0:00
In this video I want to give you a product tour of this Champion wood splitter
0:04
It happens to be the best-selling splitter in Canada. I've been using it for a while, comparing it to a couple of other machines that I've been using for years
0:13
I like it. It's not a perfect wood splitter, but it's pretty good. And I want to show you the features, then you can decide if it makes sense for you
0:20
Besides some really beefy overall construction, heavy plate steel, an I-beam, lots of beefy welds everywhere
0:28
what struck me first was the ability of this splitter to work horizontally, like it is now, and vertically
0:34
So horizontal is great when you're working with logs that aren't too big
0:39
and they're pretty convenient to pick up, because you can work right at waist level
0:43
But if you're dealing with really big logs that are too heavy to lift
0:47
then you can simply pull this pin out here, and tip the whole hydraulic ram assembly up vertically
0:57
And now you can just simply roll big logs into position, kind of wiggle them into place underneath the wedge, and do your splitting that way
1:05
Another thing I like about this splitter is how easily it rolls
1:09
I've towed this, you know, on the back roads and on some paved roads
1:13
It's stable, it rolls well, and it's also easy to move by hand, too
1:18
It's well-balanced. There's a fair amount of weight on the other side of the wheels
1:23
so it's not that heavy to lift, and it's got a handle here. Really, the rollability of this thing comes down to these wheels
1:30
They're excellent wheels. They're about 16 inches in diameter, and they have serviceable bearings that you can grease, sort of automotive style
1:39
with a cap that comes off to let you inspect them. The first thing I noticed when I started using this splitter was how fast the ram is
1:46
It's considerably faster than the hydraulic splitter that I've been using for about 10 years now
1:52
It works well, and the shape of the wedge is such that it really delivers a lot of splitting power
1:59
The wedge is angled back a little bit, so it tends to hold the wood down while you're splitting
2:04
instead of letting it pop up. And then the back part of the wedge here is very wide, so you start the split easily
2:11
with the pointy part of the wedge, and then the wood encounters these side wings on the wedge
2:16
and really just pops that wood apart. Now, if a piece of wood does get stuck on here and it doesn't come off
2:24
these two pieces of metal welded on either side of the main beam will push that wood off the wedge
2:30
so you don't have to wrestle with it by hand. Now, if you've ever used a wood splitter before, you know that it generates a lot of little bits of bark
2:37
and chunks of wood and things like that. Now, these support tables are very handy
2:42
You put a big chunk of wood on here and you split it in two
2:46
There's room to move one of those halves away so you can split the other one up finer
2:51
These tables are made out of narrow pieces of metal, thin pieces of metal
2:55
and it means that the bark and the wood chips fall right through on both sides so it doesn't build up and make a mess, which is kind of a nice thing
3:01
Now, there is one thing about this splitter that I'm not crazy about
3:05
and that's the location of the wheel in relation to where I want to stand
3:09
Because where I want to stand, I want to put my leg right about here
3:13
I can still use the splitter, of course. If I turn a little bit, I can sit here and operate it properly, and that won't be a problem
3:20
But ideally, I'd like to move in a little bit closer. Not a big deal, but just maybe one little flaw in an otherwise excellent machine
3:29
Now, as far as maintenance of the engine goes, the way they've got it located here
3:33
kind of out in the open, makes it very easy to get at. This is the oil drain plug here
3:38
There's lots of room for a pan to catch that. Spark plug's very easy to get at
3:43
Choke, fuel controls, air cleaner, nothing's crowded. It's actually a whole lot easier to get at this engine than it is to get at the engine of my old hydraulic splitter that I've been using
3:55
This, as with all hydraulic splitters, this is a tank. It holds the hydraulic fluid, in this case, automatic transmission fluid
4:04
And a nice feature they've got over here is this sight glass
4:09
So you can tell at a glance. I mean, the oil's pink, pinkish red
4:13
You can tell at a glance if you've got enough oil and if it's ready to go
4:17
So if you're in the market for a wood splitter, I think this one would make you very happy
4:22
It looks like quite a machine, well-designed, good value for the money, and lots of versatility
