# Renting a stump grinder VS paying



## Mroverkill

So im all done taking down some trees  2 dead spruce's  (12" trunk)  1 "flower tree (6" trunk)  one soft wood tree  (12ish" )trunk   one mostly rotted stump (12-15")    and one  either maple or ash (24-28") stump


the local rental company has a "portable" stump grinder that fits in a pickup  with a 6" wheel. ARE these ANY good  or am i going to spend  two hours cutting a 12" stump.


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## Valhalla

Can you outdoor burn in your area? Place an open ended drum over it and burn it down..


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## Ashful

jecres said:


> Can you outdoor burn in your area? Place an open ended drum over it and burn it down..


 
Would be interested in hearing the details on this method.  I've got a few to grind or burn, myself.


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## fox9988

Joful said:


> Would be interested in hearing the details on this method. I've got a few to grind or burn, myself.


Just put a barrel ( no top or bottom) over the stump, fill with brush or whatever you have, and it needs to be able to draw around the bottom. Works well on dead stumps. Sometimes they will smolder for days.


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## ScotO

fox9988 said:


> Just put a barrel ( no top or bottom) over the stump, fill with brush or whatever you have, and it needs to be able to draw around the bottom. Works well on dead stumps. Sometimes they will smolder for days.


 That may work on dead stumps but it's gonna be a PITA to do on a green stump.  See if there are any other friends or relatives (or neighbors) that need a stump or two ground out, and get everyone to pitch in and rent it for the weekend.  That 6" wheel should be OK for the job (granted you have the stump cut off right at- or just above-ground level.


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## ScotO

or you COULD go out and buy one of these.....


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## surviverguy

I prefer the labor free method. Let the insects grind it down for you. I've heard that putting buttermilk into drilled holes helps them work at a quicker (frenzied) pace.


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## DanCorcoran

Or drill large holes and imbed unopened cans of beer.  Then post your address on hearth.com.


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## fox9988

DanCorcoran said:


> Or drill large holes and imbed unopened cans of beer. Then post your address on hearth.com.


Hmmm...like an adult Easter egg hunt.


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## fox9988

Scotty Overkill said:


> That may work on dead stumps but it's gonna be a PITA to do on a green stump. See if there are any other friends or relatives (or neighbors) that need a stump or two ground out, and get everyone to pitch in and rent it for the weekend. That 6" wheel should be OK for the job (granted you have the stump cut off right at- or just above-ground level.


Yeah, I've tried to burn out 2-3 year old oak stumps. Gets rid of the brush and thats about it.


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## MasterMech

Joful said:


> Would be interested in hearing the details on this method. I've got a few to grind or burn, myself.




It was all fun & games until he whipped out the leaf blower!


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## MasterMech

Scotty Overkill said:


> or you COULD go out and buy one of these.....



 !! 

'nuff said.


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## greg13

With a small machine like that (6" wheel) plan on at least an hour a stump don't forget there are roots that you need to chase too. I usually recommend pricing both rental & having someone come do it, There may not be a lot of difference.


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## fox9988

MasterMech said:


> !!
> 
> 'nuff said.


+1


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## mecreature

I have burned several out. A couple big ones.


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## Butcher

I've rented 1 of those small grinders a time or two. They are not much fun to operate to say the least.


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## richg

Most rental places only have small stump grinders that are a waste of time and money. The blades are usually as sharp as a bowling ball and wouldn't grind an Oreo. Unless you can rent a commercial model, it's better to get a few quotes to have it professionally done. I have rented a few stump grinders and will never bother with them again.


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## Valhalla

I always burm them out. That is when it is safe to let burn for a few days.


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## StuckInTheMuck

I rented a Vermeer SC252 from Sunbelt Rentals a year ago.  Ran me about $320 for 8 hours of use over a weekend.  I was grinding stumps along some skid trails so I could access more of my property with my pickup.  The SC252 is listed by Sunbelt as a medium grinder.  They retail for about 10k.  I probably knocked down about 20 large stumps in the 8 hours that I had it.  It was effective enough that I'm planning to rent it again but will probably tie it in with grinding some stumps for friends, so they help pay the cost.  I've heard that those small grinders are a waste of time..  Good luck


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## Mroverkill

going to look at the unit today    i think  its not the small (6") one  they guy said he thinks its a 12 or 14" wheel   if its a 12" wheel then it wont be a problem  but i heard those 6" suck   even though im only doing 14"ish stumps


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## nate379

I just called my local place and that is the same one they have. Retnal is $190 a day, $150 for 1/2 a day.  Once the snow is all gone and the ground dries I'm going to borrow one to get 4-5 stumps gone.  I cut them really low with the saw, but they are still getting hit with the mower once in a while.



StuckInTheMuck said:


> I rented a Vermeer SC252 from Sunbelt Rentals a year ago. Ran me about $320 for 8 hours of use over a weekend. I was grinding stumps along some skid trails so I could access more of my property with my pickup. The SC252 is listed by Sunbelt as a medium grinder. They retail for about 10k. I probably knocked down about 20 large stumps in the 8 hours that I had it. It was effective enough that I'm planning to rent it again but will probably tie it in with grinding some stumps for friends, so they help pay the cost. I've heard that those small grinders are a waste of time.. Good luck


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## StuckInTheMuck

nate379 said:


> I just called my local place and that is the same one they have. Rental is $190 a day, $150 for 1/2 a day. Once the snow is all gone and the ground dries I'm going to borrow one to get 4-5 stumps gone. I cut them really low with the saw, but they are still getting hit with the mower once in a while.


 
It's a good machine.  The rental price was somewhere around $250 but with all of the insurance, tax and whatnot it ended up around $320.  The place that I went to read me the riot act about how much I'd have to pay if they had to replace any of the carbide teeth.  After working it for a little while, you get to know the different sound between stump and rock.  I inadvertently had the thing gnawing on a few rocks, but the teeth were fine.  As long as you don't make any drastic moves near rocks, you can chew them up a bit with no problem.  Something else to keep in mind if you're working on hilly terrain, keep in mind the center of gravity.  I almost had it tip over once when I was moving it cross slope.  It's more susceptible if you have the three wheel version .   If you have the tricycle version, you will be tugging on the hand steering lever, sometimes futilely as there is not much weight on it.  There was a lot of forward and back to get it where I wanted it to go when on muddy terrain.   Don't try running it with a hangover... It hurts..


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## greg13

StuckInTheMuck said:


> I rented a Vermeer SC252 from Sunbelt Rentals a year ago. Ran me about $320 for 8 hours of use over a weekend. I was grinding stumps along some skid trails so I could access more of my property with my pickup. The SC252 is listed by Sunbelt as a medium grinder. They retail for about 10k. I probably knocked down about 20 large stumps in the 8 hours that I had it. It was effective enough that I'm planning to rent it again but will probably tie it in with grinding some stumps for friends, so they help pay the cost. I've heard that those small grinders are a waste of time.. Good luck


 
The 252 is a toy compared the machines that the pro's use, the only thing we used a machine that small for was small stumps in back yards with fences. The 252 only has a 27 hp motor, The machines we used had 80-100hp. If you can't take at least a 2" cut per pass it's too small for me! I brought a 252 home to do a 24" white pine stump (how much softer can you get) and it took an hour and a half. WAY TOO LONG!


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## Mroverkill

Went and took a look yesterday its a 12-14" wheel so its not the tiny one


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## Mroverkill

Rented the machine sat  and other then the dead spruce (20"ish)  and the  2 into one stump  28"x 20"ish  things went well   had all 7 stumps done in 3 hours   and the last 2 took  3 hours lol

got mostly fine "mulch" trhat packed down into the holes with topsoil with this rain we just got


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## Valhalla

I would have burned them out, that is if one could.


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## Punky

richg said:


> Most rental places only have small stump grinders that are a waste of time and money. The blades are usually as sharp as a bowling ball and wouldn't grind an Oreo. Unless you can rent a commercial model, it's better to get a few quotes to have it professionally done. I have rented a few stump grinders and will never bother with them again.


 
This is the exact conclusion I came to. I had a 30" Beech stump, and went to HD to rent a grinder. The HD guy said I would kill my back and be at it for over 4 hours. I paid not much more for someone with a commerical grinder and it was gone in 15 minutes.


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