Remote Control Stump Grinders

How remote control works on an FSI stump grinder

A handheld radio unit carries every function the operator would otherwise reach for on the grinder, including engine speed, the cutter clutch and an emergency stop.

Two joysticks drive the tracks or wheels and put the cutting head into the stump with the same precision as the levers on the machine, advancing it into the wood and swinging it across.

Nothing on the grinder needs touching between unloading and switching off.

The operator simply picks a spot with a clear view of the cutter wheel and moves round the stump as the cut opens up.

Autopilot sweep and handset power

On the D60 4WD and D74 the sweep can also run on autopilot, a variable sweep speed that follows the engine load. This allows the operator to watch depth and position instead of feathering the throttle.

Useful for mixed and unpredictable wood, as well as on long days of continuous grinding.

When a remote control stump grinder is necessary

A stump in an open, flat residential garden doesn’t need a remote, and a pedestrian FSI on its handlebars will grind it out fine.

But on jobs where standing behind the grinder is a hazard, remote control is necessary.

Slopes, embankments and rough terrain

A bank is the clearest case.

Behind a manual grinder on a wet slope, the operator is standing downhill of the full weight of the machine, holding handlebars that are also trying to walk it away from them.

With the remote the operator stands wherever the footing is solid, above the stump or off to one side, and the grinder holds its own position on the slope.

Hydraulic motor brakes and a counterbalance valve stop it rolling back the moment the tracks stop.

Railway and road embankments, riverbanks, SUDS basins and the banked edges of housing estates are the sites where a method statement keeps the operator off the slope altogether.

A remote grinder is the practical way to get a stump out of that ground without putting a person on it.

Large tree stumps and the debris throw

A big beech or oak stump ground with a 60hp or 74hp machine throws chips and the odd chunk of root with real force.

An operator on the handlebars is in the line of that debris for the whole cut, whereas the remote lets them stand at a safe distance, usually off to the side where they can see the wheel in the wood.

A large stump hard against a wall or a fence puts the operator in the same spot, with no space to stand behind the machine at all.

Roadside, waterside and commercial contractor sites

On a verge or a central reservation, the space behind the grinder is often the live lane.

Working from the remote puts the operator on the pavement side, inside the cones, while the machine grinds out at the kerb.

Beside water, on a quay edge or a canal bank, the operator stands well back from the edge and drives the grinder up to it.

Commercial site clearing contracts, from housing developments to solar farm groundworks, sometimes set an exclusion distance around running machinery. A radio-controlled grinder meets that rule without slowing the job down.

Safety and productivity benefits of remote-control operation

Along with keeping the operator out of the chip throw, the remote stops them from walking a heavy machine up and down a slope or leaning on handlebars to hold the head in the cut.

Visibility and setup time

A manual grinder shows the operator the top of the wheel and leaves them guessing at the bottom of the cut.

Being free to walk round to whichever side shows the wheel in the stump means you see what’s left below ground before dropping the head further.

The efficiency gain over a manual machine is in the setup rather than the cutting, the operator lines the grinder up from the best viewpoint without climbing round it.

At the end of the job the machine drives itself onto the trailer while you stand at the tailboard.

What you give up against a manual grinder

An experienced operator feels the wheel find a rock or a lump of old brick through the handlebars before they hear it, and that feel doesn’t come through a handset, so you rely on the engine note and on watching the wheel.

On ground you know is full of rubble, slow the sweep and check the teeth more often.

Judging how a machine sits on a steep bank is easier from ten metres away than from behind the engine cover.

The remote doesn’t make a grinder climb further than its tracks and centre of gravity allow, though, so the gradient limit for the model still stands.

The handset is one more thing to charge, carry and keep out of the chip pile.

Remote control stump grinders in the FSI range

FSI offers the remote on machines from the 25hp D30 up to the 60hp D74.

More horsepower means the stump comes out faster, and the remote has no bearing on that, so pick the engine for the stumps and the remote for the sites.

Our own crews ran FSI grinders for a decade before we took on the dealership, so the opinions below come from running the machines ourselves.

The FSI brand page covers the rest of the range, including the pedestrian machines.

FSI B31 Remote, 38hp petrol on tracks

The B31 Remote is the grinder for a tree surgeon who wants a remote without a diesel budget.

The Kohler ECH980 petrol engine gives 38hp, the compact body is 740mm wide and it weighs 680kg. It goes through a garden gate and onto a single-axle trailer behind a van.

Hydraulic drive to the cutter wheel does away with the V-belt, so there’s no belt to tension and the power delivery is smooth from idle to full load.

Its 120cm sweep reaches 40cm below ground, and the counter-rotating rubber tracks turn it on the spot.

FSI D30 Track Remote, 25hp diesel

The D30 Track Remote trades petrol for a water-cooled Kubota diesel and adds expanding tracks, all run from a Scanreco handset. Pulled in, the machine is 800mm wide for a gate, and pushed out to 1,150mm it plants itself for grinding on a bank.

The 152cm sweep cuts 38cm below ground, the rear dozer blade is standard, and LED work lights are fitted.

At 810kg it still sits on a standard plant trailer, and it’s the lightest diesel in the range that narrows to 800mm under remote control, well suited for narrow access jobs.

FSI D60 4WD, 60hp diesel

The D60 is the machine we’d put in front of anyone grinding stumps for a living.

A 60hp Hatz water-cooled diesel drives a 581mm cutter wheel with 16 teeth, removing 7.2cm a pass over a 220cm sweep.

The machine weighs 1,250kg and reaches 44-47cm.

The cutter wheel bearing is sealed and pre-greased for over 1,000 hours, so there’s no daily greasing.

FSI D74, 74hp diesel

FSI’s biggest grinder, the D74, is a wheeled machine with hydraulic 4WD and a differential lock rather than tracks.

The 74hp Kohler diesel spins a 735mm cutter wheel with 28 teeth, taking 12.3cm a pass across a 230cm sweep. One of the fastest rate of stump removal in the range by some distance.

The D74 cuts 94cm above ground for a tall trunk left standing and 39-50cm below.

Remote control with joysticks is standard, a 12V outlet on the machine charges the handset, and at 1,725kg it wants a twin-axle plant trailer.

Energreen tool carriers with a stump grinder head

The second route to remote stump grinding is an Energreen radio-controlled carrier with a stump grinder attachment on the front.

These are tracked tool carriers built for slope mowing and forestry mulching, and the same quick-change system that takes the flail head takes a stump grinder.

An Energreen carrier with a grinder head suits estates, utility contractors and council grounds teams that clear brush and scrub on an embankment and remove the stumps on the same visit.

The carrier is built for slopes and runs from a handset in any case, so the stumps get ground from the same position as the mowing.

A dedicated FSI grinder will still out-grind the attachment on a run of large stumps, so if stump removal is the main job rather than the follow-up, buy the grinder.

The Energreen range covers the carriers by size and the heads that fit them, our team will be more than happy to guide you through which combination suits your ground and workload.

Hire or buy remote control equipment from Cumbernauld

Hiring a remote control stump grinder makes sense for the one contract with a bank on it, and for a customer who wants to find out whether the handset suits them before spending the money.

Every hire machine leaves the workshop serviced, with sharp teeth and a charged handset, delivered across Scotland or collected from Cumbernauld.

Buying is the answer once the remote is being used most weeks, and plant hire fleets adding a remote grinder for their own customers buy from us on the same terms, with the workshop behind the machine.

New FSI stock is typically the norm, and when a used remote grinder comes in we’ll tell you what state it’s in over the phone.

After the sale the same technicians can handle servicing, hydraulic repairs, belts and teeth, and we keep genuine FSI wear parts on the shelf, so a worn set of teeth mid-contract is a fast fix rather than a machine standing idle.

How it works with ILH

1. Tell us about the site and the stumps – Call 0141 775 9288 or use the contact form with the gradient, the access, the size and number of stumps, and whether you’re hiring for one job or buying.
2. We recommend a machine – B31 Remote, D30 Track Remote, D60, D74 or an Energreen carrier, and we’ll say if a pedestrian grinder would do the job for less.
3. Try the handset – Come to Cumbernauld for a demo and run the grinder on the remote yourself before committing to anything.
4. Serviced and delivered – Teeth, hydraulics and the remote are checked in the workshop before the machine leaves, then it’s delivered across Scotland or collected.
5. Supported afterwards – Setup advice over the phone, FSI wear parts off the shelf and a workshop that knows the machine for as long as you run it.

Remote control stump grinder questions

Is there a remote controlled stump grinder available to hire?

Yes. We hire FSI remote control stump grinders across Scotland from Cumbernauld, serviced between hires with the handset charged and a spare battery in the box where the model includes one. Call 0141 775 9288 for availability on the dates you need.

What is the difference between a remote control and a manual stump grinder?

The cut is the same on both, and the difference is where the operator stands. On a manual grinder the levers and sweep control sit on the machine, so you’re tied to that spot. The FSI remote models wire the same functions to a handset, and whether that’s worth paying for depends on how many slopes, verges and big hardwoods are in your diary.

Do you lose the feel of the machine on a remote?

Some of it, because the handset doesn’t pass on the jolt of the wheel finding a rock the way handlebars do. Whether that bothers a user coming off a manual machine is best settled on a demo at Cumbernauld, where you can put a grinder into a stump on the remote and decide for yourself.

Stand back from the next stump with ILH Groundcare

If you’ve a bank, a verge or a hardwood stump coming up that you’d rather not be standing behind, get in touch with the site details. We’ll match a remote control grinder to it, to hire for the job or to buy for the season.

We’re a family-run business and arb machinery specialists since 2007, an official FSI dealer, with every machine backed by our own workshop.

Call 0141 775 9288, email contact@ilhgroundcare.com or send the details through the contact form, and one of the team will ring you back with a machine and a price.