Clearing a Pond

[paccorti]

Ok, here is the situation. I have a small pond (100' by 60' by 1' deep max). The pond is really choked with weeds and could use some digging out. My overall goal is to have the pond 1' deep all around. Ignoring the issue of traction for the moment, would the tractor be harmed if fresh water was swirling around the axles? I thought I'd try the loader for this. I have some other ideas, like dragging a "boxblade like" device behind with the tractor safely out of the water. Kind of a cheapo' dragline. I might also try draining the pond but that is not my preference.

Peter

 

[Anonymous Poster]

You could find someone renting one of those long reach excavators (45-55 feet). Or if you can get all the way around it a "normal" excavator would do it. I'd also mention, driving in it or using an excavator, any drops of hydraulic fluid/ oil etc spread out to an unbelieveable size.

 

[Alan L.]

In our clay soil the tractor would sink about 3 feet into the mud.

 

[Thomas]

paccorti,
What size tractor are you considering?

The pond about foot deep could there be softer spots or deep areas?
The last thing you would want is to get stuck./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I'm not sure if the engine fan would blow the water mist over the engine/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Maybe a local rental has the equipment to do your job? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Be careful...okay./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Stay safe and be/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[Bird]

When I read the original question, my first thought was that these things were made for rice paddies, weren't they?/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif And my second thought was like yours, Alan, a long chain or cable and 4WD (on the other tractor out on solid ground) would be the only thing that could get a tractor out of my pond if it's wet./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[EddieW]

Bird, I agree. Last year I had a guy brush hogging my pasture and he drove out on a dry, cracked spot at the edge of my pond. He broke through and sank to the axles. We had to get a chain and a pickup to pull him out. I filled it in this year because it wouldn't hold water. I rented a 300 gal/minute pump and pumped it dry then built a pad on one side and started filling it in across the pond. I was working on top of 3-4 feet of fill dirt all the way across and it worked pretty well. The pump cost $35/ day. there wasn't but a couple of feet of water in the pond so it pumped it dry pretty quick. It was one of those projects where everything went right and I really felt smart when I was done./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[paccorti]

Thomas,

I have a new TC35D with R4's. It has a claimed ground clearence of 14". Still wondering if water around the axles is bad. Are tractor axles watertight? I guess I should call NH....

Peter

 

[EddieW]

Peter, I suspect the reason you can't get an answer is that nobody really wants to commit to something that might be potentially damaging to your tractor. I personally would not drive my tractor into water that might get into the axle or other areas that need lubrication but the dealer or manufacturer are the only ones that can possibly give you anything but an opinion. Water seems to be able to find a way into about anything no matter how well sealed it is. Just an opinion worth exactly what you paid for it. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[Hawgee]

My 2 cents would be like EddieW's. Most of my 4 wheeling in a Willys was finding water mixed in the oil of anything that was below water line. You also have to know where any case breathers are located. You may find that in normal operation, no oil comes out a seal. Most of these seals are made to do just that. It might not be until you look at the bigger construction equipment that you find seals made to keep things in and out.
My try would be to pump down water and hope there is a solid bottom and then proceed with care. Otherwise I'd be looking for a hired machine. Some draft horses pulling a freznoe and a good driver can do it.
Another quick way is with a Dupont Spinner. The kind poachers use for illegal fishing. Six sticks and a 2 minute fuse should do it. I heard of a lot of duck ponds built this way. Here, we would have to do a impact statement and permits and lawyers and . . . . . /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Hawgee on 8/4/00 01:35 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Bird]

Peter, In all seriousness, I'd be very reluctant to get the front axle into the water. My tractor has a dipstick/cap for the fill port on top of the right side and the O-ring might seal that enough to keep water out, but then it has a curved vent tube on top of the left side and if I ever got that under water, I'd sure be changing the oil in the front axle. This reminds me of a cousin who had a habit of backing his pickup's rear axle into the water to load and unload his boat. Too late he learned that there is a vent with a hose running from the rear axle up above the gas tank, but that hose was broken, so he had to replace the entire rear end under his truck after filling it with water.

Bird