.Noss]

Alright, I had to tell somebody about this that happened today, please see the pictures.. I just bought a 25ton Countyline splitter after owning/using a 22ton Huskee for 20yrs, I go out today and get a load of this wood that I've used the Huskee on (in fact from this very same tree) and this Countyline simply cannot handle it.. not sure of the type of wood, maybe Poplar? But it's a low quality stringy wood that only gets used in the outdoor boiler I supply wood for.. on this wood the Countyline would stall out the engine and wouldn't split it and I notice a little bit of Hydraulic fluid leaking from the front cylinder seal (couple drops) so I figure this is a very bad thing.. I looked down the body of the splitter and it almost looks like the whole I-beam is twisted and I could see/feel it flexing when I was trying to split this wood.. half a truckload of it later I call the Tractor Supply I bought it from and am now supposed to bring it in tomorrow to have them look at it.. as you can imagine I'm really upset by this and I was just looking for ANY input or help from all of you great people here on what I should do tomorrow when I bring it to the Tractor supply.. I'm supposed to bring some of the pieces of wood along and I figured they're gonna have me show them.
please look at Pictures below of the twisted I beam (hope you can see it) and of the wood that did this.

 

[J.Noss]

I just can't believe this honestly.. is this the build-quality of these splitters? I only bought this 6 days ago, was happy and split a few truckload of Oak and Maple and tried it with this wood I think is just Poplar and it's stalling out the engine and its leaking from the front seal.

 

[Lnk]

Tell them to give you another one in exchange or your money back. Should still be under manufacturer warranty. Let us know how it goes. They may make you right.

 

[Moparmyway]

That looks like Hickory, definitely not poplar

Hickory isn’t easy to split

 

[J.Noss]

That looks like Hickory, definitely not poplar

Hickory isn’t easy to split

No it's definitely not Hickory, it smells kinda like cut grass not good and smoky like Hickory here's some more pictures then so you can see

 

[ErnieG]

Pignut hickory maybe ...

Ernie

 

[J.Noss]

Tell them to give you another one in exchange or your money back. Should still be under manufacturer warranty. Let us know how it goes. They may make you right.

I think I'm going more for my money back than a replacement of the same model.. because if this is the build-quality then another one will probably be the same. It's a shame that for 20yrs I split with the Huskee and it still runs and just needs a few control seals and a new engine but that Huskee after all this time would split this very same tree, yet this wouldn't without stalling and feathering the controls to get it through! and after 1/2 a truckload it's leaking at the seals and the I-beam looks to be twisted.. this isn't a huge piece of this wood, I've split this same tree and others like it from the same area hundreds of times with that 22t huskee.

 

[J.Noss]

Pignut hickory maybe ...

Ernie

We always called it stringy-poplar.. it's a pretty crappy wood heat-wise, smells like wet grass when split and still grows new leaves out in the spring from the cut pieces that are laying on the ground bucked into rounds for 2-3months. It's not like Tulip-poplar that just pops into 2 pieces as soon as the wedge touches it, this is very hard to split but these 12-16" pieces shouldn't stall out and twist the I-beam of a 25ton splitter when a 22ton 20yr old Huskee can power through em.

 

[Seachaser]

Looks like a type of gum. Ours is tough to split. But still not as hard as steel.

 

[J.Noss]

Looks like a type of gum. Ours is tough to split. But still not as hard as steel.

I live in Pennsylvania USA and the wood is pink in the middle with yellow that turns to the color you see in the pictures once it sits for a little bit. Smells like grass inside

 

[drf256]

Think it’s hickory. Probably pignut. Just dealt with it.

 

[J.Noss]

Think it’s hickory. Probably pignut. Just dealt with it.

View attachment 417133View attachment 417134View attachment 417135

Alright but doesn't Pignut Hickory smell good like Shagbark Hickory or no? I don't get much Hickory except the rare shagbark or shellbark and they both smell really good, they are also REALLY good firewood.. this wood dries out very light and smells like grass and doesn't burn very long when you burn it, very low quality firewood.. it's a shame that for this wood I did this to my splitter, but I'm glad I found out now instead of years down the line. Tomorrow I'll go up into those woods and see I'd I can get a leaf off one of the trees though they are only just coming out maybe it'll help with the identification.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

did the whole ram twist?
is it possible the piston rod twisted inside the cylinder.

there is alot of those yellow county line splitters in my neck of the woods and people seem to be happy with them.

with a leaking seal I bet there is an issue with the piston binding up causing the motor to stall, maybe it got bent at the factory

 

[J.Noss]

did the whole ram twist?
is it possible the piston rod twisted inside the cylinder.

there is alot of those yellow county line splitters in my neck of the woods and people seem to be happy with them.

with a leaking seal I bet there is an issue with the piston binding up causing the motor to stall, maybe it got bent at the factory

It was fine for a few days and cord or more of other woods, was only when I put this wood through it that this happened, it's hard to see even when looking in person but the whole frame is now twisted and when it was going into this wood you could see and feel it twisting but I thought maybe it was just moving a bit cause of how the wood was but now to look down it it's not lined up right anymore and you can see a slight curve to the I-beam style frame it has and looks to be twisted.. this is probably the hardest wood I've ever split but I've done it for years using old Huskee splitter and never hurt it.
I'll get out tomorrow and try to do as much as I can to show what's up and make a video of it trying to split a piece so y'all can see better.. was like the pump wasn't going into the low-speed/high pressure stage too and it would stall the engine out and kill the motor and it was at full throttle. It was for sure the last thing I expected today

 

[thompsoncustom]

I don't have much faith in a lot of the new splitters. I have a old speedco that is 10ton and will split through anything (small single wedge) guy I bought it from said he bought a new 22ton splitter and this little one would out split it so he sold it and bought a 37 ton.

I was looking at getting a better splitter and decided to just build my own so I wouldn't have to worry about it so I say either buy a known good older design or build one yourself. If you have the time/tools/skills to build your own you can make a heck of a machine a lot cheaper I probably have the same money in my 100hp 40ton 12 way as a new 20ish ton splitter would cost.

 

[davidwyby]

Comparo pics of splitters please

Pump size

Cyl size

Beam size

 

[Woodwackr]

If that little piece of wood…regardless of kind…broke your splitter…return it for a full refund and shop elsewhere. That is just ridiculous.
I’ve used small, 5hp, 1.5” ram shaft splitters on petrified, dead Eucalyptus and not had that kind of problem.

 

[J.Noss]

Comparo pics of splitters please

Pump size

Cyl size

Beam size

I'll try to do that tomorrow, it's 1:51am here for me and I need some light

 

[J.Noss]

Here's a video of the older Huskee just as an example of the 20yr old splitter than can/has split this kind of wood for years with no problem.

 

[Wonkydonkey]

I'm guessing /Maybe ? It was made like it (a bit off centre /twisted), not straight. Then when you’ve used it/tested it with some wood, it’s then pushed it to the stage it is now ?.

I would have thought if you twisted it the paint would cracked/flaked abit. I think what your seeing is the uneven forces acting due to the off centre/twisted bit

As for the stalling out the engine it could be the two stage pump not working. And the ram leaking is just iceing on the cake for you to take it back.

I think some boss eyed & drunk child made it in his first day at work