Homeowner Needs Advice on If Stump Grinding Purchase Is Practical

[Racklefratz]

Hello, All -

1st post, and I joined the forum solely to post this question. I've been lurking here the past few days, and have picked up some wisdom from the stump grinding pros here. This question has to do with whether I should buy a grinder for my personal use on my 3 acres of land, or if I would be best advised to just live with the stumps. I do have plenty of stumps I could grind now, and would have many more when I cut some more stuff down.

Situation: 3 acres on Texas Hill Country on a significant incline; not much is flat. The incline means a self-propelled grinder would be the only machine that makes sense. But.......I've also read that rocky soil means potentially ongoing issues with dulled/broken teeth, and rocks are everywhere on my property. I can easily rake away the surface rocks, but they're below the surface as well, enter-twined among stump roots, and there's no way I could avoid them if I tried to use a grinder to get the stumps out.

So....the question is, if I were to purchase a relatively modestly priced-grinder, and go at the stumps, will I be inviting continuous aggravation/frustration with wear and tear on the machine, and lots of broken/dulled teeth, or, in your opinion, is there a machine available out there that might be capable of giving me acceptable service? Obviously, if my terrain will only destroy my equipment, it's not a good idea. I now have a broken tooth on my little backhoe bucket, for the second time, due to the blasted rocks we have on the property. Just no way to predict what's down there, below the surface.

Budget-wise, since I'm not going to be doing this as a business, and it's just personal use, I'd think the cost would need to be capped somewhere around $10K or less.

Thanks

 

[Gologit]

Hire a reputable company to do your grinding. They show up, grind the stumps, you pay them, they leave...no muss no fuss.

 

[Racklefratz]

Hire a reputable company to do your grinding. They show up, grind the stumps, you pay them, they leave...no muss no fuss.

Well, yes, but.....

Given the hostile environment, would that many "grinders" be interested? The other thing is, that this project is a "work in progress", meaning, there's some uncleared land, and more "stumps" will need grinding as time goes on.

I wonder how the trade-off works in terms of their charges to keep coming back to do more stumps. I'd avoid that, of course, if I were doing it myself. The basic question remains, is there any grinder out there in my price range that's up to the task, given the rocky environment? If the answer is no, then your suggestion becomes more attractive.

 

[Oly's Stump]

Look into a Alpine Magnum. I am assuming you probably just want the stumps below ground level.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Hire a reputable company to do your grinding. They show up, grind the stumps, you pay them, they leave...no muss no fuss.

DITTO...

10,000 will grind a lot of stumps..

Bob...

 

[Dadatwins]

With that much land and so many stumps, you might try contacting a land clearing company to come with a tracked grinder/shredder land clearing machine to clear everything. They could probably do the job in 1/2 a day or less and you sit back and watch. 10k will get you a small used self propelled grinder but with some many rocks and no experience you will be breaking teeth and bolts @ 12.00 and 3.00 x 2 each respectively each this adds up quickly. And 3 acres is a lot of ground to cover a walking speed. Good luck.

 

[KarlP]

3 acres is a lot of ground to cover a walking speed. Good luck.

I don't think that one matters to a homeowner that permanently lives on the same 3 acres as the machine.

 

[Racklefratz]

I don't think that one matters to a homeowner that permanently lives on the same 3 acres as the machine.

I appreciate the collective replies.

I've now pretty much abandoned the idea of stump grinding due to the situation with the rocks.

 

[D&B Mack]

Not sure how many you have a one time. But have you thought about burning as you go?

I would not invest in a stump grinder, they are a lot maintenance.

Can you leave the stumps be until you are done with all of it, then grind them all at one time?

 

[Racklefratz]

Not sure how many you have a one time. But have you thought about burning as you go? I would not invest in a stump grinder, they are a lot maintenance. Can you leave the stumps be until you are done with all of it, then grind them all at one time?

Had not thought about burning them. In fact, I've never even heard of doing that. I've been burning the trees that I cut, but not the stumps. How's that work?

I probably have 30 or so I could do now, some are oak, but many are cedar, which is soft wood. Potentially lots more, because probably 40% of the property is uncleared. Problem is, roots are all mostly intertwined into a very rocky terrain in such a way that avoiding contact with rocks is impossible.

Hiring someone to do it is always an option, but they're going to be faced with the rock problem too, and that could end up costing me a lot more in the long run.

As I posted, I've pretty much lost interest in doing much with this issue for now, due to the difficulty and not enough ROI.

 

[Treewound]

Throughout Texas Oak Wilt disease is a problem, you should consult your local extension service for onformation on the timimng of your grinding not matter what course of action you take (except burning).

 

[Racklefratz]

Throughout Texas Oak Wilt disease is a problem, you should consult your local extension service for onformation on the timimng of your grinding not matter what course of action you take (except burning).

Well, I'll tell you what - the "oaks" we have aren't the stately, tall beautiful trees one normally thinks of when the subject comes up. A lot of them are scrubby little excuses for oaks, some growing more horizontally than vertically, and just in general, not all that appealing. Between you and me, it wouldn't be the end of the world of oak wilt got some of 'em and put 'em out of their misery.

 

[Ga. Stumpman]

Hire a reputable company to do your grinding. They show up, grind the stumps, you pay them, they leave...no muss no fuss.

Very wise to do this. It will save you a lot of aggravation and grief.

 

[farleymay]

Buring the stumps is time consuming and given that the stumps are on a hill you have to worry about the hot coals rolling away from the stump area that you burning. As a fireman I've seen how fast forest fires can spread. Also, you said you've been dropping trees so the "fuel" is already on the ground. I don't think you want your 30 stump removal project turning into 3 acres of chared earth or worse start a wild fire that consumes 1000 acers.

 

[Racklefratz]

Buring the stumps is time consuming and given that the stumps are on a hill you have to worry about the hot coals rolling away from the stump area that you burning. As a fireman I've seen how fast forest fires can spread. Also, you said you've been dropping trees so the "fuel" is already on the ground. I don't think you want your 30 stump removal project turning into 3 acres of chared earth or worse start a wild fire that consumes 1000 acers.

The idea of trying to burn stumps struck me as odd for several reasons. I could deal with coals rolling downhill without much trouble, I think, but the whole idea of trying to get rid of a stump by burning it doesn't appeal to me, since I think it would take more time than I have patience.

But the project is OBE (overtaken by events) now. I've had a brush removal company quote to do everything on the property with a mulching machine, and I've decided to go that route. Doing it myself no longer appeals to me - they can get in here, and in one day, take care of all the stumps and standing cedar (and oaks growing sideways), for less than 3 grand.