# stump grinder question



## miko0618 (May 11, 2015)

Does anyone run a smaller grinder? Something like a Toro sgr 13? I need to grind stumps. I have been subbing them out with no profit. What I don't want to do is buy a bigger one at a cheap price because it'll constantly break down. Sooo... I was thinking of getting a smaller one and making money with it. I currently have about $2000 in stumps waiting to be ground. I've rented the type like I mentioned but the cutters were so shot it just smoked the wood. With good cutters and prepping the area properly, would one of those be ok for a few months?


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## no tree to big (May 11, 2015)

Just rent a bigger one for a few hundo more and get jiggy wit it. yes the little grinder will grind but how fast do you want to make your 2k? How big are your stumps? How many?


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## miko0618 (May 11, 2015)

Average would be 24" across close to the ground. There is none to rent.


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## no tree to big (May 11, 2015)

It took me 45 mins to grind a not so big red maple stump with that 13 hp thing maybe 5 mins with a 40+ hp grinder 24" stump don't know how much other work you have but I'd just sub it out I Def would not attempt it.. and that's just one. Find a guy for 10 bucks an hour and give him a week to finish them all


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## miko0618 (May 11, 2015)

Can you get a big enough grinder for $5k? Used obviously.


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## no tree to big (May 11, 2015)

http://m.ebay.com/itm/181670580195?nav=SEARCH not 5 grand but close and way better then that contraption you are contemplating


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## BC WetCoast (May 11, 2015)

I've used those small rental grinders more times than I want to remember on stumps that we couldn't get our bigger machine into (small gates, in planter boxes, in hedges etc). A couple of things to think about, if you are only grinding just below the surface ie they're putting in grass afterwards isn't as hard as having to go deep 10". A bigger heavier machine will allow you to get deeper faster and the guards don't get in the way. Second, you're not grinding diameter, you're grinding volume of stump and a lot of the volume of the stump is on the backside, where you are now cutting across the grain, rather than with it. A heavier machine will help you power through that. At times, the backside of the stump feels like you are using a sander.

I've never measured it, but I would estimate that even the smallest self propelled grinder eg Vermeer 252 is going to be about 5 times faster.

It depends on whether you have other work to do instead of grinding your $2000 worth of stumps. If that's all you have, then go for it. If you have other work that would be more profitable, then find another solution.


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## jefflovstrom (May 11, 2015)

miko0618 said:


> Does anyone run a smaller grinder? Something like a Toro sgr 13? I need to grind stumps. I have been subbing them out with no profit. What I don't want to do is buy a bigger one at a cheap price because it'll constantly break down. Sooo... I was thinking of getting a smaller one and making money with it. I currently have about $2000 in stumps waiting to be ground. I've rented the type like I mentioned but the cutters were so shot it just smoked the wood. With good cutters and prepping the area properly, would one of those be ok for a few months?



I don't lie,, I recommend a Dosko self-propelled walk behind. A 20hp Honda,,,you will love it!
Jeff


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## imagineero (May 13, 2015)

Subbing them out with no profit is bad. Doing them yourself with no profit is worse. Selling my 25hp self propelled grinder was the best decision I ever made. Grinding stumps pays about the kind of money you get for mowing lawns or flipping burgers unless you've got a big machine.


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## miko0618 (May 13, 2015)

I found a place to rent a big one. I could pay a guy to grind for weeks at a time and do well. I just dont want to invest in a machine that wont do the job or breaks down.


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## TheJollyLogger (May 13, 2015)

Milo, go back and read your original post and think about the advice you would give yourself. Substitute chainsaw for grinder.

"I'm thinking of buying buying a new ms170 instead of a used ms460."

You've been in this business long enough to know the misery of trying to do the job with undersized equipment. If you're going to get into stump grinding, then do it right.

A decent used grinder is going to be in the $6-8,000.00 range. You'll recoup 25-30% of your investment the first week. And yes, you'll have another piece of equipment that will require maintenance and repairs. 

Of course, you'll also find yourself working an extra 10-15 hours a week doing the work your sub is doing now. Look at your market. If you think you can sell enough stumps to keep a decent machine going going enough to justify hiring another hand to run it, that's great. If not, just keep subbing them out and tack on a little extra for yourself.


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## BC WetCoast (May 13, 2015)

miko0618 said:


> I found a place to rent a big one. I could pay a guy to grind for weeks at a time and do well. I just dont want to invest in a machine that wont do the job or breaks down.


Machines break down. Nature of the biz.

Just a slight derail, can you imagine the cost to repair when one of the sensors in the self driving Google car breaks down?


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## tree MDS (May 13, 2015)

BC WetCoast said:


> Machines break down. Nature of the biz.
> 
> Just a slight derail, can you imagine the cost to repair when one of the sensors in the self driving Google car breaks down?



Lol can you still get a DWI in one of those??


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## gorman (May 13, 2015)

Matters what seat you're in I guess. You can get a dui for just sitting in the driver's seat drunk.


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## KenJax Tree (May 13, 2015)

gorman said:


> Matters what seat you're in I guess. You can get a dui for just sitting in the driver's seat drunk.


Here you gotta have the keys in the ignition also, showing an intent to drive


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## jefflovstrom (May 13, 2015)

LOL,, I don't know which derail to respond,,,
Jeff


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## TheJollyLogger (May 13, 2015)

That's why I recommend the Vermeer sg252ch, the cup holder option is worth every penny...


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## fishercat (May 14, 2015)

i don't know which i hate more,grinding stumps or those damn Toros.


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## imagineero (May 14, 2015)

BC WetCoast said:


> Machines break down. Nature of the biz.
> 
> Just a slight derail, can you imagine the cost to repair when one of the sensors in the self driving Google car breaks down?



About 0.000021 of a seconds worth?


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## marne (May 15, 2015)

A 12hp is part of my business. 
It does stumps my bigger machine can't get to. 
It only makes sense to use, if the stumps are max 20" and depth needs to be 5". Close to impossible to use on slopes. 
Speed wise it's not that far from a 27hp if you keep razor sharp teeth. Spending time and money on keeping them sharp is the key on small units. 
Big stumps are a pain on these, sometimes impossible to do a proper job. 

When getting into stump grinding you suddenly find yourself buying lots of tools and spare parts and you just spend many evenings in the garage doing maintenance, again and again and again...


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## no tree to big (May 16, 2015)

Having a small machine as your sole machine = avoid if possible
Having a small machine to compliment your big grinder =sure why not 
In t ge long run yes Having a small grinder vs no grinder is better then nothing


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## CalTreeEquip (May 16, 2015)

You can usually get a SC252 for $4,000 to $8,000.
The handle bar units stay under $5,000 most the time.
http://www.californiatreeequipment.com/photos/stump_grinder/06-rg20-1.html


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## miko0618 (May 16, 2015)

How close is that to the non self propelled 15 hp version? There is 1 local for $1500


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## miko0618 (May 16, 2015)




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## CalTreeEquip (May 16, 2015)

The handle bar units will beat the hell out of you but basically the bigger the engine the easier it is to grind a stump.


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## TheJollyLogger (May 16, 2015)

Miko, they are night and day. There is no comparison.


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## TheJollyLogger (May 16, 2015)

It's like comparing your altec to a dr chipper.


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## miko0618 (May 16, 2015)

Lol. A dr chipper is useless.


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## TheJollyLogger (May 16, 2015)

So are those 12 hp grinders


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## Dillweed (May 26, 2015)

CalTreeEquip said:


> You can usually get a SC252 for $4,000 to $8,000.
> The handle bar units stay under $5,000 most the time.
> http://www.californiatreeequipment.com/photos/stump_grinder/06-rg20-1.html[/QUOT
> He's right. Save $5,000 for a used vermeer sc252. I did, and could not be happier.
> ...


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## TimberMcPherson (May 30, 2015)

I love my 13hp beaten up, ex rental dosko. had it for over 7 years, and its paid for itself over and over and over and over again, aside from teeth and a couple of belt adjustments it never has had anything done to it.
Its got a job coming up thats worth over a grand (half of what I paid for it), 2 stumps 20 inches around that the bigger grinders would never access. It wont be fun but will be easier than using our chainsaw grinder.


Grinders only come in two sizes, to big and to small.

Our smallest trying not to wake the dead


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## mckeetree (May 30, 2015)

TheJollyLogger said:


> So are those 12 hp grinders



I remember when I started in the tree business for myself back in Jan. of 1986 my first grinder was 12 hp promark. Damn near useless if you had many stumps to grind. I moved on up to a self propelled 20hp Dosko along about summer of 1988. I bought that one new. Then about a year after that bought a 30 hp Vermeer 630. That was about the time I came to the realization if a stump grinder is less than 40 hp you are not going to turn out much stump grinding production.


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