digging with FEL?

[RhallVA]

I need to dig up some dirt in one area to fill groundhog holes in a horse pasture (lots of holes....)... is it possible/sensible to try to dig topsoil using my rear blade and FEL?
(B2410 4WD w/LA352FEL & Woods 60" rear blade)

What I really need is a load of topsoil delivered, but is it possible for me to do this kind of digging wiht my setup?
I do not as of yet have a toothbar on the bucket.

Thanks for any tips on this!
Roy

 

[ronjhall]

Roy
You can use your FEL to get rid of the Ground Hog holes and hills. Angling your rear blade so one corner is cutting into the ground will help to breakup the soil so your FEL can move it.
I don't know it you have gotten rid of the Ground Hogs yet. So here's a another one that led to <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=rural&Number=36299&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=bleach&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=1year&Main=36100>this one</A> from Boondox. It's the one I used. Haven't seen any since late July, after using his method. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif
Be careful using this method. The gases given off can be very dangerous. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

 

[nhman]

I recently added a set of teeth to my fel to help with digging and it makes a big difference. I have the b7500 with the 48" bucket. I bought the teeth from Brown Equip. in Purcellville. They were a bit more expensive than what I could have paid from Carver equip, but I neeed them immediatly and Brown had them.

A few weeks ago, I stopped by Thermos Equip in Warrenton and they also had teeth. They were a hundred bucks cheaper, so it would be worth the trip. Thermos did not have 48", only 60".

nhman

 

[Boondox]

Ron -- Glad to see it worked for you. Nasty stuff, that chlorine. Can't emphasize the safety precautions enough!

Pete

 

[Buck]

RhallVA,

I dug some pretty big holes with my FEL... John Bud had a great post (w/photos) where he started digging a pond with his FEL and a Scaper:

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=photos&Number=54737&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post54737/>JohnBudsPond</A>

Hope this helps!

Buck

 

[frank_f15]

ROY: u can do what you need to do with the fell and back blade , may take a few tries and will of course depend on the type of ground and the condition of it. a toothbar would be MOST helpful, but can be done without it. great practice and loads of fun, plus make u feel like a /w3tcompact/icons/king.gif when done.

 

[cisco]

Not sure you can dig very deep with a rear blade, but your Kubota manual should give you an indication of how deep (below the level of the front tires) the FEL will dig; mine, a LA 482, gets about 18". Angle the lower edge of the FEL depending on how dense the soil is, and drive forward just a bit while rotating the FEL up - essentially a scoop motion. If the soil isn't too dense, no need for a tooth bar, or preliminary ripping with the box blade, to loosen the surface crust. Now, if you find some minimally toxic way to zap gophers, let me know.

 

[RhallVA]

Update-
Thanks for all the useful tips! I was able to accomplish a great deal yesterday by digging out a bank and using the dirt to fill a number of holes and low spots. The horses are in their new pasture today and are thankful for the change in scenery.
After a poor start (ever dig with FEL, drive from point A to point B across the field, and dump the bucket only to then see that NO DIRT was is the bucket?.... That's a poor start!) I got better as the day progressed and was comfortable and productive most of the day.
BTW- I never really got anything done until I took the time to remove the MMM. I was concerned about damaging it and thus was not digging aggressively enough to get anything done. When I got the mower deck hung up once I knew it had to come off. In the future I wll use the FEL in loose material (mulch, manure pile, pile of loose fill dirt) with the mower on, but I will always remove the MMM for actually digging of tough, undisturbed earth.
Thanks again for all your help and useful tips!
Roy

 

[TresCrows]

Roy, that is what I do--remove the MMM for dirt work. I have found that sometimes I use my boxblade with rippers down to tear and loosen the ground--then I go at it with the FEL. I will tear up a section and then bulldoze a pile with the boxblade in reverse. When I have several piles---I push them together in a line and then I start scooping with the FEL. The attached photos show the tractor sitting beside a line of dirt pushed up with the boxblade, then I turn around and scoop them in the following photos and the voila'---a full bucket everytime. A tractor without a box is like a one legged man---a cripple (excuse me--numerically appendage challenged). The Box rocks!
J

 

[diggernh]

I see no problem with using your rear blade and fel to scrape up some topsoil. You might wanna angle your rear blade..windrow up some topsoil and then bucket up the windrow and place it where ya want it. I have a 2001 B7500 with a 302 fel and a woods 6500 hoe. In my case, if the soil was too compacted to scrape up with the bucket..I would scarify it with my hoe and then scrape it up..