SuperHandy vs VEVOR Log Splitter: 14-Ton GUO084 or 6.5-Ton ELS106S?

The SuperHandy vs VEVOR log splitter choice comes down to log size and set-up: buy the 14-ton SuperHandy GUO084 if your rounds run past 10 inches across, and the 6.5-ton VEVOR ELS106S if you want a lighter machine that arrives assembled and filled with oil. I cut up the thicker limbs from old apricot and plum trees beside my machinery shed, and I judge a splitter by what happens before the ram moves: the oil, the cord and where my hands sit. Both are 120 volt, 15 amp electric hydraulic splitters, and each manual draws its own safety lines, which I keep separate below.

SuperHandy vs VEVOR Log Splitter: The Short Answer

The SuperHandy GUO084 wins on log size and rated force: its manual prints a 16 inch diameter and 14 tons, against 10 inches and 6.5 tons for the VEVOR ELS106S. The VEVOR wins on set-up and handling: it ships assembled and filled with oil, it weighs 26.6 pounds less on the same net basis, and it starts with two controls held together. Tonnage and cycle time are maker ratings, so I read them as a guide to size and never as a measured force.

Two rows decide it for most buyers: the diameter ceiling and the first start. If your rounds stay under 10 inches and you want the machine running the day it arrives, the VEVOR is the easier pick. If a round of 12 to 16 inches is common in your wood pile, only the SuperHandy has a printed limit that covers it. My ranking of log splitters for firewood also sorts machines by log size, power and safety.

What Is Actually Different Between the GUO084 and the ELS106S

The SuperHandy 14 ton electric log splitter is the GUO084, and VEVOR sells the ELS106S (BF06B) as its 6.5 ton electric splitter. Each tonnage is the maker’s rating. VEVOR adds a footnote that tonnage and cycle times vary with mechanical and environmental conditions, and that is the right way to read both numbers.

The bigger difference on delivery day is the kit. The SuperHandy needs assembly in ten steps with M6, M8 and M10 fasteners, and hydraulic oil is not in the box: according to SuperHandy, you add hydraulic fluid before first use. The VEVOR, according to its manual, was completely assembled and filled with hydraulic oil at the factory. The first photo shows the SuperHandy and the second the VEVOR.

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Controls and Stopping: Valve Handle Against Two Controls

The two machines start the ram in different ways. According to SuperHandy, the control is operated “only with your hand, never with your feet,” and the ram is driven from a lever-style valve handle that stands above the cylinder. On the VEVOR, the manual says two controls must be activated together: the hydraulic lever goes under the left hand and the ON/OFF push button under the right, and releasing either one stops the ram. The ram returns only after both are released.

With gloves on, the VEVOR’s split of the work between my two hands kept my hands in the same two places on every round, and the lever and the button gave me a clear moment to take my hands off the log before anything moved. On the SuperHandy I watched the auto-return valve the spec table lists: one hand stayed on the valve handle and the other stayed well clear of the beam while the ram went out and came back.

Never put your hands or feet between the log and the wedge, the ram or any part of the splitter while it moves, and keep your fingers out of cracks that open in the log: they can close suddenly. Load the log by holding its sides, never its ends, and run the control only with your hand. Never tie down, block or bypass a two-hand control. Keep your hands clear during both the splitting stroke and the return stroke. Follow your manual’s unloading sequence; VEVOR says never to load a log while the ram is in motion. Never straddle or step over an operating splitter or reach or bend over it to retrieve a log.

One person operates the control. That person also loads the log unless the exact manual explicitly permits a loading helper. Never let anyone hold the log while you operate the splitter. If a loading helper is permitted, wait until the helper has left the operating area and reached the clearance required by the manual before moving the control. SuperHandy says only one person should operate the splitter and load the logs, and VEVOR says only the operator is to be near the machine during use. A Swedish study of hand injuries from powered wood splitters found that more than one person at the machine was a pattern behind injuries on wedge splitters (1).

When a log sticks on the wedge, VEVOR’s manual prints two lines. The jammed-log steps say to release both controls, let the pusher return and stop, then use the machine to push a wood wedge under the jammed log, repeating with sharper-sloped wood wedges until it is free. Complete the full shutdown again before you place or replace any wooden wedge after a powered attempt. A caution line says to release both hands, unplug the power cable at once and knock the log off with a hammer, not your hands.

Complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above before either one, and use only the method your own manual gives. A clinical series from Vermont reported disabling hand injuries from powered log splitters, which is why I keep this list short and exact (2).

Winner on controls: the VEVOR ELS106S, for the two-control start and the printed jammed-log steps. Neither design is a safety ranking, and the hand rules above apply to both machines.

Log Size and Rated Force

Log size is a ceiling on both machines, never a target. The SuperHandy manual prints 20.5 inches long and 16 inches across. The VEVOR manual prints 20 inches long and 10 inches across, and it adds that the printed diameter is indicative: a small knotty log can resist, while a regular-grained log above 10 inches may split. I take that line as a reason to stay under the number, never to test it.

Split one log at a time, with the grain and square-cut ends, within every size and weight limit your manual gives, including any minimum length. Check for nails, wire and other foreign objects. Do not use knotted, curved or uneven logs where your manual forbids them. Stop at the manual’s splitting time limit and follow its procedure for repositioning or rejecting the log; never force it. Any exception involving a second log is allowed only in the exact manual’s stated procedure.

A round from an old plum trunk often arrives longer than the splitter allows, so I cut it to length first and set the most squared end against the ram, as the SuperHandy manual asks. A knotted fork is a different case. VEVOR says not to insist when a log does not split on the first attempt, because the pump can be damaged by oil overheating, and its thermal protector can switch the motor off.

If that happens, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above, then let the motor cool for the 30 minutes the manual gives. On the SuperHandy, a leak, smoke, sparks, excessive vibration or an abnormal noise means stop at once, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above and have the fault corrected before you restart, as the manual’s stop-use list says.

A round beyond either printed limit goes to a larger rental machine with its own manual, or to a professional. I leave the stack of oversize rounds for that day and keep the splitter to rounds well inside its printed size.

Winner on log size: the SuperHandy GUO084, with a printed 16 inch diameter against 10 inches. Rated force is the maker’s rating on both, 14 tons against 6.5 tons, and it is not a measured result. I put the 14 ton SuperHandy against the 6.5 ton YS0650 in my comparison of SuperHandy and YARDMAX splitters.

Weight, Wheels and Moving It

This is the one weight row I can compare directly, because both makers print a net weight. The SuperHandy is 126 pounds net and the VEVOR is 99.4 pounds net. Two 8 inch wheels, a handle and a rear support leg carry the SuperHandy, and its maker says it is not meant to be towed: the handle and wheels are only for moving it by hand. The VEVOR has two 6 inch rear wheels and lift handles, and its manual calls the handle a tow handle for moving it around by hand, with the instruction never to move it while the motor runs.

Moving either machine starts the same way. Before you do this, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above. VEVOR adds that the bleed screw is closed before moving the machine. Wheels are not a licence to tow, and I never cart wood or tools on the beam, because both manuals forbid carrying cargo on the splitter.

On the gravel yard the SuperHandy’s 8 inch wheels rolled over the loose stone more easily, but I still took its 126 pounds slowly and set the support leg down before I let go. The VEVOR’s lift handles gave me something to grip at the doorstep to the shed, and at 99.4 pounds net it was the one I could move without bracing myself.

Winner on weight: the VEVOR ELS106S, by 26.6 pounds on the same net basis. The SuperHandy’s larger wheels are its answer, not a reason to rate it lighter. My portable log splitter picks look at how easily each model moves.

Oil, Set-Up and First Start

The SuperHandy’s first start is the longer job. Before you do this, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above. According to SuperHandy, you then place the machine on a flat, level surface, remove the dipstick and add 1.6 gallons of AW32 or AW46 hydraulic oil to the 2.1 gallon tank. Check the level by inserting the dipstick until it stops and reading it, then tighten it before you start the motor.

Extend and retract the cylinder until the motion is smooth, shut the motor off and top up if the thrust is low. Never remove the oil fill cap while the motor is running or the unit is hot. For cold weather, SuperHandy names Dexron III transmission fluid below 32 F, and I use only the fluid my manual names.

Before the first powered cycle on either machine, look over the wedge, the ram, the beam, the hoses, the fittings, the fluid level and the guards. If the machine leaks, groans, vibrates abnormally or moves the ram on its own, stop at once, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above and have it repaired before you use it again.

The VEVOR needs less. Before you do this, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above. Then, before each use, I open the bleed screw one or two turns, because VEVOR warns that pressure builds in the tank and can damage the seals if it stays shut. After the inspection above I plug it in and run the unit without a load to see that it works normally.

Before I oil the wedge and the top of the beam, which VEVOR asks for smoother operation, I complete the full shutdown for the splitter again in the shutdown box above. The tank holds 3.4 quarts of an ISO 22 class oil, and VEVOR lists the grades it approves. Pour only the grade your own manual names, and never swap one maker’s oil for the other’s.

A hydraulic leak is a hazard on both machines. Never check for one with your hand: pass a piece of cardboard over the suspected spot and look for discoloration, because fluid escaping from a small hole can be almost invisible and can inject under the skin. A review of high-pressure injection injuries to the hand describes them as a surgical emergency (3). Anyone hit by escaping fluid sees a doctor at once, however small the wound looks.

The first fill took me longer than any other step on the SuperHandy, and the dipstick only read true once the splitter stood level on the work pad. On a cold morning the first strokes came slower, which is why the manual has a cold-weather fluid line. On the VEVOR, the bleed screw and the dipstick on the drain knob were the two things I checked before I plugged it in.

Winner on first start: the VEVOR ELS106S, which arrives filled and assembled. The SuperHandy asks for an oil purchase and ten assembly steps before its first cycle. I put the VEVOR next to another 6.5 ton electric in my comparison of VEVOR and YARDMAX splitters.

Cord, Power and Where You Can Work

Both machines are 120 volt, 15 amp electric splitters, and the two manuals print different cord rules. The manual of the VEVOR electric log splitter says never to use an extension cord longer than 25 feet, with a minimum gauge of 16, and to use a 3-wire cord with a grounded plug; the supplied cable is 14 AWG. For either machine, use a grounded, 3-wire, outdoor-rated extension cord from a supply with the protection your manual asks for, never modify the plug or use an adapter plug, and unplug by the plug, never by pulling the cord.

VEVOR also asks for a protection device (circuit breaker) on the supply. The SuperHandy electric log splitter asks for an outdoor-rated extension cord outdoors and a GFCI-protected supply in unavoidably damp locations, and prints no gauge or length. Its supplied cord is 70.9 inches long.

Set the splitter on firm, level, dry ground outdoors, never on a slope, ice, mud or slippery ground. Secure it against movement as the manual directs, and VEVOR asks you to block the wheels. Work in daylight or good artificial light as the manual permits, and keep split pieces cleared away from your feet. Never run an electric splitter in rain or damp conditions, and observe every additional weather restriction in your manual. A GFCI does not make wet work acceptable.

The VEVOR’s 25 foot limit put its work spot close to the shed outlet, and I kept the supplied cable and the extension out of the path of the rounds. The SuperHandy’s short supplied cord told me the same thing: this machine lives near a building.

Winner on power and cord: none. Both draw 15 amps, and each manual’s cord rule belongs to its own machine, so neither one can stand in for the other.

Safety Gear and Space Around the Machine

Wear the eye protection your manual specifies, a face shield where your manual asks for one, hearing protection wherever your manual asks, sturdy boots, steel-toed where your manual asks, gloves exactly as your manual directs, and no loose clothing, jewelry, drawstrings or untied long hair. SuperHandy calls for safety goggles or glasses with side shields, a full face shield and full ear protection when needed, safety shoes or work boots, and non-slip, heavy-duty gloves. VEVOR calls for goggles or safety glasses, steel-toed shoes, tight-fitting gloves without loose cuffs or drawstrings, and a hearing device at all times.

Keep children, pets and other people out of the work area, at least the distance your manual prints, and stop the splitter if anyone comes closer. No distance makes a work area safe on its own: keep watching it. SuperHandy prints 10 feet for objects and other people, and VEVOR prints 10 feet for people and pets. Neither figure is a universal safe distance. In a Swedish registry study, hand injuries from powered wood splitters ranged up to major in severity, and wedge and screw splitters caused injuries of similar severity (4).

Choose the SuperHandy If

The SuperHandy log splitter, which I cover in my SuperHandy splitter review, suits one buyer clearly: someone with a shed outlet, room to store a 126 pound machine and a woodpile that includes wide rounds. Its printed 16 inch diameter and 20.5 inch length give it the larger envelope of the two, and the 8 inch wheels make the move to the pile easier. Pick it when these describe your yard:

• Wide rounds: your logs run past 10 inches across, up to the 16 inch printed ceiling.
• A level work spot near a building: the cord is short and the machine stays put once it is set down.
• Willingness to do the first fill: you will buy AW32 or AW46 oil and follow the manual’s fill and purge steps.

Skip it if you lift the machine up steps on your own, want a stand, need a towable splitter, or want a printed jammed-log method and warranty line in the manual.

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Choose the VEVOR If

The VEVOR ELS106S, which I cover in my VEVOR splitter review, suits the buyer who wants to start the same day. It ships filled and assembled, it is 26.6 pounds lighter on the same net basis, and its two-control start keeps both hands busy on the controls and off the log. Pick it when these describe your wood:

• Rounds under 10 inches: orchard limbs and small trunk sections, split with the grain.
• A shed outlet within 25 feet: the manual’s cord rule decides where this machine can work.
• A manual with a printed jammed-log method and a one year limited warranty line: you want those lines in your hands.

Skip it if your rounds are wider than 10 inches, if your work spot is more than 25 feet from an outlet, or if you want the bigger rated force of a 14 ton machine.

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My Pick for the Work Pad

For the rounds that come off my orchard, which stay under 10 inches, the VEVOR is my pick for the work pad: it is lighter, it arrives ready to run and its manual spells out both hands and the jammed-log steps. The SuperHandy is the pick for anyone whose pile includes rounds up to the 16 inches it prints. Neither one changes the rules of the work: full shutdown first, hands off the log before the ram moves, one operator, and eye and ear protection every time. With limbs under 10 inches, my SuperHandy vs VEVOR log splitter pick is the VEVOR, and with wide rounds it is the SuperHandy. My electric log splitter picks compare five plug-in models for home firewood.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the SuperHandy 14-ton or the VEVOR ELS106S?

The SuperHandy 14-ton is better for rounds past 10 inches across, and the VEVOR ELS106S is better when you want a lighter machine that arrives assembled and filled with oil. The SuperHandy manual prints a 16 inch diameter and 126 pounds net, while the VEVOR prints 10 inches and 99.4 pounds net.

How much bigger a log can the SuperHandy 14-ton split than the VEVOR ELS106S?

The SuperHandy 14-ton prints a limit six inches wider than the VEVOR ELS106S: 16 inches across against 10, with lengths of 20.5 and 20 inches. Those figures are the makers’ ceilings, never targets, so cut each round to length, stay under both limits and leave anything larger for a bigger machine with its own manual.

Which weighs more, the SuperHandy 14-ton or the VEVOR ELS106S?

The SuperHandy 14-ton weighs more: its manual prints 126 pounds net, against 99.4 pounds net for the VEVOR ELS106S, a gap of 26.6 pounds. Both are net figures on the same basis, and the SuperHandy rolls on 8 inch wheels while the VEVOR has 6 inch wheels and lift handles for moving it by hand.

Does the VEVOR ELS106S come with oil like the SuperHandy 14-ton?

The VEVOR ELS106S comes filled with hydraulic oil from the factory, unlike the SuperHandy 14-ton, which ships without oil and needs a first fill of 1.6 gallons of AW32 or AW46. Before you open any cap or read a dipstick on either machine, complete the full shutdown for your splitter in the shutdown box above.

Do the SuperHandy and VEVOR electric log splitters need the same extension cord?

The SuperHandy and VEVOR electric log splitters do not print the same extension cord rule: VEVOR says no longer than 25 feet with a minimum gauge of 16, while SuperHandy asks for an outdoor-rated cord and prints no gauge. Follow the rule in your own manual, and keep the splitter out of rain and damp ground.

References

1. Lindqvist A, Nilsson O. Hand injury from powered wood splitters: machine safety, patterns of use and injury events. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2011;17(2):175-186.
2. Kristiansen TK, Seligson D. Log splitter injuries to the hand. J Occup Med. 1981;23(6):400-402.
3. Hogan CJ, Ruland RT. High-pressure injection injuries to the upper extremity: a review of the literature. J Orthop Trauma. 2006;20(7):503-511.
4. Lindqvist A, Berglund M, von Kieseritzky J, Nilsson O. Assessment of the severity of injuries to hands by powered wood splitters. J Plast Surg Hand Surg. 2010;44(4-5):237-244.

Safety Note: Only an adult who has read the manual and understands the controls should use a log splitter, never a child or anyone tired or impaired. The ram and wedge push with tons of force and can crush or cut off fingers, hands and feet: never put your hands or feet between the log and the wedge, the ram or any part of the splitter while it moves, keep your fingers out of cracks that open in the log, load each log by holding its sides, never its ends, and run the control only with your hand, never tying down, blocking or bypassing a two-hand control. Keep your hands clear during both the splitting stroke and the return stroke. Follow the manual’s unloading sequence; WEN 56207 requires the entire cycle to finish and the ram to retract fully before removing split wood. Never straddle or step over an operating splitter or reach or bend over it to retrieve a log. One person operates the control and also loads the log unless the exact manual explicitly permits a loading helper. Never let anyone hold the log while you operate the splitter. If a loading helper is permitted, wait until that helper has left the operating area and reached the manual’s required clearance before moving the control. Keep children, pets and other people out of the work area, at least the distance your manual prints for that exact model, and stop if anyone comes closer. No single distance is safe for every splitter. Set the splitter on firm, level, dry ground outdoors, never on a slope, ice, mud or slippery ground. Secure it against movement as the manual directs; Yardmax requires blocking the front and back of both wheels. Work in daylight or good artificial light as the manual permits, and keep split pieces cleared away from your feet. Never run an electric splitter in rain or damp conditions. Split one log at a time, with the grain and square-cut ends, within every size and weight limit your manual gives, including any minimum length. Check for nails, wire and other foreign objects. Reject knotted, curved or uneven logs where the manual forbids them; Boss ES7T20 forbids uneven logs, including knotted or curved logs. Stop at the manual’s splitting time limit and follow its procedure rather than forcing the log. Wear the eye protection your manual specifies: Champion calls for ANSI-approved safety glasses, and Boss calls for safety goggles or safety glasses with side shields. Also use a face shield where your manual asks for one, hearing protection with a gas engine or wherever your manual asks, sturdy boots (steel-toed where your manual asks), gloves exactly as your manual directs, and no loose clothing, jewelry, drawstrings or untied long hair. Pressurised hydraulic fluid can inject through your skin from a hole too small to see: never check for a leak with your hand, pass cardboard or wood over the spot instead, and see a doctor at once if fluid hits your skin, even if the wound looks small. Before freeing a stuck log, checking or adding fluid or oil, servicing, cleaning, sharpening, adjusting, moving, towing, storing or leaving the splitter, complete the shutdown for its power type. Electric: release the controls, switch the motor off, wait until every moving part has stopped completely, including the ram and any flywheel, then unplug it from the outlet by the plug. Gas: release the controls or return the hydraulic control lever to neutral as your manual directs, turn the engine off, wait until every moving part has stopped completely, including any flywheel, let the engine and muffler cool, then disconnect the spark plug wire and secure it away from the plug. Manual hydraulic: stop pumping and release the pressure exactly as your manual directs. On every hydraulic splitter, relieve hydraulic pressure as the manual describes before servicing or touching a hose, fitting, cap or the wedge area. Never remove the hydraulic oil cap or vent plug while the machine is running or hot, and never adjust pump or valve pressure settings. Before moving, towing or storing a gas splitter, close its fuel valve where fitted as the manual directs. Free a stuck log only by the manual’s procedure, including its instructions for any powered clearing step, never with your hands. Refit every guard before restarting. Use the grounded supply your manual requires and GFCI protection. If an extension cord is permitted, use a grounded three-wire outdoor-rated cord of the manual’s specified gauge and length. Keep connections away from water, keep the cord clear of moving parts and your feet, and never handle the plug with wet hands or disconnect it by pulling the cord. Refuel a gas splitter outdoors in a well-ventilated area with the engine off and cooled for several minutes, following any longer cooling period in its manual. Keep smoking, flames and sparks away, never overfill the tank, and wipe up spills before starting. Keep the manual’s clearances from surrounding objects and combustible materials. Never run it indoors or in a garage or shed, even with the doors open, because the exhaust contains carbon monoxide. Tow a towable splitter only as its manual describes, with towing chains attached exactly as the manual specifies, and never faster than the speed it prints. Store it dry and out of children’s reach, following the manual’s fuel-storage restrictions; Champion 100236 prohibits storing the unit indoors with fuel in its tank. Follow your manual’s lifting and handling instructions and every printed log-weight limit. Take breaks and stop when you are tired.