Which stump grinder to start?

[Cordata]

Hi all,

 

I am looking for my first stump grinder. Currently looking at either of the super portable chainsaw powered ones: Alpine Magnum & Predator Terminator (who names these things?). The Alpine Magnum is a good machine as my last boss used it, and he would tackle fairly large stumps with it, but the price to me seems bonkers for what it is at £5.6k - £6k depending on the setup. Predator Terminators look to be a few grand cheaper but look less robust from first impression, I don't know if that is true.

 

There are also standard pedestrian ones, these seem to weigh around 130kg (not very portable for one man) from what I've seen, and I've heard good things about FSI. Not sure if going self-propelled is worth the extra money from the beginning.

 

Ultimately it seems like a choice between doing a small-medium stump anywhere (chainsaw powered machines), or any sized stump as long as access allows it (pedestrian machine).

 

Can anyone give their insights into which machine they would start off with and why, just trying to make an informed decision. Thanks

 

 

 

[Cordata]

Also as an added question - is there any benefit to different tooth designs, and do you buy these from the original machine manufacturer or can you get decent - and far cheaper, I'm guessing - generic ones elsewhere?

 

My understanding is that the teeth are carbide tips brazed onto steel. So I'm guessing there is a market for generic tooth designs somewhere?

 

Not that I'm seriously considering this either, but has anyone made their own teeth by brazing tips onto steel blanks? Would be an interesting project.

[openspaceman]

 

[maybelateron]

I have two grinders. One that fits on the arm of my mini digger (Bobcat E10z). This is a multi tip wheel and teeth mounted in a purpose built frame with a V twin Honda engine mounted above it. The reason it has its own engine is that the smaller diggers don't have enough oil flow to make it work well. The teeth are easy to change with just one bolt to undo. The teeth are also easy to sharpen with a diamond wheel, if you wish to do so.

My other grinder that I use more, as it is less of a faff to get to the job/mount on the digger arm, is the Rock Machinery SGR 33 model. I think this represents excellent value, and I have always found them to be a very decent firm to deal with. This uses "Green" teeth, which are available from Rock, but also other outlets. They can be turned 120 degrees VERY quickly on site and have 3 cutting faces before needing replacing or sharpening. It is more complicated to sharpen these due to their profile, so I just replace them as needed, as I don't do lots of stumps.

If I had wanted to invest more funds I would have gone for one of the FSI models, as a guy from Stumpbusters whose opinion I value says FSI are good quality, whereas he said if you but a Predator you need to be good with spanners and a welder (his words, not mine) 

 

[Mark Bolam]

@Ty Korrigan will have some useful input.

 

My advice would be buy the biggest one you can afford.

[Excels1or]

Predator 360

[s o c]

Stump grinding work seems to come in bursts if you’re a small outfit.

we often go three months or more with no stump grinding and then there’s lots. Hard to justify a large investment or finance for something that’s not used every week.

I used a rug 13 pedestrian grinder for years and subbed in for bigger jobs rather than struggling and committing too much time.

pedestian grinders are hard monotonous work and hard to earn much more than you would climbing and cutting .

A few years ago I upgraded to an old Vermeer 252 . It cost just under €5k.

it can  easily earn our crew day rate , it’s not physically demanding and it’s no problem if it sits in the shed for months on end.

For really big stumps or large jobs I can hire a 40hp tracked Bandit for €160 a day (which is good considering it comes with sharp teeth which is probably the biggest running cost alongside fuel)

the Bandit is only 750mm wide while my Vermeer is about a metre wide with the dual wheels removed.

I haven’t had any stumps where I had to use a pedestrian grinder but I could easily hire one if needed.

 

[lux]

I find my pedestrian grinder goes out more than my tracked grinder and in terms of return for outlay it brings in a better percentage return that the tracked but I definitely still need both. 

 

If I had to choose one it would be the pedestrian grinder. 

 

Danequip (advert on here for details ) is great. Simple to work on and 27hp. Personally I wouldn't bother with one that doesn't have driven wheels. hateful things 

 

Speak to Kim at Danequip, they do used / refurbished machines at a reasonable cost. 

 

I think you'd regret an alpine style grinder very quickly .... 

[Dan Maynard]

1 hour ago, lux said:

I think you'd regret an alpine style grinder very quickly .... 

I was wondering if saws would be a good analogy - the alpine would be a silky because it can do everything, but hard work. Pedestrian 13hp like a 50cc, pedestrian 27hp like a 70cc and tracked like a 90cc saw.

Then ask which saw should you buy first. Probably a 50 or 70cc, middle range is more useful and less painful if needed to stretch to cover a bigger job.

[MattyF]

I run an old Vermeer 252 , it does most stumps with ease but grinders do require a lot of maintenance if worked hard in tough ground.

I would avoid any hydraulic head powered machines as they sap so much power you might as well use a small pedestrian machine.

The only upside is they don’t have belts to maintain and replace but Its not worth the sacrifice as easily the most tedious maintenance is keeping teeth sharp.