I am new to the tree cutting business and want to start offering stump removal. On my local Craigslist there are very few stump grinders for sale, and even fewer at a reasonable price. Right now I am considering at Rayco RG 1620 JR. The owner told me it has a new Kohler Comand 25hp motor, new pully bearings as of last year, and that it is the year 2000 model. Also comes with a spare set of teeth, tho he didnt specify what type of teeth. Were these machines good, is there anything I should look for when inspecting it, and does anyone have an idea of what a machine like this would/should go for. Thanks in advance!
Rayco RG 1620 JR
- Thread starter kjd722
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deevo
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Rholmes
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when you inspect the machine,go to the cutter head.look at the very top part of the head where the two pillow bearings are located.check the steel plate that the bearings are bolted to,look for cracked welds and cracked or missing steel.that particular area absorbs a lot of the abuse and tends to fail.once that plate is compromised you could have problems with belt/shaft alignment because thats where the adjustments take place.not a quick fix to repair .causes a lot of problems.hope this isnt too confusing and it helps.
superjunior
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Mowingman
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I started out with a 1625 Super Jr. What you have is just an older version of that. They are ok for stumps up to about 18" diameter. Bigger than that, they are really slow, but will get it done. Travel speed is very slow. Takes forever to move it any distance at all. Turning radius is terrible. Like that old song says, " Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around".
Unless you can buy it cheap, like maybe $3500.00, I would pass.
Unless you can buy it cheap, like maybe $3500.00, I would pass.
Pelorus
Uva uvam vivendo varia fit
Travel speed is glacial. Turning radius isn't too bad if you let unlock one wheel, (at the expense of traction).
Have flipped mine a couple of times by getting careless and letting it bite off more than it could chew. I bought mine second hand (truly well abused). Suspect that a couple of grease zerks underneath the machine never ever saw a grease gun.
I took the castor wheel off of mine and replaced it with an axle & two wheels. Same width as wheels up front so it goes up a set of ramps without having to fiddle around with a third board/ramp. I just run the cheap 1/2" X 1/2" teeth. My rayco is sufficiently worn out and tired that I don't advertise stump grinding anymore, but if a customer asks, I'll grind. (But they have to ask, lol)
Dadatwins
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Good little machine for small work, like someone else said. 1620 originally was made with 3 wheel stance, no power front steering and a 20hp engine. Newer models have 4 wheels and power steering. Had one for a few years and it did the job, very slowly. Good thing about it is you can get it anywhere. It will even fit in the back of a 8' pickup truck. 25 hp kohler command for that application is about a 2k addition to that machine. Look at the bearings and cutter wheel. Any side movement means you will need new bearings, cost around $100.00 each to buy. Pull the side covers and check the belts. Polychain over 200.00 and main belt close to it. Good luck.
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