Got Feedback on Caravaggi Stump Grinder on 2 Wheel Tracto?

[BillyDBrown]

I'm restoring 3 1/2 acres of oak woodland overgrown by invasive buckthorn and boxelder trees. I'm felling alot of trees and all those stumps remain, i.e. 100+. I happen to own a BCS 749 which I purchased in large part for the brush mower so I could mow the woodland. First mow is planned for this spring. It expect it will be difficult to mow, however, with all those stumps and I'm wondering how to best address them. Max height on the mower is 4". What do you think is the best approach to the stumps, chain saw?, stump grinder, etc...? Does anyone have any experience with the Caravaggi Stump Grinder? If so, would you recommend I purchase it for my situation?

Appreciate your advice. Let me know if I can answer any questions you may have.

 

[leonz]

Save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache, you should either rent a Fecon forestry mulcher for a couple of days or hire it done.

Its either that or hire small dozer to scrape the ground flat and push the brush to the tree line and leave it there.

 

[Dadnatron]

I agree... if you cut the trees, those stumps will be hard to address. Rent/hire a forestry mulcher... eat the initial cost... save the cost on Ulcer medication down the road.

 

[ottawarob]

How big are the stumps? When you say buckthorn, I think of stuff that's 1" in diameter - I'd just run that over with the bush mower.

3 1/2 acres is a lot, the above suggestions are good.

 

[BillyDBrown]

How big are the stumps? When you say buckthorn, I think of stuff that's 1" in diameter - I'd just run that over with the bush mower.

I had buckthorn in all sizes from tiny plants to 35 foot trees 10" in diameter. I don't think the plant comes any bigger than that.

 

[BillyDBrown]

Thanks guys! I'm feeling this not so strange ache in my wallet.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Neighbors did hire a mulcher to come in and clear a lot of brush and small trees. It did a pretty good job, but left a lot of debris behind - they go by the hour and they can, I believe, mulch it into the ground finer.

I mowed and mowed and mowed after I had a logger thin the trees and brush, and it was a lot of hard work because the logging equipment left behind a lot of ruts and holes. So last year I used a dozer to clear the brush that grew up and level the ground, then went over it again with a drag harrow I towed behind my 4x4 pickup. Then I sprayed the invasive plants (mostly blackberries) and the alder and brush oak and now it looks pretty good. I still have some debris to pickup though.

I also uprooted about 20 of the stumps with the dozer, but it would not handle the newer stumps, only the rotten ones. A mulcher will handle the smaller stumps - like less than a foot in diameter, but I am not sure about the larger ones - I have maybe a dozen that are 2-4' diameter and some smaller that I am going to rent a stump grinder for.

 

[jeepcoma]

I've got the Caravaggi Stump Grinder for my G110 Diesel and really like it for bigger stumps (~6"+). The biggest drawback is actually the tractor itself, since you must move the entire machine to wiggle the grinding wheel back and forth over the stump. Like most activities behind a 2-wheel, it's a workout. You'll need to reposition a few times around the stump (plus forward and backward, depending on the width of the stump) to fully grind the stump down. First time I used it I went after some old crab apple stumps, pine trees, and a row of semi-rotten willow stumps and I want to say it only took me about an hour and a half to grind down over a dozen down into the ground (and I know some of the willows were at least big enough for my 18" chainsaw blade to be completely buried with room to spare).

For smaller stuff (less than about 4-6" depending on your equipment) you might be better off with something like a BrushGrabber that loops over a tow mount on truck (or tractor/dozer etc). Much faster than grinding, and more thorough as well, as you just rip the stump out of the ground. If you have a helper with you so that one person stays in the truck and the other sets up the grabber, you can yank quite a lot of trees in a short period of time. You'll spend a lot more time on cleanup later.

Anything up to about 2" or so a flair mower works great on. I'm eyeing clearing a few acres in the next couple years that isn't just over-grown grass, so lots of smallish trees 2-4" that I'm thinking the brush hog will be perfect for - a bit too big and too many for the flair mower to demolish efficiently, but a bit too small for the heavy-duty solutions (plus, a perfectly good excuse to buy a new implement).

 

[BillyDBrown]

I wound up purchasing the Caravaggi stump grinder for my BCS. I've used it on about a dozen and a half stumps to date. I take the stump down close to the ground with my chain saw first. I'm investing in carbide chains so I can get away with cutting lower. I've cut dozens with the saw and close to half way through not including grinding. The stumps wear down the chain chassis and the chains stretch beyond usability with lot's of life left in the cutters. At $90 a pop, it'll run me a few hundred bucks for chains. Can't use a truck back there so was thinking about grinding down to 4" diameters which seems reasonably consistent with your approach excluding the truck. Am cutting 2-4" stumps or anything that seems solid when I kick it closer to the ground and leaving them. Smaller than that I plan to cut with a brush mower where dense and probably just a second pass with the brush cutter where less dense. Wonder if my diameters will slide as I tire of it.

One advantage of this method is that disturbance of top soil is fairly minimal which allows me to keep the native plants and minimize invasive germination. Investment is also fairly cheap relative to employing some of the larger equipment mentioned above.

I wonder if I might just have gotten away with the saw after all. It gets me within a couple inches of the surface. Might have saved $1600 and days, if not more than a week of grinding time. The ground will be covered with native plants but the wife was adamant about wanting the stumps gone. Oh well, at least it should finish off the boxelders. Perhaps, with better certainty I might have put up a better argument. But it's grinding for me now.

 

[BillyDBrown]

Jeepcoma, At this rate, it should only take me about 40 hours to grind 300.

What do you think of my customization? If you like it, tell Joel too.