The WE10 is a 1,190 kg hydraulic pincer with a 980 mm jaw opening for 11.5 to 18 tonne excavators, built to sever a stump’s structural roots, lift the root ball out of the ground and split it into pieces a truck or a chipper will accept. It is an extractor, not a grinder, and everything about how it is specified follows from that difference.
Where the WE10 sits in the range
Trevi Benne’s WE family has two models. The WE10 is the medium-carrier unit; the WE15 is the 2,240 kg heavy model with a 1,400 mm jaw for 20 to 28 tonne excavators. The gap between them is wide, so the decision is rarely marginal: if the carrier is a 14 to 18 tonne civil machine and the stumps are the run of subdivision, road formation and farm conversion work, the WE10 is the model; if the fleet is 20 tonnes plus and the root systems are mature hardwood, it is the WE15. The stump cutter buying guide explains where extraction fits against grinding, tilling and the bucket; this page assumes the stump has to leave the ground.
What the published figures mean on site
The 980 mm jaw is the largest root ball the pincer can close around, and in practice it determines which stumps can be gripped whole for extraction and which need their roots cut in sections first. A 400 to 500 mm stump with a modest flare fits comfortably; a spreading eucalypt root crown may need to be worked around. The 1,190 kg weight is what the boom carries before it lifts anything, and a soil-laden hardwood root ball can weigh as much again or more, so the two figures have to be read together in the lift check below. Cutting force comes from a single hydraulic cylinder, which keeps the head simple but means the carrier’s auxiliary pressure directly sets how well it bites. Earlier WE10 literature listed roughly 310 bar and 100 L/min; the current build should be confirmed against the current data sheet rather than that historic figure. There is no rotation in the standard factory family, so the operator aligns the jaws with the boom, stick and tracks.
Carrier matching
The 11.5 to 18 tonne band is a starting point. Extraction is a levering job, so the carrier needs breakout force, stability and a hitch and stick that tolerate side loads, not just the ability to lift 1,190 kg. Illustratively, take a 16 tonne excavator rated at 3,000 kg over the side at five metres: subtract the head and an assumed 150 kg bracket and hitch, and 1,660 kg remains for the root ball. A large hardwood stump with soil attached can exceed that, which means working closer in, cleaning the ball before lifting or splitting it in the hole. The lift chart and attachment mass guide covers the arithmetic. On hydraulics, confirm current pressure and flow for the cutting cylinder against the data sheet using the hydraulic matching guide; if your auxiliary circuit cannot reach the required pressure the jaw will grip but not cut cleanly through large roots.
Typical work and production considerations
The WE10 belongs in subdivision and civil clearing, where root balls sit in the path of sewer, stormwater and pad excavation; on road corridor formations where residual timber compromises subgrade; and in farm clearing and orchard removal where the paddock has to be cultivated afterwards. The cycle is expose, cut the structural roots, lever and extract, reposition on the extracted stump, split, stockpile. Most of the time saving over a bucket comes from the cutting step, because the operator no longer digs a large crater to gain leverage. Realistic sites mix small stumps that come out in one bite with mature hardwood crowns that take several cuts, so time a sample by difficulty class before pricing. Where the split stumps feed a chipper or grinder for biomass, plan for contamination: soil, stone and old fencing wire travel with the root ball and a clean chipper tolerates them far less than a heavy horizontal grinder. See biomass and chipper operations.
Limitations and when to step up or down a size
Step up to the WE15 when root systems routinely exceed the 980 mm jaw, when the carrier is 20 tonnes or more, or when industrial site preparation makes stump count and size the whole job. There is no step down within the family; if the stumps are small and can be processed in place, a Dipperfox stump grinder on a smaller carrier is the alternative, and the stump grinder versus stump cutter comparison sets out when each site outcome is required. A WE10 is the wrong purchase where stump jobs are rare or the extracted material has no disposal or processing pathway.
Options and configuration to settle at quotation
Settle the bracket and hitch, hose and coupler package, configured weight with the bracket, and whether installation and commissioning are included. Confirm the current model designation and current pressure and flow rather than accepting the historic figures, and ask whether an Australian demonstration unit is available.
Wear parts and support
The consumables are the jaw cutting edges, pivot pins and bushes and the cylinder seal kit. Price replacement edges and a pin and bush kit at quotation, confirm Australian stock location and check for twisting around the jaws on any used unit; the wear parts guide has the list. Machinery Specialist is the Australian distributor.
Confirm before ordering
- Current model designation and factory data sheet, with current pressure and flow rather than the historic 310 bar and 100 L/min
- Configured weight including bracket and hitch
- Over-side lift-chart check at working radius with the head plus a soil-laden root ball of your typical size
- Carrier breakout force, hitch and stick suitability for levering side loads
- Jaw cutting-edge material, replacement price and Australian stock location
- Disposal or processing pathway for extracted stumps, and contamination tolerance of the downstream machine
- Whether installation, commissioning and a demonstration are included
Frequently asked questions
Is the WE10 a stump grinder?
No. It cuts the structural roots, extracts the stump and splits it. A grinder processes the stump in place and leaves the roots in the ground.
Why does the page mention 310 bar and 100 L/min?
Those figures appeared in earlier WE10 literature. They are included so a buyer does not copy them into a tender; the current build should be confirmed on the current data sheet.
Does the WE10 rotate?
Not in the standard factory family. The operator positions the jaws with the boom, stick and carrier.
Can it handle mature eucalypt stumps?
Within the 980 mm jaw and the carrier's lift and breakout capacity, yes, though large hardwood crowns may need roots cut in sections. Test representative stumps before pricing.
What is the 980 mm figure?
The maximum jaw opening, which sets the largest root ball the pincer can close around in one grip.
Other stump & root cutters to compare
Trevi Benne WE15 root and stump cutter
The heavy WE model: more than two tonnes of attachment with a 1,400 mm jaw for large hardwood root systems on 20 to 28 tonne carriers.
Get a recommendation, not just a price
Send us your excavator model, hydraulic figures, tree species and typical diameters. We will come back with a carrier-matched configuration and a written specification you can compare against any other quote.