Ballpark wheel time by size
These are our field averages for a Korven crew on a single stump in average piedmont soil at 8 inch turf depth. Add fifty percent for deeper grinds, add another thirty percent for oak or hickory, subtract a third for pine.
- Under 12 inches: fifteen to twenty five minutes of actual wheel time.
- 12 to 24 inches: twenty five to forty five minutes.
- 24 to 36 inches: forty five to ninety minutes.
- 36 inches or larger: ninety minutes to three hours. Big oaks with heavy flare are their own category.
Setup and teardown
Setup for a single site is roughly fifteen minutes: unload the ramps, walk the grinder off the trailer, position it, and run the pre-grind checklist against the utility marks. Teardown is another ten minutes. On a single stump quote you should expect our truck in your driveway for one to two hours total, of which forty five minutes to an hour is actual grinding.
What makes it slower
- Deeper depth tiers. Every inch below 8 costs another pass with the wheel.
- Hard species. Oak, hickory, and dry osage take twice as long per cubic inch as pine or poplar.
- Root flare. A stump that spreads wide at grade takes disproportionate wheel time because the whole flare has to come down below grade too.
- Buried surprises. Concrete pads, old fence posts, rebar, and rock all slow us down or stop us entirely.
- Chip haul-off. Loading the chip into the trailer is another twenty to forty minutes per stump on a large tree.
What makes it faster
Batch jobs are always cheaper per stump because setup only happens once. Three moderate stumps on the same visit rarely takes twice as long as one. Open yard access saves five to fifteen minutes per stump versus a fenced backyard with a compact grinder. And a homeowner who has already marked private utilities (irrigation, dog fence) saves us the conservative slow pass we would otherwise do.
Once you know the wheel time you can predict your full day. Read what to expect on stump grinding day for the minute by minute breakdown.