Stump grinder

Stump grinders can be the size of a lawn mower or as large as a truck. Most accomplish their task by means of a high-speed disk with teeth that grinds the stump and roots into small chips.

Vertical stump grinder at work.

A typical stump grinder incorporates a cutter wheel with fixed carbide teeth. The cutter wheel movements are controlled by hydraulic cylinders to push the cutter head laterally through the stump and to raise and lower it.

Stump grinding is generally performed by a qualified arborist or landscaper. It is possible to rent a stump grinder from tool hire companies for DIY projects.

Vertical stump grinder

A stump grinder or stump cutter is a power tool or equipment attachment that removes tree stumps by means of a rotating cutting disc that chips away the wood.

There are also other types of stump grinders that are applied to tractors, excavators and other construction equipment. These machines can completely remove the roots of the trees in a few seconds or recover the central part of the roots. Vertical stump grinders are usually used in forests, for plant biomass, for the forestry sector, and for the maintenance of green areas, etc. They can destroy an entire root of 50 cm (20 in) in diameter to more than one meter deep in 30 seconds. Studies have shown that the normal stump grinder (with disc and teeth) can eliminate most of the first 20–25 centimetres (8–10 in) of stumps, but for stumps with a bigger diameter the problem is not solved as the plant can start growing back. Instead, a vertical stump grinder can completely destroy tree stumps of up to 150 cm (59 in) in diameter permanently. They can be affixed to tractors, excavators and others earth moving machinery.

For many years on the market, these machines are still established today as the best technology for the fastest and most effective removal of the roots of felled trees, currently these machines are visible all over the world, even today, after so many years they establish themselves as a jewel of the Italian technique for the most effective solution of the stumps problem. They are machines available in various models and versions, to cover a power range from 70 to 300 Hp, applicable on all types of earth moving machines, such as tractors, excavators and skid steers. They are made up of a sturdy gear box from which a transmission shaft emerges to which the cutting edges are connected. the difference between the use of this technology and the normal horizontal grinders, is with vertical grinders the log is completely destroyed at a depth in the subsoil greater than one meter, while with normal horizontal grinders you can only "shorten" the stump in the subsoil by 20 or 25 centimeters, these are very solid and long-lived machines, some of which have been working for more than 30 years!

Currently on the market there are various companies that build these machines, to name one, the Taurus company, is perhaps the most innovative company that offers a new system for fixing and anchoring the machine to the tractor, these are very versatile and fast machines , suitable for working on any type of wood in a speed and proessional way, the gear transmission is used, much more powerful than the chain transmission that many manufacturers use on their log grinder models.

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