Stump Grinding

[oldrustycars]

any of you do stump grinding? a friend is looking into it, and i've also thought about it. i'd get one of the smaller 20 horse units, that loads onto a small trailer, and can get through a yard gate. i know they take a good amount of maintenance, but ive done lots of work on them at the Vermeer dealer i worked at. is there money in this? how much do you charge, i understand it usually goes by so much an inch of diameter. do you leave the chips to fill the hole, or how much do you charge to haul it away? any insight will be appreciated. thanks very much.

[Mowingman]

I just took deliver of a new, Rayco, 25hp grinder last Monday. There is good money in stump grinding around here. My goal is to gross $150.00 - $200.00/hr with the machine. Last night, I worked my first 2 jobs, and made $165.00, in about 1 1/2 hours. I am in my learning curve right now.
Today I did one job, and made $125.00 in 45 minutes. I am going to bid at $50.00/stump, in the future. These jobs were bid cheaper, as I knew I would be learning, and did not want to rip off the customers. Most stums around here seem to be under 20" diameter.
The standard seems to be to rake up the cuttings into a ple on top of the ground out stump.

[dcgreenspro]

partner of mine works for a tree guy and makes lots of money. does a lot on his own. Started three years ago by himself and now has three full time employees. Stump grinding also leads to a lot more business for him anyway. Hope this helps.
p.s. wish i would have bought a big stumpgrinder three years ago instead of a mower:cry:

[jameson]

any of you do stump grinding? a friend is looking into it, and i've also thought about it. i'd get one of the smaller 20 horse units, that loads onto a small trailer, and can get through a yard gate. i know they take a good amount of maintenance, but ive done lots of work on them at the Vermeer dealer i worked at. is there money in this? how much do you charge, i understand it usually goes by so much an inch of diameter. do you leave the chips to fill the hole, or how much do you charge to haul it away? any insight will be appreciated. thanks very much.

Since we only do a handful of stump grinding jobs per year, usually for existing clients, I rent one. I charge $75 per hour (or $150.00 flat fee if the job is 2 or less hours) + rental fee of unit (usually a tow-behind Vermeer). Hauling away the debris is a whole seperate issue and billed accordingly.

James

[golfguy]

To the guys that have just purchased a grinder I suggest getting a Power broom attachment for a stihl. It will save time and greatly increase quality of your final cleanup. The power broom will pick clean all chips and soil from the grass with little to no damage.

[Rfd519]

are these things easy to learn how to use? i have a few stumps i need to get rid of, a couple of them are good sized, i want to rent on but afraid i wont be able to use it.....

[jameson]

are these things easy to learn how to use? i have a few stumps i need to get rid of, a couple of them are good sized, i want to rent on but afraid i wont be able to use it.....


Short learning curve. Hydraulic levers for left/right, raise lower/cutter, levers for drive. Easy-peezy.

James