convert stump slayer to hydraulic drive

[Kottonwood]

Ok so I have a stump slayer and I love it. It has the 30 hp koler and it is quite a beast. The only issue is I keep going through belts. When grinding with the stump slayer you can't really see the cutter wheel so it gets jammed pretty frequently if you aren't super careful. I am considering trying to convert it to hydraulic drive by adding a pump and a motor.

Anybody see any pros and cons to this that I may not be thinking about? Also, what type of pump/motor should I be looking for? I was thinking of trying to scrap an old stumper that has the parts on it, any suggestions?

Any advice/ ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

Here is the stump slayer in case you are not familiar with it Home - :: Stump Slayer :: Mini Skid Steer Stump Grinder Attachment ::

I am also probably gonna go with the multitip wheel. I just upgraded from the rayco teeth to yellow jackets and I really don't like the yellow jackets, they seem to cut like ####.

 

[Eq Broker]

The sheaves for the drive belt might be worn and may need replacing. Adding anything hydraulic will be extremely expensive as new hydraulic manifolds will be needed to help drive the pump. The pump will be expensive as well. I normally tell customers to sell what they have and get what they want because it just isn't worth the headaches of the hydraulic plumbing and solenoids and the cost as well.

I hope this helps.

Dave Wild
Global Equipment Exporters
770-966-9056

 

[Kottonwood]

Yeah, that's what I thought people were gonna say. It is the same thing the guy that built the stump slayer said.

I think it still may be worth it and I would be willling to invest a fair bit of money into it as I plan on keeping this slayer for a while.

If anyone else has some ideas throw em at me!

 

[imalogger]

Pulley size?

How big of pulleys does the slayer use? The bigger the better for more traction (like the ones air compressers use). You could try a bonded belt. They handle higher hp better, I've seen a triple bonded belt take a Lot of abuse from a good size tractor. Does the belt tightner push in on the belt to tighten or pull out? If you take up too much belt slack with a push in tightner, it trashes them in a hurry. The belts have to bend backwards too much and it busts them up. I would a 3 or 4 groove pulley if you can. I couldn't keep a single belt on my stump grinder for more than a couple hrs but once I went to double belts and pulleys I usually get over a year out of them. Hope this helps. I know problems like this can be frustrating. Good luck- Tim

 

[Bigstumps]

I agree - upgrade the belt drive! imalogger is right on with either larger diameter pulleys or more grooves - or both!

With the horsepower loses in a hydraulic drive this small machine will lose a lot of it's cutting power. I've seen a lot of the small hydraulic machines cut over the years and none of them are impressive - maybe if you never saw anything else cut.

How big of pulleys does the slayer use? The bigger the better for more traction (like the ones air compressers use). You could try a bonded belt. They handle higher hp better, I've seen a triple bonded belt take a Lot of abuse from a good size tractor. Does the belt tightner push in on the belt to tighten or pull out? If you take up too much belt slack with a push in tightner, it trashes them in a hurry. The belts have to bend backwards too much and it busts them up. I would a 3 or 4 groove pulley if you can. I couldn't keep a single belt on my stump grinder for more than a couple hrs but once I went to double belts and pulleys I usually get over a year out of them. Hope this helps. I know problems like this can be frustrating. Good luck- Tim

 

[Kottonwood]

makes sense. I think I have the thing figured out now. It has a 3 groove pulley already so that should be good. We have increased the belt tension quite a bit and it seems to be lasting better.

I still like the idea of hydraulic drive. This thing has 30hp all going to the wheel. The sweep and everything else is controlled by the miniskid so 30 hp should be enough power.... maybe not.

Either way I have the stump slayer up for sale now. I am going to upgrade to a larger self propelled unit. I just don't like having my mini tied up every time I need to grind a stump. Would have been cool to try to switch it over though.... probably not worth it though.

 

[stumpjumper83]

If your going to convert to hydro drive, get your wallet out... Not only will you need a pump on the motor, but also the proper drive motor for the cutter wheel, and a hydraulic tank and filter, and probably a hydraulic oil cooler cause motors create alot of heat.

Just stick with the belt drive and try a different belt stlye or maybe the sheaves are worn...

If you thing youtr stump slayer is a big bad deal, look at sneller stump grinders, 275hp. instead of 30... and they use gears and belts not hydraulics to drive the cutter. Also the machine they are mounted already has alot of hayraulic power and capacity and they still choose to use a second motor.

http://www.snellermachine.com/stumpgrinder.htm

 

[imalogger]

I was wondering what's the drive ratio to the cutter wheel, what size wheel is on the slayer, and what brand of cutters are you using?

 

[Kottonwood]

not sure of the drive ratio. The slayer is similar to a 1625, wheel has basically the same dimensions. I am using yellowjackets right now.... what a waste of money that was. If I don't end up selling it I will put an alpine multitip wheel on it.

 

[MOE]

makes sense. I think I have the thing figured out now. It has a 3 groove pulley already so that should be good. We have increased the belt tension quite a bit and it seems to be lasting better.

I still like the idea of hydraulic drive. This thing has 30hp all going to the wheel. The sweep and everything else is controlled by the miniskid so 30 hp should be enough power.... maybe not.

Either way I have the stump slayer up for sale now. I am going to upgrade to a larger self propelled unit. I just don't like having my mini tied up every time I need to grind a stump. Would have been cool to try to switch it over though.... probably not worth it though.

Be carefull with lots of belt tension. That is a good way to wipe out your crank bearings on your motor. In regards to converting to hydraulic I would not consider it with a 30 hp engine. With a good pump and good drive motor, you will loose about 5% of your HP on each end As the pump and drive motor wear, the power loss increases. The loss will also increase as the hyd fluid gets hot. with some wear on the pump and drive motor, you could loose 25% of your HP just getting it to the wheel.