Stump grinder parts that fail
Cutter wheel bearings
The cutter wheel bearings on a stump grinder take tons of abuse. The bearings, for example. They’re ball bearings, and when they wear out, you have no choice but to replace them. That’s not so bad until you consider that they’re at the top part of our cutter head. See, when the cutter head spins, it vibrates a bit. And if your bearings aren’t perfectly centered, that vibration causes a tiny bit of play in the bearings—something that can gradually cause them to go out of alignment. That can be bad news when it comes to cutting stumps as it means downtime of the machine and a $1000+ bill to replace the bearings
Carbide Cutting Teeth
Carbide cutting teeth are the most replaced item on a stump grinder. As they grind stumps they become dull. Different soil conditions, such as sand, can cause teeth to wear faster. As a result, they require constant sharpening or replacement and only last a few weeks at most.
Grinding with dull teeth increases machine wear and overall job completion time.
The machine has a total of 32 teeth at a cost of approximately $15 per tooth. Thats $480 for a set of teeth.
Drive Belts
The stump grinding machine operates on 2 separate drive belts. One is a v-belt while the other is a poly chain belt. If the machine attempt to make too deep of a pass the belts will slip causing them to wear out. These belts must be tightened and adjusted as part of a routine maintenance schedule to ensure proper performance. The cost of the v belt is approximently $100 and the poly chain is $350.
