Traction Looking for advice on stump removal

[Jay4200]

I'm planning to help my brother remove a large number of tree stumps after his trees have been harvested and I'm looking for input and advice on the most efficient methods to accomplish this.

I'm dealing with about 1.5 acres of stumps. Most of them will be under 12" in diameter.

This is not the answer you want to hear, but I'd hire it out - there are companies that specialize in land clearing - they have the know-how and equipment. You'll spend half the summer beating the snot out of your machine - pros would knock it out in a day...probably cost all of a grand.

 

[2TonCommon]

Oldpilgrim....Thank you, we hadn't thought of the burying aspect, but that is certainly one to seriously consider. The ground around his acreage varies quite a bit from mixed loam/sand with clay to some of the most Godforsaken hard-pan we've ever seen. So we might have to do some research to see if burying is an option. Thank you again for your input.

 

[sd455dan]

Boomer: Thanks! I think you've got the right answer.... and probably the most efficient. I'll show my brother this thread and let him see the good advice here.

Just a thought - If you do go with a dozer i would recommend one with a good sized ripper or backhoe on the back end... using the rippers helps a lot when tearing out some stubborn pine tree roots.
also can't believe how different 2 similar looking pines can be regarding removal- easy in some cases and a complete bear in others, mainly because of the roots. my:2cents:

If hiring it out or renting , I would take a 312 or 320 Cat Excavator over the dozer.
That way you can easily push the tree over with the bucket and if it has a thumb pick up the whole tree cut off the stump and carry the tree parallel to the ex to stack it. Also dig the pit for the stumps.

 

[skyhook]

Just a thought - Also dig the pit for the stumps.

You just gave me something to ponder, I just recently pulled a stump out, (3x4 feet or so),,
could one just dig the hole it came out of a little deeper and re drop it in and cover it up?
Do you think this thing would come back to life...

 

[Piston]

You just gave me something to ponder, I just recently pulled a stump out, (3x4 feet or so),, could one just dig the hole it came out of a little deeper and re drop it in and cover it up? Do you think this thing would come back to life...

Yup.
Just make sure to pack the dirt in really good so you don't have loose spots. This will help with settling.

I did that all the time before I got my stumpgrinder.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I've dug out many stumps, made the hole bigger and stuffed it back in. It will not regrow.

 

[crazyal]

Before I dug a stump out I would have a plan for the stump. Burying it is a good option but if you have a lot of them (sounds like you could) then it might just not be possible. I like to grind them up. Pulling them up usually means roots that are sticking out of the ground and lots of work. If you use a dozer you are going to loose the top soil that's stuck to the stump and is mixed in with all of the roots. Where as grinding them just means lots of wood chips that will rot. Pine (softwood) should be easy to grind. You can use your tractor to level the ground out after grinding.

 

[TractorGuy]

Pine stumps will rot to a crumbly state in a few years. I'm not buying these guys saying the ground won't settle where a stump is buried.

I cleared a couple acres 30 years ago and removed 150 plus stumps by hand with an axe and shovel when they rotted to a more manageable state. Had a depression that grew with time for most of them. Even had a few deep holes form from root systems rotting out. Disc harrowed most of it to minimize depressions but still have some today.

I'm about to have 5 acres cut and I'm not looking forward to the aftermath. I would entertain a free trees for clearing deal if they would remove the debris.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I'm not buying these guys saying the ground won't settle where a stump is buried.

I had three humongous holes filled with hundreds of pine stumps.

20 YEARS AGO.

Take a trip from Fla to Massachusetts and I'll show you where they were. It is impossible to tell where they were buried.

Since then I have removed dozens of others and buried them. Same result.

My brother built a house next door to me at the same time. He buried a few hundred. Same result.

You can 'buy' it in my case.

 

[Piston]

Pine stumps will rot to a crumbly state in a few years. I'm not buying these guys saying the ground won't settle where a stump is buried. I cleared a couple acres 30 years ago and removed 150 plus stumps by hand with an axe and shovel when they rotted to a more manageable state. Had a depression that grew with time for most of them. Even had a few deep holes form from root systems rotting out. Disc harrowed most of it to minimize depressions but still have some today. I'm about to have 5 acres cut and I'm not looking forward to the aftermath. I would entertain a free trees for clearing deal if they would remove the debris.

Are you saying that you had depressions after you dug the stumps out and filled in the holes? Or you had depressions where you buried the stumps?

 

[dusty3030]

Termites and other bugs can't breathe water. Buried deep they stay wet and are cut off from oxygen they don't rot.

But for removing them go big or go home.

https://youtu.be/hHXK2t50S-8

 

[bigtiller]

Hire a dozer, a big one.

I hired one to build a building pad. There was a 36" stump in the way. He angled the blade, lowered it and drove forward. He did that twice and the stump was out.

It took less than 2 minutes to remove that stump.

 

[crazyal]

I find buried pine turns straight to dirt. The stumps turn to either a red color or black. My problem with burring stumps is not everyone has a place to put them. If your land is wooded then you would need to clear a spot to bury them or bury them in place. If you bury them in place and don't plan on doing anything with that section of land that's fine but it'll take years for them to break down. If you decide to do anything with that land before they do you now have to deal with them a second time. If you want to farm it you need to get them more than a foot below the surface. If you want to build on it then you have to remove them or risk that the ground could settle. If you've got a good place to put them, I have a swampy area that is now full of stumps, then then pulling them and forgetting about them is viable option. I've seen several signs saying "stump dump" around here.

 

[sd455dan]

Termites and other bugs can't breathe water. Buried deep they stay wet and are cut off from oxygen they don't rot.

But for removing them go big or go home.

https://youtu.be/hHXK2t50S-8

I have to agree with this, just used the 550 dozer yesterday on a ground level cut pine stump that was cut in 2008 and it took at least 30 minutes of blade and ripper use to finally break the root structure apart enough to get all of it out of the ground.
Those roots were very , very, strong and heavy (wet)? I have removed other pines cut far more recently with in 50 feet of the one listed above and the root structure was almost falling apart and easily removed??

Wish they would all rot and be easily removed but some of these pines have been a a real bear. just my :2cents:

 

[whis]

larger trackhoe will be the fastest

 

[TractorGuy]

In my case I did not bury the stumps. I removed what I could of the above ground portion then a neighbor disc harrowed the ground to level it some. My depressions formed from the left behind root systems rotting out so I assumed a whole stump under ground would just leave a bigger hole. I had one area developed a hole you could lose a VW in. I was told by several folks to expect these depressions to form everywhere a tree stump was removed and it held true to form.

Didn't mean to get somebody all but hurt.

If a stump becomes lighter and full of sap it will be easier to burn it out.

 

[dusty3030]

In my case I did not bury the stumps. I removed what I could of the above ground portion then a neighbor disc harrowed the ground to level it some. My depressions formed from the left behind root systems rotting out so I assumed a whole stump under ground would just leave a bigger hole. I had one area developed a hole you could lose a VW in. I was told by several folks to expect these depressions to form everywhere a tree stump was removed and it held true to form.

Didn't mean to get somebody all but hurt.

If a stump becomes lighter and full of sap it will be easier to burn it out.

No discomfort here friend my experience is the same. Wood exposed to oxygen and critters (insects and microbes) nature takes its course and recycles it. Buried BELOW water line - that is critical- then it is preserved and doesn't break down.

 

[skyhook]

Well, my next stump removal will be re-buried in its hole, roots up and trimmed with a saws-all,
probably 2 feet or so below grade.

 

[jix]

I had an acre of mature pine, which had been harvested, leaving about sixty stumps. Hired a big excavator and a D6 dozer. land levelled, stumps all gone, cost me a thou...and I got in a day's fishing.
Never even moved my tractor. The pine logs went to a neighbor with a sawmill who built himself a garage...and he had kindling for about ten years out of the slabs. While fishing, I met a nice lady who really had the bait, and knew how to bait her hook... But they weren't up to biting for her, so she got skunked.