Ballario & Forestello A12V1000

[Daniel Jiggins]

I have the A12 650, and it is a lump to move about, flat ground for one person, mild slopes can be done with 2 easily.

Absolutely ruins you back though splitting near to the ground all the time!!!

i had the same problem done my back in after couple of hours at 6'8 the ground feels along way down after severel hours splitting, i found away round this by placing the splitter on the concrete apron to our garages then standing on the lower ground varies between 18-24" also put small rings on base to required height works the same as a table.

[Rob Stringer]

How do you find moving it around as the one A12 is something like 290kg (petrol). Depending on how there balanced I dont think i'll pull it up my 8ft ifor ramps without an electric winch.

 

I use a strap winch to get it on my trailer though its probably do-able by hand. It is lighter and a more manageable size than the 12 tonne+ splitters which was why I chose it. Fairly easy to move around with one person on level,solid ground but bumps and mud can be a nuisance. The bigger splitters looked like they'd need two people/mechanical assistance to move around. The main advantage with them that I saw was that the knife goes right close to the ground which would be handy when splitting long billets but I've found with the 'quicksplit' wedge blade attachment they can usually be forced apart even though the knife on the A11V stops higher up.

[Theocus]

When i picked mine up from the depot the larger A12 was there and it was a beast!! A couple of annoying things with the health and safety side is the splitter head stops about 4 inches off the bottom plate meaning that stringy wood such as cherry etc doesnt fall apart as easily. The double handle mechanism again is a pain but with a bit of mechanical mindedness can be overcome. I purchased mine to hire out to clients and also add another service to my business and so far it has been great. I have the fourway splitter on it and larger rings get mullered!!

 

If you get a tow ball and adapt a handle that sweeps up as i have you can make the machine much easier to shift about. I intend to get a pneumatic jockey wheel for it at some point to assist. Its a great splitter, very powerful and wont stuff you back as long as someone else is doing all the bending down!!!

[RPA]

Seen these and like the look of them a lot.

 

Anyone know the price of the electric/petrol models? It will be used mostly at home so if the electric is a lot cheaper may go that way.

 

Thanx

[shillo]

ive just purchased a a11 petrol engined machine only tried it out at the house with a few small bits but really nice to use, i got it at a good price as there is a newer version just out now which is a bit better but a bit more expensive. its about 190kg which is hard enough to move about by yourself.

it was delivered to my mums house cos i was working, they brought it in a van with no tail lift, my mum had to run about the estate finding some strong blokes, it took 4 of them to lift this thing off! i got a ear bending for that!

[Theocus]

well, some bad news for the A12 k650, mine has had 4 tanks of fuel through it and the ram is now leaking and the metal has sheared to the left of the splitting knife.

 

It appears to be made from cast metal as opposed to mild steel. I will put some images up of the problem and also hopefully get some response from Riko on monday as to the problem. It has a 4 way splitter on it but to be honest i have not been putting anything to gnarly through it.

 

I am not bad mouthing the machine as the build is great but mine has gone bang!!!! 4 tanks and prob 6-8 cubic meters split.

[treediver]

well, some bad news for the A12 k650, mine has had 4 tanks of fuel through it and the ram is now leaking and the metal has sheared to the left of the splitting knife.

 

It appears to be made from cast metal as opposed to mild steel. I will put some images up of the problem and also hopefully get some response from Riko on monday as to the problem. It has a 4 way splitter on it but to be honest i have not been putting anything to gnarly through it.

 

I am not bad mouthing the machine as the build is great but mine has gone bang!!!! 4 tanks and prob 6-8 cubic meters split.

 

Thats just what i didnt want to hear. Lets hope its a one off and gets sorted asap or it sort of defeats the object of spending the time and money sourcing something that you think is reliable.

I could understand if it was a chinese copy.

[Theocus]

As i said, i am not slating the machine but i dont think it should do this!!!

 

Also an image of the leaking hydraulic ram!!!

[Daniel Jiggins]

As i said, i am not slating the machine but i dont think it should do this!!!

 

Also an image of the leaking hydraulic ram!!!

 

Blimey That Looks Bad! the sliding back plate on pic 3 i removed from mine as i found it a nuisance my ram does weep a bit but never had to put anymore than a cupfull of hydraulic oil in 3yrs, i also took the 4 way splitting head off mine and i find it works much better (depends on what your splitting).

 

Would of thought that would be replaced no questions asked.

[treediver]

Yeah thats looks terrible. I would of thought the splitter head was forged from a lump of solid hardened steel or similar. Im not sure how it is for other makes,but standard cast alloy (if that what it is) dosent seem the obvious choice for something which is subject to constant repeated pressure. Of course I could be totally wrong and they've never had a complaint.