Stump Grinder vs Stump Cutter

These two attachments are often quoted against each other, and they should not be, because they leave the site in different states. A Dipperfox stump grinder bores the stump out below ground level and leaves the roots to decay in the soil. A Trevi Benne WE stump cutter cuts the roots, levers the whole root ball out and splits it for stockpiling. The question that decides it is simple: does the specification require a stump-free surface, or a root-free excavation? A stump-free surface is the grinder’s job and extraction is wasted effort on it. A root-free excavation is the cutter’s job and no amount of grinding will produce one. Answer from the next stage of the project, not from the stump.

How each one works

The Dipperfox SC600 is positioned vertically over the stump on a 6 to 12 tonne excavator. A replaceable centre screw pulls the head into the timber while reversible double-sided blades cut the stump into chips, and a two-speed planetary transmission delivers 16,900 Nm of first-gear torque when resistance rises. The SC600 drills to 700 mm and processes stumps to 600 mm diameter; the SC850 Pro extends that to 850 mm and 900 mm depth on 13 to 30 tonne carriers. The chips stay in the hole, the surrounding soil is largely undisturbed, and the machine tracks to the next stump.

The Trevi Benne WE10 is a 1,190 kg hydraulic pincer with a 980 mm jaw opening for 11.5 to 18 tonne excavators; the WE15 is 2,240 kg with a 1,400 mm opening for 20 to 28 tonne machines. A single hydraulic cylinder generates the cutting force. The operator exposes the root zone, cuts the structural roots, extracts the stump with the excavator’s breakout force, then uses the same jaws to split the extracted stump so it stockpiles densely and feeds a shredder or chipper.

Dipperfox cycle

1. Position over stump
2. Drill and process below grade
3. Leave chips in hole
4. Next stump

WE cycle

1. Expose root zone
2. Cut roots
3. Extract root ball
4. Split stump
5. Stockpile or load

Where the difference shows up on site

What is left in the ground

This is the whole decision. After a Dipperfox pass the stump crown and the upper root plate are gone to drilling depth and the lateral roots remain. That is exactly what a planting lane, a mown park, a pathway realignment, a fence line or a gradeable paddock needs. After a WE pass the root ball is out and the site has a hole. That is what a footing, a pipe trench, a road subgrade, a building pad or a plantation conversion with deep ripping needs, because roots left in those zones become obstructions or settlement risks later.

Site disturbance and the finish

Dipperfox keeps the disturbance to roughly the footprint of the stump and leaves a hole part-filled with chips that can be topped and compacted. The WE opens a much larger area, generates spoil and leaves a void to backfill. In parks, streets, orchards and residential work that difference is the difference between a job that is finished when the machine leaves and one that needs a truck, backfill and a landscaper.

Material handling and biomass

The WE produces an extracted, split stump that can be dried, chipped or sold as biomass where an outlet exists; it also produces something that has to be handled, which means loading, trucking and tipping or a stockpile on site. Dipperfox produces chips in a hole and nothing to haul. If the contract has a biomass outlet or a client who wants all woody material removed, the WE’s output is an asset. If the contract is priced per stump with nothing to truck, hauling root balls is pure cost.

Carrier class and attachment mass

A Dipperfox runs on the carrier already doing the landscaping or civil work: the SC400 at 190 kg on a 1.5 to 5 tonne mini, the SC600 at about 320 kg on 6 to 12 tonnes. The WE needs a machine with the breakout force and stability to pull a hardwood root ball, and the attachment alone is 1,190 or 2,240 kg. The WE is a heavy-carrier tool by nature; if the fleet is mini and mid-sized excavators, the WE is probably not the right family.

Hydraulics and torque

The Dipperfox is a hydraulic-motor tool and depends on flow and pressure: 65 to 150 L/min and 150 to 250 bar on the SC600, 110 to 230 L/min and 180 to 350 bar on the SC850 Pro. Its two-speed transmission trades speed for torque as the screw meets dense wood. The WE is a cylinder tool whose cutting force is generated by a single cylinder; earlier WE10 literature listed approximately 310 bar and 100 L/min, and the current build should be confirmed. Neither should be ordered before the carrier’s real auxiliary figures are known; use the hydraulic power calculator.

Rock, soil and wear

Dry Australian soils and rock change the wear picture for both. Dipperfox blades are reversible and double-sided, so a stone strike costs a blade rotation rather than a rebuild, but repeated rock contact still shortens blade life and the centre screw is a wear part. The WE’s Hardox jaws are less sensitive to grit, but pulling root balls out of rocky ground loads the pins, bushes and carrier. See wear parts to price before buying.

The numbers that matter

Figure	Dipperfox SC600	Dipperfox SC850 Pro	Trevi Benne WE10	Trevi Benne WE15
Excavator class	6–12 t	13–30 t	11.5–18 t (indicative)	20–28 t (indicative)
Attachment weight	Approximately 320 kg	580 kg	1,190 kg	2,240 kg
Working capacity	600 mm stump, 700 mm depth	850 mm stump, 900 mm depth	980 mm jaw opening	1,400 mm jaw opening
Hydraulic flow	65–150 L/min	110–230 L/min	Approx. 100 L/min in earlier literature	Confirm current build
Operating pressure	150–250 bar	180–350 bar	Approx. 310 bar in earlier literature	Confirm current build
Outcome	Stump processed in place	Stump processed in place	Root ball extracted and split	Root ball extracted and split

Running both: hybrid fleets

Large clearing contractors keep both. The WE clears the building pads, road formation and trench lines where roots cannot remain, and the Dipperfox handles the open space, verges, parks and planting areas where extraction would be wasted effort and spoil. On a subdivision the split is usually obvious from the drawings: lots and roads to the WE, reserves and streetscape to the Dipperfox. See the subdivision and civil clearing application.

Cost logic

Illustrative only. Assume 200 stumps of 400 to 500 mm in a paddock to be sown to pasture. With a Dipperfox on a 10 tonne excavator at an assumed 8 stumps an hour, that is 25 machine hours and nothing to haul. With a WE extracting at an assumed 5 stumps an hour, that is 40 hours plus, say, 200 root balls at an assumed 0.6 tonnes each: 120 tonnes to load, truck and tip or stockpile. If the machine hour is $220 and hauling costs $40 a tonne, the grinder job is around $5,500 and the extraction job around $13,600. Now change the site to a road formation where the specification requires root removal and the excavation is happening anyway: the WE’s extra hours are absorbed into the earthworks, and the Dipperfox would leave roots the engineer will reject. The cheaper tool is the one that produces the outcome the specification asks for. The cost per unit calculator can run your own numbers.

Decide with these facts in hand

• What the next stage of the project needs: a clean surface or a root-free excavation
• Whether the specification or the engineer forbids roots remaining in place
• Whether extracted stumps have an outlet or are a haulage cost
• Carrier class available, and its breakout force and lift at working radius
• Auxiliary flow and pressure available for a Dipperfox, or cylinder pressure for a WE
• Soil and rock conditions, and the blade or jaw wear they imply
• Backfill, compaction and landscaping cost after extraction

Frequently asked questions