Want Stump Grinder

[Avenger]

We just finished thinning my forest. I am left with hundreds of stumps to remove. Renting a stump grinder backhoe or excavator would be too expensive for the amount of work I need to do this spring. I thought about getting a backhoe attachment for my tractor, but they are really expensive too, more useful but double the price of a stump grinder.

I did some googling (and searching on here, but not much recent info on here) about stump grinders. I see different makes and models, people building their own, etc. I am looking to mow down stumps no bigger than 36in down as far as I can go. PTO driven with hydraulic lift and swing. My dealer, who deals in Woods Equipment quoted me $4600 I believe for this:

Product Details

I called around to other dealers, and most said they don't carry anything stump grinder related or 3pt attach grinders, or are stupid expensive.

I am not opposed to getting a backhoe attachment, if the price is right for the size. I believe I was quoted something like $11k for the LS backhoe from my dealer when I purchased the tractor.

If anyone has any info, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[Motorboatin]

I have been looking at stump grinders for my property and found this. Cost is $2300

Woodland Mills WG24 PTO Stump Grinder - YouTube

 

[jeff9366]

We just finished thinning my forest. I am left with hundreds of stumps to remove. Renting a stump grinder backhoe or excavator would be too expensive for the amount of work I need to do this spring.

HOW MANY ACRES OF FOREST? WHAT SPACING BETWEEN TREES?


I am not a fan of stump grinders. Stump grinders are expensive to maintain. Price the individual carbide tooth blocks before you buy. Land is unsatisfactorily uneven to me after chipping stumps.

My preference would be to hire an excavator and operator for the work. The largest size/weight excavator that will fit between the remaining trees. A heavy excavator will remove stumps in less time per stump than a light excavator.

An excavator + operator will probably be your cheapest process to get those hundreds of stumps out.

VIDEO: EXCAVATOR STUMPS - YouTube

 

[k0ua]

I have been looking at stump grinders for my property and found this. Cost is $2300

Woodland Mills WG24 PTO Stump Grinder - YouTube

I like it.. I wish I had one... Simpler than most, but seems to work well, and seems wells built to me.

 

[Diggin It]

Stump Grinders are one trick ponies. Can't do anything else with them.

BH has a lot of potential uses.

HOWEVER, an SG will clear stumps much faster than a BH and probably do less ground disruption. They'll grind off at or just below the surface and leave nothing but chips whereas with a BH, you need to dig deep enough to break the roots and still need to dispose of the stump and roots. For a number of 36" stumps, I feel a SG would get the job done faster and cleaner. Buy it, use it, sell it. You'll get less than you paid, but the end cost should be less than rentals would have been.

 

[Avenger]

Stump Grinders are one trick ponies. Can't do anything else with them.

BH has a lot of potential uses.

HOWEVER, an SG will clear stumps much faster than a BH and probably do less ground disruption. They'll grind off at or just below the surface and leave nothing but chips whereas with a BH, you need to dig deep enough to break the roots and still need to dispose of the stump and roots. For a number of 36" stumps, I feel a SG would get the job done faster and cleaner. Buy it, use it, sell it. You'll get less than you paid, but the end cost should be less than rentals would have been.

Thats exactly my thought process. I wont really have a need for the SG when I am done. Though, I am sure I would use it maybe once or twice in 5 years, type of thing. If I buy it, use it, I am sure I will be able to sell it. The BH is more useful, but would take longer and then I have root balls the deal with, and huge holes. The BH is also way more expensive.

Renting an excavator is an option too, but at $800/day (just got a quote), if I buy the SG and sell it, I am still way cheaper than renting equipment and ending up with nothing. That assumes I can sell it, which I am sure of. Ironically, the rental company rents self-propelled stump grinders too! For $750/day and the guy said it will take about 20 minutes to grind a stump. Quick math says that's not gonna happen.

 

[Thomas]

Differents cost between the two I would lean towards backhoe,good chance you'll have projects in the future.

 

[JNA]

If I had a hundred stump to remove I would get the grinder. What are you going to do with a hundred stumps.

 

[3Lfarms]

Digging 30” stumps with the backhoe for your tractor will take forever and be very hard on the hoe and tractor. If the trees were just cut down, you might not even get bigger stumps out of the ground. It also won’t be comfortable for the operator either.
The backhoe attachments for these tractors are excellent replacements for your shovel, but are not industrial hoes by any stretch of the imagination.
Dont get me wrong, I LOVE my backhoe, but I have no illusions about what it is capable of doing.

 

[JNA]

Digging 30” stumps with the backhoe for your tractor will take forever and be very hard on the hoe and tractor. If the trees were just cut down, you might not even get bigger stumps out of the ground. It also won’t be comfortable for the operator either.
The backhoe attachments for these tractors are excellent replacements for your shovel, but are not industrial hoes by any stretch of the imagination.
Dont get me wrong, I LOVE my backhoe, but I have no illusions about what it is capable of doing.

I have dug hundreds of stumps with a trackhoe. It takes time and when you are finished you have a hole in the ground.

 

[pmsmechanic]

It would make more sense to buy the stump grinder and sell it when you are done and then use that money to buy a backhoe. I would also seriously consider a separate mini hoe rather than the attachment for your tractor. You'll get more done and backhoes are hard on tractors.

 

[jmoneil]

I was faced with a similar situation. Ash bore did a number on my 10 acres of hardwoods. I have probably done at least 150 stumps over the past 4 years. Ranging in size from 6 inch to 24 inch diameters. I have the woods TSG50. So far the only maintenance has been replacing the slip clutch disk on the PTO shaft.

 

[Motorboatin]

Renting an excavator is an option too, but at $800/day (just got a quote), if I buy the SG and sell it, I am still way cheaper than renting equipment and ending up with nothing. That assumes I can sell it, which I am sure of. Ironically, the rental company rents self-propelled stump grinders too! For $750/day and the guy said it will take about 20 minutes to grind a stump. Quick math says that's not gonna happen.

I looked at rentals and decided that buying a SG is a better option. Selling it never crossed my mind but I like the idea

 

[Avenger]

Thanks for the advise. I think I will end up getting the grinder and selling it when I am done, unless I completely grenade it or fall in love with it enough to keep it around. It's just a hard decision to make when dealing with something so expensive and you know you probably wont use again after the project is done. But is required to get the project done. Sucks.

 

[dougtrr2]

Its a forest, why bother grinding the stumps at all? Just let them rot naturally.

Doug in SW IA

 

[pmsmechanic]

Its a forest, why bother grinding the stumps at all? Just let them rot naturally.

Doug in SW IA

I've had good results with just a 2" wide cross hatching of the surface of the truck to help speed up decomposition. I will say dirt and rocks are hard on the teeth of the skill saw blade or the chain saw. The chain saw leaves wider groves which seems to let the stump decompose faster. After two years you just go along and knock all the chunks off with a big hammer. The stump is pretty rotten by that time.

 

[D2Cat]

A good stump grinder will allow you to cut the stump below ground level 6" or so. When you do this any concern about uneven/unlevel area afterwards doesn't happen. It's easy to grade it level. Any sloped (or area near running water) area will remain stable since the soil is not disrupted. If you're grinding on old oil field piping and "T" post, you'll have maintenance but grinding stumps will produce no large expense.

Try finding a used one now that you need one, and they're difficult to find. This indicates when your finished you'll have folks just like yourself trying to solve a problem and only need a grinder for a limited period of time. You can probably find neighbors nearby that have stumps they'd like out of their way, but don't have the time, energy or tool to do the job. So you can make your "side business" pay for the machine in short order, and still get your work done.