Matt Venn

Sorry, been off here for a few weeks. Best price I’ve found is at Tuckwells, a John Deere dealer near me, see their website for pricing. A couple of unexpected bills have arrived which has unfortunately delayed me in sorting out the splitter, but it’s something I’ll sort out before next winter. Pretty sure I’ll go with the Alpino 8.5t

1 hour ago, nepia said:

...which would have left the machine on the tilt when working surely unless you went to the trouble of chocking it?

I think they go on an axle modification bracket that moves the wheel higher than it’s original position. This means the machine sits level when in use. Off memory I think they are 40cm diameter 

10 hours ago, nepia said:

I had a petrol Mignon and found it a great machine once it was going.  But it was a pig to move anywhere - it had next to no ground clearance so unless you move it on good flat concrete it's a real pain to get anywhere and heavy with it.  Very good as a static machine though; I loved the foot pedal function for gripping logs with the blade

The Mignon I can spec with big pneumatic tyres which I think will help the ground clearance problem the little plastic ones on the Alpino look a bit flimsy to me and I’m sure will be the first bit to fail.

6 hours ago, daveindales said:

I've had the Thor Alpini 8.5 ton for 3 or 4 years now. No problems at all with it 

Have you been happy with it? I’ve looked at them all and it was between Posch, AMR and Thor and I think for the price Thor look good and I like the idea of the foot pedal and auto return. 

Looking at the above two splitters for doing around 10m3 a year. Is the 11t Mignon worth having over the 8.5t Alpino? Think for the bulk of my splitting 8.5t would do the job but for the extra £500 would the Mignon last longer as a heavier duty build, I’m planning this splitter doing 20-25yrs for me. Both would be 230v electric motor, and if I ever need to use it away from the workshop it would be powered off a genny.

Thanks jarnii, i'll give him a ring on monday.

Hi all,

Anyone local in bucks or oxon who could test my gear, or know of anyone, pref need it done asap as i have a CS38 and 39 assessment in about a month.

Cheers,