I'm impressed after my 30 + years of a splitting sledge/wedge (good exercise initially). Clarifications: 1. Electric means my hydraulic sys is driven by a 1 HP electric motor vs gas etc. 2. Generally, 4x8x4 is a cord period but with new smaller fireplaces /wood stoves comes Face Cords, 4X16X your needed length (my opinion vs knowing). Very few fireplaces in this area can use 24" long wood. 3. The splitter is almost too impressive and a recent fluid check showed no noticeable contamination. 4. I will be curious regarding to fluid heat that I h/n noticed vs electric motor heat in North TX heat. loger

scup, "...there will be a 3-5 HP single phase 240 volt farm duty (totally enclosed) electric motor in its future." That would trip any circuit breaker that we have, and probably cost more than your gas splitter. If we went to 220 three phase, we would have to hire an electrician to add the circuit to our garage. I hope to stay within the limits of a 20-amp 110-volt breaker, and tolerate a longer cycle time. I requested dealer and price information from American CLS. It seems to me that you may have to wait quite some time to accumulate enough budget to purchase a "top of the line electric splitter" from them. An electric splitter with a 24-ton capacity really would be "top of the line". It would probably cost considerably more than I would want to spend. It seems logical to me that DR would not allow continued purchase of the extended service contracts, because as the machine gets older and more worn, the probability of needed major service would increase to the point where it would be a losing proposition for them. It's odd that DR could not fix the hydraulic leak. It may have been as simple as a fitting that needed tightening. Quite a few people find that the 4-Ton electric splitters from Home Depot are adequate for their needs. I think they are made in China. I probably will be satisfied with a 12-Ton electric splitter. Like you, I would prefer American made. MM

Yeah, sounds like all the things our factories used to make here in the U.S.A.! Now a product of China!! Whoopee!! If your products are of the quality of some things we have already bought, don't get yer hopes up! We'll soon enough find out how much yer stuff is worth! My mottoe has always been: THOSE WHO SELL FOR LESS, KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH THEIR PRODUCT IS WORTH! By: Rusty Jones

I got an electric splitter from www.omegastores.com and they could answer my questions with the log splitter! They were very helpful actually. Contact them and they might be able to help you as well. Since you did not buy the splitter from them, they may charge you some for the technical help but it's worth it. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.omegastores.com/omegasplitters.htm