Using a rental stump grinder

[soupster]

I have about 30 trees or more that I have cut down on my property. The biggest being about 18" diameter. How long does it take to grind a stump of this size with a typical rental grinder? Also after grinding ,how long does it take for me to have to come back with fill after the remaining stump/roots begin to decay? I may also have access to a John Deere 410 back hoe soon as I was thinking of pulling up the stumps complety. Using the back hoe I have been told this is a much bigger project than I could imagine....

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I've used a rented stump grinder on some stumps that were in the 18-20" range at ground level. It didn't take long to grind the stump and chase down a few big roots that radiated out from it. Maybe 10-15 minutes? It's been a few years, so memory is dim, but I'm quite sure it was less than half an hour per stump. I had the grinder less than half a day, including about 20 minutes transport time each way.

I'm about to try another approach that I've heard recommended. Bore a few holes in the stump and fill them with RidX, the septic system additive. Soak the stump with it. Cover it with plastic, and wait a few months. I'm told if you do this in the fall, by springtime you can run your roto-tiller through what's left.

I've got a half dozen waiting for me to try it on, and I expect to make about a dozen more before the years out. Sure hope it works!

If not, I'll just rent a grinder!

I figure it's worth a try, anyway.

 

[hobby climber]

Re: Rental Grinder...

Hi soupster and welcome to this site. So, you have 30 stumps to get rid of Eh? I'm just a part time tree guy but have taken out about 300 stumps in the last couple of years. I rent a Vermeer Mod.#222 (predecessor to the #252) from the rental company and its fine for what I have to do! Wouldn't recommend anything smaller. In my area, they rent for about $150 (Canadian Funds) a day pls tax & fuel. You'll need a trailer to load it on also! I agree with BlueRidgeMark that it takes about 15 min per stump of the size you described. Just keep in mind that a lot of people rent stump grinders from rental companies and beat the hell out of them, so check the machine out top to bottom for problems caused by someone else. Example-loose teeth, plugged or dirty air filter(very common), loose bolts, engine oil level, Hydraulic fluid level, air in all tires, worn hoses etc,etc,etc,... If all checks out, rent it and have at the 30 stumps and good luck to ya! The back hoe is overkill IMO and cost $$$ , you'll also have a bigger mess to clean up with all the holes to fill ! * I'm not crazy about the idea of adding chemicals to the stump to help soften them up. If you are going to wait till spring anyway, just bowl out the top of the stump with the nose of your chain saw bar and plunge the nose into the center a couple of times. water, snow (moisture), will collect and as it freezes ...will expand splitting the stump wider and deeper. This will allow mother nature to do her thing much quicker in in the spring. But if ya cant wait...rent the grinder! HC

 

[soupster]

stump grinder

Well I called around here in CT. I found a place that has a Vermeer 252 for $210 a day and boy was I way off on the count of my stumps I have almost a hundred if you count the little ones. Also Home Depot has a smaller vermmer 13hp for $115 a day. Do you thimk it will muck quicker with the bigger one? Also I still dont know what happens to the area that I grind off later down the road. My buddy who was helping me this weekend said dont grind them you will have depressions on your yard over time.The backhoe I may get is going to be a freebie loaner. Just fuel is my only expense. But I was promosed it weeks ago and the truck that pulls it broke down .AnywayI am still up in the air abouyt the grinder. In the mean time the stumps in the yard are driving my wife crazy.

 

[Aerial]

We had a city contract that required us to use a backhoe to remove all of the stumps from the trees we were removing. 44 in total. The city had plans to replant after we finished. It took the operator 4 hours to dig them out along a road way. The only thing now was we had all these root balls to deal with. We had a bobcat and a 20' roll off bin to haul them away with, 4 loads in total. In all we found it to be a lot more work than grinding would have been.

That's just my view.

 

[Dadatwins]

Pulling stump with a backhoe not a good idea, first problem is what do you fill in the holes with?, and the second is what do you do with the debris?
Grinding is a better option.
As to the size of the grinder for a rental I would seek the largest I could find, a 252 tackling 100 stumps like pictured looks like more than a one day job to me. As for sinking later on, be sure to grind the stumps out completely and this will be avoided. Stump holes usually sink because some part is left in the ground and it rots out over time, or people just put topsoil over the grinding immediatly after grinding and the grindings will rot out causing a sink hole. After grinding an area this large, a power rake would be helpful to achieve a level grade. Have you tried getting prices from a stump contractor?, Contractor equiped with a larger machine would buzz through the yard and make life much simpler for you. JMHO. good luck.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

* I'm not crazy about the idea of adding chemicals to the stump to help soften them up.

It's just beneficial bacteria and enzymes - nothing nasty. It just jump-starts the natural decay process. I wouldn't use something corrosive or poisonous and leave it - I have little children running around.

I'll let you all know if it works.


BTW, I concur about having the sinkholes. If you just grind the top below ground level, then cover up the rest, of COURSE it's going to rot and leave you with a hole. Grind that sucker down THROUGH the bottom of the stump, chase the taproot as far down as you can, and any big side roots as far as you can, and you'll be left with a bunch of sawdust mixed with your soil. It'll compost. No problem.

 

[soupster]

heres how it went

???? I am tired. Rented a Rayco stump grinder http://www.raycomfg.com/SelfPropelled/RG1625A/RG1625A.html .I thought I was getting a vermeer 252 but this worked just fine .I probally did about 40 stumps this weekend including some smaller ones. The biggest pain in the butt was cutting the stumps down close to ground completly awkward and a quick way to dull a chain if you nick the dirt.Also those stumps get bigger when you start grinding outwards.Dont know if it was sharp but it was only 5 months old seemed a little slow who knows how many rocks were hit before me.Now I can see why someone who does this for a living charges so much. Anyway I got the machine for $305 from saturday morning till tueday morning(1.5 day charge because of holiday!).http://www.superiorrental.com/ .The front yard is almost complete now maybe Columbus day weekend will be the next adventure. :umpkin:

 

[hobby climber]

Way to go Soupster, not only did you save lots of money...you now have experience operating a stump grinder. If you can do things yourself, "Do it"! ...If you can't, "Hire someone who can"! It's about having the right equipment and the knowledge to use it safely. How about posting some after pics once your yard is stump free??? HC

 

[Chezenbred]

Thanks for the link! I live in CT also and have probably as many stumps to grind out as well. Did they charge you for any wear of the teeth?

 

[soupster]

No charge for wear on the teeth . I am sure they figure that in on the price of remtal with all the abuse it might run into. They did not even check to see if I refilled with gas which surprised me.Let me tell you one thing is to cut down all your stumps close ahead of time as this was the time consuming part.

 

[soupster]

I read that in detail right before I picked it up. I could see this happening to someone. I was the only one operating the machine with notice to all in the area not to come anywhere near me while it was running.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I'm about to try another approach that I've heard recommended. Bore a few holes in the stump and fill them with RidX, the septic system additive. Soak the stump with it. Cover it with plastic, and wait a few months. I'm told if you do this in the fall, by springtime you can run your roto-tiller through what's left.

I've got a half dozen waiting for me to try it on, and I expect to make about a dozen more before the years out. Sure hope it works!

If not, I'll just rent a grinder!

I figure it's worth a try, anyway.

Well, I'll be renting a grinder. That stuff did very close to NOTHING. I tried it on several stumps, and treated them several different ways. All got 1/2" holes. Some got covered with plastic, some got dirt, some got nothing.

The MOST effect I could see was that there was about 1/16 to 1/8" of very soft wood around most of the holes. It was soft enough to dig with a fingernail.

I'm using one of them for my splitting block! So much for running a rototiller through it in the spring!

 

[Pattycakes]

I want to thank you all for the advise on getting rid of stumps. I had over a acre logged. Now I have the fun of getting stumps up. I will take the advise on getting a Vermeer 252. I want a mean machine that will get the job done. Anything small will take to long. They tell me at the rental centers that they have meters on them that time you. It would be nice if they rented as cheap as some of you are saying. Where I live they rent for $400 to $500 per day. One place told me I have to call my insurance company and get insurance on machine. If not if I break it I have bought it. That is crazy that they don't offer insurance for a little more. I will keep looking till I fine the right place.

 

[066blaster]

I have a 252 , one thing to remember is you need to run them at nearly full throttle. Especially on bigger stumps. Also you could call a grinding service. I spent 5.5 hours grinding for a guy for $500 plus he gave me a $40 tip. Most independent guys would jump at a $500 day . I was expecting it to take like 8 hours. Also I have greenteeth on it. Much faster cutting than stock teeth.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I recently rented a small TORO grinder from Home Depot, on tracks, that probably would eat your stumps in about 15 minutes a pop.

Was a user friendly machine.