Mike21

Hi Billhook again I agree about the Generac one looking like the old 5 tonne Portek. There seem to be several of these around the world looking identical bar the colour. I gather the Portek ones are made in China so perhaps the majority are and are exported with different colours and names. Perhaps I should make one like Gary:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4m7FrnudhE On the other hand convert an old hay baler:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gH_J7X8zdk

Hi Billhook Glad to hear from you but am sorry to learn you had your 5 tonne splitter nicked. At least you have the experience of the 5 tonne and 7 tonne versions and are able to confirm my fears there is a problem with the 7 tonne jumping out of gear. When Portek adjusted the handle stops the distance nut was removed and replaced with two washers. That pushed the rack down on the pinion but I still couldn't hold it in gear. At first I thought the top cover was holding the handles back but I had the same result with the cover removed. Portek still has mine and have asked what I want to do about it. As their new advertising video mentions kick back I assume this is a known problem. My wife refuses to use it so have asked the retailer for a refund.

Yes I have one of Jan 2018. It kicked like a mule and I couldn't keep it in gear. Portek took it back and returned it saying they they fixed it but it didn't seem any better. The rep called in and said it wasn't right and took it away again. I think they scrapped it as I was sent another that they tested first. This one kicked out of gear with grinding teeth. Rep called again and found the handles didn't push the rack right down on the pinion. Adjusted the handle stops and we thought it was fixed. For a few strokes on a difficult log it stayed in gear and either the belt slipped or the motor slowed which I expected. This couldn't be relied on to happen and I found it impossible to hold it in gear when it decided to kick out. They have taken it away again and have now sent me a video of it working but not with the log I let them have to test it on. The operator has to put much force on the handles like the video on the Portek website. This is the 7 tonne splitter:- http://quiksplit.co.uk/ The 5 tonne model looks a lot easier to use as can be seen here:- The 28 tonne splitter isn't available as of May 2018 but gather it will be later in the year. I notice the handle mechanism on the 2018 catalogue is much the same as the 5 tonne splitter which I am informed doesn't comply with EU law. This one seems to be a lot easier to use and still has two handed operation:- Not sure what to do about keeping the Portek.