27HP Kohler Gas
The Kohler 27 hpgas engine is the same one that carlton uses on their 2000 walk behind grinder.
Vermeer uses it on their SC252.
I think it may be a bit too small for use on a SP4012, for my intended use anyway.
I've heard from others, like yourself, that's it's a little underpowered. I also hear that it's a reliable gas engine.
Probably not enough torque for that size machine.
My next door neighbor had a willow tree blow over in a wind storm about a month ago. I'm not sure the exact species of tree, the stump diameter was a little over 3 ft. dia. It had a few 4-6 inch dia. roots radiating out from the trunk along the surface of the ground also.
Judging by the look of the machine, it didn't look well maintained. No telling how sharp or dull the teeth were either.
It took a little over 4 hours for the operator to grind that stump with the Vermeer SC252 (Kohler 27 HP gas). The operator didn't appear too competent, so it's hard to judge objectively the performance or lack of it, in this case. Because of these factors......the grinder did bog down alot while cutting, I'm guessing not enough torque to handle the depth of cut the guy was taking?
Take care,
Mitch