Want Stump Grinder

[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.