KTM 26t diesel splitter

[rgeparker]

Hey guys and gals. Anyone have any experience of said machine? They look very good value for money. 26 tonne, diesel, towable, horizontal/ vertical working positions. Seem to tick all the right boxes. Can't really find any information about them online, other than their website. I think they're built by a relatively small company, and they sell on eBay. Cheers. Rob.

[bertdunn]

Hi there,

 

These are Chinese splitters, that's not a negative though. Not had a single major problem with mine for 5 years.

 

I've put about 200-300 ton through mine. Compared with a friend's splitter, I think it's probably rated about 12-15ton.

 

Positives:

Sips fuel

Low maintenance

Mine cost £500

Splits anything I throw at it.

 

 

Negatives:

Unless these guys have spares, you'll have to find someone in China (have a look at Alibaba).

I had to build mine from the beam upwards, so you'll need a bit of knowledge to put it together if it doesn't get delivered pre-assembled.

The two handles have to be pulled simultaneously, if not the engine will cut.

Some parts loosen over time and will need to be tightened and monitored.

Hydraulic pipes are a bit too long and can drag around the floor.

The guide bars on the beam can get caught by the wood and distort.

Moving the beam from horizontal to vertical can take quite a bit of effort as there is a single rod that keep the beam in place.

There is no length adjustment on the ram, so you have to manually control every stroke. There is no auto recoil on the ram either.

A friend has said the engine isn't powerful enough for the ram which is why the stroke speed is quite slow.

 

 

That's all I can think of for now.

 

Regards

Bert

[rgeparker]

Hi Bert. Thanks for the informative reply. The pros sound very good, although there are quite a few cons that would potentially put me off. One point (which you made) are the controls, which look poorly designed. As you say, you have to pull then both simultaneously to operate the machine. When the chap demonstrates this on the YouTube video (in the vertical position), it looks like he's about to topple it over, as you have to pull towards you?! I'd be a bit concerned that repeatedly doing this would loosen fixings, and weaken the structure?

 

So, based on your experiences with the machine, would you recommend it? They're up for sale on eBay for a tad under 2 grand (with the VAT), which like I said, seems like very good value for money. The distributer appears to be located in Devon (not too far from me), which would potentially make getting parts etc relatively straightforward? The other machine I was looking at, was an oxdale se400.. Similar sort of price (bit cheaper), but less bang for your buck. Is this a case of quality over quantity do you think? If you were to replace your current machine with another in the same price range, would you have the same again? Thanks. Rob.

[bertdunn]

Hi Rob,

 

Apologies for the delay in responding.

 

I wouldn't say the design of the controls is poor, it's just they don't make the machine 'feel' as solid as you would like. But this doesn't detract from the fact that it does work well. To get round this, I have put a single lever in rather than using two.

It does definitely loosen the fixings, but you can engineer for that not to happen.

 

I would definitely recommend it, but just make sure you try it first as my opinion may differ from yours.

 

Regards,

 

Ali