Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 Not bad for the price. March 5, 2009
Daniel Ruskoski (Tulsa,OK United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This unit works as advertised. The problem with it though is that it is slow, needs sturdier poles and heavier duty supports. Keep the logs small and this unit is great, just don't overload it. Just remmeber, it is slow, very slow. For camping it's great, for the home I'd recommend a power unit so you get the logs split before winter ends! I've had the unit for several years now and I use for small jobs and it still works great.
 splitter March 3, 2009
James A. Carroll (Alvin, Tx, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well built splitter that performs as advertised. Wedge could have smaller angle; sometimes necessary to help with hammer wedge to start split.
 Great log splitter until you have to add hydraulic fluid - Updated January 1, 2009
Fred Swartz (On Lake Michigan)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
THE GOOD
Read Rondy K. Smith's excellent review. When the wood is an appropriate length, not rotten, and with moderately flat ends, it works really well, although perhaps a little more slowly that you'd like, but that's the trade off for good mechanical advantage. It's still faster for me to use a splitting axe (Chopper One is my favorite) for wood that can be split with a single blow, but otherwise the Gizzly log splitter is the method of choice, and it's a lot easier on my old back.
Communicating with the Grizzly staff was a great experience. I talked to them on the phone and by email, and they were very helpful and proactive in following up. Of course, the fact that I had to contact them foreshadows a problem.
MINOR ISSUES
The two cross supports which keep a log from rolling off have sharp corners, and therefore catch on some wood and have become bent, but remain functional I can imagine that they could break off in some cases. It would have been easy for the manufacturer to have make rounded or angled corners to avoid this.
The small wheels are not adequate for unpaved surfaces. You will want to bring the wood to the splitter, not the splitter into the woods as I had planned.
THE BAD
After splitting 50-100 logs, the slow handle started moving freely without any action. I contacted Grizzly about this and they suggested adding hydraulic fluid. This turned out to be the solution, but getting there was a misery.
The procedure is to
1. Extend the piston all the way.
2. Remove the small rubber seal (it comes painted over).
3. Open the relief valve to let the piston return.
4. Add fluid until 3/4 full.
5. Replace the seal.
Sounds simple, but there are some serious pitfalls.
Removing the rubber seal isn't too hard if you grab it with pliers, but it comes out so hard that you get the impression it could easily break.
The small size of the hole, about the size of a pencil, makes it difficult to pour fluid in. I used a clean, dry dish soap bottle, but that resulted in spilling a lot of fluid. The next time I'll use something with pointed nozzle.
There is no way to tell when it's 3/4 full because just beneath the hole is a metal plate the prevents you from seeing the fluid level until suddenly it's completely full. Annoying, but I didn't have anything to easily suck any back out (a pointed squeeze bottle would have worked nicely), and running it completely full seemed to work although there's a little seepage around the seal.
Putting the seal back in turned out to be astoundingly difficult. The rubber seal/plug is larger than the hole, and getting it compressed and stuffed into the hole was a nightmare. The sharp edges of the hole contribute to the problem. I didn't feel like flipping this 90 pound device filled with hydraulic fluid upside down (to prevent filings from dropping in) and file the edge smoother just because it might have might have made insertion easier. The struggle certainly did get paint chips and rubber particles in the interior. I hope they won't be a future problem. Getting the plug in requires about 15 minutes, not a pleasure in freezing temperatures.
After two removals (first to check the level, then to add fluid) the plug is showing a lot of wear (little torn pieces). I can't image it will last for even 10 insertions. I never noticed any leakage earlier, so wonder if it was delivered with a marginal amount of fluid initially. If so, perhaps I'll won't have to add fluid for a long time. If it's due to a leak that requires periodic fluid additions, I'll have to find a solution other than their flawed seal (eg, duct taping a rubber cork?).
This otherwise good product was rated only three stars because of the problematic issues with the seal/plug.
---- UPDATE Jan 8 2008 ----
After adding hydraulic fluid as above, it worked, but only for FIVE logs!!! Another email to Grizzly, and they called back. They're sending a new "ram" unit (looks like an easy swap with the existing unit with just a socket wrench). This is free under the one year warranty.
By the way, in an earlier phone call I asked if they planned to replace the fluid seal with something usable. Although the person I talked to wasn't in engineering, they did note that this suggestion had be made before so perhaps it will eventually show up in the future.
FOUR STARS: Apparently it's not possible to change the number or starts on a review, but if I could, I'd make it four stars. The seal is still a problem, but Grizzly has the best customer service that I've ever encountered -- quick to get a response, knowledgeable about the product, followed up with both email an phone calls to see whether their suggestion worked, free replacement when it appeared to be a defect.
Warm weather, urban only use. December 16, 2008
Old Ephriam (Garden Valley, ID)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Transaction, delivery excellent. Does the job well. However when temps dropped below 35 degs the recharge cycle on jack slowed. Have to wait between pumps. Small wheels not adequate on rough, steep mountain lawn. Cost of shipping it back prohibitive so I`m stuck with it. If I knew then what I know now I would NEVER buy it. Warm weather, urban use only!
One week and great November 28, 2008
Brian Butters (DC)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've only had it for a week, but so far its great. I've split some maple logs about 18 inches in diameter. Sometimes you have to switch the log end for end to fully split it and sometimes you have to rotate the log, but given the cost of the unit, this is not much of a problem My only wish is that the power stroke was on the pull, not the push.
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