Paul Melbourne - 13th May 2022
Upgrade to 5 stars. After over a year of abuse this machine is still going strong, and after working with it over that time I feel it has earned its keep, engine has been flawless, and having the large oil tank helps manage fluid heating when using the unit in hot conditions (obviously it still gets damn hot but that’s the nature of hydraulics). A couple of tips that you’ll soon figure out: Make a little skate up to sit under the footplate for storage allowing you to roll the unit about. Ensure that you keep the tank level across the axle or ensure the fluid filler cap is upslope…the unit will vent hydraulic oil if the cap is downslope and make a huge mess. To assist in hitching / unhitching, put the ram into upright position, this allows the hitch to be unweighted (doh). My only complaint now is that there could be bigger cutouts for debris to escape behind the ram and at the footplate (although this would weaken the beam slightly), I find bark builds up in a clump behind the ram if you are less than fastidious with cleaning it off periodically whilst splitting. Still have not defeated this splitter with our hard Aussie wood.