Chinese stump grinder

[jff45]

Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge of these types of machines.
I've dropped some fairly big trees that were too close to the house, up to 700mm stump diameter, and been given a quote for ~$1200 to grind the stumps out. About 10 in total with smallest 150mm.
I also have numerous other stumps around our 2 acres (not included in the quote) that I haven't got around to digging out and countless exposed roots that I now often hit with the ride-on.

I'm looking at buying one of these machines. They are ~$1000 freighted to a depot close by where I can pick up with a box trailer.

55332
55333


I'm thinking I can flog it for half price once I've finished with it, assuming it doesn't fall apart before then..

[4bye4]

Hi John. This is the part of the industry I service and although I haven't seen the particular brand you have there I know a fair bit about CCC (Cheap Chinese Crap) motors and machinery. Ok don't get put off with the CCC brand. Most of these machines are copies of more industrial machines. The failings are the quality and longetive of the units. The engine for example is a copy of the Honda GX390 general purpose industrial engine. These things run forever and are used on lots of machines. The CCC version is probably built to last 70 to 100 hours. Sounds small but if you are a housholder, which is the market they are aimed at, you might at the most do a stump every couple of months. Say 20 hours a year, thats 4 to 5 years use. Most people are happy with that.
you may find that the tynes (cutters) may wear as they may not be of the quality of a better brand machine. again though, if you are doing 10 to 20 stumps it should be Ok unless you are hitting extreamly hard wood.
Probably the first thing that will give you trouble is the tyres. They will probably go flat early in the machines life, maybe even day one out of the box. Go to your local mower shop and get some tyre slime. That should keep them up for a while.
The main problem with these Chinese machines is that they are difficult to repair. Often the motors are built with one use only bolts and they are frequently of unusual size, not quite metric or inperial. They are also often soft and shear of when trying to undo them.
OK that all the bad news and that is also a worst case. Some manufacturers are better than others and for what you are suggesting it will probably do the job. I would suggest that you keep the duty cycle low, that is do a couple of stumps a day and don't attempt a 8 to 10 hour day run time.
Tony.

[jff45]

Excellent reply, Tony!
I've had a good run of luck with the cheap chinese stuff. I have a 16 ton log splitter that's about 7 years old and still works flawlessly, no leaks, no noises and it splits some pretty big stuff.
Also bought one of those 4m pole saws from Ebay, $145 about 5 years ago, starts every time first pull. Never had an issue.. The Husky was ~$1500 at that time..

For home maintenance, these things are worth taking a risk on, in my opinion. I look after my tools, even the cheap ones.

As I'm into my 70th year this year, the working days of 8 to 10 hours are now well behind me. The reason I'm looking to buy this machine is because the crow bar, shovel & chainsaw to get stumps out is just too much for me now.

Edit: Just seen this exact machine in the US under the name "Yard Pro" for US$1899. That's AUD$2400 at today's rate. I just paid $1004 incl. freight from Melbourne to Caboolture QLD.

[4bye4]

Ok John.
Good luck with it. I forgot to mention I have a CCC compressor in my service van. The guys use it about 10 mins per week to blow dirt off machinery and blow up tyres. Had it for 4 years now and its still OK. Mind you, I had to change an ignition coil and that how I found out about the easy break screws. i'm only a young 63.

[kevin07]

the only problem I see with it is the grinding wheel is rather small going to make it hard for a decent depth. but anyway take your time with it and get a green stone or blade for a small a grinder and keep the teeth keen, that will take the pressure off the belts and bearings. that's how we send similar machines out on hire. kev

[jff45]

It's claimed it can grind down to 12" below ground level.
I found this video online. It's a "Forest King" brand but it's absolutely identical to what I just bought.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FQzLD1fTOxc

[jff45]

Just thought I'd add a few pics of how it went with this cheap machine.
I didn't flog it or try to make it grind faster than it wanted to and I'm really surprised it went as well as it did.

Here's what I started with..

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh207/JFF45/Stump%20grinder/Before%20start_zpsql5e1xkt.jpg


Here's how it is now. This is about 9 hours total work.
I bought one of those inductive hour meters off Ebay after I'd done about 3 hours.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh207/JFF45/Stump%20grinder/After%20final_zps8myrsvee.jpg


The big one in the upper left was a fair bit of work especially getting it down to ground level before grinding.
Here are a couple of pics of moving the big bugger..

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh207/JFF45/Stump%20grinder/IMG_2282_zpsxsf4noki.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh207/JFF45/Stump%20grinder/IMG_2284_zpsl6ajdgzw.jpg


I changed the oil after the first 2 hours and it looked a bit like metallic paint. I'll do it again after 10 hours to see what it looks like.
Had to slime one wheel as expected and the cheap throttle cable broke twice but other than that it's gone really well.
Still has the original teeth but they need sharpening now.

I reckon it's paid for itself easily..

The tractor is my little 2 cyl 4WD Kubota. I think it's 750cc. Terrific little workhorse..

[mudnut]

I would love to have a little kubota like that. My Ex BIL paid under a grand for one that had been in a fire. He stripped it down and re-built it, and now its been valued at over $11000.

[jff45]

I bought it about 10 years ago for $10k. I made the tooth bar and chain connection points. Also built a carry-all for it.
Probably worth $5k today. If I sell it I'll replace it with a small bobcat.. if I can find one that doesn't need a fortune spent on it. Most get flogged off when they need work done on them.

[Hodge]

Excuse the thread crapping, but aside from your machinery, you have an awesome looking property there.

[jff45]

Excuse the thread crapping, but aside from your machinery, you have an awesome looking property there.

Cheers, mate. It's only 2 acres so it's not too big for someone of my age to look after.