A Chat With Simon From Predator Stump Grinders
Recently I had the pleasure of having a chat with Simon from Predator Stump Grinders. Predator have been manufacturing tree stump grinders for the past 20 years. Most of the Predator team have been involved with tree surgery over the years. They saw the need for a compact stump grinder for the UK market as many of the American machines were far too large to enter into customers gardens.
It took about a year to produce the machine from the drawing board to the actual machine. The original Predator was known as the Predator 26, not because of the engine size but due to the width of the machine.
The Predator 38X manual and the Predator 38 RX radio-controlled stump grinder both narrow down to 26 inches (66 cm). As far as I know, the Predator tracked stump grinder is the narrowest machine on the market.
As an owner of a Predator 38 RX radio remote stump grinder, I know the benefits of having a narrow machine that can get into awkward places.
You can hear more about my chat with Simon from predator stump grinders, in the video below.
Why I Use a Predator Stump Grinder
When I first started tree stump grinding back in 2004, I used a couple of Carlton American machines. They were fine, however, the problem I had was the fact that they were too large to go through a standard garden gate. In fact, my smallest pedestrian Carlton machine was wider than the Predator 38 RX.
The Predator 38 RX is just 26 inches wide (66 cm) which is narrower than a standard garden gate. My smallest Carlton stump grinder was 36 inches wide originally. Even with the narrow kit that I had fitted to the machine, it was still 29 inches wide. A vast improvement on 36 inches, though!
My other radio remote Carlton had dual wheels which would narrow the machine up slightly. However, it was very painful having to use a socket set and blocks of wood to remove one set of dual wheels. It is much easier to flick a switch and watch the rubber tracks draw in!
Multi-Tip Cutting System
Another large plus point for me is the multi-tip cutting system. Having used finger teeth for many years and knowing how easily the teeth snap, the multi-tip cutting system offers an efficient way to grind and change teeth. It literally takes me 5 to 10 minutes to change two multi-tip teeth.
There are six teeth on the Predator 38 RX multi-tip cutting head. Only two teeth actually cut, the other four teeth are for clearance purposes. For me, this is great as I’m only wearing out two teeth!
If you would like more information on the Predator stump grinders, please click here.
You can see my own personal review of the Predator 38 RX radio remote stump grinder here.
