[Drisump]

I have a five horse gas affair that I split (no pun intended) with two other guys. My home is heated entirely with wood so the investment has been a good one. The five horse plows through everything you can throw at it, including gnarly maple, cherry, and arbutus. It can be used both vertically and horizontally, the advantages where talked about in earlier posts. It had to be established before purchase that it was only for the use of the three of us. When you live in a rural environment, everybody wants to use it but letting it out will ensure the machine is beat to hell in no time. I've seen machines lent out by friends of the owner to THEIR friends without consent of the owner. People are strange, thinking that's ok. Typically these are robust machines, but no one seems to maintain them at all. One machine I borrowed, I had to add $50 worth of oil to the hydraulics to bring it up to the correct level. These machines don't have a cooling system for the hydraulics, they rely on the sheer volume of the reservoir to cool. Anyway if you do go through a lot of wood, it might be an idea to co-op with some trusted friends....your back will thank you. I had a look at the electric ones, honestly they look like they're for the guy that has everything and has a few fireplace fires a year....not for production. Cheers