Best Log Splitter? County Line, Champion, Northstar #119

Terrible comparison. Any reason you didn't get the 30 ton County Line for a closer match to the Northstar? I got a County Line 30 ton a few seasons ago. Love it. There's no way I could pick it up like you did the 25 ton.

I have the same Northstar 30-ton splitter and love it. I think it has more features than the others and it's a very reliable brand. One thing I do wish it had is a faster cycle time. I have developed a system to account for that by not letting the wedge go all the way back. But it would be nice to have a faster cycle time.

The one dimension you left out was the length of stroke or how long a log will fit in the cradle.

The real winner here is the owner of the fire wood.

Ever gitcha hands on a ruggedmade

I have a 40-ton countyline. The cycle time is less than 10 seconds. I have never had to run it more than 3/4 throttle. It busts a everything a throw at it.

So what machine is the best those machines there running is it with a pump on the machine or kinetic style

How to get all ur buddies to split ur firewood lol

You have to take in consideration, looks like everything is frozen?

I just bought the 32 Ton Champion CrimsonForce Log Splitter. Picked it up at Rural King. I split about 10 20”-24” Red Oak rounds that were up to 2’ wide.
So far, I really like it.
It’s powered by a 7hp Kohler Command Engine. I hope it’s as dependable as the Kohler Command Engines that came on Toro 54” Walk Behind Mowers.

Looks like a fun way to get some friends to come over and split your firewood for you!

It’s funny to see these american log splitters. On europe you couldnt sell these anywhere and these are illegal as f*ck

My splitter is over 50 yrs old. I bought it from my friend who moved from OR to AZ. for $500 It had a Briggs 12 hp with rope start. and a 5 inch CAT cylinder. It has a gear pump, probably from a Case back hoe. I recently got a Duro Max.15 hp. and elect start. ($425), It has a 3:1 V belt to jack shaft that drives the pump. It is a 2000 psi system. I ordered him a new pump about 15 years ago. It had no filter. I guessed the pump size and was a little over on the volume so instead of going over the relief it kills the engine, even the new larger one. Bui cycle time is faster. My 5" cylinder has a piston that is 19.6 square inches so that's close to 40K pounds or 20 ton. Your cylinders look smaller than mine but if the same, that means 40 ton means you have 4000 psi at the pump? That is really high pressure even for a two stage gear pump.
I buy three cord of rounds which becomes about 5 cord of split wood. If the rounds are bigger than two feet I bring them into the barn on a hand truck, smaller, I use a double wheeled barrow. I sit down on a short stool and use my shoulders and knees instead of my back. i have a small shelf to protect my toes and a big plywood table on the outside to store pieces, especially kindling. I throw the split wood in a pile. We have a wood box at the house but I mostly use the big wheel barrow to cut down on handling. At 88 I need to conserve my energy. My wood is; fir, spruce, hemlock or alder and a few blocks of cedar for kindling.

Does anyone know if it’s bad for the splitter to go forward again before the wedge fully retracts?

I’ll challenge all three of you to a splitting contest.
I have a WoodMax kinetic splitter and can go through more firewood than those three little hydraulic splitters combined.
Check them out, I’ve been cutting and splitting firewood all my life and it’s the best thing anyone who burns wood could ever buy.

We have 1 year on our Countyline 25 ton. It has split everything we have thrown at it. Love it. There is an optional 4 way adapter that slides right on. Very happy!

It maybe wasn't talked about, but the NorthStar was much quieter than the other two splitters. That's a win in my book.

I owned the county line & currently own the Northstar. The Northstar is a lot better built. It's also substantially more expensive

If I were designing a machine like that I would have multiple fixing positions for the rear end of the cylinder. That way you could set it for the length of piece you were cutting and it would not be retracting too far.

only standing splitters behind the tractor PTO. not this crap.

I have a champ 34. Great machine. Customer service sucks. Tank went bad. Three hours my lady and I did about 3.2 cord.

You call those toothpicks firewood? The last wood I split was 31" Norwegian Maple with my County Line 30. You get about 25 pieces out of each round on wood that size. Weld a much larger foot on the bottom and use it vertical for the big stuff or else hire two worms to do the lifting. I roll and load while wife runs the ram. She is 64 and I am 66 and we can work your a@# off any day. Your email addy gets a photo for proof of what I say. No brag, just fact. Big John.

What brand microphone are you using. Seemed to do well with the wind noise

I've been going back and forth between champion and county line, knowing they are very similar. Watching this video, i noticed you constantly have to lean in and hold the split log from falling with the county line, where that champion has the small tray. That seems like an advantage for champion. The county line log table on other side of machine seems bigger, but it is a separate (additional) purchase. I have big rounds (36 dia) oak to split vertically, and i wonder if the yellow tray on drivers side of champion will get in way kinda make life more difficult with big diameter rounds?

What a shame you didn't try a kinetic splitter as well

Buy a GRIPO if you want speed

Great video but a question regarding the big box units. I own one of the Countyline 25 ton units and after continuously running it for 2-3 hours the cylinder gets really hot. Is that normal and did you happen to notice it on your Countyline or the others in the splitter wars?

Which one y’all think is best to start log spitting?

I had a 26 ton Brave for 16 years. The old Briggs and Scratchum 5 HP got tired and smoky so I sold it. It was a great splitter for sure. I bought a 37 ton NorthStar about 4 years ago. It’s very powerful but big and heavy. The Honda engine and auto idle are great. The NorthStar in the video seemed to stumble on acceleration, maybe the carburetor need’s adjusted

Personally, you can't beat a strong back and a good axe. No machinery required.

Great video. I like the comparisons. I’m kinda late in the game here, but any idea on the pump flow gpm on each one and if the pump flow could be in creased on the North Star, that would be my choice.
Looks cold. Great way to get the wood all split up. Having fun doing it. DONE 🤭

I'm happy with the county line one. It splits about 24 to 30 cord every season and nothing has stopped it yet. We cut tamarack(western larch), Doug Fir, and a little lodgepole. Only thing i don't like is that stupid kick stand sprigloaded front foot thing. Just put a regular hand crank one on it for Pete's sake!

What a great way to get fuel, race your friends

I like the 27 ton champion more. It holds the woods stable better after splits.

This wasn’t a review, he just found a way to get his firewood cut up! 🤪 I think I’ll organize a “review” and have all my neighbors come over with their splitters

Great video!! It's obvious the Northstar is built much better, Honda engine, but is way slower on cycle times. But....the trade off is that i'm sure it runs much cooler than the others. That's a common complaint i've heard about the other countyline reviews is that they get really hot!!
Very well done! Thank you!

That crotch stringy stuff we call
All nighters.

If we had one of these splitters, we would ha e split maybe a fifth of the wood we split.
Super split is the way to go.

You would want to be paid by the hour and not care how .uch firewood you make.

I would like my splitter to be faster.

Does not do you any good to talk when there running!

but on the northstar he would have faster if he didn't let it full return, he lost 3-4 seconds per log

I have the 37 Ton Champion because I split mostly oak but wish I had gotten the 27 ton for the lighter weight. It is hard to move around and I could have spent the $400 difference on a bigger chipper. Great video, Thanks!

County Line the best,

What is your opinion of the Northstar 4 way wedge? Does it work good enough to be faster than the 2 way? Does it leave more pieces not fully split? It looks time consuming if you want to take it off and put back on very often. So I would hope I could just leave it on. ?

I would like to see the battle of the mini-processors myself

Great Video Y'all 👍

One word.



Swisher

Great idea.. invite friends over and split your wood!

I bought a country pro 25-ton splitter on Friday, 4/7/23. It is virtually identical to your county line splitter here. The difference, I bought it at Runnings instead of TSC. The black diamond 27-ton they had is the same as the champion in this video.

What I learned was by accident when I was talking to another salesman about the Oregon 25-ton they sold.

That’s when I learned they all are sold by YTL international and it comes down to which has the lowest price or color you wish to have.

In my case, Runnings was $999 vs TSC at $1450 for exactly the same splitter.

Look at the model numbers. They all start with YTL-###-###. What follows is for what store you get them from so you get the correct colors.