Looking for stump digging advice

[zmansmac]

Last fall I bought the small (6 foot) WoodMaxx backhoe for my little Kubota B7500. I used it to trench over to my pole barn to run electric out there before winter set in and it worked very well for that. Now I have a bunch of birch tree stumps to dig out. My new hoe came with a 12 inch bucket but I recently bought a 9 inch bucket to dig trenches for my gutter downspouts. Since birch trees do not have a tap root I plan to try and dig as close as I can to the stump to minimize the size of the hole and subsequent filling, leveling and seeding. So knowing that there is somewhat of a power limitation with this backhoe and the size of my tractor would I be better off using the 9 inch or 12 inch bucket. I do not have clay but there are a lot of buried rocks in the area, none bigger than about 8 inches though.

 

[4570Man]

The 9" bucket would be better, a root ripper would be best.

 

[CalG]

Birch?

Cover the stumps with straw and wait until next year, they will dig out with a table fork!

 

[Piston]

Since birch trees do not have a tap root I plan to try and dig as close as I can to the stump to minimize the size of the hole and subsequent filling, leveling and seeding.

This is exactly the reason I prefer to grind them vs dig them out, but of the options you listed the 9" would certainly be more effective.

 

[LD1]

Smaller is always better for stumping. And yes, a ripper would be the best.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

More power in a smaller area is better. What size are these stumps? You might be better off renting a mini hoe than spending all day on your backhoe.

 

[JerryK]

Most good sized stumps require you to dig out where the root size is small enough to tear thru them. Easier on your hoe and quicker in the long run not to try to dig too close. Some stumps require you to dig deep down next to them to allow the dirt to fall away from the finer roots below the stump to help unglue it to the earth pillar underneath it. Once you get the ability to nudge the stump by yanking on one of the sides and get some movement, the dirt will slowly fall away from these finer roots and the wiggling will get easier. Then, magically, the stump will just start allowing you to move it at will. You can grab it and rotate it out of the hole. Jump off the tractor.. lift your head to the sky... beat your chest... and do your loudest ' Tarzan ' yell.... [ whilst the neighbors stare out the window.. shaking their heads.. in awe/disbelief .. ]

 

[Gary Fowler]

I use my 8" bucket so I get the maximum force to break roots AND have the smallest hole to dig. Regardless of the type of tree, I set up and dig on both sides of the stump till I break thru all the roots on each side, then relocate 90 degrees to get the other 2 sides. When I have all the side roots cut, I then start trying to wiggle the stump around and then just lift it out using the thumb. Sometimes with deep tap roots like pine trees, I have to dig deep to remove most of the soil around the tap root before it will wiggle. The most difficult is when the tap root is embedded in rocks but they always come out with patience.

 

[m1greg]

Most good sized stumps require you to dig out where the root size is small enough to tear thru them. Easier on your hoe and quicker in the long run not to try to dig too close. Some stumps require you to dig deep down next to them to allow the dirt to fall away from the finer roots below the stump to help unglue it to the earth pillar underneath it. Once you get the ability to nudge the stump by yanking on one of the sides and get some movement, the dirt will slowly fall away from these finer roots and the wiggling will get easier. Then, magically, the stump will just start allowing you to move it at will. You can grab it and rotate it out of the hole. Jump off the tractor.. lift your head to the sky... beat your chest... and do your loudest ' Tarzan ' yell.... [ whilst the neighbors stare out the window.. shaking their heads.. in awe/disbelief .. ]

Too funny! You almost described my reactions after removing this beast. You just forgot the part about cracking open a cold one as a reward for a job well done.
Not having a backhoe and not willing to admit defeat and go rent a stump grinder as the wife suggested, I used my post hole digger to loosen the soil around the stump, a pick axe to chop the roots and the bucket to rock the stump untill the roots underneath gave way. Straps on the bucket to drag it out and then the victory dance! :cool2:

 

[crazyal]

Stumps are hard on equipment. If you can get to them with a stump grinder I would seriously think about renting one and not putting that kind of wear and tear on your tractor/ backhoe. If they are all very small stumps then I would try a few but time yourself so you can get an idea just how much time it'll take you. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of doing it yourself with equipment you own but sometimes it's better to accept that just because you can doesn't always make it the best choice.

 

[m1greg]

Stumps are hard on equipment. If you can get to them with a stump grinder I would seriously think about renting one and not putting that kind of wear and tear on your tractor/ backhoe. If they are all very small stumps then I would try a few but time yourself so you can get an idea just how much time it'll take you. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of doing it yourself with equipment you own but sometimes it's better to accept that just because you can doesn't always make it the best choice.

Stumps can be hard on the equipment. I did shear a couple of pins on the post hole digger when I snagged a root. That is when I stopped and took another approach using a pick axe to dig close to the tree.
Once the main roots were severed, rocking the stump back and forth using the bucket, loosened the hold of the root pillar and from there it was easy.
Best advice is take it slow, keep the wheels on the ground and if it's not going your way, stop and rethink your plan of attack.
This stump took me 4 1/2 hours spread over two days, to remove.

BTW this stump had previously been ground with a stump grinder but only down to ground level. 10yrs later as I wanted to level the area a bit for a small pool it resurfaced and became a thorn in my side again.

 

[Piston]

BTW this stump had previously been ground with a stump grinder but only down to ground level. 10yrs later as I wanted to level the area a bit for a small pool it resurfaced and became a thorn in my side again.

Amazing how long the stumps can last isn't it! If I'm grinding stumps for myself, I'll go down about 6" or so if it's in an area I don't think I'll ever want to dig up again, but when I'm grinding for my customers, I always go 12" deep on the stumps as long as there are no large rocks buried into the stump that the tree grew around. This way they'll never deal with it again under normal conditions.

 

[EddieWalker]

Most good sized stumps require you to dig out where the root size is small enough to tear thru them. Easier on your hoe and quicker in the long run not to try to dig too close. Some stumps require you to dig deep down next to them to allow the dirt to fall away from the finer roots below the stump to help unglue it to the earth pillar underneath it. Once you get the ability to nudge the stump by yanking on one of the sides and get some movement, the dirt will slowly fall away from these finer roots and the wiggling will get easier. Then, magically, the stump will just start allowing you to move it at will. You can grab it and rotate it out of the hole. Jump off the tractor.. lift your head to the sky... beat your chest... and do your loudest ' Tarzan ' yell.... [ whilst the neighbors stare out the window.. shaking their heads.. in awe/disbelief .. ]

Jerry is spot on. The only thing that I would add is that I doubt you will notice much, if anything going to a smaller bucket. The trick is breaking through the roots, and if going out farther to where you have enough power to do this. Size of the bucket wont make that any easier. You are limited to how much power you have, and the size of the root you are trying to break through.

Don't worry about the size of the hole, it's just as easy to fill a big hole as it is to fill one that's a little smaller. Be sure to drive over the dirt once you put it back in there and add more dirt to create a crown. No matter how many times you drive over that fill dirt, it will never be as solid as the dirt around it, and when it rains, that area will absorb more water then the surrounding dirt and for the next year or two, it will be quicksand for your tractor.

Eddie

 

[crazyal]

I have an 18" bucket from my 580k that I ripped apart while digging stumps. Peeled the back like an old beer can tab. Granted I'll attack any stump no matter the size but it still amazes me just how strong stumps are. Even large rocks the size of a sub compact are easier to move for me than a 24" diameter red maple stump. Plus I have an acre section of my woods that's full of stumps. Weeds grow on them so they aren't an eyesore but that part of my woods is pretty much dead to me unless I want to get the stumps out of there.

 

[zmansmac]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I did dig out a couple of stumps last fall with the original 12 inch bucket. Even though the 9 inch bucket doesn't sound much smaller I think it did make a difference in being able to curl under roots and break them easier. My goal was to try and keep the dig circle as small as possible to minimize damage to the "lawn". Most stumps were in the 8 to 12 inch range and I was able to dig them out without going out more than about 2 feet in any direction. These are all birch stumps and they took anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. The second picture shows my first 2 days carnage (about 7 hours total). My worst stump was an 18 inch one that took 2 hours and forced me to dig out a bit further. I started "cheating" on that one by using a battery operated sawsall with a carbide tipped blade to cut through the large roots. That stump is shown in the first picture. I'm sure glad I bought the $300 optional hydraulic thumb. It's great for grabbing and lifting the stumps out of the hole for easy pickup and moving with my fork attachment.

JohnZ