4700 - Best way to add valves for grappler and stump grinder

foggy1111 · Sep 12, 2011

So......did you get to operate the stump grinder? Curious on how things worked out for you.

pclausen · Sep 12, 2011

Have not had a chance to operate the grinder yet. Spend quite a bit of time clearing up slash exposing the stumps using the grapple. That is quite the attachment for that job! The loggers pushed over a couple of large pine stumps that I picked up with the grapple and added to my already huge burn piles. Despite having a ballast box fully loaded with portland cement and a set of 8 suitcase weights on top of that, when I curled up the grapple, the rear tires came of the ground. Had to reposition my grip to get it in closer and lower the bb to just above ground level, and I was able to barely get the largest stump down the the burn pile. I no longer have any concerns about the grapple adding to much weight to where my 460 loader would run out of capacity. The stump, with lots of clay still attached, would barely fit with the grapple open all the way (70 inches).

I hope to give the grinder its maiden voyage one day this week. Of course, now it is raining again, so who knows!

pclausen · Sep 17, 2011

Got a chance to grind down about a dozen stumps today. All I got to say is this grinder is amazing! All my previous stump grinding experience has been with a Vermeer walk behind with hydraulics. That thing would take 10+ minutes per stump and give you quite the work out. This Woods grinder gets the job done in a few minutes, even oak stumps!

Operating the 3rd SCV on the fender with my left hand and the selector valve with my right hand is working out quite well. When I turn in the seat to face the rear, my hands are naturally by both levers. No fatigue at all from the stumps I worked on today.

I'm going to swap my hydraulic quick connect to the remote tomorrow as that will give me a more intuitive feel for raising/lowering the cutting wheel I think. Very pleased with how everything worked out. I'll see about capturing some live action footage tomorrow and post.

foggy1111 · Sep 19, 2011

I missed your response above. Glad to see you had a chance to use the grinder! .....and that it meets your performance expectations.

I'm not sure I understand how you use both hands to operate the hydraulics.

I thought the Valve furnished by Woods operated both the sweep and height cylinders.

Will look forward to your pics or video. :thumbsup:

I have gotten several PM's about the Woods grinder and use on hardwoods vs pines. I have lots of experience on pines and have done a few hardwood stumps. My take is that it requires about 3x longer on hardwoods than pines. I am interested to get your impressions.

pclausen · Sep 19, 2011

The Woods valve is a diverter valve, so it selects if the raise or sweep cylinder gets the oil. One then operate the selected cylinder with the 3rd SCV valve on the fender.

I have done a mix of soft and hard wood stumps and the hardwoods definitely take longer. I had one that took me close to 10 minutes to complete. Pines are usually done in a couple of minutes.

I also found out my slip clutch is seized. I need to loosen it up. I accidentally dropped the wheel too fast and just about stalled out my tractor. Fortunately I was able to hit the PTO button just before the engine died completely.

foggy1111 · Sep 19, 2011

pclausen said:
The Woods valve is a diverter valve, so it selects if the raise or sweep cylinder gets the oil. One then operate the selected cylinder with the 3rd SCV valve on the fender.

I have done a mix of soft and hard wood stumps and the hardwoods definitely take longer. I had one that took me close to 10 minutes to complete. Pines are usually done in a couple of minutes.

I also found out my slip clutch is seized. I need to loosen it up. I accidentally dropped the wheel too fast and just about stalled out my tractor. Fortunately I was able to hit the PTO button just before the engine died completely.

Hmmmm.....I need to chew on that valve arrangement. Not sure if I like that over what I have now via the joystick.

One thing I will admit.....I have stalled my tractor on a number of occasions using the grinder.

I have my slip clutch set pretty snug.....and it will spin....but still, it's easy to stall when grinding stumps....it's easy to take too big of a cut. I could wish for more power....or I could slow down.

Still....you want to be productive.