What Size Grinder

[Stpetesal]

This goes out to stump grinder owners. If you had one stump grinder to start a small business with what approximate size would it be (self-propelled). I live in Saint Petersburg Fl. And am thinking of buying one to do some grinding on the side. I have a full time job and been with the same company for 27 years, and 4 year military before that. I don’t need to start a business but what to do something else other than what I do now in the future. I have been around the trees and have used grinders before. I would get insurance and license and do things the legitimate way. I have been doing some research and testing the waters before I jump into this. I can work 4pm to 12 midnight at my current job and that leaves me the day do work on starting the grinding endeavor and then when I retire I can do something I enjoy. I know used is the way to go I rarely by anything new but think if I do get one I may purchase a new one because I do not want to be working on it out of the gate, I know maintenance is involved but I would like to learn a few things with a good working machine to start with. Thanks for any and all advice.


Scott.

 

[Creeker]

G'day Scott, perhaps look for specifications that will best suit you, then find the best make - ie I'd say most definitely get cordless remote, diesel motor and match HP and slew to the size of the stumps you will be doing. I have found 2WD with dual tyres quite adequate for the local Aus. environment.

The SP4012 is a good machine, will do ANY stump. It would be nice though to have larger slew (swing) than 40" to avoid re positioning in often tight gardens. I could see a lot of benefits from the Bandit 2550 type of machine, except they are breaking the shafts as has been discussed on AS recently. The belts and bearings on the
conventional drive machines are a $$ eating p.i.t.a.

If Bandit gets this hydraulic motor shaft problem fixed I'd be all over one of them.

Whats "self purpled" - other than a typo ?

 

[Stpetesal]

G'day Scott, perhaps look for specifications that will best suit you, then find the best make - ie I'd say most definitely get cordless remote, diesel motor and match HP and slew to the size of the stumps you will be doing. I have found 2WD with dual tyres quite adequate for the local Aus. environment.

The SP4012 is a good machine, will do ANY stump. It would be nice though to have larger slew (swing) than 40" to avoid re positioning in often tight gardens. I could see a lot of benefits from the Bandit 2550 type of machine, except they are breaking the shafts as has been discussed on AS recently. The belts and bearings on the
conventional drive machines are a $$ eating p.i.t.a.

If Bandit gets this hydraulic motor shaft problem fixed I'd be all over one of them.

Whats "self purpled" - other than a typo ?

Thanks for the info, fixed the purpled problem....

 

[Oldmaple]

Always going to have the diesel/gas debate. There have been problems with some of the smaller diesels and the replacement costs are pretty high. If looking for new I don't know about the new tier 4 regulations effect on price for grinders but on some chippers it has caused some to really consider gas. Local dealer support should be a consideration when purchasing. Don't want to be hauling it for 3 hours to get to the dealer for repair or to get parts. I have the Carlton 4012 and like it. I personally wouldn't go with anything less than 35 hp, takes too long to get thru a decent size stump.

 

[Fairbanks Stump]

Here's my .02¢

There are 3 things that matter and one that does not

1) weight
2) horse power delivered to the ground
3) sharp teeth
4) cost

The first 3 will determine your ability to get the job done how much you have of each will gauge your speed productivity and rate you can charge.
The 4th is of no consequence it costs money to make money as in sure you are aware.

A little about why and then which is the best machine for the buck

Weight matters both in over all physical weight and in rotating mass. Because if you can't keep your teeth in the cut all they will do is bounce! If your teeth are spinning and not engaged the job takes longer. The only time weight is a Negitive factor is for transport in muddy conditions you will leave ruts that need to be attended to.

Horse power to the ground is a highly overlooked factor. For example if you transfer your power through gear transference with a straight gear you loose around 5% of your power per gear if you switch directions through a pinion gear you may loose 8-10% per gear
If you transfer through hydrostatic transfer depending on the flow rate and hose size you loose 30-40% belt transference looses approx 5% with a v-belt and 3 with a clogged Kevlar belt
So with a 110 horse power hydro static machine that one pump and 3-4 functions running off the power with a gearbox with a pinion gear 90 degree direction change effectively puts
(110*.65) * .95 = 67.92 hp to the ground all this at nearly 5 gallons per hour fuel consumption and a ticket price of mid 80 thousands and 4400 lbs gross weight. $1255 per horsepower to the ground

A machine that has 66 hp and 1 v belt and one Kevlar belt will put (66*.95)* .97 = 60.82 hp to the ground all this at 2.85 gallons per hour a basic cost of mid 60 thousands and a weight of 3300 lbs $1070 per hp to the ground

This is a basic comparison of 2 types of machines and dollars per horsepower

I personally use a pair of 7015's because primarily of the above reference and also because of the fastest slew speed in the industry ease of remote operation. Speed and ease of mechanical fixing and availability of customer support

I hope this helps

iStumpgrinder

 

[Dillon Harris]

Carlton grinders are the only way to go get a diesel with remote if you are looking for the buget option go with the 5014 trx nice unit for its size I am going to get one to use for jobs I can't get my 7015 in.

 

[climbhightree]

Rented small 25hp units for awhile, till I realized I was paying more a month in rent than payments. I bought a 60 hp vermeer sc60tx, and never looked back. Today I did one 3.5' diameter oak stump, one 2.5' stump, and three 2' stumps...all 6-8" below the surface in about 2 hours (just put on new teeth). We had all the holes cleaned up and out in 5 hours.

 

[tree lopper]

Just remember to get a small one, too. There are plenty of residential properties, at least where I live in Brisbane, that a large grinder can't access. I got a small one off ebay for less than $1,000 with a 13hp motor (I'm on my second engine now), and pick up plenty of jobs that other tree loppers have to walk away from. It also means I'm not competing on price with them on those jobs .

Sometimes it just means I can be more competitive because they will have to remove a fence or climb stairs to get to the stump to grind it.

 

[tidy]

^Sure but how competetive are you gonna be on every other regular access job with a toy stump grinder?

 

[Wayne Wilkinson]

^ he did say too.. as in also. or as well. in other words have a pair. Big one and small one. I am running into this problem now as a job we have coming up has a hard to access area and conventional grinders are not an option. I cant even rent a "stump humper" anywhere in my area and im not sure its worth driving an hour away to rent one. i may end up buying one just because i dont want to run into this problem again.

 

[tidy]

^ sorry fellas i did misread that post, I'm pretty sure around 30% of all residential stumps in the suburbs would need a humper type machine to get access