Stumpgrinder rate of return

[Ty Korrigan]

1 hour ago, Big J said:

You are correct. I think it was 1.75% on harvesters and 22% on forwarders. 

 

 

So almost as much as Methamphetamine then...?

    Stuart

[Dan Maynard]

I've always been stuck on this subject as grinders are expensive to purchase..... I'd be daft enough to grind that stump out with my old vermeer sc252 and it would do it no problem but its all about moving position and clearing the gear....
 
Like you say irrespective of brand 18k plus etc takes some earning back... I think some things have a price limit to me and I think 10k is enough to have in most (individual) equiptment to do a job sensibly.....
 
Good luck.... 

What would the 18k grinder be worth after say 3 years? Maybe the drop in value would only be about 10k anyway?

[Dan Maynard]

All in all I'd rather hand the larger stumps to a trusted collaborateur than kill myself proving that a 13hp B20 can conquer all time and time again.
 Stuart

I'm leaning this way, I don't think the customer cares who is driving the grinder and if I've other tree work to do then I don't need to be grinding stumps for the fun of it.

[Ty Korrigan]

Would any of you sages happen to know the price of the Jo-Beau 37-110 grinder?

 I can't afford it, can't justify it but I need to scratch the itch with a little 'window licking' leche vitrine as they say here.

 

[marne]

Maybe I'm wrong but my guess after doing a 5 digit amount of stumps is, that the tracked Jo beau is made to be flipped on it's side. It's way too slim to stand stable on it's own pile of chips not mention driving accros a small incline. Looks as if it will tip even when approaching a curb wrong or driving across the hole it ground out. The grinding depth and weight seems to be the only strengths of this unit. A variable undercarriage would make it lightweight killer. 

From what I remember, you face 20k or even more. 

 

To get back to the original question. I guess expensive grinders only have a reasonable roi if you push to do more stumps than the ones you created with your saw. If you regard it as a long time investment you  definetly want something that is repairable in 20 years which means a minimum of electronics. Always selling and upgrading is plain loss with these beaten up machines and will supply you with more modern and unreliable crap imho. 

[marne]

Btw if I would not own 6 grinders yet, for domestic jobs, I would buy a predator 38 or fsi 30 tracked and replace the tracks with turf friendly ones. 

[swinny]

Just get a vermeer sc60tx and just drive through the bloody fence to get in 😎 have done with it 😀 

[s o c]

 Similar to op,I did years with a RG13 ,

paid for itself on first job and pretty much coped with most of what grinding I needed to do and subbed-in somebody else for a few big jobs.

Hard on the body though and wasn’t earning enough per day to justify leaving other equipment parked.

Stump grinding, for us anyway, seems to be feast or famine .

I could go months with no grinding so could never justify sinking too much money in or financing an expensive grinder.

ended up buying an old but sound Vermeer 252 for €5k, I can earn about as much per day with it as my other toys and i can hire a tracked 40 hp bandit for €160 for narrow access or larger stumps.

also mini loader to keep debris cleared away is a big help.

[swinny]

37 minutes ago, s o c said:

 Similar to op,I did years with a RG13 ,

paid for itself on first job and pretty much coped with most of what grinding I needed to do and subbed-in somebody else for a few big jobs.

Hard on the body though and wasn’t earning enough per day to justify leaving other equipment parked.

Stump grinding, for us anyway, seems to be feast or famine .

I could go months with no grinding so could never justify sinking too much money in or financing an expensive grinder.

ended up buying an old but sound Vermeer 252 for €5k, I can earn about as much per day with it as my other toys and i can hire a tracked 40 hp bandit for €160 for narrow access or larger stumps.

also mini loader to keep debris cleared away is a big help.

Them old 252's have some balls when needed and I've run an old nail for the last 7 years or so. Paid for itself many times over! Just can't get passed the trying to find something reasonable to replace it point.....

[Hodge]

On 16/11/2021 at 20:10, Ty Korrigan said:

Would any of you sages happen to know the price of the Jo-Beau 37-110 grinder?

 I can't afford it, can't justify it but I need to scratch the itch with a little 'window licking' leche vitrine as they say here.

 

19k plus vat, I had one. When running well it's a great machine, I did not like the engine. It was always hunting. I now have a SG40