How do I dig a hole in the dirt?

[Jay4200]

I drop the BH feet all the way? What about when the ground is uneven back there?
I noticed that it is difficult to get the far side of the hole vertical. Do I just keep scratching there with the bucket or is it best to move the tractor around to the other side of the hole?
Is it good advice to move the boom/arm/bucket slowly?
Does a good operator have the skill to skew/scoop/lift and bucket-scoop at the same time? Or does he try to limit his control to two things at a time?
Is it normal for the FEL and feet to lose a little extension/pressure over the course of a half hour session (eg an inch on the feet)?
What's the best way to bury small boulders (200-400 pounds)?
Do you try to remove a stump using the BH alone, or do you use the BH and then attack it with the FEL?

I'll give this a shot:

On the BH, dig with your dipper, not just your bucket curl. Curling into the ground will just pick up your tractor. Scrape with the dipper while curling to pick up the dirt. For a straight sided hole, you'll have to move to the other side too. All 4 movements can be done simutaneously, but you'll run out of hydraulic flow quick while feathering multiple controls. This will come for you with time. Also, move slowly when digging near things that can be accidently damaged easily, but go as fast as you can handle all the other times - no sense wasting time.

Your BH stabilizers are just that - put them down as far as necessary for things to be stable. You back tires will typically be off the ground. The stablizers, like any hydraulic piston, will absolutely sag over time - one inch in a half-hour seems pretty good.

The best way to bury boulders is to dig a 4'+ deep hole (below frost line) right next to the boulder, then roll it in. Bury.

In my experience, stumps require at least as much time in the hole as out of the hole. Dig all around and break as many roots as you can, then get in there with a chainsaw (old blade recommended) and start hacking. Repeat again and again. Forget the FEL - that's for picking up loose dirt, it's not made to dig. Use the BH to clear the dirt and to move things around and see where it's stuck, but you won't be able to dig through a root any bigger than an inch or two. Most of the strength in a 'hoe is in the curl motion - I like to try to get a bucket tooth ot two under the stump, then curl the bucket (the back of the bucket pushes against the ground underneath) to pop the stump up. I find that if I can get a decent hardwood stump (12-18" dia or so) out of the ground in anywhere around 2-3 hour range, and lose less then 5 pounds while doing it, I'm doing good - and my 'hoe is pretty big.

JayC

 

[bondo]

Ragkar,
Where about are you at? Pen Argyl here, think we are close. I myself use a shovel to dig a hole! Just kidding, couldn't help it. Best advise is practice. You can really see a good BH operator when you see them work, they make it look so darn easy.

Bondo©

 

[ragkar]

Bondo, I'm on the east side of Bangor - nearly in mt. bethel. So we're about ten miles apart.
I've been practicing digging a hole to bury some boulders. So far about ten hours on the backhoe and it's starting to get easier. The guys comments helped a lot.
Now the problem is that I have to bury the boulders. and I didn't have the common sense to separate them out when I was excavating! Oh well, it's a learning experience.

 

[bondo]

Ahh yea, you are in bolder country then for sure! Good luck and practice, practice. Just think, by the time you are done, you should be an expert! I'm right behind the park in Pen Argyl, small horse farm there, kinda hidden, just how we like it!

Bondo©

 

[ovrszd]

Ragkar,

I would NOT re-lable the hoe parts. Part of your training is to use and understand the machine. That means that you have to learn the nomenclature of the BH and of excavation. Painful? Yes, but think about how you will get advice if you are using unique language that hardly anyone else understands?

Howstuffworks "How Caterpillar Backhoe Loaders Work"

You need to learn the operation of the machine and the language to really understand it. Don't be that guy in front of me at the parts counter asking for "the metal thingy that goes between the shoulder and arm on my backhoe"! We all laugh when he leaves....

Yeah, I apologize for changing terminology. I shouldn't have talked down to him. I was trying to use terminology that he would immediately understand. It worked for the current conversation but it will lead to him being lost when talking to the parts guy. But I would also say that a parts guy that doesn't know what I mean when I say wrist, elbow, shoulder in a discussion about a backhoe concerns me too.

 

[dsgsr]

Ragkar, a lot of good advise here. One other thing, try to remember on a BH when you pull a lever toward you the corresponding part of the BH will come toward you. The opposite is also true, push= away, Pull toward, push away.

David