Is there any money in tree stump grinding?

[2big bronco]

I keep one with me at all times.

Originally looked at a Mechmaxx, same as the stump grinding posted above. Couldnt process my order and there was noone I could even get ahold of. Probably for the better. Ended up getting a BETSTCO 53" mow width commercial centered unit. Rated for 3" diameter trees and has 27oz hammers.

I had the same bestco... it was great for a homeowner flail mower but not sure I'd want to be putting 40hr weeks on it.

I'd run it and start looking for a used gearmore

 

[Krackle959]

Woodland Mills upping their PTO grinder game with this beast.

WG28 PRO Stump Grinder

Woodland Mills supplies high-quality Bandsaw Mills, wood chippers, trailers, and accessories! Get the equipment to tackle big logs & long hours today!

woodlandmills.com

I have the original version of that stump grinder, cost less than grinding a dozen stumps on the property. It’s not as fast as a dedicated stump grinding machine, but for a home/estate owner it earns its keep.
A big red oak stump I ground last fall.

Also a big fan of Woodland Mills, have the WC88 chipper as well.

 

[back woods]

I had the same bestco... it was great for a homeowner flail mower but not sure I'd want to be putting 40hr weeks on it.

I'd run it and start looking for a used gearmore

This is the unit.

53" Commercial Centered Flail Mower, FH-FMC135 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

This commercial flail is ideal for mowing the growth between the rows and/or mulching your pruning in place. The mowing width on the FMC is centered behind your tractor for easy control of where you mow. The FMC has a strong box channel 3-point frame and a deck with additional reinforcement.

betstco.com

 

[2big bronco]

This is the unit.

53" Commercial Centered Flail Mower, FH-FMC135 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

This commercial flail is ideal for mowing the growth between the rows and/or mulching your pruning in place. The mowing width on the FMC is centered behind your tractor for easy control of where you mow. The FMC has a strong box channel 3-point frame and a deck with additional reinforcement.

betstco.com

Looks 90% the same as the one I had. Possibly the updated version. I bought mine in 2017... and for some reason I want to say it only had 20oz hammers.

It would shred anything you could drive over though, including old horse fencing.

 

[CJeep77]

This is the unit.

53" Commercial Centered Flail Mower, FH-FMC135 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

This commercial flail is ideal for mowing the growth between the rows and/or mulching your pruning in place. The mowing width on the FMC is centered behind your tractor for easy control of where you mow. The FMC has a strong box channel 3-point frame and a deck with additional reinforcement.

betstco.com

My dad purchased the 60" version with the side shift about 4 years ago. He is only cutting pasture, so he changed out the hammers to blades. It does an awesome job on the fields. He has damaged the 3 point setup twice now, and I suspect after fixing it that he is forcing it to the ground instead of allowing it to float. Keep spare belts on hand!

 

[2big bronco]

My dad purchased the 60" version with the side shift about 4 years ago. He is only cutting pasture, so he changed out the hammers to blades. It does an awesome job on the fields. He has damaged the 3 point setup twice now, and I suspect after fixing it that he is forcing it to the ground instead of allowing it to float. Keep spare belts on hand!

Good point.. I forgot how mine liked to eat belts. I eventually got some green colored ones from the local old timey auto parts store that cost a fortune but never gave me further problems.

Also do a tear down and rebuild/grease when you get it.

 

[back woods]

My dad purchased the 60" version with the side shift about 4 years ago. He is only cutting pasture, so he changed out the hammers to blades. It does an awesome job on the fields. He has damaged the 3 point setup twice now, and I suspect after fixing it that he is forcing it to the ground instead of allowing it to float. Keep spare belts on hand!

Good to know, do the belts just slip and burn up?

 

[2big bronco]

Good to know, do the belts just slip and burn up?

Mine would slip and burn up... but you couldn't really tell when they were slipping

 

[back woods]

Mine would slip and burn up... but you couldn't really tell when they were slipping

Got the flail mower, put it together and started mowing some stuff. Was going great until I got into some brush maybe 1.5” or so. All of a sudden it starts hammering the shit out of the deck with the blades. Wtf, stop and look at it and half the blades are touching or within 1/8” or less from making contact. Design flaw by the looks of things.

 

[gladman]

I didn’t take the tree down. Power company did.

well, yeah, but then you cut it flush with your chainsaw THEN grind it... Win!

 

[gladman]

Most guys who run a lot of saws don't like cutting close to the ground as there is a much higher chance of hitting rocks that the tree pulled up as it grew.

I get that the dudes who took the tree down would not cut it close to the ground, but if you have the stump, you clear around it, cut it flush THEN grind it so you aren't fucking around for 40 minutes grinding wood you could just cut.....

two different things...

 

[Dead Pool]

well, yeah, but then you cut it flush with your chainsaw THEN grind it... Win!

Again, if I was doing it for a living with my own equipment, sure. But, it was a rental, I still had a couple hours left iirc, and it was fun to run. So why not get what I paid for and have some fun making chips? I just wanted to see what it was capable of. It didn't disappoint.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I get that the dudes who took the tree down would not cut it close to the ground, but if you have the stump, you clear around it, cut it flush THEN grind it so you aren't fucking around for 40 minutes grinding wood you could just cut.....

two different things...

If it took 40 mins then their teeth were junk. Or the tree was massive, if that's the case, why would a stump GRINDING company want to have a super expensive big chain saw just to eat up chains cutting stumps?

Or trying to get fuck around with a smaller saw, and hope the center lines up. Then either way you have a big round to deal with.

 

[[486]]

I get that the dudes who took the tree down would not cut it close to the ground, but if you have the stump, you clear around it, cut it flush THEN grind it so you aren't fucking around for 40 minutes grinding wood you could just cut.....

two different things...

or you cut them high so you can use the tall stump as a lever to rip the roots out after they've rotted for a year or two

 

[[486]]

Got the flail mower, put it together and started mowing some stuff. Was going great until I got into some brush maybe 1.5” or so. All of a sudden it starts hammering the shit out of the deck with the blades. Wtf, stop and look at it and half the blades are touching or within 1/8” or less from making contact. Design flaw by the looks of things.

bet those hammers were formed outta sheet, right?
Bet the cast hammers wouldn't "open out" like those ones did

 

[back woods]

bet those hammers were formed outta sheet, right?
Bet the cast hammers wouldn't "open out" like those ones did

Nope they are 27oz cast steel brush hammers. The problem is due to a manufacturing error in the cross member. The dimensions are off by about 1/2" causing the blades to come in contact with the crossmember. Atleast 6 of the blades were making contact. I contacted the manufacturer and they were aware of this issue on another unit they had at their shop.
That one hammered the deck before it ever even mowed anything. They have another one that they ran for a minute on some grass that checked out they said they would ship me. I am a little gun shy about it and asked them if they could go hammer some brush with it and see if it does the same and to measure the clearance as well. My guess is it has the same issue. It's something I could fix in a couple hours myself but that's besides the point. The open deck design is nice and makes it real easy to sharpen the hammers but if it can't get sorted I will go with a closed deck. The company is good to work with, I'm not upset about it. I did just get 25 yard signs that say I clear brush now so there's that.

 

[back woods]

If it took 40 mins then their teeth were junk. Or the tree was massive, if that's the case, why would a stump GRINDING company want to have a super expensive big chain saw just to eat up chains cutting stumps?

Or trying to get fuck around with a smaller saw, and hope the center lines up. Then either way you have a big round to deal with.

I have two saws, a smaller 272xp and a 390xp with a bigger bar specifically for cutting stumps. Yes you can eat up a chain and bar pretty quick but you also eat through grinder teeth faster grinding tall stumps. A decent bar and chain is around $100 and can make $2-3000 off it pretty easily by the time it's shot. I've stuck it right into the dirt getting to what needed to be cut. Last week I had a stump next to an old chainlink fence that wouldn't allow my grinder access until a portion was trimmed away. Clipped the fence, caught the dirt, its a tool.
My tractor grapple allows for me to haul out cut rounds super easy, something many outfits don't have.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Nope they are 27oz cast steel brush hammers. The problem is due to a manufacturing error in the cross member. The dimensions are off by about 1/2" causing the blades to come in contact with the crossmember. Atleast 6 of the blades were making contact. I contacted the manufacturer and they were aware of this issue on another unit they had at their shop.
That one hammered the deck before it ever even mowed anything. They have another one that they ran for a minute on some grass that checked out they said they would ship me. I am a little gun shy about it and asked them if they could go hammer some brush with it and see if it does the same and to measure the clearance as well. My guess is it has the same issue. It's something I could fix in a couple hours myself but that's besides the point. The open deck design is nice and makes it real easy to sharpen the hammers but if it can't get sorted I will go with a closed deck. The company is good to work with, I'm not upset about it. I did just get 25 yard signs that say I clear brush now so there's that.

Gooooooo china!!!!!!!

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I have two saws, a smaller 272xp and a 390xp with a bigger bar specifically for cutting stumps. Yes you can eat up a chain and bar pretty quick but you also eat through grinder teeth faster grinding tall stumps. A decent bar and chain is around $100 and can make $2-3000 off it pretty easily by the time it's shot. I've stuck it right into the dirt getting to what needed to be cut. Last week I had a stump next to an old chainlink fence that wouldn't allow my grinder access until a portion was trimmed away. Clipped the fence, caught the dirt, its a tool.
My tractor grapple allows for me to haul out cut rounds super easy, something many outfits don't have.

What's considered a tall stump?

Guy I responded to was talking like you should be cutting flush with the ground before grinding. Seems like a waste of time to me. If the stump is overly tall I understand taking a quick cut off of it.

You haul in a tractor on every stump?

When I was a kid we had a larger tow behind grinder. We'd pull up, grind it down below flush and leave. Although, we mostly delt with soft woods like pine, cedar and fir.

 

[back woods]

What's considered a tall stump?

Guy I responded to was talking like you should be cutting flush with the ground before grinding. Seems like a waste of time to me. If the stump is overly tall I understand taking a quick cut off of it.

You haul in a tractor on every stump?

When I was a kid we had a larger tow behind grinder. We'd pull up, grind it down below flush and leave. Although, we mostly delt with soft woods like pine, cedar and fir.

If it's 8-10" I usually cut it, it depends on the diameter. A 20-30" stump that's 10" tall makes a ton of extra chips to haul out. Little stumps I will grind pretty tall.

My tractor loads/unloads pretty quick and gets to the stump fast compared to walk behind units. I try to do all my jobs locally, it's not super light so mileage sucks. It has a full forestry cage and a grapple loader so I do a bit of a variety that most stump grinders can't. It had its trade offs but it works good for me.

 

[back woods]

Gooooooo china!!!!!!!

No kidding. My struggle was finding a unit that had zero offset and was centered to the back of the tractor. Most flail mowers have quite a bit of offset and hang out to one side of the tractor by 8-12"+. Less than ideal for my application.

 

[[486]]

No kidding. My struggle was finding a unit that had zero offset and was centered to the back of the tractor. Most flail mowers have quite a bit of offset and hang out to one side of the tractor by 8-12"+. Less than ideal for my application.

that's so you can get right up to stuff easier

 

[back woods]

that's so you can get right up to stuff easier

Yeah I need something centered to the tractor because I drive through tight areas with it.

 

[Tacodriver]

I keep one with me at all times.

Originally looked at a Mechmaxx, same as the stump grinding posted above. Couldnt process my order and there was noone I could even get ahold of. Probably for the better. Ended up getting a BETSTCO 53" mow width commercial centered unit. Rated for 3" diameter trees and has 27oz hammers.

Logging, Forestry, & Woodcutting Strap one of these to your tractor hit a rock and dry conditions can get exciting fast.

 

[back woods]

that's so you can get right up to stuff easier

Got the first mower returned and waiting for its replacement. They had to upgrade me to a fully closed deck because the units they had in stock had issues as well. The closed deck was $300 more. Also got them to upgrade me to forged steel hammers and an extra set of belts to cover the hassle and gear oil I used. Brush clearing calls are starting trickle in. Stump jobs have been coming in at a decent rate. Never know, some weeks could be 8+ jobs, other weeks maybe 2. 99% of the jobs are in a 10 mile radius. I live in a major tourist/summer cabin area. One job will be on 1 side of a lake and the next 2 will be on the other side. I could advertise In a couple other counties but I don't want to burn the diesel if I don't have to and the road commission grabs up my signs when they mow so I've got to pick them up from their shop. Luckily they only mow about twice a year.

 

[arse_sidewards]

and the road commission grabs up my signs when they mow so I've got to pick them up from their shop. Luckily they only mow about twice a year.

Probably saves you a decent chunk of change since all those signs would have otherwise wound up in the trash as the property owners eventually tire of looking at them.

 

[back woods]

Probably saves you a decent chunk of change since all those signs would have otherwise wound up in the trash as the property owners eventually tire of looking at them.

Think I've lost 3 or 4 signs, mostly in areas with summer camps where people spend a lot time walking around the lake, etc. People don't mess with them for the most part, this area is pretty good about that. They know everyone is trying to make a buck during the few busy months we have every year.

 

[larboc]

Mulling over putting a turbo on my stump tractor, not quite sure yet. It could use a little more power and it smokes ALOT. Thinking a little Garrett gt15 or gt12, it is a 1.3l yanmar. By smoking a lot I mean almost 100% of the time when under load.

Careful with the boost the factory turbo yanmars don't do much boost and have piston squirters, yours doesn't. Just back off on the load a little.
It's an IDI so it's going to smoke a little.

 

[back woods]

Careful with the boost the factory turbo yanmars don't do much boost and have piston squirters, yours doesn't. Just back off on the load a little.
It's an IDI so it's going to smoke a little.

22:1 compression ratio as well. I put a turbo on a newer 855cc yanmar with great results, don't know if it has piston squirters or what the CR is. Have seen 14psi on that setup with no issues. I was thinking a max of 5psi or so on the tractor but then again it has been getting along just fine without a turbo. Thinking somewhere along the line someone messed with the fuel screw on it.

 

[[486]]

more air without more fuel will still make more power