Stump grinder

[sixdogs]

I have a 75hp tractor inbound with a reversible seat (so pto is in the front)
I'm looking for a stump grinder but I am worried about having to much horsepower for these consumer level grinders
Does anyone have advice or suggestions on what I should get? I don't think I have enough stumps for a commercial level product, but I want to own my own grinder instead of renting.

I have a Land Pride "consumer" type grinder rated 25 to 55 HP and I normally use it with a 50 HP Kubota with no issue. I have used it with a 70 HP Kubota and noticed no difference. I could see where too much HP would be an issue if you hit an non-movable object or if a continuous diet of too much HP would be just to much for the framework of the unit.

My suggestion would be to call Land Pride to see what they say. They will tell you to stay at the lower HP amount because they have to but maybe the back-and-forth conversation will give you some clues. Hope this helps.

 

[glenintenn]

received a WG24 last Wednesday. Have ground almost 50 stumps to date. So far so good.

need to figure out a heavier duty sway stabilizer on my Kubota L4600H. If you dig in just a little bit too much, the grinder slams to the right (facing forward) and that play in the 3 point makes it difficult to get the next cut lined up ... it's manageable but a much firmer stabilizer would go a long ways as this grinder puts a lot of horizontal pressure on the 3 point.

The slip clutch setup is also not to be ignored on this unit. It could definitely do some serious transmission damage if you dug into a stump and overloaded the PTO. I guess if you were lucky, it would "just" strip the splines on the PTO but it would be luck of the draw if it was that or further into the transmission.

For the money and compared to the outrageous prices other vendors want for their hydraulic-enabled setups (which have hydraulic-assisted horizontal movement and vertical depth adjustment), the little bit of extra time going forward/backward is well worth it in my opinion. Once I get done with my 150+ stump job, this thing will go in storage for a long time so it will likely enter the "rarely used" category of implements in my setup -- not worth $10,000+ to me for the alternatives. But... let's see if WM doesn't start charging more.

 

[glenintenn]

125 down, still about 100 to go (that I've found so far)

Only major "uh oh" is that my toplink had been screwed out almost to the end and I forgot about this... after about 100 stumps the toplink fell apart from the vibration while the grinder was going full tilt (540RPMs). Blessing/good fortune was that I had just pulled away from a stump and was in soft dirt so the thing just flopped back on the grinding wheel and started digging a trench. Shut it down immediately without injury to me or the unit. Very dumb newbie mistake.

Lowered the 3 point which pulled the unit back forward enough to get it close. Lard butt applied to the back of the grinder pushed it forward enough for top link reinstall with full 1-1/2 inches of threading engaged on both sides of the toplnk

 

[BackRoad]

Keep a close watch on the carbide tips. I found the outside edge and 1st and 2nd row teeth take most of the wear.

The ones closest to the center of the wheel looked brand new, since they seldom hit stumps...or the dirt.

After about 150 stumps...some more than 4 feet in diameter, I installed the six extra teeth I bought initially with the grinder for some of the most worn edge teeth.

I also invested an hour in swapping the rest of the outer edge teeth with the less used center teeth.

It restored grinding performance back to "nearly new" - just be sure to install each tooth following the original alignment!

It's a fun machine to use based on the immediate results generated.

...//TJ

 

[glenintenn]

Keep a close watch on the carbide tips. I found the outside edge and 1st and 2nd row teeth take most of the wear.

The ones closest to the center of the wheel looked brand new, since they seldom hit stumps...or the dirt.

...

I also invested an hour in swapping the rest of the outer edge teeth with the less used center teeth.

...//TJ

Was just looking at the same on my setup and eyeballing the lightly touched inside circle of teeth.

Did you spend any time trying to re-sharpen any of the teeth you removed? I have not sharpened anything like this and wonder if it's just a matter of grinding the flat surface back slightly or if there's some art work to getting the beveled edge touched up to bring it fully back?

 

[Captain Dirty]

This is not a tool that benefits from a tooth with a sharp edge. You are using brute force to pulverize a worthless stump that may have rocks and bits of metal imbedded in it or unnoticed but next to it, not a planer finessing a smooth face on a good board. Carbide is hard but brittle; a sharp edge may tear or shatter while a slightly rounded (≈1/16" radius) edge will endure.

Harbor Freight has a "Large Diamond Rotary Grinding Wheel Set" for less than $10 that I bought and have used.

 

[glenintenn]

This is not a tool that benefits from a tooth with a sharp edge. You are using brute force to pulverize a worthless stump

Good point!

I guess this is not WG24 handiwork/leave behind?

 

[Gem99ultra]

Good point!

I guess this is not WG24 handiwork/leave behind?

Beautiful carving glenintenn! That's definitely a keeper.

 

[glenintenn]

Beautiful carving glenintenn! That's definitely a keeper.

that's from great googlymoogly... just was LOL re: Cap'n D's comment.

 

[BackRoad]

I've not tried to sharpen them. Not sure I have anything that would work on carbide...and I found many of my worst teeth had lost portions of the carbide, so not really worth it.