# Vermeer sc352



## BrianCT (Feb 28, 2013)

Hey guys! I'm new to this site but found it very informative so figured I'd ask a few questions. I'm looking at purchasing a 2004 sc 352 diesel stump grinder at 12 k to start a stump grinding buisness. I'm just wondering what everyone's opinion on that machine is? And what is everyone's preferred way to price jobs, per inch or by hour?
I've been doing trees and sumps for about 8 yrs and every one I worked for prices it different.
Thanks in advance for any advice


----------



## Tree&Stump (Feb 28, 2013)

I'd believe a 2004 would be no problem for you. How experienced at stump grinding are you? If you are experienced, you should be able to look at the job, understand what your time and costs are going to be, and instinctively know what you should price the whole job. Put the measuring tape on the stumps until it starts clicking for you. If you are not experienced, then you'll probably lose a lot of money and a lot of customers until can bid.


----------



## treeclimber101 (Feb 28, 2013)

I own a 2005 , 352 , to date with 1600 hrs I've replaced 3 gear boxes one upper 2 lower , the engine which quit @ 1400 hrs . And approx.4/5 clutches , overall the machine has been good .................. Wait for it ............ But when faced with a blown 35 hp, diahatsu at the cost of just shy of 7500.00 I would not consider purchasing one with any more 400 hrs on an engine . Not the machine the engine


----------



## treeclimber101 (Feb 28, 2013)

I bought it brand new in march of 06'


----------



## treeman82 (Feb 28, 2013)

I'm just curious what part of the state you are in? My fear with any grinder that has the engine mounted to the boom is that it's so top heavy that eventually they will flip.


----------



## BrianCT (Mar 1, 2013)

treeman82 said:


> I'm just curious what part of the state you are in? My fear with any grinder that has the engine mounted to the boom is that it's so top heavy that eventually they will flip.



I'm in the Waterbury area. Where are you out of? He machine has 1400 hrs on it and lower gear box is brand new. I feel the hrs reflect the price of 11,500,but I don't want the machine to run into a lot of issues either. Maybe I will hold out for a machine with less hours. Thanks for the input guys


----------



## treeman82 (Mar 2, 2013)

I'm over by Danbury.


----------



## Oldmaple (Mar 3, 2013)

Last fall I was looking for a grinder in the 30 to 40 horse range. Heard alot of bad things about the diesels on the 352s. Possible oil delivery problems when operated where it's not level and such. Guys ended up with blown engines and many $$$ to replace.


----------



## CNBTreeTrimming (Mar 4, 2013)

Vermeer sells an angle gauge so you can tell when you are pushing it too far. Without one on the machine I would forget about it unless you are in a flat area with no worries about grinding on hills. These are only around $25 which is cheap insurance for an expensive engine. If it doesn't have one there is no way for the operator to assure you it has never been pushed too far.


----------



## BrianCT (Mar 5, 2013)

CNBTreeTrimming said:


> Vermeer sells an angle gauge so you can tell when you are pushing it too far. Without one on the machine I would forget about it unless you are in a flat area with no worries about grinding on hills. These are only around $25 which is cheap insurance for an expensive engine. If it doesn't have one there is no way for the operator to assure you it has never been pushed too far.



So basically all the issues of the engine blowing up are oil pressure issues? The machine does have 1400 hours on it which shouldn't be a lot for a diesel but due to all the bad experiences with that engine I'm a little nervous. Plus there's guys around here that do stumps for 75 dollars, stumps that should be worth Atleast double that. I don't understand how these guys even make any money. 
The one good thing about the machine is it does have a new Lower gearbox!


----------



## CNBTreeTrimming (Mar 5, 2013)

Yes diesel are more particular about it than gas, but when taken care of outlast gas many times over.


----------



## CNBTreeTrimming (Mar 5, 2013)

My friend on here he goes as holemaker has a SC252 that might be a better fit for what you're looking to do. It is custom. Vermeer seems to use cheap parts to build their machines. He has part numbers to upgrade the bearings to ones you should never have to worry about and he just got a Lombardi diesel engine for it that is a much better engine than the one Vermeer offers. After all the mods he still falls in under what you are looking at on that machine. This includes purchase of machine and mods. The only thing it doesn't have yet is dual/hydraulic steer wheels. That is still in the works. Find him on here and he can answer any specific questions you have. He has some good posts in the 252 pillow block bearing post.


----------



## BrianCT (Mar 5, 2013)

CNBTreeTrimming said:


> My friend on here he goes as holemaker has a SC252 that might be a better fit for what you're looking to do. It is custom. Vermeer seems to use cheap parts to build their machines. He has part numbers to upgrade the bearings to ones you should never have to worry about and he just got a Lombardi diesel engine for it that is a much better engine than the one Vermeer offers. After all the mods he still falls in under what you are looking at on that machine. This includes purchase of machine and mods. The only thing it doesn't have yet is dual/hydraulic steer wheels. That is still in the works. Find him on here and he can answer any specific questions you have. He has some good posts in the 252 pillow block bearing post.



Thanks buddy! I will message him


----------



## BrianCT (Mar 6, 2013)

Anybody have any opinion about the brush bandit 2100 with a lombardini diesel? I can not find much info on the. On here


----------



## Cupocoffee (Mar 21, 2013)

I have a 2006 Vermeer SC352 I will be selling on Ebay next month for $11,500. It has around 450 hours on it. It has been a money making hog. I have never had any problems with it and I upgraded the cutting wheel last year to a Revolution wheel but, honestly, I can't tell it made a huge difference. I am selling it because I bought a brand new Carlton SP7015 in November. I just don't need two stump grinders. The SC352 literally sips diesel fuel at the rate of 1 gallon per hour. I can't make comments about other grinders and I have read people who trash one machine over the other. There is only one complaint I have with the Vermeer and I tested some other brands too and that is it is very slow to transport across the ground. I call it a crawl. I have a couple of suggestions for you and one is make certain the piece of equipment you buy is not stolen. These things come with a bill of sale but are not registered like a car. As far as grinding, I always babied my baby and never took bites that were so big they would bog the engine down. Also, always keep sharp teeth and you will be amazed how much quicker you can get the job done. I love stump grinding and I think you cannot go wrong by starting with a machine like the SC352. You will always assume some risk by buying used because you just don't know the history of the machine.


----------



## wideopen38 (May 1, 2014)

cupocoffee if you are still going to sell it i am interested in it call mark at 843-614-0111 please


Cupocoffee said:


> Cupocoffee said:
> 
> 
> > I have a 2006 Verme selling on Ebay next month for $11,500. It has around 450 hours on it. It has been a money making hog. I have never had any problems with it and I upgraded the cutting wheel last year to a Revolution wheel but, honestly, I can't tell it made a huge difference. I am selling it because I bought a brand new Carlton SP7015 in November. I just don't need two stump grinders. The SC352 literally sips diesel fuel at the rate of 1 gallon per hour. I can't make comments about other grinders and I have read people who trash one machine over the other. There is only one complaint I have with the Vermeer and I tested some other brands too and that is it is very slow to transport across the ground. I call it a crawl. I have a couple of suggestions for you and one is make certain the piece of equipment you buy is not stolen. These things come with a bill of sale but are not registered like a car. As far as grinding, I always babied my baby and never took bites that were so big they would bog the engine down. Also, always keep sharp teeth and you will be amazed how much quicker you can get the job done. I love stump grinding and I think you cannot go wrong by starting with a machine like the SC352. You will always assume some risk by buying used because you just don't know the history of the machine.
> ...





Cupocoffee said:


> I have a 2006 Vermeer SC352 I will be selling on Ebay next month for $11,500. It has around 450 hours on it. It has been a money making hog. I have never had any problems with it and I upgraded the cutting wheel last year to a Revolution wheel but, honestly, I can't tell it made a huge difference. I am selling it because I bought a brand new Carlton SP7015 in November. I just don't need two stump grinders. The SC352 literally sips diesel fuel at the rate of 1 gallon per hour. I can't make comments about other grinders and I have read people who trash one machine over the other. There is only one complaint I have with the Vermeer and I tested some other brands too and that is it is very slow to transport across the ground. I call it a crawl. I have a couple of suggestions for you and one is make certain the piece of equipment you buy is not stolen. These things come with a bill of sale but are not registered like a car. As far as grinding, I always babied my baby and never took bites that were so big they would bog the engine down. Also, always keep sharp teeth and you will be amazed how much quicker you can get the job done. I love stump grinding and I think you cannot go wrong by starting with a machine like the SC352. You will always assume some risk by buying used because you just don't know the history of the machine.





Cupocoffee said:


> I have a 2006 Vermeer SC352 I will be selling on Ebay next month for $11,500. It has around 450 hours on it. It has been a money making hog. I have never had any problems with it and I upgraded the cutting wheel last year to a Revolution wheel but, honestly, I can't tell it made a huge difference. I am selling it because I bought a brand new Carlton SP7015 in November. I just don't need two stump grinders. The SC352 literally sips diesel fuel at the rate of 1 gallon per hour. I can't make comments about other grinders and I have read people who trash one machine over the other. There is only one complaint I have with the Vermeer and I tested some other brands too and that is it is very slow to transport across the ground. I call it a crawl. I have a couple of suggestions for you and one is make certain the piece of equipment you buy is not stolen. These things come with a bill of sale but are not registered like a car. As far as grinding, I always babied my baby and never took bites that were so big they would bog the engine down. Also, always keep sharp teeth and you will be amazed how much quicker you can get the job done. I love stump grinding and I think you cannot go wrong by starting with a machine like the SC352. You will always assume some risk by buying used because you just don't know the history of the machine.


cupocoffee if you a planing to sell the 352 ca


Cupocoffee said:


> I have a 2006 Vermeer SC352 I will be selling on Ebay next month for $11,500. It has around 450 hours on it. It has been a money making hog. I have never had any problems with it and I upgraded the cutting wheel last year to a Revolution wheel but, honestly, I can't tell it made a huge difference. I am selling it because I bought a brand new Carlton SP7015 in November. I just don't need two stump grinders. The SC352 literally sips diesel fuel at the rate of 1 gallon per hour. I can't make comments about other grinders and I have read people who trash one machine over the other. There is only one complaint I have with the Vermeer and I tested some other brands too and that is it is very slow to transport across the ground. I call it a crawl. I have a couple of suggestions for you and one is make certain the piece of equipment you buy is not stolen. These things come with a bill of sale but are not registered like a car. As far as grinding, I always babied my baby and never took bites that were so big they would bog the engine down. Also, always keep sharp teeth and you will be amazed how much quicker you can get the job done. I love stump grinding and I think you cannot go wrong by starting with a machine like the SC352. You will always assume some risk by buying used because you just don't know the history of the machine.


----------

