Stump Grinder (Vermeer SC130)

[Richard]

Have you guys ever dug out 600 stumps? (Or, how about 100??)

I'm probably around 50

And where is your stump pile? Oh...and how much did PB cost you?

Perhaps I'm lucky, I have burned all of mine. Those that do not burn the first time are almost sure to be gone during the next burn session. Today, my burn pile location has the remains of a single tree there, waiting my next burn.

I've got no idea what PB is so I can't respond to that.

I rest my case.

A self propelled 25 hp grinder (vermeer or rayco) can easily do 100 8" to 14" stumps a day....IF they are pine. I'd love to watch you dig 'em out and pile-em-up like that in a head-to-head competition....lol. You'd have one heckava pile....plus you'd have a mine-field to repair. Not so with the grinder! After running the loader bucket over em and a disc.....POOF!! GONE!!

Perhaps they are gone however... having taken some stumps down to the ground, I now have some depressions or holes or in one location, a haven for hornets to nest in the ground (or were they yellow jackets?) Regardless... won't you invite 100 depressions/holes when you do not take the entire stump out? I know that is what I have had here (we did have a bunch taken down once with a 'professional grinder service'. My experience has been by merely 'hiding' the stump a couple inches below the ground only invites booby traps later on as the stump decomposes. They did this years ago out in the field and now when I cut the field I have to watch out for the depressions. I'm now going so far as to bring in some dirt to fill them back up.


I couldn't resist adding this. I rest my case.....page II.

Perhaps there is no clear cut right/wrong answer. I know that in my circumstances, I'd much rather dig them out, burn them and be rid of the situation once and for all. In that light I also "rest my case"

It might be more work but it's more work once and then done forever. :thumbsup: Besides.... I can guarantee you that I get a LOT more fun out of working on my hoe then I would doing the same job with a grinder!

 

[foggy1111]

Perhaps there is no clear cut right/wrong answer. I know that in my circumstances, I'd much rather dig them out, burn them and be rid of the situation once and for all. In that light I also "rest my case"

It might be more work but it's more work once and then done forever. :thumbsup: Besides.... I can guarantee you that I get a LOT more fun out of working on my hoe then I would doing the same job with a grinder!

Don't get me wrong....I would love to own a backhoe too. BUT....after I dug about two trenches I think I would be looking for things to do with my hoe...just like you boys. :laughing:

Grinding stumps with a good attachment is not a "bad day" as you describe. I grind mine to about 8" below the surface and can run my disc or tiller over the area to grow stuff the next day. Its not messy, dirty or hard on the tractor. It's kinda fun and truly the quicker way to get things done with pine stumps....permanently....IMO. (not sure about hardwoods....I don't have any to grind)

When I need to dig something with a hoe....I'm gonna rent a mini excavator for a 1/2 day....and accomplish something. :licking:

So.....Touche!! (and enjoy your hoe). It's all good.

 

[legbuh]

Wow, didn't see this thread has been going so long.

I'm in southern MN. I actually tried to get the Vermeer, but it sold the day I emailed. Found another Praxis but it was too far away. Then I found a bluebird that was bought new, and never used. We settled on 2.2k (the same price as the DR that I looked at, but 2x the HP). Going to pick it up wednesday if the roads are open (major flooding here).

The stumps are a mix of pine/cedar and some random other medium to soft wood. My biggest job is a row of some kind of russian something or other bush that was way overgrown (close to 20 feet high, and 15 feet wide) on a fence line (both sides of a chain link fence). Took me 2 years to clear out, and now I want to grind the stumps and remove the fence. So I would assume they are soft after a couple years of sitting there dead (yes, I put tordon RTU on the stumps after cutting.)

Once that's done, and the fence is out, I'm gonna box blade the entire area, the till it up, then reseed grass.

Once that is done, I have about 30 other stumps to start tackling that are again older and softer woods. Next time I do a job like that I won't cut so low to the ground and maybe after a couple years I can push them out with the bucket on my BX1860 (no backhoe.. sorry!)

I don't mind wrestling with it. After cutting those shrubs out and hauling the crap to the burn pile, anything is easy. lol. And I'm not afraid of a little work.

Once I have the grinder I plan on ordering extra teeth as well.

 

[legbuh]

Got the grinder today. In great shape. Teeth were a little corroded but unused. STarts and runs first pull. Greased and lubed everything, checked oil, added sea foam to a fresh tank of gas, and hopefully I'll be grinding one day soon.

 

[foggy1111]

Good to hear! Be sure to give us a report on how it works for you. :thumbsup:

 

[legbuh]

Well, the grinder works amazingly well!

I quickly found all the stumps I had to grind were hard as a rock. I was getting mainly sawdust and small pieces of wood when grinding with the Bluebird. But it ground them out very quick.

I started small one day and did about 5 or 6 stumps. The next time I started at 1pm and by 5:30 had a whole row of about 30 stumps done ranging from 6" to 12". These were the russian olive overgrown bush things. The stumps were hard as steel it seemed.. lol.

Once I got a rhythm going, there was no stopping me. I even had one neighbor drive by when I Started, and they came back when I Was finishing and were very suprised how much I got done.

Yes, wrestling the machine around is a little work but not bad... and I get to skip my workouts after doing that all day... lol

I have about 18 stumps left to do then I can box blade, till, and be ready for grass seed before the first snow. I may even start taking down a few more trees (thankfully they're pine) and do a little more cleaning up of the yard...

So, in the end, I'm glad I actually ended up with the bluebird instead of the vermeer since it has actual replacable teeth. And it was brand new (although sat for 2 years). The first time I ran it to stump grind, all that "new oil" and paint was burning off. lol...