Grading Clearing Stumps

[wwalker1959]

I have a TYM T353 HST with a TX3500 FEL and BT300 backhoe. I am in the process of clearing a couple of acres of land that was heavily wooded. We have a couple of hundred stumps to clear and we left about 3ft of trunk sticking up out of the ground on all of them.

Are there any good rules of thumb as to the size limit of pushing a stump and then pulling it out vs. digging out with a backhoe then pushing it over or pulling it out of the ground with a logging chain? The ground is sandy loam with very little clay content which should help.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I would just bring in some big equipment and make short work of them. You can still use your equipment to take them away and clean up.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have a TYM T353 HST with a TX3500 FEL and BT300 backhoe. I am in the process of clearing a couple of acres of land that was heavily wooded. We have a couple of hundred stumps to clear and we left about 3ft of trunk sticking up out of the ground on all of them.

Are there any good rules of thumb as to the size limit of pushing a stump and then pulling it out vs. digging out with a backhoe then pushing it over or pulling it out of the ground with a logging chain? The ground is sandy loam with very little clay content which should help.

From my tree removal experience, it is hard to judge which tree will come out easy vs hard. Some trees just have better roots than others. Some times small trees are harder to get out that one twice its size. Tree species is a big factor also. What I would do is try pushing them and if they move a bit, you may be able to work it out but it is always easier to make a few swipes with the back hoe to break out the main support roots then pull it over. When doing this, I usually set up and dig out both sides of the stump/tree then reposition and cut them on the other side and then I can usually push the over or lift them up with the backhoe. I have lots of rocks and sometimes a tree will root down into a rock bed with its tap root and then it requires digging a deep hole to break out the rocks and loosen up the tap root before it will come out.
You will get the hang of it after digging out a few and it will go much faster.
If you want fast, rent a big excavator to dig them out, but I enjoy the challenge of getting the better of a stump with my little B26. I have dug out a few stumps that I had to get my 70 HP tractor to drag it up out of the hole and away to my burn pile. There is a bit of satisfaction in doing that. So far I have only had one stump win the contest, a big oak about 4 feet across that even after I dug all around it cutting all the roots, I still couldn't move it. I now sits at the bottom of a big pile of limbs which I will eventually set fire and burn.

 

[nc redneck]

A large backhoe or excavator has the ability of reaching out and going under the stump to cut roots. Small equipment like my Kioti 45 can do it but it takes more time and a lot of moving around. Also if you can try to protect your front backhoe cylinder, hoses and connection points. My friends full size backhoe will rip out a stump in 30 minutes that would take me several hours to do with Kioti. Depends on what type of tree and soil also.
Good Luck

 

[dragoneggs]

I don't think there is such a thing as rule of thumb on this. But considering you have a couple hundred, I would consider hiring a large excavator to come in and uproot them. Then you can do whatever clean up moving, etc. with your machine. I don't have the time nor patience for that and it would be hard on your equipment.

I did find it absolute fun to tear out a few (five) medium sized stumps with my little BX but I can't imagine spending the amount of time to remove a bunch of them.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Actually, a good sized excavator can dig a hole the size of a Bus in minutes and bury everything unwanted. Quite impressive! We have a lot of stones, and it's hard on even my larger equipment, so around here it's a no brainer for bringing in true EARTH MOVING equipment.

Or if I am not going to till land, I just cut off the trees and use my rather large stump grinder. That is a lot of fun in itself.

 

[creekbend]

An experienced excavator operator can clear in 8 hours what the normal tractor operator can clear stumps in 2-3 days. I just had a buddy of mine clear 5 acres of stumps. His excavator was HUGE. He charged me $120.00 an hour. He tossed each stump into a pile and moved on to the next bunch of stumps. I used my FEL to clear up branches and debris and placed them on the stumps piles to burn later. At last count, there were over 50 burnpiles. I'm saving up money now for Diesel. I use an old 2 gallon sprayer when starting the burns. I also have a 275 gallon plastic tote mounted on a trailer made from the bed of a Dodge Ram. I also has a Titan pressure washer to spray water if needed. Best wishes.

 

[wwalker1959]

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure by the time I get to double digits I'll have a good feel for what it will take! Not planning on getting in a hurry as we have almost a year before we start pouring slbs. Allways like the challenge of doing things myself and having a little fun along the way. I haven't run a backhoe in almost 30 years so I'm hoping it's like riding a bicycle and the "touch" comes back quickly....

 

[wwalker1959]

Most of the stumps are from cedars that run 6 inch trunks or less. Only have a few dead oaks we had to cut down that were 12 inches or more. Those will need to be dug up. One thing I do have going for me is a father-in-law and two brother-in-laws that can't wait to help. I'll just need to keep the diesel flowing!

 

[katoomed00]

I just cleared out 12 stumps with my little BX24, from 24" to 12", dug around the trees then used my electric chainsaw to cut the roots(don't use a power chainsaw, it will ruin a blade quick) then used a 3 ton chain come-a-long to break the tap root. On average working by myself it took about 2 hrs. a stump