# Idea a stump machine that sweeps or sucks to dispose of the grindings as it works



## derwoodii (Dec 13, 2012)

Big stumps mean big piles of grindings, often 2 or 3 m3 of stump waste that needs to be collected to be disposed. 
We do this by hand mulch forks n shovel and so it takes time and money effort. 

Have explored small bucket bob cats dingos etc but add cost transport hassel traffic use issues and they do harm to turf as they work. We used the big street sweepers, & they work quiet well,, apart from the $160 per hr cost of these giant vacums and the unpleasant sexual favors needed to get the operator to help. 

Has any one built or thought how a design mechanism to vacum up or collect chewed grindings that could be mounted and powered by exsisting engine to move aside or even lift away stump grindings into a hopper or truck bin.


My back thanks you in advance


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## RandyMac (Dec 13, 2012)

Diesel injected turbine incinerator, turns chewed wood waste into greenhouse gases in seconds.


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## imagineero (Dec 13, 2012)

I only know of one guy who takes the spoil. He charges $$$ for it and uses a small excavator or bobcat to do most of the work. Either way, it trashes the yard. I guess a machine like that would be feasible, but it would be pretty expensive to make and it would be big and heavy. I wouldn't think it would be worthwhile on a machine with less than 80hp, and you're already up to a tonne, tonne and a half for machines that size. By the time you add in the vac tank, another motor to run that, and the weight of all the spoil you'd be probably hitting 3T+. Cost is another factor... 

I'm thinking a bobcat with one of those street sweeper buckets would be probably the quickest and most reasonable solution. 

[video=youtube;SrgpU61JSVA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrgpU61JSVA[/video]

When you're not using it for stumping, you could swap it out for a log grab and use it for brush and logs. The other thing I've seen guys use for dealing with spoil is those power sweeper attachments for kombi systems. 


They work surprisingly well and quickly on spoil. Miles faster than rakes/blowers, even if you have a backpack blower. Unless you're running a full time stumping gig with customers who want (and are willing to pay for) spoil removal then I'd think it's more cost effective to just keep going by hand. If you're doing landscaping etc then the bobcat attachment probably makes sense.

If you don't mind me asking, how much do you charge for removal of spoil and topsoil/turf? Do you get much call for it?

Shaun


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## imagineero (Dec 13, 2012)

You can only put 1 video in a post, so here's the other ;-)

[video=youtube;AkAaj10R62M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkAaj10R62M[/video]


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## derwoodii (Dec 13, 2012)

RandyMac said:


> Diesel injected turbine incinerator, turns chewed wood waste into greenhouse gases in seconds.



Thanks Randy, I'll keep that one as option B as down here we's got a imposed Gubbunut carbon tax so settin fire to it may attract some operational costs.
Keep going thou dont stop thinkin about it. I's been considering reverse bark blowers leaf suckers all on youtube. But stump grindins are dirt laiden heavy hard to move biomass. It may need a flexable elevator or conveyer system we got the power plant as big Vermer tracked stump machine just need PTO and find or adapt a mechanism to move lift the pile.

I'm thinkin Archimedes Screw moving lifting away but a flexiable collector. 

I'm off to ponder ponder


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## derwoodii (Dec 13, 2012)

Ta your thought imagineero, I'm tryin to keep it within the same power & machine plant cut add in more gear cost n transport.
Grinders throw a fair bit as they work I's should use that to get the matierial on its way the screw lift to take away.


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## B Harrison (Dec 13, 2012)

"apart from the $160 per hr cost of these giant vacums and the unpleasant sexual favors needed to get the operator to help. "


Nice, as long as its not effecting the bottom line!


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## ozzy42 (Dec 13, 2012)

derwoodii said:


> Big stumps mean big piles of grindings, often 2 or 3 m3 of stump waste that needs to be collected to be disposed.
> We do this by hand mulch forks n shovel and so it takes time and money effort.
> 
> Have explored small bucket bob cats dingos etc but add cost transport hassel traffic use issues and they do harm to turf as they work. We used the big street sweepers, & they work quiet well,, apart from the $160 per hr cost of these giant vacums and the unpleasant sexual favors needed to get the operator to help.
> ...




Yeah,hard to convince a HO of the value of having a stump ground ,if they are left to look at a big ugly pile of crap afterwards.Yet it's not something you can afford to just ''throw in'' on most jobs.It cost time and $$.

I have an idea I've been kicking around for awhile now but,just need to get off my ass and wallet and try to implement it.
The idea is to make a tumbling screen that sifts out all the dirt,the worst part of disposing of stump mulch IMHO.
Not a new idea by any means.They have a huge one where I dump at ,but a small portable may have some value in this industry????

Thought of transforming a small portable cement mixer.
Cut the sides out and weld in some expanded metal and refab the frame so the drum is low to the ground.

The idea is ,turn a ton of stump mulch into 200-300 lbs of clean,dirt free mulch and leave the 17-1800 lbs of dirt in the stump hole.
Then it would be a lot easier and less expensive to dispose of ,,,,and a lot of the HO's may want to keep it theirselves if it were clean,lite, usefull mulch.

The main reason I haven't tried it yet has been time and $$.
Not about to chop up a new mixer for an experiment.And It might take a few tries to get it right.ie;screen size,drum angle ,frame mods etc.
And then there is the possibility that it won't work or be more trouble than it's worth.

But,,,,,,,,nothing ventured,,nothing gained, eh?


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## Grouchy old man (Dec 13, 2012)

These do a great job on wet leaves and debris. I suspect they would do the job with chips as well.

DL25 & 35 Series Professional Contractor / Municipal | Billy Goat Industries, Inc.


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## flushcut (Dec 14, 2012)

Check out Bandit Industries new vacuum designed for just that, sucking up chips. And a side note Billy Goats are not worth the effort to look into for wood chip clean up.


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## atvguns (Dec 14, 2012)

What about a cyclone yard rake just a thought with the rubber type propeller they clam they can suck up rocks with no damage


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## beastmaster (Dec 14, 2012)

We cleaned out a well one time that had filled full of heavy sand and small rocks. My Employer at the time fabbed a dredge out of a old pump and some RV waste hose that was pretty powerfull. Could probably do it with a big compressor using air instead of water, works on the venturrii effect. Vacuum by Venturri effect - YouTube http://www.hyvac.com/products/o_pumps/air venturi/air_venturi_vacuum.htm


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## old_soul (Dec 14, 2012)

"We used the big street sweepers, & they work quiet well,, apart from the $160 per hr cost of these giant vacums "

Yeah we tried that once with one of the big city leaf vaccuums, it was definitely strong enough to suck up the grindings and dirt but they were dry (just ground) and there was about 1/4 inch of dust all over everything-street, sidewalk,roofs, every vehicle parked nearby, etc etc, when we were done, it really wasn't worth the hassle.

The other thing is that you need so much air volume (suction) to pick up the heavy, dirt-filled chips that you need a dedicated truck with an enclosed box with air vents to dissapate the flow from the vaccuum (hence all the dust)

For all that its easier just to use the bobcat, yeah it tears the turf some but if we do a clean up for stumps we also bring in topsoil and seed for the hole so I just put an extra yard on and fill in any ruts as we work our way out of the yard.

Good luck , whichever way you tackle it


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## derwoodii (Dec 14, 2012)

Grouchy old man said:


> These do a great job on wet leaves and debris. I suspect they would do the job with chips as well.
> 
> DL25 & 35 Series Professional Contractor / Municipal | Billy Goat Industries, Inc.



Some ideas coming through.
I'd like to mount one of these on the truck tray run the pipe hoes secure just behind the grind wheel where the greater % of grindings discharge and see how it goes. If works remove the engine just use the vacum & adapt the truck PTO to power it 
As we're not always troubled by clean ups with smaller stumps the solution best to be dismountable or powered by the stumpy or truck PTO .

Dang it,,,, 3 years ago we had bought a second hand mini street sweeper vacum truck and $traded the whole vacum section as we only wanted the twin steer wheel cab so we could use as street tree watering legally drive work kerb side of the street one operator appossed to needing 2 blokes, one drive one hold the hose so double cost what we can do now with one operator.

It nice to see others with same concern and ideas now bubbling up

Could this vacum idea or even a side screw tiller under stump chassy that pushes the grinding out to side be an idea save on big ones needing back out then dig your way in as you pile up too much


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## Grouchy old man (Dec 14, 2012)

I'll defer to flushcut on the Billy Goat vs Bandit as I have no real experience with the Bandit. I believe one of them makes a PTO powered version. You definitely will want a fully enclosed box to keep the chips and dust from flying around. You also will want to avoid totally dry material. Wet it down if necessary and that will keep the dust down.


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## derwoodii (Dec 15, 2012)

I'm guessing these snow blowers are not up to throwing stump grindings but the screw side shift n lift concept is valid and kinda on the lines I'm thinking. could it be adapted beefed up to handle abrasive heaver muck..

[video=youtube;WS1-17FkIxo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS1-17FkIxo[/video]


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## imagineero (Dec 15, 2012)

which stumpgrinder do you have?


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## derwoodii (Dec 15, 2012)

2 big vermers one tracked one wheeled towed


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## imagineero (Dec 15, 2012)

Sc85?


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## derwoodii (Dec 15, 2012)

imagineero said:


> Sc85?



SG 60 doing a small one:msp_wink: the others tow behind dunno what model not small thou 






note none of these are mine I just manage the contracts but always looking for $ saving in effort and cost.


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## derwoodii (Dec 19, 2012)

explored some ideas this week now movin away from a vacum attachment to a medium truck mounted crane lifter with interchangable head fitted with a scoop for lifting grinding waste and option hooks for other material handling needs we get weekly.


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## stltreedr (Dec 19, 2012)

The whole grinder/vacuum in one is an awesome idea. If you had it all self-contained, you would have to run 2 drive systems off of the motor at the same time, one for the grinder and one for the vac- which would eat up alot of hp...But you could have a selector/ hydraulic or belt driven, that would turn off the grinding wheel and actuate the vacuum. It wouldn't be as fast, but a helluva lot faster and more efficient than 2 different machines/ or diggin it by hand. Build it and I'll buy one.


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## CalTreeEquip (Jan 9, 2013)

This is a leaf vacuum, it will do the job just fine. They can be mounted on the back of a truck.

1995 ODB SCL800TM14 Self-Contained Vacuum Leaf Loader, Ford 4-Cyl Diesel, Only 585 Hours, 14 Yard Hopper (Dump Hoist), 32" Diameter Suction Fan, 16" Diameter Suction Hose (100" long, Hydraulic Arm), 13" Clutch Assembly, Tendem Axle, Electric Brakes, Pintle Hitch, Safety Arrow Bar, Very Clean Ex-Municipal Unit
Located in Sacramento CA.
Stock# 11836
$17,000
View attachment 272250


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## fearofpavement (Jan 18, 2013)

All the type of material handling equipment already exists in some form or another.

For separating the chips from the dirt, a trammel type device would be effective. It is basically a long tube that is perforated and augers the chips up and all the while the dirt is falling out the perforations. Eventually the chips come out the top of the "tube" and fall into a trailer/truck. This type of equipment is used in small placer gold mining operations.

Industrial vacuums have already been discussed.

There are layout pads available to put on lawns to mitigate skidsteer damage. They are expensive and a lot of work to put out and pick up but do work.

I like the fact that thought is going into a better way to do stump grinding, but in a competitive business like this, sometimes manual labor is the most effective and least expensive means to accomplish a task. The costs and logistics to provide types of equipment to "simplify" this would far exceed the benefit in my opinion.


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## ATH (Jan 19, 2013)

The makers of the AirKnife air excavation tool (similar to, but not as heavily marketed as the Air Spade...) also make an Air Vacuum (like the venturrii principled things beastmaster mentioned).

If you have a compressor to run the air excavation tool, it will also run this. I haven't used one of these, but I have thought about it for helping with the AirKnife work...but they aren't cheap.


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## 2treeornot2tree (Jan 20, 2013)

I have a parker truck mount leaf vac that i use during fall cleanups. It has a 16 hp brigs on it and a 10" hose. i will just about suck your clothes off. I picked my up new at a auction for $800. I think they retail for $3000. This would work great for sucking up grindings. I might give it a try myself. Here is a video I found of one working. I welded a receiver to mine so i could just mount it to the back of my dump trailer.

[video=youtube_share;Ek1TvPO3dv8]http://youtu.be/Ek1TvPO3dv8[/video]


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## CalTreeEquip (Jan 20, 2013)

That pretty cool. Looks like it will do the trick but is pretty light weight. I don't think it would hold up over time still for $800, what a deal.


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## 2treeornot2tree (Jan 20, 2013)

CalTreeEquip said:


> That pretty cool. Looks like it will do the trick but is pretty light weight. I don't think it would hold up over time still for $800, what a deal.



I know a couple guys that use them alot and have had them 10+ years. It is built the same as the big one your trying to sell. Most of the landscapers around here that catch the grass they mow have them permintly mounted to there trucks and trailers.


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## derwoodii (Jan 25, 2013)

This is what I'm talking about a typical big pile that needs to moved aside you grind then picked up and dumped away. 

As your grinding stump its lifted into a hopper away sifting the sand n dirt n wood mash apart is that to much to dream


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## CalTreeEquip (Feb 18, 2013)

*Shred-Vac*

Here's one of the coolest things I'v ever bought. It shreds wood chips into mulch and then blows them out onto your landscape. It can also vacuum up chip, leafs and other light organic debris, shred it and blow it into a truck.

Used Chippers in California: 2001 Shred-Vac Chip Shredder and Spreader in California $15,000

View attachment 279868


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## derwoodii (Feb 18, 2013)

CalTreeEquip said:


> Here's one of the coolest things I'v ever bought. It shreds wood chips into mulch and then blows them out onto your landscape. It can also vacuum up chip, leafs and other light organic debris, shred it and blow it into a truck.
> 
> Used Chippers in California: 2001 Shred-Vac Chip Shredder and Spreader in California $15,000
> 
> View attachment 279868



hmm if yer can shrink it down to 5th that size maybe in the frame... a nice find u should find application in large roadside mulch landscapes and direct seeding for stabilszation of embankments, sell its service to your local city and road corp


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## CalTreeEquip (Feb 18, 2013)

That is precisely what it is designed to do. The question now is how well does it do it? I haven't tested it yet.


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