Stump Grinder

[Simon C]

As I said the stump grinder did work, but having to set up wood under it everytime was a pain and not being able to see what was happening because of the vast amount of chips was no fun either. Less money than a dedicated machine to do stumps but not 100 stumps done in one day either.
Simon C

 

[OTG AuGres]

Some company has a skidsteer stump grinder that grinds sideways, thus throwing the cuttings left or right, instead of into the cab window. I have seen it advertised in Tree Trader Magazine, but can not remember who it is. Might be worth looking into from a safety aspect.
Jeff

I rented one of those last summer along with a Bobcat MT100 mini skid steer. Very disappointed. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a power issue but rather control of the attachment. I found it very difficult to make controlled moves with the skid steer while grinding. You’re running at wide open throttle to get the most flow which on a machine like the MT100 translates into rapid moves with the joysticks. I rented a mini because I was working in a tight area that i couldn’t access with my T595.

 

[RTSmith]

Reuben- you ever get to try anything yet?

 

[Randy88]

Used several over the years, wasn't impressed with any, the diamond version kicks the junk towards you, you need a cab with a good bullet proof front window to keep you clean and able to breathe. The side mount versions are better to see the stump and kick the debris to the side, but are harder to control and none of them can transmit the hp to the stump like a dedicated stump grinder driven off of belts and a larger dedicated engine.

The unit I was most impressed with a pto drive unit off a larger tractor, three point, but that whole 150 hp to the cutter head made everything else I'd seen look like a toy, took about five minutes to grind what the skid steers did in an hour or two.

We just ground four stumps at one of my son's houses two weeks ago, used a skid steer unit and talk about slow, about an hour per stump, but the price was right [free] and I didn't have to run it, so all the better.

 

[Tones]

If you have full time work stumpgrinding then a dedicated machine is the way to go. For part time work then ancillary grinder is the go and sure they are slower but here's the thing. When you're not grinding stumps the base machine can perform other tasks associated with your business like bucket work etc. It all comes down the economy of scale.

 

[mowingman]

Another thing to consider is, do you mostly have stumps to grind that are in front or back yards. A dedicated machine is much better for "in town" type work, and for working on any type of lawn. Many lawns where you are have gates that are supposed to be 36" wide, but are actually about 35" wide. I ground stumps for almost 20 years just north of Dallas. A dedicated machine always worked best for me, even out in wide open fields, a quick travel speed and ease of positioning were a big plus, as well as the narrow width for in town yards. Of course, on a big property I did a lot of walking, instead of riding.

 

[Randy88]

Every area is different and you have to have a machine that fits your area, in my area, nobody has fences in their backyards, and not many care so much about the lawn as long as it doesn't cost a fortune to grind the stumps. It also depends on what kind of tree's are in your area and what size of stumps your talking about. If you have stumps that are hardwood and up to or more than five foot in diameter, a smaller tracked machine takes too long to get it done, if you have to get through gates and fences like has been mentioned and your stumps are soft wood and only a foot or so in diameter, either a pull type behind a pickup or else a tractor mount isn't really going to work the best.

The only one who can really answer your question is you, go with the size of stumps you have to deal with and also what the homeowners in your area want and expect. Everyone can tell you what to do based on their area, but that won't mean much if your area is completely different. For my area, large hp and big capacity and reasonably priced gets the work. Those running pull behind units with a dedicated engine either use their pickup to move from stump to stump or else hook it to a skid steer or small tractor to move it around the houses, or else they have a dedicated self propelled unit, tracked but the one with the bulk of the work always did it with a older JD 4020 and pto drive unit. It would not surprise me if he's passed away by now, I haven't seen him around since covid19. He used to grind stumps in the thousands if not tens of thousands of stumps per year, but the last I knew he was in his 70's and it gave him something to do in retirement.