3 point Stump Grinder? brands/models?

[sdk1968]

still adding to my toy collection/list for my 2601..

you guys have already got my chipper picked out & saving towards that now..

so looks like the next most helpful thing with my property will by a stump grinder.


seen several brands, but would like some input & advice on these as well.

spill da beans! what do you guys know on these?

 

[Yooper]

Here is a few things I learned from the one that I built. With your limited HP, pay attention to the size of grinder wheel. Smaller rather than bigger will work better. Weight of the cutting head is a factor. More weight equals smoother cutting. You will be spending a lot of time looking backwards while grinding. How is your neck?

 

[sdk1968]

Yooper: my neck is trashed, just like the rest of my body. :-(


so are you talking down in the 14" wheels size instead of the 20+?

 

[Yooper]

My tractor is advertised at 27 HP at the pto. My grinder is a 20" wheel run by a hydraulic motor which will take away some hp with frictional fluid loss. I have to use a 'light touch' with the feed control when getting into the heart of the stump. I don't know what the pto hp is listed for on your tractor, but I'm assuming it will be less than what I work with. My thinking is a smaller wheel with less leverage would be easier on your tractor and your neck. Speaking of bad necks (which mine is), maybe a back up camera would work? Unless you want to build one like mine which is like a backhoe.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25265

https://youtu.be/79lM2thnMws

 

[sdk1968]

yeah i looked at your thread.

it was pretty cool... not sure if thats in my craftsmanship range..


it says 19.5hp at the rear PTO.. You pro's here would know if thats really what you get or not.

most of the walk behinds ive looked at had very small motors so wasnt sure just how much power it took vs fluid movement.

but after getting prices for people to come do stumps, buying a walk behind or buying one for the tractor?

the tractor versions are pretty affordable.

NO ONE here in my area rents stump grinders anymore.

 

[Yooper]

Here is a homemade stump grinder on youtube. It looks like a smaller wheel but it seems to be doing an adequate job. Needs more weight all around and tighter cylinder pins. That's why it jumps around so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q2cRw9WWsE

 

[Yooper]

Here is another with an even smaller grinder wheel. This one is on a sub compact and working well. I have not looked at commercial models yet. What are you seeing for wheel diameters?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WLW9IpT448

 

[sdk1968]

Yooper,

on the commercial side these "say" they are rated in my tractor rangeall the other brands i found needed at least 20 PTO HP)

http://www.erskineattachments.com/attachments/3-point-stump-grinder/24-inch/

http://www.wikco.com/stump.html

http://www.beavervalleysupply.com/sectionb/baumasg.htm#d

http://www.shavermfg.com/stump-grinders

http://www.woodsequipment.com/productDetails.aspx?id=138

now whether or not these actually work good on a tractor my size? i dunno... thats why im asking you guys with more experience.

real world vs sales pitch.

 

[Cottonwood]

I just picked up a Woodland Mills stump grinder. 24" wheel. Direct PTO drive. Seems to work fine, and your HP should handle it for home use.

 

[Yooper]

The one that catches my eye is the Stumpbuster. I like the fact that it only cuts one direction. I often do that with mine even though it cuts both ways. The teeth are different from the ones I have and maybe they take less HP. I have two more hubs to fit the spline output shaft in case I wanted to experiment with another configuration. Just might have to do that.

Cottonwood: do you know what kind of teeth are on your Woodland Mills?

 

[KennedyFarmer]

My tractor is advertised at 27 HP at the pto. My grinder is a 20" wheel run by a hydraulic motor which will take away some hp with frictional fluid loss. I have to use a 'light touch' with the feed control when getting into the heart of the stump. I don't know what the pto hp is listed for on your tractor, but I'm assuming it will be less than what I work with. My thinking is a smaller wheel with less leverage would be easier on your tractor and your neck. Speaking of bad necks (which mine is), maybe a back up camera would work? Unless you want to build one like mine which is like a backhoe.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25265

https://youtu.be/79lM2thnMws

Yooper how is your PTO only 27HP when mine is 30 and we have the same tractor?

 

[Yooper]

Yooper how is your PTO only 27HP when mine is 30 and we have the same tractor?

Because I took that number out of my memory.

I think that number was in my head for the power at my cutting wheel after the hydraulic losses. My bad.

 

[KennedyFarmer]

I just picked up a Woodland Mills stump grinder. 24" wheel. Direct PTO drive. Seems to work fine, and your HP should handle it for home use.

https://woodlandmills.ca/product/wg24-stump-grinder/

 

[sdk1968]

https://woodlandmills.ca/product/wg24-stump-grinder/

yeah had looked at that one several times.. but im a bit under the minimum at PTO power for that one.

at least on paper.

 

[jpf]

sorry wrong thread.

 

[Yooper]

Not knocking the Woodlandmills grinder. But that one requires a flexible neck more so than the conventional grinders.

 

[Cottonwood]

The only description the manual gives is "Grade 8.8 Tungsten Carbide Steel Bolt in". And that that the nuts require a 24mm socket. It worked well for the first stump I tried.
I haven't done any research as to whether other than OEM would work. Btw, you do awfully nice work!

 

[Cottonwood]

Not knocking the Woodlandmills grinder. But that one requires a flexible neck more so than the conventional grinders.

That's what I will be interested in finding out. I imagine for my use it will be ok, but for an all dayer? I do know that it cannot be any less work that that accursed Vermeer walk behind I have rented in the past!

 

[Yooper]

The only description the manual gives is "Grade 8.8 Tungsten Carbide Steel Bolt in". And that that the nuts require a 24mm socket. It worked well for the first stump I tried.
I haven't done any research as to whether other than OEM would work. Btw, you do awfully nice work!

It seems to have nice 'side bite'. Something that I think is lacking with mine. Might look at sourcing some of those teeth and put a Frankenstein together and see what happens. Thanks for the compliment!

 

[L3700SU]

The one that catches my eye is the Stumpbuster. I like the fact that it only cuts one direction. I often do that with mine even though it cuts both ways. The teeth are different from the ones I have and maybe they take less HP. I have two more hubs to fit the spline output shaft in case I wanted to experiment with another configuration. Just might have to do that.

Cottonwood: do you know what kind of teeth are on your Woodland Mills?

I bought a Stumpblaster 3p24 a couple years ago and put it behind a 37hp/30hp PTO. I grind stumps professionally but wanted an easy way to cleanup when done. (front loader)
This machine was rated at 30-50hp at PTO. My tractor at the time, being at the low end did a sufficient job but I had to get more efficient so I bought a 60/50hp. I also redesigned and made my own wheel. The factory wheels are ok but are poorly made and don't last long. The factory wheels had 2 sets of effective cutting teeth, they ran out both laterally and radially so you weren't actually using all the teeth, and the configuration on the periphery would not allow you to plunge straight down into a root to start a cut. My new wheel address all those problems, has 3 sets of teeth and is made of much better material.
Would I buy a Stumpblaster for home use? Sure. It's a good concept. Don't expect to use it professionally as is, it won't compete with the Vermeers or Carltons. Just my opinion.