I purchased the Champion 27-ton log splitter several months ago. It was a used, but looked to be used very little and in excellent condition.
First thing you need to know is that while the splitter is towable and comes standard with a 2″ ball connection, it has a maximum towing speed of 45mph. Since I had to transport it over 40 miles back to the farm, I pulled it up on my little 5×8 utility trailer to haul it down the road.
The splitter comes with a 224cc Champion-branded engine which, for me, starts on the first or 2nd pull (with the choke engaged) every time.
My only gripe about this engine is that its quite loud at full-throttle. I tend to operate it at about 3/4 throttle as that gives the best combination of less noise, but still plenty of power and speed.
Here’s a video of my first heavy splitting session, and I got a chance to test the splitter out on some big logs up to 24″ in diameter.
The 27-ton full-beam splitter I own has a 24 inch log capacity, so it works great if you like to burn longer firewood. The manual states it has a 100lb log capacity, though I’ve certainly set logs up on it that weighed considerably more than that.
I do wish the splitter had a larger table on both sides. When splitting large pieces, there are always pieces falling to the ground because there’s just not enough room on the existing tables.
GOING VERTICAL
The Champion 27-ton log splitter can operate in horizontal and vertical mode.
When in vertical mode, I’ve found you can pretty much split any size log you’re able to muscle up to the wedge. I’ve actually tried oak logs up to 30 inches in diameter and the splitter didn’t seem to break a sweat (though I certainly did because those rounds are HEAVY!).
First Impressions
Overall, I’m quite pleased with this splitter.
It has a faster cycle time than many other comparably priced splitters.
The splitter also has a reasonable price – at just $1099 at my local Home Depot, and used can be found considerably less.
From what I can tell, parts for Champion products seem to be readily available, so servicing the splitter years down the road shouldn’t be a problem.
Want to know more?
I’ll continue to use the log splitter in the months and years ahead, and document it along with lots of other outdoors activity on my Woods Tree Farm Youtube Channel.
Update: Here’s another video where I encountered a problem with the splitter.
