Time to put the hoe to work

[galaxie428]

One of our trees didn't make it through the winter. As much as I hate to lose a mature tree, I was excited to hook the hoe up and get to work. Now the fun is over and it is cleanup time!

 

[Lockport]

Nice work!

 

[LD1]

Nice work indeed.

What was the cause? Harsh winter? It looks like an ash tree. Are you dealing with the EAB there? We are loosing all of ours here.

 

[blake037374]

Great job

 

[tman1020]

That's the way to do it for sure let the tree falling help remove the stump. How did the 230 perform? That's a pretty decent size tree. Looks like it had no problems from the pics nice job.

 

[galaxie428]

What was the cause? Harsh winter? It looks like an ash tree. Are you dealing with the EAB there? We are loosing all of ours here.

I think just the hard winter although maybe I need to look at it more closely to check for the EAB. We have a lot of trees in our yard and most of them are ash, I hope this is not the start of the EAB getting all my trees!

How did the 230 perform?

I think it did well, it only took about 20 min to get it down. The tree was probably 18" in dia if I had to guess so it was not real big. It makes it a lot easier to dig around the tree and push it over and use the weight of the tree top to uproot most of it. This is the only way I will take down a tree anymore. It doesn't leave you with a stump to mow around or a grinded stump you have to throw dirt in every year because of the decay.

When we bought the house 7 years ago, there was 13 dead trees that I cut down and grinded out. I am still filling those holes with dirt each year. it is a pain. I have rarely had to add more dirt to a stump I dug out. Plus, it is FUN!

This is a tree a dug out a couple of years ago, now this is a tree!

 

[LD1]

Do check for EAB. If it has them, thus is just the beginning.

 

[tman1020]

Holy crap that things a monster!!!! You did that with the 230? Wow I'll bet that was a little nerve racking. We've taken them down that size with full-size backhoes and excavators together but never with just one machine the size of the 230. I'm impressed. I knew it was a great tractor but holy cow

 

[galaxie428]

You did that with the 230?

Yes it took a while, I think I worked on it for around 4 hours but I got it! It was a little nerve racking once I knew I was at the point where I thought it would go. It was a calm day when I started so that helped but you never know when the wind is going to kick up.

Now getting that thing back to the burn pile was another story. The CT230 couldn't lift it out of the hole once I got the base cut from the tree, I couldn't push it out or anything. I finally had to pull it out with the truck. Getting it back to the burn pile was another issue.

 

[Coyote machine]

WOW! Maybe the only more dangerous way to fell a tree would be to put a 40' ladder in your bucket and climb to the top to attach a metal cable guy wire in a full blown hurricane during a lightening storm?!:confused2:
You may be lucky enough to have lived to date, but I wouldn't bet on getting away with that type of wrangling on a regular basis. That method is an accident overdue to happen. And before anyone starts a safety police rant; I am a trained, retired tree surgeon with years of experience climbing, working with cranes, etc.
The question is not if the method shown IS dangerous; the question IS when will it show you what the risks really are.