Wood splitter tested - Güde and Atika good

Anyone who owns a wood heating system knows that a log splitter is a sensible investment. Stiftung Warentest took a close look at 10 devices. Read here which one is the best.

Wood heaters are trendy

Winter and thus the heating season is just coming to an end, but only those who take precautions don't have to be afraid of the next winter. Basically, wood heating systems are very trendy at the moment. The reason: wood is significantly cheaper than fossil fuels and also easy to obtain.

Of course, a wood heating system also has a disadvantage: the firewood usually has to be cut up. If you want to make it particularly easy to chop up the trunks, you should have a log splitter behind the house or in the garden.

In its 12/2011 issue, Stiftung Warentest compared seven horizontal cleavers and three vertical cleavers. Read here which device is best suited for which user and which devices are not recommended.

Vertical splitters are suitable for stove owners

A tip from Stiftung Warentest: Stove owners who want to heat with wood throughout the winter should opt for the larger vertical splitter. As a rule, these devices develop significantly higher forces and can therefore process significantly more wood more effectively.

The following log splitters were examined in the test:

» the petrol log splitter Scheppach Ox 1-850
» the electric log splitter Güde DHH 1050/8 TC
» and the electric log splitter Atika ASP 8 N

The device from Scheppach is the most powerful in the test with an output of 3.7 kW and a maximum splitting pressure of 8.5 tons and, thanks to the petrol engine, it can also be used particularly flexibly. The other devices work electrically, press the splitting wedge onto the wood with 8 tons and are less powerful with 3.5 or 3.0 kW.

Test result:
Overall, all three devices were equally convincing. The Scheppach Ox 1-850 won the test with the test grade GOOD (2.0), with the splitting power and the existing safety device being particularly praised.

The other two also scored GOOD (2.2), at around 400 euros only half as muchexpensive electric log splitters from Güde and Atika. Here, too, the testers praised the splitting force. With the device from Atika, however, the safety device is only satisfactory.

Floor splitters should be preferred by chimney owners

The seven tested horizontal log splitters show a much more differentiated picture. These devices are primarily suitable for occasional use.

Test result:
Only the Atika ASP 4-370 was able to achieve the test grade GOOD (2.5). The testers even had to issue a warning about the AL-KO KHS 3700 and the Woodster lh 45. The safety equipment was inadequate here.

You can find all the information about this test in the test magazine (issue 12/2011).

Here is a video of a horizontal log splitter, which we think is quite good: