MechMaxx Stump Grinder Review

The pros and cons of this stump grinder. I forgot to mention the brake during the review, it’s very good. It’s the easiest to adjust brake I’ve ever seen! A knob on the top twists to reduce or increase tension, great design!

[@ficklecycler]

Thanks for the review. I'm interested in their chippers, but it was helpful to see what they get right and wrong on another product.

[@ronaldhavener9223]

I had issues with the lower pulley incorrectly installed at factory which caused the cutting wheel, pulley and key way to self destruct, filed a warranty claim and received replacement parts today, all is well. Solid machine and would buy again. I do recommend that if you buy one go over every nut and bolt on the entire machine to make sure they are tight..

[@mechmaxx2918]

Thanks for your review!

[@Oouther1]

Just get a few things squared away and this will be as good as any machine on the market!!!

[@ronaldhavener9223]

I bought the stump grinder in October 23 and apparently the lower pulley was never tightened at the factor and it ran loose, basically destroying the pulley and shaft. Anyways I contacted mechmaxx and they are sending me all new parts. If you own one pull that belt cover off and make sure it’s tight. At least they made good on the warranty.

[@ronaldhavener9223]

As i mentioned before I had to replace the cutting wheel and pulley because it was never tightened at factory anyways I tilted the machine all the way back to install the new cutting wheel, that was mistake, the oil from the base ran into the cylinder head. Took me about 3 hours to get it running.. don’t tip machine all the way back!!

[@timothycharlesellis5940]

I just ordered a trencher from them, l'm hoping l don't end up regretting it.

[@Oouther1]

The grinder seems to be doing great, you’ll probably come out okay. I did index the teeth and have cut over 40 stumps so far. Finally removed the safety bar and rewired the upper switch into a push to kill instead of push to operate, much more user friendly. Overall happy with the purchase.

[@timothycharlesellis5940]

If you had it to do over, would you still buy that grinder at the $1299.00 price? Thinking about that piece as well, once l see how well the trencher is built. Thanks for the info!

[@Oouther1]

Yes I would. The teeth are much cheaper than the DR and with indexing will last about 3 times as long. The factory didn't pay much attention to assembly is the biggest problem. @@timothycharlesellis5940

[@timothycharlesellis5940]

@@Oouther1 , thanks again! I get the sense from your info and my ordering experience that these machines may be being shipped from overseas. I received a strange and indecipherable phone message in the middle of the night regarding my order.

[@Oouther1]

Thinking back, I believe it came from NJ or something like that. Of course that may have been the final US carrier...@@timothycharlesellis5940

[@ronaldhavener9223]

I bought the same stump grinder, assembled no problem, filled to top line with 10/30 oil, filled tank. I pulled and yanked on it for 15 minutes but it will not even fire. Any ideas?

[@ronaldhavener9223]

Never mind, I watched your video again and figured it out with the handle thing

[@timothycharlesellis5940]

So, yeah, this purchase was definitely worth every cent. One thing l found out the hard way; don't tilt the machine back onto its handle to grease the spindle or to perform other tasks. I picked up a plumb line that was hidden in the dirt and it got wound up around the spindle. I had the machine resting back on the handle while l removed the line and the cylinder filled with oil. When l tried to restart, the engine was hydra-locked and the pull cord wouldn't budge. I removed the spark plug and yanked the cord and oil came streaming out of the cylinder. I ended up draining the brand new synthetic oil l put in the engine upon assembly and cleaned out the cylinder with carb cleaner, refilled the oil, but then the pull handle broke off of the cord from too many hard pulls. Fortunately, l had two other Mechmaxx machines with identical engines, so i borrowed the start assembly off of one of them. After a few hours of downtime, the grinder fired back up with no problems.

[@Oouther1]

Absolutely agree! I’ve ground about 65 stumps so far and re-indexed the teeth once, great machine!

[@timothycharlesellis5940]

@@Oouther1, have you found any cheap replacement teeth, and which type are they? I know you said Toro, but are they the same as any of the three-position indexing teeth such as Green Teeth 700s?

[@Oouther1]

@@timothycharlesellis5940 It’s been awhile since I’ve looked, but the MechMaxx site shows the teeth and they can be found much cheaper. Going by memory, they were generic and green teeth were among them.

[@timothycharlesellis5940]

@@Oouther1 , l ordered an extra set of teeth with the machine, but lo and behold, there are actually only 4 teeth in the set, while the grinder wheel contains 8 teeth. I've been turning mine before each use because there's a noticeable difference in the cutting performance. After a four or five hours, it seems to slowly turn the stump to dust rather than into shavings.

[@Oouther1]

@@timothycharlesellis5940 I’m still on my original set. They do start cutting slower but it’s still cuts really good. No idea how many hours I’ve ran this thing, but very happy and would buy it again🙂