Backhoe Added a ripper to my Woods BH90x: Trees beware

[dfkrug]

Having any brand of a CUT backhoe with a hydraulic thumb,
mounting a ripper tooth will flat out will take longer to attach. Having no thumb or having
a mechanical thumb will take less time to attach as there is no extra set of hydraulic pin
holes to line up and thread through.

A hydraulic or mechanical thumb does not HAVE to share a pin at the end of the dipper.
Mine does not. There are pros and cons to this, as with other choices, but one of
the cons is surely how hard it is to install that shared pin.

[nickel plate]

A hydraulic or mechanical thumb does not HAVE to share a pin at the end of the dipper.
Mine does not. There are pros and cons to this, as with other choices, but one of
the cons is surely how hard it is to install that shared pin.

I was referring to hydraulic thumbs that share a bucket or ripper tooth pin on the end of the dipper stick. I know of only one example of a CUT hydraulic thumb that does not, MIE makes one that starts out as a weld-on mechanical thumb with an optional at any time hydraulic cylinder/foot pedal addition. If there are others, I stand corrrected.

[IslandTractor]

I was referring to hydraulic thumbs that share a bucket or ripper tooth pin on the end of the dipper stick. I know of only one example of a CUT hydraulic thumb that does not, MIE makes one that starts out as a weld-on mechanical thumb with an optional at any time hydraulic cylinder/foot pedal addition. If there are others, I stand corrrected.

I have the mechanical thumb on my BH90x. I don't find it useful but may upgrade to hydraulic.

[Boiler74]

This ripper intrigues me. I was thinking about getting a 1' bucket but this may do what I need. How does it do trenching?

[IslandTractor]

This ripper intrigues me. I was thinking about getting a 1' bucket but this may do what I need. How does it do trenching?

It can trench. I would guess from my experience that it would cut a shallow trench almost as effectively as a bucket. It can trench/dig deeper too but would probably be slower as it cannot hold as much spoils as a bucket so emptying the trench would take longer. I would estimate that i can lift out about the equivalent of three human powered shovelfuls of dirt with each load.

It would be interesting to see about rigging some removable "sides" for the ripper to help hold the spoils.

Bottom line for me is that the ripper is optimized for ripping not moving dirt but it can certainly dig a shallow 1-2ft trench efficiently and is capable of digging deeper. The deeper you go the more likely a narrow bucket would be more efficient simply because of the spoils issue. It would be great at digging a very narrow trench about two inches wide by a foot or so deep as you would only insert the blade and spoils would just be pushed out ahead. Might work well for electric conduit or water line in a warm climate.

[Boiler74]

Thanks. Sounds like a 1' bucket is going to work better for what I need to do.... Water lines in a cold climate.

[IslandTractor]

Thanks. Sounds like a 1' bucket is going to work better for what I need to do.... Water lines in a cold climate.

If you only have 50 feet or so the ripper would be fine as it will definitely get down several feet or more, you will just find that removing the spoils takes a bit more time. With a short run that can be done with a shovel if needed.

I'd only recommend the ripper if you have other actual ripping work to do however, otherwise a narrow bucket would be more efficient.

[jim_wilson]

I had to resurrect this thread to give some thanks to IslandTractor for starting it in the first place. I had saved a link to it last summer when I had been doing some research for attachments I might want to add to my B3200/BH77. Yesterday - after spending about 3 hours digging away at a stump that just doesn't want to come out - I decided to bite the bullet and order a ripper from Michigan Iron. I've got 3 or 4 other stumps that need to come out - including one from a willow that got cut down last year that was about 3 foot around at the base - so I'm hoping this is going to help me get them out. The 18" bucket on the BH77 does ok - but it seems to large to really be effective at ripping roots out of the ground.

The Michigan Iron online order form said to expect arrival sometime around May 24th - I'm going to call them and see if there's any way to get sooner rather than later.

Great and very helpful thread!

[jim_wilson]

If you only have 50 feet or so the ripper would be fine as it will definitely get down several feet or more, you will just find that removing the spoils takes a bit more time. With a short run that can be done with a shovel if needed.

I'd only recommend the ripper if you have other actual ripping work to do however, otherwise a narrow bucket would be more efficient.

Yes - for some things an actual bucket would work better. For a lot of things - the proper way to bury them is to clear the trench - and rebury the piping or whatever you're putting in the trench - in sand. I remember reading this somewhere a number of years ago. Supposedly the sand allows whatever is buried in the trench some movement - and it keeps the surrounding soil from intruding into what is buried in the trench. Around here at least the soil is extremely rocky - so just throwing the soil that was dug out back in around the pipe or line or whatever you buried - means you're going to be dumping rocks right up against your pipe/line whatever. Eventually I can see how that might lead to breakage of that thing you buried.

[IslandTractor]

I had to resurrect this thread to give some thanks to IslandTractor for starting it in the first place. I had saved a link to it last summer when I had been doing some research for attachments I might want to add to my B3200/BH77. Yesterday - after spending about 3 hours digging away at a stump that just doesn't want to come out - I decided to bite the bullet and order a ripper from Michigan Iron. I've got 3 or 4 other stumps that need to come out - including one from a willow that got cut down last year that was about 3 foot around at the base - so I'm hoping this is going to help me get them out. The 18" bucket on the BH77 does ok - but it seems to large to really be effective at ripping roots out of the ground.

The Michigan Iron online order form said to expect arrival sometime around May 24th - I'm going to call them and see if there's any way to get sooner rather than later.

Great and very helpful thread!

Too bad you don't have a Woods BH or I could have loaned you my ripper to try out!

After three seasons or so I am still very happy with my ripper. It does what it was designed to do. My only complaint is not about the ripper but rather the hassle factor in changing out the bucket/thumb. Last season I just didn't mount the thumb to make it easier to line things up. I've talked to MIE about having them build a quick attach mount but haven't gotten around to doing that yet. I am also in perpetual search mode for a taped pin that could be used to force the holes into alignment. If anyone finds a source please post!