I'm on my 4th year and 20 cords later with that machine. . There is nothing I don't like about it. My wife and kids are glad to help if they do the splitting and I do the lumping. A great machine,,, Takes a lickin and keeps on splittin.
I've been using this model ryobi for about 3 years now and I can't complain for something of that size and cost. I have a 27 ton gas powered at our cabin but it's too much to have to try to bring it back to our house (plus no real room to store it here in the "city").
The ryobi goes thru seasoned wood - even hardwood - pretty easily, even 16-18" rounds but don't expect the ryobi to split say oak or ash of any size if the hard wood hasn't seasoned.
I have this splitter after having my gas-powered splitter stolen from our farm. At least this one we can take away with us.
It's excellent, with a few limitations
1.-The log isn't pushed far enough towards the wedge to allow you to pull apart large green logs, There are still too many fibres joining them. No problem with dry logs.
2.-The piston retracts all the way back, so you have to advance the piston the whole distance before it reaches the log and starts splitting.
I had this same problem and now I keep a 9 inch block of hardwood handy to put between the log and the ram so it will push the log deeper into the wedge. Splits quicker too
To solve the problem of the piston going all the way back, you can release the motor switch to stop the pump, and release the handle just a bit. This will keep the piston from returning all the way. If you can remove the split log and place a new log on the machine with one hand you can keep doing this. Not easy.
I split pieces twenty times the size of those with an axe and sledge hammer my dad has a 28 hydraulic force gas splitter but just did it for fun to see if I could do it!!! Trust me I could split those logs with a hatchet you need something with at least twenty tons of splitting force!!
Hi, I just bought one today but have trouble splitting Redgum logs. What type of wood are you splitting by the way? I did split a few but some are just to hard for this splitter.
To all you naysayers: If a 3 HP gas engine was instead used for this splitter it would STALL. Electric is much stronger than gas. In fact I made a video to prove this point very well. It can no longer be denied who has the true muscle power.
I never kept track of power use, but the electric motor has a momentary on switch so it's only running while the piston is moving. The motor is about the same amperage as a skil saw so it doesn't draw a lot of power.
I don't own one, but from what I've seen and read it's a great log splitter for the average homeowner. Now I have to convince my friend or neighbor to buy one :-)
@deasttn An axe is pretty perfect, a hammer pretty perfect, there are many hand tools that are pretty perfect, because they do what they are meant to with as much efficiency as possible, I am not sure what comment of mine you were replying to...
Hammers aren't perfect, neither are pliers or screwdrivers (that's why they come in all shapes and sizes)
The electric splitter isn't perfect. It's meant for small to moderate sized logs. Larger logs require different tools, just like the other tool examples (hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, etc).
As far as efficiency goes, I suspect the Ryobi electric splitter is fairly efficient because it only runs during the splitting process (has some sort of spring to reload it)
I did, all except a dozen or so huge pieces of beech that it wouldn't split. I can usually prop up big pieces so the splitter blade only catches an inch or two of the edge to start the split. These pieces were hard enough and bigh enough so even that didn't work. I ended up using my neighbor's big gas splitter.
With recent wind storms in AZ, we have alot of downed giant size mesquite and pine trees. Still green. Free loads of wood! Can't burn it now so no use splitting it yet. I will be impressed if it cuts through the mesquite wood. That's why it's so expensive, it is really hard wood. For the price, I'll try one. Thanks for posting this video. PS....End of October, 80 degrees today in PHX area!
why would you split such itty bitty wood? I burn that size unsplit! except for the largest one which need be split only once. are you making kindling?
If you survive using that toy splitter through all that wood stacked up, I will be impressed. They are slow as molasses in Jan., and crawling around on the ground like that will get old in less than 15 minutes.
I really like your splitter Ryobi electric splitters are very popular here on youtube.i sure hope you will make some more videos of the splitter working make a long one i will sure watch it.I have a 6ton northern it splits vertically.i will be making videos of mine again when this hot awfull summer heat is over.To hot to split wood now LOL...
I have just bought a Ryobi splitter over here in Scotland on the strength of this video and... it is amazing! You should get royalties!
Short logs (8"-9") might fail as the ram does not go right down to the cutting blade but I put a small log inbetween the one that I want splitting and the hydraulic ram and this works fine.
It is quick and easy, no backache and not too noisy.
Last week I cut down some white birch about 8 in. in diameter that had been damaged in an ice storm last winter. It was split with the Ryobi immediately without any trouble. Logs larger than 12 in. might be a problem depending on the species.
i had one of these types of splitters from LOWES - Task Force. It was great and split through anything that I put in it .. I couldn't complain at all. However, I did run into a problem with the motor that couldn't be fixed. now I have a Troy bilt 27 Ton. That electric broke up everything I put through it ..
Yes, it's still doing a great job. I have it in the cellar for the winter to split some larger pieces into kindling. Being able to use it inside is definitely one of the advantages. I have stored it upright and it seems fine. Called Ryobi once about replacement hydraulic oil and they answered right away here in US.
tried it this morning I remembered to unscrew the small nut on the front, you still make it look sooooo easy !!, The start button should def. work without having to keep your finger on, as no free hand. One of the logs managed to take the paint off the pointed end and I now have metal showing! . As far as the oil do you put chain saw oil in, and if so where? I am still looking for the dam manual.
Definitely DON'T use chainsaw oil. You need hydraulic oil. I purchased a small bottle of generic hydraulic jack oil at my local hardware store. There is a 3/4 in. diameter plug in the end of the unit, below the small nut you mentioned, that has an 8 mm hex socket in it. Stand the splitter upright and open this plug. There is a dipstick on it that will tell you the oil level. Mine does use a small amount of oil and I check it every few sessions.
Get some stringy piss elm in there and see what happens, Birch or poplar splits too easy. Does seem to work good and I would like to try one someday though.
I have this splitter at home. I have not use it that much but I love it. THere was one time the piston thing did not return to the starting position and finally did after 1 day. Did that happen to your machine?
Did you make sure that the small air bleed valve was open during operation? It's a small wing nut located on the wedge end of the machine. The instructions say to turn this open a couple of turns before each use. If this valve was closed it might cause the situation you mention. Not sure though.
@iluvbogs... The same thing happened to me after a few hours. The hammer stopped near the wedge and wouldn't return. It returned so slowly that you could barely see it moving. Next day it was working just fine. I discovered that I had forgotten to open the wing nut! I called Ryobi and they instructed me to turn the splitter upright on it's end, and run the hammer up and down five (5) times to bleed the system of air. I did it, and the machine has been working fine ever since. Great splitter!
Now I dont know. This video makes me consider getting the electric 5 ton instead of the $1300 27 ton. But I got 16-20" trees to split. Decisions Decisions. Thanks for uploading.
Nice informative demonstration with your video. I have been looking into an electric splitter so it could be used indoors if the weather is bad out.. The roybi is the one that seem to look like it works well, but i just wonder about the only 4 ton rating. Have you found any pieces of hardwood it just wouldn't split? Also how might it work if the wood wasn't frozen. Thanks
You're right about the 4 ton rating. It's doesn't split some pieces. Specifically beech and maple over about 12 in. dia. Birch and oak split okay, but haven't had any large pieces of those species. Have been splitting this summer with unfrozen wood and works the same. I certainly don't miss the noise and fumes of a gasoline powered splitter. I do need to mount it on a stand because bending over gets tiring.
I heard a tip on here and i tried it and it works.A guy said oil the wedge and it will make the wood slide across the wedge with less effort.Sounds to reason.I did this and it really helps.Just oil it every log or every couple logs.When you hear that sound of the log making squeak like its dry splitting the oil stops that sound.Just a tip i wanted to share.Nice video.
how much did you pay for the wood? and how long can u heat your home with it?
bottomgunner 3 weeks ago
I'm on my 4th year and 20 cords later with that machine. . There is nothing I don't like about it. My wife and kids are glad to help if they do the splitting and I do the lumping. A great machine,,, Takes a lickin and keeps on splittin.
80dale 3 months ago
poor nature!
datakprosto123 5 months ago
I've been using this model ryobi for about 3 years now and I can't complain for something of that size and cost. I have a 27 ton gas powered at our cabin but it's too much to have to try to bring it back to our house (plus no real room to store it here in the "city").
The ryobi goes thru seasoned wood - even hardwood - pretty easily, even 16-18" rounds but don't expect the ryobi to split say oak or ash of any size if the hard wood hasn't seasoned.
lukebccb 5 months ago
Excelent log splitter.Are you still using it today my bet is its still running fine !!
arkansastrash320 5 months ago
I have this splitter after having my gas-powered splitter stolen from our farm. At least this one we can take away with us.
It's excellent, with a few limitations
1.-The log isn't pushed far enough towards the wedge to allow you to pull apart large green logs, There are still too many fibres joining them. No problem with dry logs.
2.-The piston retracts all the way back, so you have to advance the piston the whole distance before it reaches the log and starts splitting.
simon4043 9 months ago
@simon4043
I had this same problem and now I keep a 9 inch block of hardwood handy to put between the log and the ram so it will push the log deeper into the wedge. Splits quicker too
To solve the problem of the piston going all the way back, you can release the motor switch to stop the pump, and release the handle just a bit. This will keep the piston from returning all the way. If you can remove the split log and place a new log on the machine with one hand you can keep doing this. Not easy.
Reztiws 9 months ago
I split pieces twenty times the size of those with an axe and sledge hammer my dad has a 28 hydraulic force gas splitter but just did it for fun to see if I could do it!!! Trust me I could split those logs with a hatchet you need something with at least twenty tons of splitting force!!
nathanmeitzler 10 months ago
Your demonstration of the Ryobi Electric Log Splitter was the proof that I needed to convince my husband to get one. Great video!! Thanks!!
razalady 10 months ago
Hi, I just bought one today but have trouble splitting Redgum logs. What type of wood are you splitting by the way? I did split a few but some are just to hard for this splitter.
zion918 11 months ago
To all you naysayers: If a 3 HP gas engine was instead used for this splitter it would STALL. Electric is much stronger than gas. In fact I made a video to prove this point very well. It can no longer be denied who has the true muscle power.
EETechs 11 months ago
Nice peice of kit
vindaloogarlicrice 1 year ago
i am interested in knowing how much power it used to split the entire pile of logs, did you watch your power bill?
TheDudeRulez09 1 year ago
@TheDudeRulez09
I never kept track of power use, but the electric motor has a momentary on switch so it's only running while the piston is moving. The motor is about the same amperage as a skil saw so it doesn't draw a lot of power.
Reztiws 1 year ago
@Reztiws excellent!!
TheDudeRulez09 1 year ago
@TheDudeRulez09
You do the math:
1,300-watt, 1.75 HP electric motor
The machine isn't perfect, but no tool is.
I don't own one, but from what I've seen and read it's a great log splitter for the average homeowner. Now I have to convince my friend or neighbor to buy one :-)
deasttn 1 year ago
@deasttn An axe is pretty perfect, a hammer pretty perfect, there are many hand tools that are pretty perfect, because they do what they are meant to with as much efficiency as possible, I am not sure what comment of mine you were replying to...
TheDudeRulez09 1 year ago
Hammers aren't perfect, neither are pliers or screwdrivers (that's why they come in all shapes and sizes)
The electric splitter isn't perfect. It's meant for small to moderate sized logs. Larger logs require different tools, just like the other tool examples (hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, etc).
As far as efficiency goes, I suspect the Ryobi electric splitter is fairly efficient because it only runs during the splitting process (has some sort of spring to reload it)
deasttn 1 year ago
@TheDudeRulez09 not much, the electric motor is very efficient.
flamedrag18 2 months ago
well, did you split all that wood with the ryobi?
hollowpoint45acp 1 year ago
I did, all except a dozen or so huge pieces of beech that it wouldn't split. I can usually prop up big pieces so the splitter blade only catches an inch or two of the edge to start the split. These pieces were hard enough and bigh enough so even that didn't work. I ended up using my neighbor's big gas splitter.
Reztiws 1 year ago
Really ? Why not to use an axe ?
ufologas 1 year ago
@ufologas some people may not be strong enough to spilt with an axe--older, whatever, but they still need wood. ever think of that, dumbass?
hollowpoint45acp 1 year ago
I'm getting on in years and I just don't have the energy for hand splitting.
Reztiws 1 year ago
Wow! That's a great demo on the log splitter. It's exactly what I was looking for before buying one. Thanks for sharing.
Looks like you have enough wood to roast marshmallows and sip champagne in front of the fire untill spring!
Have a great winter...
justaflyguy11 1 year ago
With recent wind storms in AZ, we have alot of downed giant size mesquite and pine trees. Still green. Free loads of wood! Can't burn it now so no use splitting it yet. I will be impressed if it cuts through the mesquite wood. That's why it's so expensive, it is really hard wood. For the price, I'll try one. Thanks for posting this video. PS....End of October, 80 degrees today in PHX area!
My1968Impala 1 year ago
why would you split such itty bitty wood? I burn that size unsplit! except for the largest one which need be split only once. are you making kindling?
skyypilot01 1 year ago
why would you split such itty bitty wood? I burn that size unsplit! except for the last one which need be split only once.
skyypilot01 1 year ago
why would you split such itty bitty wood? I burn that size unsplit!
skyypilot01 1 year ago
@skyypilot01 yeah thats what i was thinking
ironlionkalo 1 year ago
What a great video! Hope the Ryobi is still working great!
You make it look easy.
I am going to buy one soon.
joebro360 1 year ago
If you survive using that toy splitter through all that wood stacked up, I will be impressed. They are slow as molasses in Jan., and crawling around on the ground like that will get old in less than 15 minutes.
But, more power to you.
deernutOO 1 year ago
I really like your splitter Ryobi electric splitters are very popular here on youtube.i sure hope you will make some more videos of the splitter working make a long one i will sure watch it.I have a 6ton northern it splits vertically.i will be making videos of mine again when this hot awfull summer heat is over.To hot to split wood now LOL...
arkansastrash320 1 year ago
uuhhhh help!
ussoccer114 1 year ago
I have just bought a Ryobi splitter over here in Scotland on the strength of this video and... it is amazing! You should get royalties!
Short logs (8"-9") might fail as the ram does not go right down to the cutting blade but I put a small log inbetween the one that I want splitting and the hydraulic ram and this works fine.
It is quick and easy, no backache and not too noisy.
rayh72 1 year ago
Great video! Im getting one today... Thanks!
naik3002 1 year ago
How does this fair on unseasoned wood?
militarysims 1 year ago
@militarysims
Last week I cut down some white birch about 8 in. in diameter that had been damaged in an ice storm last winter. It was split with the Ryobi immediately without any trouble. Logs larger than 12 in. might be a problem depending on the species.
Reztiws 1 year ago
i had one of these types of splitters from LOWES - Task Force. It was great and split through anything that I put in it .. I couldn't complain at all. However, I did run into a problem with the motor that couldn't be fixed. now I have a Troy bilt 27 Ton. That electric broke up everything I put through it ..
dbest1a 1 year ago
Im Impressed. Ryobi stuff here in Ireland is common but a little weak.
I'd like to send you a lump of Irish Oak that'll put some manners in that baby!
Guderian1939 1 year ago
Great video, are you still using it ??? Is t ok to store upright?
Never ring Ryobi customer srvice again, spent all day ringing but they don't ansa. Maybe better in the USA!
marti580 2 years ago
Yes, it's still doing a great job. I have it in the cellar for the winter to split some larger pieces into kindling. Being able to use it inside is definitely one of the advantages. I have stored it upright and it seems fine. Called Ryobi once about replacement hydraulic oil and they answered right away here in US.
Reztiws 2 years ago
hi again,
tried it this morning I remembered to unscrew the small nut on the front, you still make it look sooooo easy !!, The start button should def. work without having to keep your finger on, as no free hand. One of the logs managed to take the paint off the pointed end and I now have metal showing! . As far as the oil do you put chain saw oil in, and if so where? I am still looking for the dam manual.
Have a good day
martine x
marti580 2 years ago
Definitely DON'T use chainsaw oil. You need hydraulic oil. I purchased a small bottle of generic hydraulic jack oil at my local hardware store. There is a 3/4 in. diameter plug in the end of the unit, below the small nut you mentioned, that has an 8 mm hex socket in it. Stand the splitter upright and open this plug. There is a dipstick on it that will tell you the oil level. Mine does use a small amount of oil and I check it every few sessions.
Reztiws 2 years ago
4 tons splitting force is enough so i can see
nice work :)
synthesizer301 2 years ago
Where can i find one of these?
MrLeonard55 2 years ago
Home Depot sells it for $299.
Reztiws 2 years ago
Get some stringy piss elm in there and see what happens, Birch or poplar splits too easy. Does seem to work good and I would like to try one someday though.
andrewthemalibu 2 years ago
I have this splitter at home. I have not use it that much but I love it. THere was one time the piston thing did not return to the starting position and finally did after 1 day. Did that happen to your machine?
iluvbogs 2 years ago
Did you make sure that the small air bleed valve was open during operation? It's a small wing nut located on the wedge end of the machine. The instructions say to turn this open a couple of turns before each use. If this valve was closed it might cause the situation you mention. Not sure though.
Reztiws 2 years ago
Thanks for your reply. The wing nut was open during operation. I just don't know why it didn't work that time but the machine is working fine now.
iluvbogs 2 years ago
@iluvbogs... The same thing happened to me after a few hours. The hammer stopped near the wedge and wouldn't return. It returned so slowly that you could barely see it moving. Next day it was working just fine. I discovered that I had forgotten to open the wing nut! I called Ryobi and they instructed me to turn the splitter upright on it's end, and run the hammer up and down five (5) times to bleed the system of air. I did it, and the machine has been working fine ever since. Great splitter!
CKYZZIE 1 year ago
I have one and love it, keep it in the basement in winter to split wood up small to start the fire
body2man2000 2 years ago
Is that Macaulay Culkin?
Blownwillyscoupe 2 years ago
GOOD video 5*s they sell the same one in the U.K.
Thankyou.
RJM1011 2 years ago
Now I dont know. This video makes me consider getting the electric 5 ton instead of the $1300 27 ton. But I got 16-20" trees to split. Decisions Decisions. Thanks for uploading.
NorEaster07 2 years ago
I've gone thru fairly well seasoned 18inch pine and fir rounds using the same Ryobi.
Though I don't think the splitter could handle 12 inch oaks no matter how well seasoned the oak is.
lukebccb 2 years ago
Nice informative demonstration with your video. I have been looking into an electric splitter so it could be used indoors if the weather is bad out.. The roybi is the one that seem to look like it works well, but i just wonder about the only 4 ton rating. Have you found any pieces of hardwood it just wouldn't split? Also how might it work if the wood wasn't frozen. Thanks
jimsho95 2 years ago
You're right about the 4 ton rating. It's doesn't split some pieces. Specifically beech and maple over about 12 in. dia. Birch and oak split okay, but haven't had any large pieces of those species. Have been splitting this summer with unfrozen wood and works the same. I certainly don't miss the noise and fumes of a gasoline powered splitter. I do need to mount it on a stand because bending over gets tiring.
Reztiws 2 years ago
Keep the splitter warm in cold weather so the hydrolic works better
40markava 2 years ago
I heard a tip on here and i tried it and it works.A guy said oil the wedge and it will make the wood slide across the wedge with less effort.Sounds to reason.I did this and it really helps.Just oil it every log or every couple logs.When you hear that sound of the log making squeak like its dry splitting the oil stops that sound.Just a tip i wanted to share.Nice video.
billy4960 2 years ago
save your back put it up on a table
ben5646 2 years ago