WEN Electric Log Splitter, 6.5-Ton Capacity with Portable Stand (56208)

Awesome log splitter. Splitting mostly dry ash and apple wood. Plenty of power. Easily splits 10"+ logs. Seems to bust right through the knots. Well worth the money!

As a seasoned wood splitter, I must say the WEN 56208 6.5-Ton Electric Log Splitter is the best sidekick I could ask for. Not only does it handle my wood-splitting chores with the grace of a ballerina and the power of a wrestler, but it also gives me a good sense of satisfaction every time I use it! Firstly, let's talk about build quality. This machine is sturdier than my determination to tell dad jokes at family gatherings. I've used it extensively, and it's as reliable as my morning number 2's. Now, the power. Oh, the power! This log splitter tackles wood like it's going through a hot knife, and I'm talking about butter that's been left out in the sun on a hot summer day. It's so powerful, I half expect it to start splitting atoms next. Portability is another plus. It's easier to move around than convincing my friends to come over for a BBQ (and that's saying something). Whether it's from the shed to the yard or just repositioning it for a better angle, this splitter moves more smoothly than my best pick-up lines. The cherry on top? My loyalty to WEN products continues to grow. Each time I use this log splitter, I feel like it's whispering sweet nothings to me about quality and efficiency. It's become a trusty companion in my wood-splitting adventures, much like my favorite flannel shirt. In conclusion, the WEN 56208 Electric Log Splitter doesn't just split logs; it splits my face into a big, hearty smile every time I use it. It's a fantastic product that keeps the firewood - and the fun - flowing!

This log splitter is awesome!!! It has no problem splitting logs unless there are knots in the wood, then it may be challenging. This is not the log splitters fault, just more effort is needed to split that log. It exceeds the size that's recommended to split and without a problem. The only negative I have is the so-called 'retaining stop' to prevent the arm or bar from coming all the way back does not stay in place. That retaining ring loosens quite reddily making it essentially completely ineffective. This to me is a minor issue, nice to have although it doesn't work. The instructions state to have 2 people assisting when putting together. Sure this thing is heavy, although I had no problem completing the assembly by myself. Highly recommend.

I was excited to give this a shot, I've had my eye on Wen for a while for some woodworking tools but haven't yet pulled the trigger on those. I've heard great things about the quality for the price so I wanted to see how well this would hold up. The Good: This handled everything reasonable I threw at it, along with some stuff that was unreasonable based on the specs. I was able to split some stuff that was far larger than it's rated for. The pictures attached are a stack of red oak I've had sitting for a couple years that I've been splitting here and there by hand. Everything missing from the third picture with the exception of one really gnarly log was split on this. It did struggle a little with some of the smaller knotted up stuff but did split it all. With the larger stuff the key is make sure you're getting between the grain. I had one larger log that rotated a bit after I put it on the splitter and it jammed it up, but rotating it around to get onto an existing check in the log and getting between the grain allowed it to pass through with no issues. The Bad: The stand works but it's not nearly the same quality as the splitter itself. The instructions are not good at all (if you follow them to the letter, they'd have you attaching the wheels to the splitter, then removing them and reattaching to the stand). The placement of some pieces on the stand wasn't quite clear and there is no order specified in the assembly but an order is clearly needed to get everything attached properly. All of these complaints are about the stand (more in the "Ugly" section on this too). The only complaint with the splitter itself is that it's a mandatory two-handed operation. One hand is required to start the motor, while the other operates the hydraulic system. This leaves no hands free to stabilize a log or try to keep it from falling off after it split. I don't believe this is isolated to this model and is probably an issue with all of these electric splitters. The Ugly: The quality of the stand is really bad. It's a little hard to see but the hole in the cross piece on the stand was so far off-center there was no possible way the bolt would pass through it. It worked and did what it was supposed to do but some minor details in design and assembly that cost nothing could change it's quality tremendously. The handle on the splitter also shipped as a separate part when it clearly was supposed to have been pre-installed. Not only is it shown in the instructions as pre-installed (and there are no instructions on it's installation), it's not physically possible to attach the handle with the guide rails installed (see the picture of the bolt that's supposed to be inserted from underneath the handle, the hole is directly above the nut that holds the rails in place). Not wanting to disassemble the whole thing, I just left it off. Finally, I purchased the foot pedal after having read here that someone wished they had and it seemed like a good idea to have it. The foot pedal is not only completely useless on this machine, it actually makes it harder to use. There is no way to engage the motor only using the foot pedal, it still requires you to hold the power button on the machine. So it goes from being a mandatory two-handed operation to a mandatory two-handed-one-footed operation. Less than useless, it adds a whole extra contact point. The Gist: All of the problems outlined considered, I'd absolutely buy this again. For this price you expect something that feels cheap, and while the stand did, the splitter itself is a beefy machine that did more than it was supposed to. I expected some of the minor issues that were encountered based on the price, and they are acceptable flaws at this price point.

This is the 2nd one I've purchased. The first one was burnt in a barn fire. Log splitter works well and am pleased with the purchase.

I love this thing. I didn't have tons of wood, but I had a good size pile that we use when we go camping. My back wasn't going to let me chop by hand and to rent one for a day was going to cost as much as I paid for this. My only concern was bending over to operate the unit. Nope, this has a stand that was easy to assemble. I was able to split up all my wood, as my back allowed, with very little effort. It split everything I had except a couple of large pieces of green oak. I just set them aside and will split them after they dry out some. I saw several complaints about the difficulty in bleeding the hydraulic system. I think they over thought it. You are not trying to drain anything, just let air in and out. I cracked the bleeder screw open and was good to go. The other complaint was the stop that limits the stroke. Mine also slide, no matter home tight I twisted the know. So I went to my bin and grabbed a metric bolt a little longer than needed. Now I just tighten with a 13mm wrench and hang the wrench on the bolt to have handy as needed. Not an issue.

I set this up today myself as there was no one else around. The instructions say do not try to do this yourself but if you go slow and use leverage it can be done. I tilted it upright so that first I can test the hydraulic fluid level (was in the middle) and left it like that while putting together the stand. I then attached the stand to the splitter and then rotated it upright. Wasn't too bad at all. Where I want to split is across the yard so I used ramps to load it onto my garden cart and then pulled it over there with the garden tractor. I plugged in using a 12 awg 50 ft extension cord. Then split about 100 6-10 inch logs. It got through all of them with no issue at all. Only a couple where there was slight hesitation; don't know what kinda wood it is but I coudln't get through it with my maul and tbh sick of slinging that thing around. Wood was all snarly/ stringy and knotty. Seemed to be very hard wood. I did end up getting the Wen foot pedal as well and clamped the button down to be 'always on' where the foot pedal governs the power. This was better cause a few logs exploded forward / sideways. Since I was behind the lever, no problem. I anticipated the stand to be crappy because of other bad reviews but didnt experience that at all. I did tighten all bolts very tight so that could be the issue with others. Seemed very sturdy. One thing I didn't care for was the plastic handle. Everything else is steel (cept plastic wheels) so why not make the handle steel as well? If it ever snaps perhaps I can weld in one. Also didn't like the ram stopper but knew that going in as others didn't either. I didn't really use it much. I saw another reviewer put front wheels on it too. I like that idea and might do this eventually as moving it around is a pain. Another thing I'll mention is if youre running it on niceish grass, put down a big tarp first cause it makes an absolute mess with all the wood chips and pieces all over. Not a huge deal; I'll rake it but one less thing when cleaning up. All in all very happy with the purchase. Seems like a very strong unit and hope it lasts for quite a while.

Works well. Once you get the hang of it you can stop its return mid stroke to add another log. My video shows a large log. I like to get it mostly split then spin it a bit. It’s important to read the startup instructions. The one problem I ran into was a failure to start. The motor had a 50/50 chance of starting or just stalling. It tripped a 15 amp breaker. As it turns out the extension cord guidelines need to be followed, no fudging. Haven’t had an issue since I figured that out.

Was a bit challenging to set up but overall a very good splitter. Pay attention to where you plan to use the splitter in relation to a power source. The recommended length of power cord is no longer than 50 ft. I would suspect this is a condition of all splitters and not this specific model.